Lou’s View

By Lou Bernard

As I write this, it seems the Armstrong House is being discussed. The Armstrong House is at 25 West Water Street, and it’s a big, beautiful house that’s been owned by Lock Haven University for a long time. With LHU consolidated because they’ve been living beyond their means for two decades, now they have to decide what to do with the house.

Chris Miller sent me the article. I sent back a photo of myself sticking my tongue out at him. If he makes an issue of it, I’ll claim I was hacked. That’s plausible, right? I’m not sure how computers work.

The Armstrong House (I refuse to refer to it as “The President’s House” or any such nonsense) was built in 1909, and it has a much more involved and interesting history than anyone realizes. There are plenty of buildings in Lock Haven with insane backstories, but this one may take the prize.

Back in the 1840s, a man named William Miller began a cult. It was one of those things where he claimed to know when the world was going to end, and gathered all his followers and saved them the trouble of getting rid of their stuff by taking it from them. You’ll notice we’re all still here, and his followers drifted off to live their lives.

One of these followers was Peter Armstrong, who came to Sullivan County, Pennsylvania, and started a cult of his own. The idea was that Jesus was coming back and the world would end, but in the meantime he was going to need a place to stay. So Armstrong built a community for Jesus to live in, and was sharp enough not to pin himself to a specific date.

The community was called Celestia. The ruins still exist along Highway 42 in Sullivan County, halfway between Eagles Mere and Laporte. You can still see them, if you have the urge to drive out there and explore. There’s a sign marking the spot.

Armstrong had a following, citizens of Celestia who moved in to wait for Jesus to arrive. When the Civil War began, Armstrong wrote a letter to Abraham Lincoln, asking that his followers be excused from fighting on religious grounds. Lincoln granted permission; he had other things on his mind.

Then Armstrong deeded the entire community to God, because if you’re going to do something insane, you might as well go the whole way. He had papers drawn up between himself and “The Almighty,” and put his entire community in God’s name. One thing that God didn’t bother with, however, was paying taxes, and the Sullivan County Commissioners repossessed the land because of it.

This was when the downfall of Celestia began, and the place started to collapse. Parts of the homes were removed and used to make other buildings.

Armstrong’s son and grandson, Lewis and Calvin Armstrong, moved to Lock Haven. Lewis began the Lock Haven Paper Company, which later became Hammermill. Calvin married the granddaughter of two Lock Haven mayors, Mary Ball, and became a banker. And he built the house on Water Street.

You ever wonder why it looks so grand and elaborate? It’s because Calvin Armstrong had pieces shipped out from Celestia to include in the house. The Armstrong House has a very noticeable, attractive architecture, and it better—Some of it was once owned by God.

Like a lot of Lock Haven’s history, most people aren’t aware of this. The Armstrong House was built by the grandson of a cult leader, with bits and pieces that were owned by God at one point. Before they were taken for nonpayment of taxes, which I assume God doesn’t like to talk about. I reached out and asked, but God said “No comment.”