August 03, 2026
Provided Image/Addison Wolfe Real Estate
Paxson Hill Farm, a 30-acre estate in Bucks County that had a public garden from 1997 to 2024, is now on the market for $5 million. Real estate agent Nicholas Esser said the property is reminiscent of Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square.
Paxson Hill Farm, the 30-acre estate that long operated a public garden and nursery in Solebury Township, has been listed for sale for $5 million. The owners now hope to find a buyer interested in reopening the Bucks County property for public visitation in the years to come.
The farm at 3265 Comfort Road was last purchased by David McShane for $1.5 million in 1997. McShane, the former head of food and cleaning supply distributor McShane Enterprises, developed the land into an ornate display of perennials and mazed bushes for guests to explore and admire. The farm also sold Christmas trees during the winter and plants, seeds and honey during the warmer months.
McShane died in 2023, prompting his family to close the farm the following year and hold an estate sale. Questions about the future of the property have lingered since then.
"He really wanted the legacy of this property to continue," said Nicholas Esser, managing partner of Addison Wolfe Real Estate, which has been shopping the farm ahead of a public listing this month.
The farm is a collection of several parcels that can't be subdivided under covenants created for the property. In October, Solebury Township purchased a $600,000 conservation easement for the farmland, whose history traces back to the Paxson family's early Quaker settlers in the late 17th century.
Esser said the garden, designed and maintained by longtime tour guide Bruce Gangawar, remains in great condition.
"It is still spectacular and magnificent to walk around," he said. "The paths are still clear."
The farm is situated around a stone manor built in the 1830s, with a large addition built at a later date.
"It's a traditional floor plan," Esser said. "It feels more like a Main Line manor home than a Bucks County farmhouse. The scale of the rooms is very impressive. There are three additional guesthouses, all with kitchens and bathrooms. There's a big barn that has some stables in it."
The property also has a detached garage, greenhouses and solar field.
Esser said he's already given a number of tours of the property — each lasting up to three hours — and potential buyers could include private owners or institutions. In either case, it's possible the garden portion of the property could be reopened to the public while the manor and guesthouses remain private.
"The nursery that was there used the greenhouses and had the Crystal Street (parking) lot to sell plants," Esser said. "Somebody could make it a nursery again and use the gardens as an attraction for the nursery. It just kind of depends on what the person's dream is and what they want to do."
The price for the estate reflects the years of work McShane put into the property and the rising value of nearby farmhouses, including one across the street that recently sold for about $4 million. Esser said the property could become a working farm if a new owner chooses to use it that way. McShane used to keep peacocks, donkeys, goats and a variety of birds on the land, along with carp and koi fish in the property's ponds.
"There are large tracts of land up in Solebury that can go for $3 million to $7 million, depending on the house," Esser said. "This house needs some work to take it to its glory again. But there's no reason this couldn't be a $10 million-plus property, in my mind."
After McShane died, his family set up a foundation that will direct all proceeds from the sale of the farm to charities the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra, Philadelphia Zoo Organization, Ronald McDonald House and the foundation of Colonial Williamsburg, among other organizations. During the farm's operation as a public garden, it also hosted public events that supported the Fox Chase Cancer Center and local libraries.
Esser said he's had the chance to visit Paxson Hill Farm during every season. Parts of it remind him of Longwood Gardens, the region's horticultural gem in Kennett Square.
"Getting to show this property is a joy," he said. "It's like taking a trip to Longwood Gardens, and it's magic in its own right. It is very different in some ways than Longwood, but it just has the magic that you step into and you feel peace and complete quiet."
