“There are two types of people that come here. The first really relishes the experience… They’d like to come back – and usually do – from all over the country. The other group contains the cynics. They’re amused by what they consider archaic and ridiculous. My answer to them is this: All things must have a starting point – and these early pioneers began a sequence of continued refinement.”

 – T. Clarence Marshall, 1960

MARSHALL STEAM MUSEUM

Less than five minutes from the center of Hockessin, Delaware, the Marshall Steam Museum at Auburn Heights offers visitors the opportunity to step back in time and experience life at the dawn of the automotive age. The now-museum was built by T. Clarence Marshall in 1947 to house his growing collection of antique automobiles. Today, visitors enjoy the many treasures at Auburn Heights thanks to the generosity and vision of Clarence’s son, Tom, and his wife, Ruth. In 2008, they gifted to Delaware State Parks the estate land and buildings, including a beautiful 1897 Queen Anne mansion that was the Marshall home, while donating to the Friends of Auburn Heights, a 501(c)3 charitable organization, the extraordinary vehicles owned by the Marshalls. The museum features one of the world’s largest operating collections of Stanley steam cars, a 1916 electric car, 1914 Model T and two 1930s Packards, in addition to the Auburn Valley Railroad with its 1/8th-size coal-fired steam trains that circle the property. Explore the museum collections by clicking here.

AUBURN HEIGHTS MANSION

On a 3.5-acre parcel adjacent to the original Marshall Brothers’ paper mill stands the 6,000-square-foot grey stone home built by Israel W. Marshall and his wife, Elizabeth, in 1897. Occupied continuously by three generations of the Marshall family, it was gifted to the State of Delaware in 2008 by Tom and Ruth Marshall. Most of the Marshalls’ furnishings remain in the house, which is opened on special occasions by the Division of Parks and Recreation, assisted by docents from the Friends of Auburn Heights.

Israel and Elizabeth (Lizzie) Marshall built their magnificent Queen Anne–style mansion on a hilltop overlooking the Marshall Brothers Paper Mill in 1897 and named it Auburn Heights. Construction took 10 months and cost approximately $11,500, a very high price for the time. A typical middle-class home of the era could be had for about $1,000.

Auburn Heights is a near-identical copy of a home that once stood at Pennsylvania Avenue and Clayton Street in Wilmington, about nine miles from Yorklyn. Today, Auburn Heights is considered a particularly fine example of the Queen Anne style of Victorian architecture and interior design. Its three full stories (plus full basement) include eight bedrooms and seven baths. Unlike typical homes of the day, Auburn Heights featured indoor plumbing, electric lighting, and steam heat when first built.

FRIENDS OF AUBURN HEIGHTS

The Friends of Auburn Heights is a nonprofit organization established in 2004 and dedicated to sparking discovery and creating lifelong memories.

Wishing to share his knowledge and passion for steam technology, Tom Marshall founded the “Steam Team” in 1997 after inviting an interested group of people to his museum and workshop to learn how to operate and maintain steam vehicles. The Steam Team evolved into the Friends of Auburn Heights (FAH), a nonprofit organization established in 2004 and dedicated to educating the public about Delaware’s rich industrial history and the impact of steam technology. The Friends own and maintain the Marshall family’s extraordinary collection of antique automobiles along with the Auburn Valley Railroad. With its small staff, supported by a dedicated army of volunteers, the organization hosts public events and offers a growing roster of educational programs for schools, libraries, scouts, and more. 

Mission

The mission of the Friends of Auburn Heights is to connect generations and foster excitement for Auburn Valley State Park, steam-era technology and American life at the dawn of the automotive age.

The Auburn Heights estate (within Auburn Valley State Park, formerly Auburn Heights Preserve) includes the Marshall family home and carriage house listed on the National Register of Historic Places, site of the first Stanley automobile dealership in Delaware; the Marshall Steam Museum, housing a world-class collection of vintage automobiles; a 1/8-size live steam railroad operating on the property; and approximately 456 acres of surrounding park land.

To accomplish this mission, the Friends of Auburn Heights strives to:

• Conduct educational tours of the property, collections and buildings at Auburn Heights;
• Teach the technology of early transportation by encouraging the public to observe, inspect and experience the vintage cars and trains;
• Initiate outreach programs for current and prospective steam car operators and owners through programs and publications that address historic steam car maintenance and operation;
• Offer experiential programs and activities for all generations that inspires a lifelong love of learning and a curiosity in science, technology and history.

Staff

Susan Randolph, Executive Director, Email: srandolph@auburnheights.org

Alli Schell, Director of Public Programs, E-mail: education@auburnheights.org

Katie Singh, Administrative Assistant, E-mail: admin@auburnheights.org

Board of Directors

The Marshall Steam Museum is governed by the Friends of Auburn Heights and benefits from the wisdom, support, and advocacy of its Board of Directors.

Robert Koury, President

Bob Koury was elected to the Friends of Auburn Heights Board in 2018. He started with Auburn Heights in 2016, volunteering on the AVRR. His passion has always been trains. He got hooked at the age of five while standing next to a Santa Fe Steam Locomotive at the train yards in Los Angeles. When provided the opportunity to learn how to drive a steam locomotive, although 1/8 scale, he jumped at the chance. Bob is a grandfather of six wonderful grandchildren. The older children love Auburn Heights and get a kick out of the fact that “PaPa” drives a train.

Bob retired from the Army in 1994 as a Lieutenant Colonel and worked for the next 22 years as a Systems Engineer and Manager in the Aerospace industry. Bob’s volunteer experience includes the Military Operations Research Society, chairing working groups, teaching classes and serving on the Board of Directors for six years, church-related committees, and is part of the Auburn Valley Railroad team. His professional experiences include supervision and management of several large organizations executing multi-million dollar projects and activities. He has led and managed a variety of analysis teams, including a cross-enterprise virtual team of 150 managers, engineers, and scientists for the development, deployment, and support of System of Systems Engineering environment, tools, and human resource networking.

Jared Schoenly, Vice President

Jared grew up outside of Reading, Pennsylvania, went to high school at Exeter in Berks County, and followed through to his Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering at University of Pittsburgh. He was a mechanical person from a young age, with a 1940 John Deere H Tractor as an early toy. He has built/owned sevearl steam launches and Stanley steam cars, including a Wendell Mason Steamer (41 Graham Hollywood). He is proud of his family’s work in managing the country’s largest gathering of Model Engineering at Cabin Fever Expo in January at the Lebanon Fairgrounds in Lebanon, PA.: www.cabinfeverexpo.com

Jared used his engineering background in aerospace working on base at Nasa Langley in Hampton Roads, Virginia, as designing spinal implants and surgical instrumentation at (formerly) Synthes in West Chester, PA. He currently owns and operates two family businesses – Cabin Fever Auctions, a full-service Auction Company holding between 60 and 100 auctions per year) and New Street Auto Service, a family-owned general mechanics garage in Spring City, PA.

Jared’s passion for old time steam and mechanical history is well known and his involvement at Auburn Heights and his affinity for the comaraderie there has inspired him to support its efforts — great collections, wonderful volunteers and staff, and picturesque grounds to house everything and everyone. It’s always a pleasure to volunteer and visit.

Kathy Beck, Secretary

James Faulstich, Treasurer

James Faulstich is an accounting and finance professional currently living in Havertown, Pennsylvania. He works for Fidato Partners, a consulting firm providing accounting, risk management, and IT services for companies throughout the greater Philadelphia area. He graduated from the University of Delaware in 2010 with degrees in Accounting and Management Information Systems.

Michael D. Brown

Mike Brown was elected to the Friends of Auburn Heights Board in 2023. He began his service at Auburn Heights as a volunteer archivist in 2022. Mike’s non-profit experience also includes chairing the advisory board of a college-access fund in the Midwest.

Mike’s passion for local history and technology drew him to Auburn Heights, and he is especially interested in making the remarkable stories of the Marshall Family and Yorklyn available to the broader community.

Previously, Mike worked for over 40 years in the chemical industry in marketing and business management, and currently works in investment banking advising private-equity owners of chemical-related companies.  

Mike and his wife Pam live near Auburn Heights and have three grown daughters (all of whom attended pre-school at Yorklyn Elementary School!).

Charmayne Busker

Charmayne, Ruth Marshall’s niece, is a lifelong Delawarean and was born in Hockessin, now residing on the family farm outside Harrington. An alumnus of both Smyrna High School and Virginia Tech, she spent 30 years in Commercial Lending in the Farm Credit System before joining her son as the CFO of Jenamy Farms, a diversified dairy, poultry and grain operation based in Harrington. Charm is an active 4-H volunteer and for nearly 20 years has served as treasurer of the Delaware 4-H Foundation. She is also a volunteer at the Delaware Ag Museum, having served as a Trustee there for 9 years, and is the 2018 4-H Hall of Fame Laureate.

Her family includes her son Philip and his wife, Annie, as well as her daughter, Sara. Of her many accomplishments, she credits being “Gram” to Karley, Gracie, and Sophie as her greatest!

Ashley Williams Clawson, Director

Ashley Williams Clawson is the Processing and Digital Archivist at Hagley Museum and Library. She earned History degrees from Roger Williams University and North Carolina State University. Additionally, Ashley is a certified archivist and earned the digital archivist specialist certificate from the Society of American Archivists. She started consulting with the archives at Marshall Steam Museum in 2022.

When not working, Ashley enjoys baking (which she was able to combine with archival collections for the “In the Kitchen with BBDO” series), knitting, and going on adventures with her husband.

Christopher Kobus, Director

Chris Kobus joined the Board in 2025 and is a Senior Manager at KPMG, a global accounting firm providing audit, tax and advisory services. Prior to that, Chris was an audit manager at Whisman Giordano & Associates, where he served as the outside accountant for Friends of Auburn Heights from 2015–2022.

Chris is a 2010 graduate of DeSales University with a degree in accounting and is a CPA in Delaware and Pennsylvania. He has previous non-profit experience as a member of the Finance Committee at Nativity Preparatory School in Wilmington and as Treasurer of the Delaware Institute for the Arts in Education.

Ruth P. Marshall, Founding Director

In 2008, Tom (1924-2019) and Ruth Marshall gifted their home and estate to the State of Delaware and donated to the Friends of Auburn Heights (FAH) the Marshall collection of steam vehicles, including the 1/8-size Auburn Valley Railroad, as well as two 1930s Packards and a 1916 Rauch and Lang electric car. Their generosity and abiding support have provided the foundation upon which FAH has grown.

ANNUAL REPORTS

The Friends of Auburn Heights prides itself on being a responsible nonprofit organization, and we share information on our financial position with members and the public at our Annual Meeting each February. 

We encourage donors to fully research the charities they support and to make educated decisions regarding their philanthropic contributions. Background and financial information on most charities, including the Friends of Auburn Heights, may be found free of charge at Candid (formerly Guidestar).

The Friends of Auburn Heights is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (EIN 51-0502460); therefore all donations to the organization are tax-deductible as permitted by law.