Marie Zimmermann House in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
The Marie Zimmermann House and Farm in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is located on Zimmermann Farm Road off of US 209 / Federal Road in Pennsylvania, a little north of Dingmans Ferry. Zimmermann Farm Road is C-shaped, meaning there are two entrances on Federal Road. Both are gated and closed unless the house is open for events. However, there is a small parking lot just outside the gate at the southern entrance for those who want to park and walk up to see the house. It is an easy half-mile walk (one way) to the house and another quarter mile to the farm buildings. When the house is open, visitors have access to a parking lot much closer to the building.
Marie Zimmermann was a renowned metalsmith who produced acclaimed jewelry and metalworks from 1900 through 1940. Her parents purchased the farm in 1882 and used it as a summer retreat (the family lived in Brooklyn). Marie and her father designed the current house around 1910, and construction was completed in 1912. Marie moved to the farm after retiring in 1940 and lived there until 1969. She died a few years later in 1972, at age 93, while living in Florida.
The house and farm became part of Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area in 1974 but sat boarded up and rotting away until it was restored in the late 1990s by the non-profit organization, Friends of Marie Zimmermann. The organization cut ties with the National Park Service in 2014 but still holds occasional events on the property.
Stone barn at the Marie Zimmermann House, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
The Zimmermann House is not open to the general public except on Marie Zimmerman Day, an event still organized by the Friends of Marie Zimmerman and held on the weekend nearest to her birthday on June 17th. It is also available as an event rental facility (weddings, family reunions, corporate parties, etc.). When the Friends of Marie Zimmerman ran the house, it was a museum and furnished as it might have been when Marie lived there. Today it is furnished with modern furniture and big screen TVs for the event business. To book the facility, visit the Zimmermann Farm website. This is the organization that now manages the house.
Interior of the Marie Zimmermann House, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Interior of the Marie Zimmermann House, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
While the Zimmermann House has been renovated, the farm buildings have not. There were plans to restore some of them, but obviously the money to do so has never materialized. None are in good shape, and some are well past the point of renovation and will most likely be torn down when they become safety hazards. All of the buildings are officially closed, but since the doors are missing and there are holes in the walls, walk inside if you’d like. Only the milk barn, the large white barn next to a stone building (a stable) has an AREA CLOSED sign on it, but that’s not going to stop the curious. I peeked inside, but I wasn’t about to fall through any floorboards by venturing any farther than the front door.
Milk barn and stone stable at the Marie Zimmermann Farm, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Junk just inside the entrance of the milk barn at the Marie Zimmermann Farm, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
The following are photos of the farm buildings. By doing a little research, I have identified most of them (see the captions).
Foreman’s House at the Marie Zimmermann Farm, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Barn at the Marie Zimmermann Farm, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Interior of the laundry house at the Marie Zimmermann Farm, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Corn crib at the Marie Zimmermann Farm, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Chicken House at the Marie Zimmermann Farm, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Inside the chicken house at the Marie Zimmermann Farm, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Barn at the Marie Zimmermann Farm, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Inside the barn at the Marie Zimmermann Farm, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Unidentified building at the Marie Zimmermann Farm, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Unidentified building at the Marie Zimmermann Farm, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
In addition to the buildings, there is some old farm equipment rusting away on the grounds.
Old gas pump of some type at the Marie Zimmermann Farm, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Old farm equipment at the Marie Zimmermann Farm, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Old farm equipment at the Marie Zimmermann Farm, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Old farm equipment at the Marie Zimmermann Farm, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
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Last updated on August 2, 2024
