A historic Philly mansion up for sale comes with an unusual easement: Revolutionary War battle reenactments on the front lawn
"The battle reenactment is actually written into the deed," current owner Alex Aberle said.
Built at the end of the 18th century on the site of a major Revolutionary War battle in Philadelphia, Upsala mansion was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
This week it was listed somewhere else: Zillow.
The early Federal-style estate nestled on the border of Germantown and Mount Airy is listed at $995,000 and comes with nine bedrooms, 10 fireplaces, 15 parking spaces, and a 70-page easement agreement with a very peculiar caveat — once a year, the owner must permit “a re-enactment of portions of the Battle of Germantown” on their front lawn.
“The battle reenactment is actually written into the deed. That is something any future owner of the property would be obligated to allow to happen,” said current owner Alex Aberle, who’s also a Realtor and the property’s listing agent.
The easement was put in place by the National Trust for Historic Preservation when Aberle and his ex purchased the mansion on the 6400 block of Germantown Avenue in 2017 and became Upsala’s first private owners since it was converted into a historic house museum in the 1940s.
As part of the Revolutionary Germantown Festival — which commemorates the 1777 Battle of Germantown — battle reenactments were held for decades on the lawns of Upsala and Cliveden, a National Historic Trust site and mansion just across the street from Upsala. Though Upsala was built in 1798, two decades after the battle that sought to liberate Philadelphia from British control, the property served as the staging ground for the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War fight.
Aberle said he loved having the reenactments in his front yard, but Cliveden and the sites of Historic Germantown, which host the festival, haven’t held a reenactment there since 2019.
Carolyn Wallace, education director at Cliveden, said prior to the pandemic organizers were reevaluating tactical demonstrations as part of the October festival in light of ongoing gun violence in the U.S. In 2020, organizers underwent a community engagement project called “Considering Re-enactments” which sought to answer the question: “Is this still the best way to tell stories of the American Revolution?”
“We found it was a mixed bag so we shifted more towards living history,” she said. “We still have military personnel (reenactors), but we have not done tactical demonstrations in a number of years, though I can’t say we won’t do them again.”
And if they do, the easement still stands.
“That runs with the land — for me and for everyone else for years to come, and hopefully, forever,” Aberle said.
Originally built for John Johnson III, a fourth-generation descendent of the Janesen family, who were early Germantown settlers, Upsala stayed in the family until the 1940s, when it was seized due to financial issues.
Preservationists worked to save the property from demolition and from the mid-1940s until the early 2000s, it was a historic house museum before it was closed due to dwindling attendance and revenue.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation became Upsala’s owner in 2005 and Cliveden Inc., a co-stewardship organization of the National Trust, became its steward. After years of public engagement to find a new steward or use for Upsala, they put the 2.45-acre property up for sale in 2016.
Aberle and his ex, Violet Levy, beat out eight other offers by purchasing it for $550,000 cash — $51,000 more than the asking price.
They spent years doing extensive renovations like putting in central air, replacing the boiler, fixing the plumbing, and decorating.
“When we bought it the walls were mostly varying shades of yellow and cream and now there’s no yellow left, I’m happy to report,” Aberle said.
They documented their journey on Instagram, where followers left comments about the memories they’d made at Upsala — from attending weddings there to attending a concert by The Hooters in the 1980s organized by one of the estate’s caretakers.
“I loved hearing all those stories because that’s the kind of things you don’t see in books,” Aberle said. “It’s super special because it only comes organically.”
Aberle said he never had any intention of selling Upsala, but when his relationship with Levy ended and he became the sole owner of the home, it didn’t “really make sense to stay there as just one.”
“It’s definitely a family house and that was always sort of my dream for the house,” he said.
Aberle estimated that a little more than half of the mansion has been renovated. The back part of the house, where he’d planned to fix up the kitchen and put in a mother-in-law suite, is still in need of work, he said.
“My relationship didn’t last quite as long as my project did so the space is ready for someone else to come in and finish it for their family,” he said.
But another aspect of Aberle’s life did blossom because of Upsala. When he and his ex bought the mansion, it was listed by Louise D’Alessandro, a founding partner of Elfant Wissahickon Realtors. They invited her and others from the company to the first reenactment on Upsala’s front lawn after they took ownership of the property and within a year, Aberle left the real estate company where he worked and went to work for Elfant Wissahickon, where he remains.
Aberle said he’s fallen in love with the Germantown and Mt. Airy neighborhoods and is only moving just around the corner from Upsala, so he plans to make himself available for any questions from future potential owners.
“The easement is really not as scary as the 70-page document might lead you to believe. I do mean it from the bottom of my heart, I spent nine years dealing with this document and working with this trust … and my plan is to make myself completely available to facilitate transition," he said.
And if you’re wondering about the listing photo that shows an attic room filled with tombstones and giant mushrooms, not to worry, those are Halloween decorations. The mushrooms are from an Alice and Wonderland-themed Halloween they did one year and the gravestones have historically-accurate names and dates on them of people who lived and died in and around Upsala.
“We set those up for a few years and added more folks each year,” Aberle said of the tombstones. “I’m leaving them in hopes someone else will carry on the tradition.”
He’s excited to see who will become Upsala’s next owner and what they will do with the historic property.
“I think the most important thing, for me, is it’s someone who will love this place as much as I do and have the desire to take care of it and love it,” Aberle said. “That’s what it deserves.”
For more information on Upsala, including the entire easement agreement, visit upsalamansion.com.
