The potential sale of the Penn State Wilkes-Barre campus lacks transparency, according to the state representative whose district includes the 54-acre property.
“I feel like the entire process from the beginning has not been handled correctly,” said Rep. Jamie Walsh, R-Luzerne. “Community input has not been there.”
Penn State trustees plan to discuss the potential sale of the Lehman Twp. campus during a finance committee meeting on Thursday morning, with a vote on the sale scheduled for Friday afternoon.
Meanwhile, those connected to the property hope it’s preserved. The Hayfield House — the iconic mansion that serves as the campus centerpiece — was the summer home to coal baron John Conyngham and his wife, Bertha, a New York City socialite and heiress.
Their great-nephews still live in the neighborhood and have fond memories of visiting the home and the many animals on the estate, including Clydesdale horses.
“It’s a beautiful home and a beautiful campus... Certainly want nothing else but for it to be preserved and maintained,” Frank Conyngham said.
Lawmakers remove restrictions
Citing dwindling enrollment and financial challenges, Penn State trustees voted last year to close seven campuses at the end of the spring 2027 semester.
In July, the state House and Senate approved a bill that removed deed restrictions for the seven campuses: DuBois, Fayette, Mont Alto, New Kensington, Shenango, Wilkes-Barre and York. The removal allows the state to sell the properties to private buyers.
Walsh voted against the bill.
“I felt like this bill was rushed in Harrisburg, without enough public involvement,” he said. “The communication, even to me, has been crickets. It’s really a shame because it is such an absolute gem in the Back Mountain. We have got to make sure whatever is going in there is going to reflect what we want the Back Mountain and Lehman Twp. to look like in the future.”
Campus Advisory Board Chair Jill Schwartz said Tuesday that she had also received no information on the potential sale.
Hayfield history
The Hayfield House now holds administrative offices and classrooms. In the 1930s, it served as a place to entertain friends with dinner and dancing — offering country respite with 20 bedrooms and almost as many bathrooms, according to Penn State.
Local farmers had helped clear the land, digging up fieldstone used to build the house. The estate also included an arboretum, with John Conyngham planting two of each tree native to Pennsylvania.
Animals at the farm ranged from Scottish Highland cattle to Chester white pigs to Sardinian donkeys. The Clydesdale horses served as some of the country’s original breeding stock and are ancestors of the present-day Budweiser Clydesdales.
The 19-car garage housed two of John Conyngham's Lincoln Continentals, custom-made “with their tops raised higher than normal so John could get in and out of the car without having to remove his top hat,” according to Penn State.
John Conyngham died in 1935, and when Bertha Conyngham died in 1964, she left the house and surrounding acreage to her nephew, Richard Robinson. He gifted the property to Penn State, which had offered classes in the Wyoming Valley since 1916. The Wilkes-Barre campus established Hayfield House as its permanent home in 1968.
How to watch meetings
Large portraits of the Conynghams hang in what is now room 105 in the mansion. Their great-nephew hopes a new owner keeps the portraits on the wall. Frank Conyngham is eager to learn about plans for the property.
“I know there's a lot of chatter on the street, and I look forward to hearing the actual news because there's as many theories as I have fingers, and but I hope it will be maintained,” he said.
Thursday’s finance meeting begins at 10:30 a.m. in State College. The full board meeting is Friday at 1:30 p.m. Both meetings can be viewed remotely, with links and agendas available here.
