Historic church, now a home, studio, workshop & unique venue.

The1870 invites You to explore our special corner of the world!

Priscilla Houliston wrote & illustrated a fairytale of how the leaves change color.

Lady of the Leaves is now available in paperback from Amazon. CLICK HERE

For the last nine years, Priscilla & Morton, have been working on a dream. Restoring the old & crumbling church to become a home, working studio & creative destination is a gigantic task that continues to be a work in progress.

In 2021 the perished old slate roof was replaced, the kitchen area grew into a more functional area for sourdough bread baker, Morton and there have been some unique creations made in the home area such as a 150 year old sofa turned into a king size daybed in the library, a mermaid pew Priscilla carved and endless glass creations always happening.

Private workshops & in-person experiences are available too! Please check our Facebook page for the schedule.

Priscilla is an artist, writer, traveler, gardener and educator who loves sharing her knowledge while always remaining a student herself. The love of her life, her husband Morton, is a native of Scotland, loves to bake, fix things and is the best host on the planet.

Morton & Priscilla invite you to like & explore their social media, this site & watch this fantastic adventure unfold.

Thank you for visiting us virtually & hopefully you’ll be able to do so in person one day too!

Happy exploring!

WELCOME to all our followers from TikTok! We LOVE you! If you haven’t found us on TikTok, please do & follow.

Want to help? Donations are always welcome via PayPal

Help The1870 by becoming a patron! It's Free to see lots of free & Fun things by Priscilla

Become a Patron!

Meet Morton & Priscilla

We met in Scotland in 2001 through a magical series of events. Across the miles and odds, we fell in love and have been on our honeymoon ever since. We share a love to travel, learning, meeting new friends, old buildings, enjoy restoring things and this property sums it all up. It's an amazing space that reminds us of places we've been, arches we've walked under and has this lovely tranquility about it that is very special.

Morton is fantastic at fixing things, or "dooberizing" them, as he calls it. He is a native of Scotland who became a US citizen. He’s a professional flour miller and loves baking sourdough bread with lots of delicious twists & tastes in his spare time, Priscilla is a Pennsylvania native and has lived all over the place, including six wonderful years in Scotland. She always has been a creative creature, loves arts and crafts and nature is in her soul.

This website, the Facebook page, TikTok account (please follow!) and our other social media is designed to keep our friends all around the world, both old and new, up to date on what we are doing at The1870.

With a mountain load of work to be done here in the mountains of Pennsylvania, lots of fun arts & crafts happening and so much more...so please visit this site often to see what we’re up to now!

Cheerio,

Morton & Priscilla