The Rose Valley Centennial Foundation is seeking to raise $1 million to restore the Thunderbird Lodge, built in 1904 by Arts and Crafts community founder William Price, writes Leslie Krowchenko for Main Line Media News.

To date, the foundation has received nearly $500,000 in contributions and pledges.

A converted 1790s stone barn, Thunderbird Lodge was designed as studios for world-renowned illustrator Alice Barber Stephens and her husband, Charles, an early Native American ethnologist.

Following their deaths, the two-acre property became the residence of well-known social activists Judge Allen and Mildred Scott Olmsted.

Refurbishing the building is the foundation’s signature project. A recently received $99,788 grant will be used to replace portions of the roof, exterior masonry and stucco.

“Grants usually take months to prepare and are never accepted the first time,” said foundation President Tim Plummer. “Ours was finished in seven days, submitted in the last 15 seconds and accepted on the first try.”

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Thunderbird Lodge is the centerpiece of the borough’s National Historic District of more than 100 separate structures.

Currently, the Lodge houses the Rose Valley Museum, displaying early local art and artifacts.

Read more about the Lodge and museum here.

[uam_ad id=”62465″]