Oscar Hammerstein Museum in Doylestown moves closer to opening
A $500,000 gift pushes the nonprofit over the finish line to purchase the property.
The Broadway legend Oscar Hammerstein II spent 20 years penning smash hits from Highland Farm, an 18th-century farmhouse in Doylestown surrounded by bucolic meadows. It was there he forged a musical partnership with Richard Rodgers and mentored a young Stephen Sondheim. It’s where he wrote some of the world’s most beloved musicals, including Oklahoma!, South Pacific, and The Sound of Music.
The home is currently a working bed-and-breakfast. Now a group dedicated to transforming Highland Farm into a museum celebrating Hammerstein’s life and work has secured the funding to purchase the property. After years of fundraising, a recent $500,000 gift from the late philanthropist and Hammerstein aficionado Ronald Franklin Pratt pushed the organization over the finish line.
In April, Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda also made a “major gift” to the Oscar Hammerstein Museum and Theatre Education Center .
The nonprofit plans to preserve the farmhouse and convert the barn into a theater education center, opening the space to the public for tours, classes, mentorship programs, and writing retreats. The organization said all programming will be available on a sliding scale, with a special focus on underserved communities.
Purchase of the property will take place in the next few weeks, according to Christine Junker, the organization’s secretary and treasurer. After that, the nonprofit will begin fundraising to renovate the home and curate the museum, a project with at least a $1.5 million price tag, the organization said in a statement.
Hammerstein purchased Highland Farm with his wife Dorothy in 1940 for $23,000. He wanted to leave New York City to avoid the interruptions of meetings, telephone calls, and visits that took away from his work, according to an Inquirer report. In Bucks County, he raised cattle and helped author Pearl S. Buck found an adoption center for children from around the world.
When he began collaborating with Rodgers, a former classmate from Columbia University, Hammerstein would write books and lyrics at Highland Farm, while Rodgers wrote music in New York.
Hammerstein died at the farmhouse in 1960, after battling stomach cancer. According to “The Sound of Music Companion,” the plaintive “Edelweiss” was the last song he ever wrote.