The Ardrossan Estate in Villanova is looking at options for the future after the family trust that governs the house expires in 2021, writes John Timpane for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

This stunner, which was the inspiration for the timeless classic The Philadelphia Story, is the best-preserved mansion on the old Main Line. It’s also the only one with the original family still living there.

Joan Mackie – the granddaughter of Col. Robert Leaming Montgomery and Charlotte Hope Montgomery, who built the estate – still calls Ardrossan home, along with her cousin Mary Remer.

“It’s been beautifully maintained,” said historian David Nelson Wren.

Wren has spent nearly two decades collecting data and images for the book Ardrossan: The Last Great Estate on the Philadelphia Main Line. This will also be the subject of his talk on Feb. 28 at the Athenaeum of Philadelphia.

The mansion’s fate is up in the air. Meetings have already taken place, with institutions such as the Philadelphia Art Museum and Winterthur suggesting ways to preserve it.

“That’s why the book is so important,” said Mackie. “It might get people to think about the house and what it really means.”

Read more about the Ardrossan Estate in the Philadelphia Inquirer by clicking here.