Linden Hall

"One of America's Great Castles"

Driving along wooded, one-lane roads in rural Dawson, PA, an hour southeast of Pittsburgh, Linden Hall emerges from rolling hills and trees with breathtaking grace and beauty. The English Tudor manor was commissioned in 1911 by Sarah Cochran, a simple farmer's daughter who married a wealthy Pittsburgh coal baron. Her husband, Philip Cochran, amassed a fortune shipping coal and coke to Carnegie's steelmills in Pittsburgh. Philip died in 1899, and their only son, James, died of pneumonia in 1901, leaving Sarah as the heiress to the Cochran fortune. After traveling throughout Europe and Asia for several years following the deaths of her husband and son, Sarah returned to Dawson and work began on the 35-room mansion, which was dedicated in 1913.

Sarah named the house after the Linden tree, which she discovered while touring Germany, and had planted surrounding the house. The mansion is distinctly English Craftsman Tudor on the exterior, but showcases Sarah's decidedly classical European tastes in the interior. Still, it is quite a magnificent mansion, located in a surprisingly unexpected place among rural farmland. The long, winding road to Linden Hall was narrow, and at some points little more than dirt and gravel. Old barns, rickety houses and the occasional trailer gave no indication as to what lie ahead. It's no wonder my jaw dropped when I rounded a corner and the dense trees disappeared to reveal Linden Hall, high on a hill in front of me. Suddenly, from remote woods, I was driving through a beautifully manicured golf course, passing a pool and restaurant on my way up to Linden Hall, with its commanding view.

Sarah died in 1936, and over the next several decades the manor was occupied by a number of organizations and private owners. The house was in disrepair when it, and the 785 acres it sits on, were purchased by the United Steelworkers of America in 1976. The Union purchased the land with the intention of tearing down the house in order to construct a modern labor education, training and conference center. I never found out why this beautiful house's life was spared, but it is unimaginable as to why anyone would want to tear it down in the first place.

Thumbnails for Linden Hall

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A few interesting facts:
Cost to build Linden Hall in 1911: $2 million
Cost United Steelworkers paid for Cochran's 785-acre estate in 1976: $1 million
Cost United Steelworkers paid for Linden Hall: $50,000
Estimated value of Tiffany windows: $5 million
(I'd say they got a real bargain, wouldn't you?????)

Linden Hall has been featured on A&E's "America's Castles" series, and is well-worth a visit if you happen to be in Pittsburgh. There is a hotel on the grounds, as well as a restaurant, pool and public golf course. For additional information, check out these websites:

Official Linden Hall site
About the golf course and accomodations

Other photo pages in the Mid-Atlantic section include:

Rosslyn Farms section (12 photos from an affluent, turn-of-the-century enclave)

Photo Guide:

1. Simply beautiful! Can you imagine this house was slated for demolition!
2. A long view of Linden Hall (this is actually the rear of the mansion)
3. The grand staircase curves above the entrance past 3 large Tiffany windows
4. Tiffany triptich as seen in staircase depict the gardens outside the window
5. Tiled fireplace in the greenhouse with pastoral frieze.