More than 350 acres sit tucked behind a stone gate on a rural road in North Abington Twp. A winding driveway leads to one of the largest gifts of land and property in Penn State’s history — and a hub for education, research and collaboration statewide.
The university dedicated Penn State Fullers Overlook this month. Mort and Sue Fuller, advocates for ecological restoration, cited the urgent need for sustainability research, innovation and engagement in donating the property. The estate includes a lake, residences, gathering spaces and a working farm.
Penn State envisions the property as a “dynamic hub for education, research and collaboration in Northeast Pennsylvania. It will serve as a field research station for academic exploration, a gathering space for field trips, workshops and symposia, and a demonstration site showcasing innovative practices that enhance land, water and ecosystem health.”
The gift — with a total value of $23.3 million — comes at a critical time in Penn State’s history, said David Kleppinger, chair of the school’s board of trustees. The board voted last month to close seven of its Commonwealth Campuses, while strengthening other campuses and programs.
“The Fullers are examples of the partners we count on to help ensure the university's continued success in the years ahead. We'll rely on their example that they have set through their visionary leadership and creative support to show what's possible through long-term public-private partnerships,” he said. “The opportunities here are endless.”
Fullers Overlook history
Community members from across the Abingtons and beyond gathered under a white tent at the estate this month. A band played music, and caterers passed appetizers.
A few steps away, a museum located inside the barn chronicles the history of the estate and the family that founded it. The Fullers can trace their ancestry to the Fullers who chartered the Mayflower in 1620, embarking on a journey from England to North America.
Mort Fuller’s great grandfather, Edward L. Fuller, began assembling the property in 1899, completing the purchase by 1902.
"E. L. Fuller was to salt as Carnegie was to steel, Rockefeller to oil, and Gould and Vanderbilt to railroads," according to the family history. He briefly controlled most of the salt production in the U.S., transforming initial investments in the 1880s and 1890s in mining anthracite coal and rock salt into a fortune that linked him to America’s “Captains of Industry.”
Overlook has been continually owned and occupied by Edward L. Fuller’s direct descendants. Three generations of Fullers grew up on the premises, including Mort Fuller.
Mort Fuller earned a bachelor's degree from Princeton University, a master of business administration from Harvard Business School and a law degree from Boston University. He went on to become the chief executive officer and chair of the board of rail company Genesee & Wyoming Inc. He served for 30 years as CEO and 40 years as chair until his retirement in 2017. His wife, Sue Fuller, is a graduate of the University of Oregon who had a career in the marketing and communications industry.
Mort and Sue Fuller split their time between Pennsylvania and California. Then-Sen. Bob Casey helped connect the Fullers with Penn State after learning about their desire to preserve the property for generations to come.
“This moment marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter, and we're thrilled to see what's going to happen next for this extraordinary place,” Sue Fuller said during the dedication. “As we look ahead, we're excited by the potential, where there's going to be new educational programming and the continued preservation of the land we cherish. Mort and I are filled with hope that Fullers Overlook will continue to serve as a place for research, learning, reflection and inspiration for generations to come.”
Olmstead Brothers plan
Edward L. Fuller commissioned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted to develop a master plan for a weekend and summer retreat from the Fullers’ Scranton home. The Fullers had a 30-year relationship with the firm, later called the Olmsted Brothers. The property saw a steady progression of structural elaborations, expansions and enhancements.
The property includes a manor-style home, several residential and row houses, modern farm structures, a boathouse and administrative buildings. The old barn, built in 1903, houses the museum and space for classes and workshops. Overlook initially included horse stables, a creamery and a vegetable garden.
About 100 years after the Fullers developed the property, they hired Thomas Woltz of Nelson Byrd Woltz (NBW) to re-envision the property. The firm created a plan to preserve the property’s ecosystems, celebrate cultural heritage and establish a model of agricultural production that will maximize production potential in tandem with ecological stewardship.
The fullers hired farmers in 2014 to plant 10 acres using regenerative agricultural practices. Endless Roots Farm at Overlook will continue to farm the land with the transfer to Penn State.
Education and research
Sue Fuller envisions students and faculty wandering the paths and trails, and scientists conducting research down by the 39-acre lake. She wants students “connecting the spirit of discovery and stewardship that this land represents,” she said.
Higher education has benefited from the property in the past. The Fullers established the Fuller Center for Productive Landscapes at the University of Oregon, which includes an annual summer field school experience at the property. Sue Fuller graduated from the University of Oregon.
SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry faculty and students spearheaded an ecological assessment, or BioBlitz, to generate information that would support the master planning process. Penn State leaders say they will work alongside the two schools to foster research and ecological stewardship practices.
“The work being done in ecological restoration and regenerative agriculture here at Overlook will elevate those contributions to the field and take us to new levels that will impact Pennsylvania communities,” Kleppinger said. “But far beyond Pennsylvania communities, it goes national and even international, with the impact of the kind of research that can be done.”
Faculty and administrators see endless potential across the 355 acres. Penn State Scranton students visited the property in the spring for a multi-day leadership training session. Elizabeth Wright, regional chancellor for the Scranton, Hazleton and Wilkes-Barre campuses, expects to see faculty and students working together on research projects there, too.
“We are absolutely thrilled of the gift that the Fullers have made to Penn State and just absolutely awestruck by this incredible property,” she said. “We certainly see it as an exciting space for Penn State… We think there are so many possibilities for this extraordinary space.”
