About The Bartschi Foundation
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The Bartschi Foundation was established in 1958 in collaboration with the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. The goal of the foundation is to preserve the estate established by Arnold Bartschi and carry on his vision of natural education and land preservation.
About Arnold Bartschi
Arnold Bartschi was a swiss businessman born in 1903. Arnold came to America in the early 1920s and established himself as an engineer at a shoe manufacturing facility in Brooklyn, New York. Bartschi was a skilled and resourceful employee. He was granted a managerial position at a shoe manufacturing plant in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1928. By 1930 Bartschi decided to move back to the east coast, settling in Philadelphia and securing a position within J. Edwards Shoe and Co.
Bartschi continued to ascend in the business world and in 1944 he pooled his money with a number of associates to buy the J. Edwards company for $1 million. He stayed on at the company as its primary operating executive, expanding manufacturing and production capabilities.
Looking for additional warehouse space, Bartschi eventually discovered the Llewellyn Estate in Charlestown township. Falling in love with the natural beauty of the estate, Bartschi purchased the land but instead of developing warehouses he created a series of gardens.
The Swiss Pines and Japanese gardens were born of these efforts and in 1959 Bartschi established his foundation to oversee the continued preservation of the property.
Notable Foundation Operators
Early Foundation Members
In its earliest iteration, Bartschi filled the board member roles with his business associates. They were all largely the same age as Bartschi himself, so throughout the 1970s and 1980s those original members began to retire or pass away.
The initial trustee members that signed off on the deed of trust were as follows:
- Eva COHEN,
Asst. Secretary - J. EDWARDS & CO.
By ARNOLD BARTSCHI,
President - ARNOLD BARTSCHI,
Trustee - JOHN R. CLARK
Trustee - GIRARD TRUST CORN EXCHANGE BANK
Trustee - By A. DOUGLAS OLIVER
V. Pres.
Henriette Bumeder
Arnold Bartschi passed away in 1996 and formally bequeathed the foundation to his longtime partner Henriette Bumeder.
Bill and Kim Coyle
Henriette passed away in 2018, leaving the property and foundation to Bill and Kim Coyle.
Foundation Non-Profit Status
The Bartschi Foundation is formally established as a 501-c3 non-profit organization. The foundation is capable of accepting donations and creating legal tax receipts for potential tax write-off purposes. To learn more if your donation is tax exempt, consult your preferred tax professional.