West Chester, PA – Henry David Thoreau’s cabin at Walden Pond is coming to Tyler Arboretum, thanks to remodeling company Pine Street Carpenters, Inc., lumber supplier Beatty Lumber & Millwork, and a host of local businesses.
Pine Street Carpenters, a design-build remodeler based in West Chester, has teamed up with a dozen area businesses as a “Tree-top Sponsor” of Tyler Arboretum’s upcoming exhibit “Totally Terrific Treehouses.”
“While not by definition a traditional tree house,” explains Brendon Dolan, president of Pine Street Carpenters, “we hope our replica of Thoreau’s cabin will capture the essence of what so many of us, children and adults alike, long for in a tree house – a counter-cultural sanctuary which provides its residents with an intense experience in nature, an experience which opens up new ideas, new perspectives on life, and new ways of living.”
The to-scale replica of Thoreau’s cabin, which measures 10’ x 15’, will be built using plans created by Roland Robbins, the archeologist who discovered the site of Thoreau’s original cabin in 1945. Robbin’s plans were used in the construction of the replica built at Walden Pond State Reservation in Concord, MA.
Thoreau built his cabin at Walden Pond in 1845 and lived there for two years, chronicling his experience in one of the most influential works penned by an American writer – Walden; or, Life in the Woods. As a skilled naturalist and philosopher, Thoreau’s writings have inspired generations of people throughout the world to develop a closer relationship with the natural world. His call for a life of simplicity and his steadfast practice of civil disobedience in the face of societal injustice are important lessons still today. It is just such a message that Pine Street hopes visitors to its replica at Tyler Arboretum will experience.
Says Dolan: “Thoreau’s life and his writings have influenced the world beyond measure. We hope this replica will help carry on that environmental, spiritual, and civic legacy.”
Pine Street Carpenters has teamed up with the following companies who are donating time, materials, or financial support to this project:
Beatty Lumber and Millwork, Upper Darby, PA
D’Antonio Electric, Concordville, PA
RJ DeLuca & Son, Media, PA
MacElree Harvey, Ltd., West Chester, PA
Ford Brothers Electrical Co., Inc., Norwood, PA
Jos T. Miller Co., Inc., Upper Darby, PA
O’Rourke & Sons, Inc., West Chester, PA
Montgomery Insurance Services, Inc., Media, PA
Marvic Supply Co., Inc., Edgemont, PA
Vincent F. Repetto and Co., West Chester, PA
Classic Stoneworks Masonry, West Chester, PA
Haddon Painting Co., Haddon Township, NJ
Pine Street Carpenters will begin construction of the cabin on May 1. Construction will continue throughout May, with Tyler Arboretum officially opening its exhibit “Totally Terrific Treehouses” on May 31.
