House of the week: A historic Bucks County home with an in-ground pool and seven fireplaces for $875,000
The Langhorne home, built in 1792, was likely used as part of the Underground Railroad.
Although it was built in 1792 by prosperous Quakers, a Langhorne farmhouse hides its history beneath the surface. A tunnel leading from the main house to the barn is buried, likely a part of the Underground Railroad that helped enslaved people flee to freedom.
Bob Sokolove, who owns the house along with wife Caroline Tisot, speculates that an isolated room in the attic was also used to shelter enslaved people making their way to the North.
The couple bought the house in 2016, the year they were married. Sokolove, a native of the area, said “we’d been looking all over Bucks County and the light went on” as soon as they saw the house.
While Bucks County has many farmhouses, he says that few are as close to main transportation routes — in this case to Philadelphia, New York, and the Poconos.
But Sokolove, a lawyer specializing in flooding and climate change issues, and Tisot, a psychologist, are moving to Fort Lauderdale and will split time between there and their Jersey Shore house.
The four-bedroom, 2½-bath stone and stucco farmhouse sits on 3.3 acres and at one point was the home of dairy farmers. “It’s set on top of a hill and you don’t realize where you are,” Sokolove said. “You don’t see the neighborhood around you.”
In addition to the 3,534-square-foot home, the property includes a two-story barn, a spring house, and a covered three-car parking area that probably was built for horses. Next to the spring house is a 350-year-old sycamore tree.
There are seven fireplaces, four of which work, including a huge walk-in one in the dining room.
The house has pumpkin pine floors, windows with deep sills, and a wide rocking-chair porch on the side of the house
The kitchen, renovated in 2018, has granite countertops and stainless steel appliances.
There is a large recreation room with a wood-burning stove and an enlarged and renovated upstairs bathroom with an exposed stone wall, jetted tub, shower, and dual vanities.
The house has 12 zones of heat. A new heater and hot water heater were installed in 2020.
There is also an in-ground swimming pool.
“It’s a lot of house for two people,” said Sokolove, who hopes that it will be bought by a family.
The house is listed by Mary Camp of RE/MAX Properties Newtown for $875,000.