Dear Spirit House Society Member,
In an update sent to you on September 29th we had noted that there was a cash offer made for Spirit House. It appears that this transaction will take place shortly. We will not be filing for a NYS grant on October 31st because the seller, Valerie Wilson, would not sign our purchase offer and told us of the pending sale. We don’t know who this buyer is or their plans. We are putting our operations on hold and will wait to see what happens. As promised we will distribute the money that we raised to local historical and environmental groups at the earliest in 6 to 12 months pending developments with Spirit House.
The Details: In late September we approached the buyer to get a letter of intent to sell the house, which we needed for our NYS Parks Grant Application. The seller had agreed to this in July, but now wanted a binding purchase offer that could only be superseded by a cash offer. We were a little surprised, but thought nothing of it. At the insistence of the owner we had agreed to pay several thousand more than a recent appraisal showed it was worth, just to make sure we would get the property. I told the broker that I would get her a formal contract shortly and was busy with the newsletter and planning for the Madison County Halloween. One week later I got a call from the broker telling me that the seller had received and accepted a cash offer for Spirit House. We were shocked. The broker assured me that a buyer mysteriously appeared after almost three years of being on the market.
When I called NY Parks they told me that they see this all the time. A buyer anticipating a grant, runs in front of a group and buys a historical home. She mentioned a home in NY Mills among others.
Since I began this effort almost a year ago a lot of good things have happened. One of our members, Joscelyn Godwin, wrote a book on Spirit House, a community of people with diverse interests has supported SHS, many of which will remain lifelong friends. We have also brought an enthusiasm and hope that extended beyond our group. Through our events we showed that spirituality could be an economic driving force that that could help save Spirit House and possibly help other historic sites. This is important because the museum model struggles. The many letters of support for our grant that we received witnessed the enthusiasm for the SHS from prominent Madison County officials and citizens. Many felt that Spirit House could become an international tourist destination and potential anchor for other historical places in greater upstate NY. We believe that as well and had just initiated our nascent “Burned Over District” effort to educate people about upstate NY’s gems, www.burned-overdistrict.org. Upstate is wonderful place, it just needs to learn as Socrates taught: “Know Thyself.”
To me it has always been about the land that encompasses SH. I feel that the SH property is a truly spiritual place that all should be able to enjoy and benefit from. It is something special; its owners have felt this. Alice Cossit’s family lived there almost 90 years and Helen Katorie refused to sell it for two decades fearing it would bring about her death. It is also a property that I believe selects its owners and sadly, at this time, it appears that our (SHS) dream of making it a retreat center open to all is not going to be a part of it.
We are going stop our fund-raising efforts, etc., and wait to see what happens. Perhaps Spirit House still will call. At some point all money raised will be given to local groups.
Sincerely,
Madis Senner
www.spirithousesociety.org
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