Professor Thomas J. Oberlin stands in front of the Mull Mansion in the early 1900s. Photo courtesy of Paul Miller, Sinking Spring Area Historical Society.
New Era at Sinking Spring’s Storied Former Home to Academy, Peony Farm and Golf Course
SINKING SPRING, Pa. – When The Residence at Village Greens opens this summer, the IntegraCare senior living community will begin the latest chapter on historic grounds in Berks County.
The state-of-the-art, 130,000-square-foot building sits on land that is considered a historical haven in the region. The nearby Mull Mansion was built in 1802 and still stands today, serving as a funeral home adjacent to The Residence at Village Greens.
“The mansion has a construction date that was always given as 1802, but part of the building is older,” said Paul Miller of the Sinking Spring Area Historical Society. “Thomas Mull expanded it in 1802 to the size it is now.”
The Mull family mansion and the nearby property have been the site of a tannery, a private school academy, a mining business, a floral business, a restaurant, a golf course and the current funeral home, according to published historical reports. Now, The Residence at Village Greens will bring modern senior living to the surrounding neighborhood.
The senior living community’s 131 units will include 60 Independent Living, 51 Personal Care and 20 Memory Care apartments. The Residence at Village Greens will be located at 4400 Haines Street.
“Our team at The Residence at Village Greens appreciates the history of this site,” said Executive Operations Officer Terri Sanelli, a native of Berks County and longtime resident of Sinking Spring. “Our senior living community is built upon land with more than two centuries of history that impacted our region. We will put our own stamp on this legacy by bringing modern senior living care and compassion as we improve the lives of our residents and their family members.”
An artist’s rendering of The Residence at Village Greens.
The Residence at Village Greens features spacious private residences in a variety of layouts. The community offers Independent Living without a buy-in option. Some other amenities include restaurant-style dining, a fitness center, theater, beauty salon, sun rooms and large community rooms. The senior living community has cutting-edge safety and convenience technology.
“Our team is enthusiastic and eager to help our residents begin this exciting journey in their lives,” Sanelli said.
The senior residents and team at The Residence at Village Greens will build on the location’s legacy.
The Mull Mansion and the property located around it have been a part of the fabric of Sinking Spring. The 2-story stone house was built by the Mull family and occupied by its descendants for more than 150 years.
Historical records note that a tannery operated on the site until 1864 and supplied leather to the Union Army in the Civil War. When the tannery business took a downturn, an iron ore mine created work on the northern part of the property.
But misfortune struck again in the late 1870s as an underground stream flooded the mine and led to its closure.
In 1876, Thomas Mull’s granddaughter Eve Ann Mull married Thomas J. Oberlin and the couple settled on the estate.
Professor Thomas J. Oberlin was the headmaster at a private educational academy and a well-known horticulturist whose family resided in the Mull Mansion. Photo courtesy of Paul Miller, Sinking Spring Area Historical Society.
“The Mulls were a very prominent family in their day,” the historical society’s Miller said. “After Eve Ann married Professor Oberlin, he opened the Charter Oak Academy in part of the mansion.”
Oberlin served as headmaster of the academy, a private school for boys and girls.
Possessing a background in both botany and horticulture, Oberlin shipped flowers to Philadelphia and New York. In 1902, he subdivided part of the plantation into building lots known as the Oberlin Addition. The remainder of the grounds included what was known as the Peony Farm that produced a significant mail-order business that operated into the 1950s.
“A water color painting was done of the barn, and we have it in our historical society museum,” Miller said. “That property was known nationally for selling and shipping peony flowers and peony trees. In addition to running the peony farm, Thomas Oberlin made a collection of wild flowers that later was displayed in Berks County. Supposedly he had over 1,000 species, including some rare varieties.”
The Mull family sold the property in 1963. The mansion housed the Ye Olde Spring House Restaurant in that same year. The Bean Funeral Home purchased the mansion in 1990.
Donald J. Robitzer acquired the property’s remaining 34 acres in 1963 and constructed the 18-hole Village Greens Golf Course, which opened on June 9, 1965 and operated until 2017. His grandson, Donald S. Robitzer Jr. is the developer of a D&B Construction project to build The Ponds at Village Greens, a 216-unit building that will be located adjacent to The Residence at Village Greens.
The senior living community will acknowledge its ties to the former golf course by including a putting green on the property. The Residence at Village Greens also will feature a golf-themed pub.
“We will look to the future and our grand opening while still reflecting on the historic roots that provide a foundation for our senior living community, Sanelli said.
For more information, contact Heidi Lyons, Community Relations Director, The Residence at Village Greens, at hlyons@integracare.com or call 484.709.2561.