User:SaucyJack17/sandbox

Armstrong Manor
The Armstrong Manor was originally purchased by Armstrong World Industries for use as a central location to house the company’s young sales trainees. The home was later used in other capacities, such as meeting space and temporary housing for visiting employees. Armstrong owned the property from May 1920 to December 2011. The property is located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

The oldest part of Armstrong Manor, originally known as Bloomington Farm, was built in 1866 by David P. Locher, a prosperous local tanner, banker, and farmer. The 4-acre property remained a part of Locher’s estate until April 9, 1906, when Grove Locher purchased the property for $21,000.

On May 29, 1920, the then Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based Armstrong Cork Company purchased the mansion from Grove Locher and his wife for $26,930. The company’s second president, Charles D. Armstrong, was disturbed by the conditions in which his son, Dwight, and other new sales employees were living within various rented housing across Lancaster. C.D. Armstrong and his wife, Gertrude Virginia Ludden Armstrong, were also aware of the difficulties with the transition from campus life to industrial living, and desired a more comfortable living space for their sales trainees. Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong also wanted to have a suitable location for business meetings with visiting employees from other areas. The house was used as a living space for the sales trainees (all single men) during their 6-month training program at the Lancaster, PA flooring plant. The company spent an additional $27,742.87 on renovations and renamed the property Armstrong Manor.

More recently, The Manor provided housing for visiting Armstrong employees and customers, and continued to fulfill its role as a meeting space. The property also had a facilities maintenance department (plumbers, electricians, and a mailroom) to support the property.

In November 2010, Armstrong World Industries announced its plan to close Armstrong Manor by the end of the year citing that The Manor and the facilities department were no longer part of the “…core to being a building products manufacturer.” Armstrong Manor was sold to Rodgers & Associates, a wealth management firm based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on December 15, 2011.