April 23, 2014
Moore’s Stately Mansion
The Wall Street Journal -- October, 2004 | (excerpt)
Steven and Rori Minissale are selling this 1750’s stone manor, named the ‘James Moore House’, after its original owner and the founder of Glenmoore, Chester County , PA (once called ‘ Moorestown ‘). Mr. Moore supplied the Continental Army with grain and other necessities during the American Revolution. Prior to the 1980’s – when much of the property’s farmland was sold, leaving the current 18 acre parcel, the estate had been owned by only two families : the Moores, who grew winter wheat, and the Howsons, who were dairy farmers.
The estate sits on a wooded ridge overlooking the Brandywine River . Mr. Minissale, vice-president of a telecommunications firm, bought the property with his wife in 1998 for $840,000. The couple continued restoration work which had been begun by the former owners – including rebuilding the guest cottage and inground pool, among other things. The Minissales also restored the 1890’s tenant house, installed a new septic system, and finished plastering in the main residence, all for about $80,000, Mr. Minissale says. The Minissales have hired Steve DiFrancesco of Hunter, Reed and Company, Inc of Haverford , PA to find a buyer for the estate. Hunter, Reed specializes in marketing luxury real estate to high net worth buyers. “