CAROLE MYERS GERST

Milesburg

As I was walking down Market Street in Milesburg recently, I ran into someone I had met the previous summer: Benjamin Fehl, owner of The Crooked House that was built in 1857 for Abagail Miles, a daughter of one of the founders of Milesburg, Col. Samuel Miles.

Col. Miles stood next to George Washington at one time, an example of the history behind The Crooked House.

Ben Fehl hopes to restore the building back to its historic self. After peeling off layer after layer, he found the house was leaning.

Now what do do with a house that used to be a home?

Meanwhile, Ben has put his artistic talent and ideas to work with a concrete sculpture of the original home, and is also planning a garden with a fountain for Milesburg residents and visitors to enjoy.

Benjamin has received seed grants and donations to bring to our community a place to sit and enjoy nature, history and to see a different perspective of art in which concrete had to replace wood and wallpaper. His ongoing creation is extraordinary and I, for one, can’t wait for its completion.