Our Heritage

The Mansion at Linden Hall was the creation of Mrs. Sarah B. Cochran. It was restored to its original beauty and elegance and the Mansion opened for the first visitors in June 1977.

In 1936 Sarah Cochran died and the magnificent Tudor Mansion which occupied the high point of her 785-acre estate fell into bad days. Its successive owners included an order of Ukrainian Byzantine Rite who conducted a seminary, a Casino which operated at a time when the Commonwealth allowed gambling and several individual owners who were never able to restore the glory of the Cochran years. A Golf Course, Swimming Pool, Picnic Grounds and Tennis Courts had been added to create a Country Club setting shortly before the restoration..

The Cochran family immigrated from Northern Ireland. Philip Cochran was the eldest son of James. During the winter the Cochrans would mine coal and manufacture coke. In the spring when the Youghiogheny River would rise with the spring rains, they would float coke down the river in flatbottom boats to Cincinnati. The coke was then used in the production of iron. The first 12,000 bushels they sold for 7 cents a bushel. In spite of this, they amassed a large fortune in the coal and coke business.

The Cochrans lived in the Dawson-Vanderbilt area where descendants of the family still reside. On September 25,1879 Philip Cochran married Sarah B. Moore, a plain farmer's daughter from, Lower Tyrone Township. They had one son, James, born September 21, 1880 named after his paternal grandfather. Philip died in 1899 at the age of 50, leaving Sarah and their only son a huge fortune. In 1900, in Dawson, Mrs. Cochran built a beautiful brick church in memory of her husband, named the Philip G Cochran Memorial United Methodist Church.

Unfortunately, tragedy struck Sarah again in 1901 when her only son, James died of pneumonia while attending the University of Pennsylvania. James was being trained to take over the many enterprises of the Cochran family. In fact, the University had set up a special course of study for James, training him for this purpose.

For the next few years Sarah traveled extensively throughout Europe and the Orient. It was while she was visiting St. James Palace in London that the idea of the English Tudor Mansion was born. Construction of the Mansion was started on June 3,1911, and was dedicated on December 25,1913. When the house was built, the stone was quarried on the property. Mrs. Cochran brought 60 stonecutters from Italy and they hand-cut the stone for the house. Craftsman were brought from Europe to help with the baroque woodwork and interior designing. Many local craftsman also worked on the Mansion, which is profuse with marble, crystal, gold leaf, and sterling silver.

There is a hand-carved Aeolian Pipe Organ, with pipes in the Great Hall as well as the third floor, which creates a stereo sound effect.

The Linden Mansion cost over two million dollars when it was built, and much of the original furnishings were imported for Mrs. Cochran byJoseph Hornes of Pittsburgh. There are 35 rooms, 27 fireplaces, 13 bath and powder rooms, a finished white tiled basement with a game room complete with billiard tables and bowling alleys. The Mansion has 8, 720 sq. ft. to each of its four floors and is 188 ft. long by 40 ft. wide.