A historic property in Bucks County will soon be turned into a museum and education center that focuses on its most famous tenet. Ted Chapin wrote about the historic property in American Theatre.

Highland Farms, once the residence of famous composer Oscar Hammerstein II, will be transformed by the Oscar Hammerstein Museum and Theatre Education Center, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving his life and works. The Doylestown farmhouse has been in something of a state of disrepair in recent years, but efforts from preservationists have helped to bring the home back to its former glory.

The home had most recently been used as a bed and breakfast by its latest owner. Now, plans are underway to use the home as a place of reverence for the world-renounced musical genius, who composed some of his best works in the Bucks County estate.

Hammerstein was known for his collaborations with composer Richard Rodgers. Together, the duo wrote music for the popular musicals Oklahoma!, Carousel, The King and I, South Pacific, and The Sound of Music.

Read more about Oscar Hammerstein’s local home in American Theatre.

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Oscar Hammerstein II commented on his own career, including his work in Doylestown, in this 1958 interview with journalist Mike Wallace;
the broadcast, being a product of its time, contains not only depictions of smoking but also advertisements for it.