WEST BRUNSWICK TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- An old restaurant in Schuylkill County is coming down. Demolition on the old Deer Lake Inn started this week.
The Deer Lake Inn was first built as a log cabin in the late 1700s. Construction crews are tearing it down now because it is in such disrepair.
Paul Lehman sits in front of his home and watches a piece of history disappear.
"I guess not too many of the younger generations don't really care about the past. They're more concerned about the future, about how we're going to get to Mars or something," said Lehman.
He lives across from the old Deer Lake Inn near Orwigsburg. The place used to be a restaurant.
"From what I understand, it was an old log house. It dates back to 1780," said Jeffrey Stumpf.
He's not the only one watching the building being torn down.
"For a long time, it was the Deer Lake Inn. The Leibensperger family had it. It was a restaurant under another owner for a little while and then it was country crafts. And then when they moved out, it sat empty for quite some time," Stumpf said.
Jeffrey Stumpf and his wife own a barbecue restaurant next door to the old inn.
"There were a lot of issues with the building. it would've taken a lot to really get it back into shape."
Construction crews believe there are no plans for the property. As so many watch the historic building come down, they're hoping something new will take its place soon.
"I'm sad to see it go but also, I'm also hopeful for bringing something else to Deer Lake, maybe a convenience store, a gas station, something like that," Rena Stumpf said.
The construction crews say they have another couple days of work before the building is completely torn down.