At the state-owned Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve in Bucks County, the deed is not done.
Indeed, it now appears that the deed to the 137-acre preserve - part of Washington Crossing Historic Park - may never change hands.
Howls of protest over a state bill to transfer the property to a private, nonprofit group have seen to that.
Instead, cash-strapped state officials say, a 99-year lease may be the more palatable outcome of the ongoing Battle of Bowman's Hill.
A long-term lease would enable the Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve Association to continue to operate and improve, but not own, the site it has run for many years.
"I know we have spoken with them and they are looking at a 99-year lease as another possibility," said Barbara Franco, executive director of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC). "I think it is in the process, but I don't think it's there yet."
While the association still prefers outright ownership of the preserve, "we have to be aware of what the political landscape is," said Miles Arnott, executive director of the preserve. "A 99-year lease might be an acceptable alternative if certain conditions are met."
Those conditions, he said, would include the state's making long-needed repairs to the site's infrastructure.
Since 1997, the association has had an agreement with the PHMC to operate and maintain the site, short of major capital repairs. The nonprofit, which raises a $750,000 annual budget, hopes to replace the preserve's aging visitor center and make other improvements, such as a treetop canopy walk across the Pidcock Creek gorge.
The park honors the December 1776 encampment and the daring Christmas crossing of the Delaware River in 1776 by George Washington's Continental Army. The ensuing rout of Hessian troops at the Battle of Trenton is seen by some as a turning point in the Revolutionary War.
For several years, the association has sought to have the state deed over the preserve, saying ownership would enhance its fund-raising efforts.
In April, by a 193-1 vote, the Pennsylvania House passed a bill sponsored by local State Rep. Bernie O'Neill (R., Bucks) to transfer the deed to the association for $1.
When local opponents got wind of the legislation, they staged protests and started a petition drive to dash the law.
