---
title: "1813"
description: "Celebrate 200 years of Greenhouse Farm! This post reveals the meaning behind the initials \"SPW\" and the year 1813 carved into the farmhouse cornerstone. They honor Samuel and Phoebe Wilson, the first settlers who cultivated the land and built the homestead, and trace Phoebe's heritage to the Mason family, founders of the Mason‑Dixon Line."
canonical_url: "https://furniturefromthebarn.com/blog/1813"
md_url: "https://furniturefromthebarn.com/blog/1813.md"
last_updated: "2013-05-21"
---

# 1813

> [Furniture From The Barn](/index.md): custom furniture handcrafted from reclaimed barn wood and American hardwoods in Nottingham, Pennsylvania. Site guide: [llms.txt](/llms.txt)

- **Published:** 2013-05-21
- **Author:** Kelly Tryon-Kelly

Greenhouse Farm, the home of Furniture From The Barn, turns 200 hundred years old this year. On the corner stone of the farmhouse that the Kelly family call home are the initials SPW and the year 1813. The initials SPW stand for Samuel and Phoebe Wilson, the first family and generation to cultivate this land and to build a homestead from the ground up. Phoebe Wilson was originally Phoebe Mason, daughter of the confederate and the founders of the Mason-Dixon Line.

![Close-up of the farmhouse cornerstone with hand-painted letters S P W over the year 1813](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0631/3626/8358/files/SPW1813-2_480x480.jpg?v=1734499661)

It’s common knowledge that farmers and ranchers alike built there outbuildings before building the farmhouse so we believe that Greenhouse Farm may have an even older birth year than 1813. As two centuries have passed many families and friends have worn the wooden floors in the halls of the old house, and a number of different farm animals, crops, and equipment have found shelter from the old bank barn. The wear of the weather, and the aging of the years may have taken a physical toll on the original structures but has only added to the rich history of a lifestyle that America was built upon, living off the land. Furniture From The Barn’s creation and mission is rooted from the passion of reusing and re-purposing barn wood into beautiful furniture pieces that hold stories of the past and serve a purpose for the future.

The pictures below are when we first bought the farm in 2005 it needed a lot of work, its still a work in progress.

![Greenhouse Farm fieldstone farmhouse viewed across the lawn before restoration in 2005](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0631/3626/8358/files/5580710-R1-015-6.jpg?v=1734499674)

![Second 2005 view of the fieldstone farmhouse and outbuildings before restoration](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0631/3626/8358/files/5580710-R1-029-13.jpg?v=1734499676)

## More

- [All Our Blog](/blog.md)

Canonical page: [1813](https://furniturefromthebarn.com/blog/1813)