Greenwood House
by Beth Buxbaum
Olde Glory was a 1740s tavern perched by the Delaware for centuries, repurposed many times over. Sitting on a swatch of land above the canal, towpath and Delaware River, there were three adjoining structures. There was the tavern with a bedroom above, an 1850 frame house built onto the tavern room used as a residence, and the last structure was constructed next to the residence creating an indoor kitchen.
This same tavern is now part of a sprawling homestead reclaimed and refurbished by Tina and Congressman James C. (Jim) Greenwood. When they bought the property, in 2005, the Greenwoods discovered they bought a piece of history. They were informed that the tavern, then known as Olde Glory, could not be structurally modified without permission from the Heritage Conservancy. This historic structure flourished as a tavern. Before the canal was built, there was a ferry that ran here. Jim said, “Wherever there was a ferry, people were waiting.” He has a copy of a petition dated June 11, 1765 requesting permission by James McMasters, who bought this lot on the Delaware River in Upper Makefield, to “keep a ferry.” Another petition, dated June 4, 1772, requests permission for “James McMasters, who dwelt at the ferry on John Beaumont’s land, to sell spirituous liquors by small measures and keep a house of entertainment.”
Today, the tavern, residence and kitchen have been refurbished and stand as the original section of the recently expanded home. At first Jim did not embrace the purchase and renovation of the property. Thinking back, Jim explained that he had already renovated and refurbished properties, particularly the one he was living in before they bought this property. In 1984 he purchased an old 1850 farmhouse in Erwinna, on the canal, before he met and proposed to Tina. “It was a fixer-upper, and I fixed it up.” But no fixing up can withstand the fury of floodwater. “We were flooded out three times in 22 months. It was demoralizing.” Tina and Jim were tired of starting over after the floodwaters filled their Erwinna home. As they proceeded with their search for a new house, they eventually narrowed their selections to five homes. That was until their realtor mentioned a house that just went on the market. Tina and Jim went to see the property. Jim was sure he was not interested. “It just needed too much work,” he noted, “and I just didn’t have it in me to renovate again.” But Tina had a different reaction. When given the choice, she chose Olde Glory. She was taken by the landscape and all that surrounded the property, as well as the charm of the homestead. Tina and Jim have reclaimed the property and made it theirs—a home they both built.
Tina met Jim when they were both caseworkers with the Bucks County Children and Youth Organization. In 1980, Jim ran for the Pennsylvania legislature and was in the Pennsylvania House for six years and then a Pennsylvania Senator for six years. In 1982 he ran for the U.S. House of Representatives where he served six terms. Jim married Tina in 1984. Tina was an adult probation officer for almost 30 years. Together they raised a family of three, two sons and one daughter. In 2004, just before he was deciding whether to run for re-election, Jim was approached by a headhunter and was recruited to be the President and CEO of Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO).
To continue reading about this beautiful Bucks County house, turn to page 60 in the Summer 2014 Issue of Bucks County Magazine.