Old Hickory Renovations

I couldn’t believe my eyes. After driving miles in lake-effect snow, I came upon Old Hickory in Coudersport, Pennsylvania. Work has started to restore this long-neglected landmark into a bed-and-breakfast.

Old Hickory is a circa 1880 Italianate residence. Once lavishly outfitted inside and outside, the house was later used as The Old Hickory, an inn and tavern. John Rigas, the founder of Adelphia Communications, purchased Old Hickory Tavern in 1987. He had planned to renovate it into a bed-and-breakfast but never started any restoration. Eventually, Rigas was consumed by an accounting scandal, and the property was disposed of.

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In the nearly 8 years since this was published, only a small amount of work has been done. Most of the windows have been replaced and the outside is partially painted. I don’t believe anything has been done inside, as it was totally gutted when it was owned by the Rigas family. Rumor mill has it that the woodwork and doors were stored in a barn on their property and eventually ended up installed in a house in Smethport, a town about 30 or 40 miles west on Rt 6. When the present owners first bought the place they worked on it nearly every weekend, lately it’s only a handful of times a year. I believe they live somewhere downstate, south of Harrisburg, the state capitol.
I have lived in Coudersport, where the house is located, most of my life. Back in the 70’s, when it was known as the Old Hickory, there was a bar in the basement that had really good pizza.

That is great news. We need to restore these buildings for the next generation, or they will be forever lost. They are life size museum pieces. Thank you to the new owners that will spend a huge amount of money to restore this beauty instead of bull dozing it.

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