This 15 acre farm was deeded to the Upper Saint Clair Historical Society by Margaret Gilfillan in 2001. On Upper St. Clair Community Day in May, the farm opens its gates to the public. You can also schedule private tours for school groups and scouting groups, and they are even offering teas for special occasions such as bridal showers.
Margaret moved to the house when she was 2 years old with her parents and 2 brothers, John and Alexander. She remained in the house until she passed away at the age of 100. At that point, the restorations began with Jean Brown, President of the Upper St. Clair Historical Society, leading the way. If I have this correct, Jean's Great Great Grandfather was the brother of Margaret's Great grandfather.
If you get the chance, the tour is wonderful. You get to see the inside of the house as well as having a tour of the grounds. The oldest building on the grounds is the Spring house and there is also a stagecoach house, a double outhouse, 2 barns, a smokehouse, a toolshed and several other buildings that have authentic tools and artifacts. You can even see remains of the old stagecoach road that went from Washington to Pittsburgh. The road went right through their farm!
Below is Margaret's family line:
Gr. Gr. Grandfather Alexander 1745-1836
Gr. Gr. Grandmother Martha Boyd 1759-1840
Gr. Grandfather John 1784-1859
Gr. Grandmother Margaret Fife 1787-1866
Grandfather John 1826-1885
Grandmother Eleanor Ewing 1825-1903
Father Alexander 1857-1934
Mother Annie Boyd 1863-1903
Brother John 1898-1980
Brother Alexander 1902-1997
Margaret 1901-2001
Aunt Margaret 1849-1912
Aunt Eleanor 1862-1937
To learn more about Margaret and her life at the Gilfillan Farm, contact the Historical Society of Upper St. Clair.
In 1976 Upper St. Clair purchased 59.57 acres of land from the Gilfillan Family to be used as a park. A Nature Trail, used also for walking, hiking, jogging and cross-country skiing, was later established around this property. To log your visit, if you aren't lucky enough to arrive while the gates are open, you can take a picture from the walking trail as it crosses the main drive. Depending on tree coverage, you should be able to see the house at the end of it. Parking can be found at the church on Orr Rd. Also be sure to check out the multi-cache that is located on the trail!