Historic Landmarks
Mt. Airy and its near neighbors have a rich history and an abundance of National Historic Landmarks and sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Historical markers along the street help guide you along your quest for history. Early October marks the annual Revolutionary Germantown Festival which includes a reenactment of the Battle of Germantown (1777). Learn which landmark played a crucial role in the Underground Railroad.
Before visiting, make sure to find out when the sites are open to the public. Then plan your road trip and experience their stories in person.
Cliveden of the National Trust for Historic Preservation
Cliveden (a.k.a. “Benjamin Chew House” or “Chew House”) was inhabited almost continuously for over 200 years by seven generations of the Chew family. Benjamin Chew built this Georgian-style summer home (1763-1767). In 1972, the ownership of Cliveden, its remaining six acres, and its artifact collection were transferred to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Cliveden was added to the list of National Historic Landmarks (1961) and the National Register of Historic Places (1966).
Cliveden played a major role in the American Revolutionary War’s Battle of Germantown. On October 4, 1777, British troops occupied Cliveden and held off American troops, led by General George Washington, until British reinforcements arrived.
The Battle of Germantown is annually reenacted on the first Saturday of October.
6401 Germantown Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19119
(215) 848-1777
www.cliveden.org
Concord School House
The one-room Concord School House was constructed in 1775 on a corner of the Upper Burying Ground. In 1818, the school house was expanded to include a town meeting room.
The School House has changed little throughout the centuries. Inside, you can see original desks, books, a stool, and a dunce cap. The original belfry and bell still sit atop the School House.
The Upper Burying Ground, also known as Axis Burial Ground, dates back to 1693 and contains the remains of 52 known and five unknown soldiers from the Revolutionary War and eleven soldiers from the War of 1812.
6309 Germantown Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19119
(215) 848-4579
www.ushistory.org/Germantown/upper/concord.htm
Deshler-Morris House
Named for its first and last owners, the Deshler-Morris house was built in the Federal style as a four-room summer home by David Deshler in 1752. Circa 1772, Deshler added a 3-story, 9-room addition to the front of the house.
During the 1777 Battle of Germantown, British General William Howe used the house as his headquarters.
In 1793, during Philadelphia’s yellow fever epidemic, the house’s then owner, Isaac Franks, a former colonel in the Continental Army, rented the house to U.S. President George Washington. That August, President Washington held four cabinet meetings in the “Germantown White House.” President Washington and his family also stayed at the house the next summer.
In 1804, brothers Elliston and John Perot bought the house as a summer residence. In 1834, Elliston passed away and his son-in-law, Samuel B. Morris, purchased the house. Upon Morris’ death in 1859, the house was bequeathed to his son, Elliston P. Morris. When the latter Morris passed away in 1948, the Deshler-Morris house was donated to the Independence National Park Service. Members of the Morris family occupied the Deshler-Morris house for over a hundred years.
The Deshler-Morris House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
5442 Germantown Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19144
(215) 596-1748
Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion
The Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion was built in 1859 by cloth merchant, Ebenezer Maxwell. He and his wife, Anna Smith Maxwell, were the mansion’s first inhabitants.
In 1862, the Maxwells sold the mansion to William and Rosalie Hunter, Jr. Five years later, Hunter, Jr. passed away. Rosalie married Howard A. Stevenson in 1870. The Stevenson’s only child, Augusta, lived in the Maxwell Mansion until her demise in 1956.
The Hunter-Stevenson family occupied the mansion for 94 years.
The Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.200 West Tulpehocken Street
Philadelphia, PA 19144
(215) 438-1861
www.ebenezermaxwellmansion.org
Grumblethorpe
Grumblethorpe or “Wister’s Big House” was built in 1744 by Philadelphia merchant and wine importer, John Wister, as a summer retreat. Building materials, such as stone and oak, came from land owned by the Wisters.
During the Battle of Germantown in 1777, the Wisters were not in residence at Grumblethorpe, however; it was used by British General James Agnew as his headquarters. Agnew was wounded in battle, returned to Grumblethorpe, and died in the front parlor where his bloodstains are visible today.
In addition to summer stays, the Wister family occupied Grumblethorpe during the winter of 1793 to escape Philadelphia’s yellow fever epidemic.
By the early 19th century, Charles Jones Wister, John Wister’s grandson, made Grumblethorpe his permanent home. Charles Wister named the house after “Grumblethorpe Hall,” a mansion referenced in the novel, Thinks I To Myself, written by Edward Nares and published in 1826.
The Wisters owned Grumblethorpe for over 160 years. Since 1940, Grumblethorpe has been owned and operated by the Philadelphia Society for the Preservation of Landmarks.
Today, Grumblethorpe is a museum showcasing period furnishings and personal effects belonging to the Wisters.
Grumblethorpe was added to the National Register of Historic Places (1972), is part of the Colonial Germantown Historic District, is a National Historic Landmark (1965) and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (1966, with an expansion in 1987).
5267 Germantown Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19144
(215) 843-4820
Historic RittenhouseTown
In the mid 1680s, William Rittenhouse (nee Wilhelm Rittenhausen) and his family emigrated to America from Holland. Rittenhouse established British North America’s first paper mill on the site of today’s Historic RittenhouseTown.
By the mid 19th century, this self-sufficient, industrial site contained over 40 buildings, including homes for the Rittenhouses and mill workers, mills, a school, a firehouse, and a church.
Eight generations of Rittenhouses operated the mills while living on-site. In the late 1870s, the Rittenhouse family sold this industrial village to the City of Philadelphia's Fairmount Park.
Today, seven buildings remain on thirty acres of Fairmount Park.
Historic RittenhouseTown is open to the public and offers interactive education programs, interpretive walking tours, interactive colonial German cooking in the Bake House and hands-on paper making classes.
In 1992, Historic RittenhouseTown was added to the National Register of Historic Places and was designated a National Historic Landmark.
206 Lincoln Drive
Philadelphia, PA 19144
(215) 438-5711
www.rittenhousetown.org
Johnson House
Between 1765 and 1768, Jacob Knorr, a local builder, built the Johnson (or “John Johnson”) House for Dirck Jansen who gave it to his son, John Johnson.
During the Battle of Germantown in 1777, the Johnson family hid in their cellar. Take a look at the house’s exterior for battle signs.
In the 1850s, while the third generation of Johnsons occupied the House, it served as a stop along the Underground Railroad.
The house is a National Historic Landmark (1997) and on the National Register of Historic Places (1972). It is owned by the Germantown Mennonite Historic Trust and operated by the Johnson House Historic Site, Inc. The Johnson House lies within the Colonial Germantown Historic District, which is also a National Historic Landmark (1965). Today, the Johnson house is a museum and is open to the public.
Take a walk across the street and check out the historic Concord School House and Upper Burying Ground. Walk for a few more blocks and you can also take in Cliveden of the National Trust and Upsala.
6306 Germantown Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19119
Mennonite Meeting House
This stone meeting house, built in 1770 by Jacob Knorr, a local Mennonite and builder, replaced a smaller log meeting house. In 1908 a Sunday School room was added. In 1968 the meeting house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Inside the meeting house is the desk upon which the first protest against slavery in America was signed in 1688 in Thones Kunders’ house, which stood at 5109 Germantown Avenue.
The Mennonite Meeting House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
6121 Germantown Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19144
(215) 843-0943
www.meetinghouse.info
Stenton
Stenton was built as a country house by James Logan in the 1720s. Logan was a major player in Colony, and later, U.S. politics. He also served as William Penn’s secretary. Stenton was designed in the early Georgian style and named after Logan’s father’s birthplace in Scotland.
Stenton played a role in the 1777 Battle of Germantown when British General Sir William Howe used Stenton as his headquarters. That same year, Stenton was a stop for General George Washington on his way to the Battle of Brandywine.
Today, Stenton resides on three acres of an original 500+-acre plantation. In 1900, The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania opened Stenton to the public. The Society continues to administer Stenton and their charge, by the City of Philadelphia, is “to preserve and maintain Stenton as an historic object lesson.” Visit Stenton to see and learn more about life in the 18th century through tours, educational programs, and special events.
4601 North 18th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19140
(215) 329-7312
www.stenton.org
Upsala Mansion
In 1766, John Johnson, Sr. (of the nearby Johnson House) bought the land upon which Upsala currently sits. During the Battle of Germantown in 1777, this land was used by the American troops as an encampment.
The Upsala mansion was built in sections. The back part of the house was built in the mid-eighteenth century. John Johnson III inherited the property in 1797 and built the front section of the house in 1798 in the Federal style.
In 1944, the Upsala Foundation was created by Miss Frances Anne Wister and a group of community leaders to restore Upsala. In 2004, the Foundation merged with Cliveden of the National Trust.
Upsala is located across the street from Cliveden and up the street from the Concord School House/Upper Burying Ground and the Johnson House.
The Upsala House is currently closed to the public.
6430 Germantown Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19119
(215) 842-1798
Wyck
Wyck was home to nine generations of the same Quaker family, the Wistars and the Haines. The original section of the house was built in 1690 and additional rooms were added throughout the 18th century. In 1824, Wyck was renovated by William Strickland, a Philadelphia architect, and it has changed little since that time. The house exhibit includes there centuries of original furniture.
The grounds at Wyck are enhanced by a significant rose garden and one can see many original buildings, including the smoke house, ice house, coach house, and 1920s greenhouse.
For more than 250 years, Wyck existed as a working farm. Today you can buy produce from Wyck's Home Farm during its weekly Farmers Market which runs Friday afternoons from May through November.
Wyck is a National Historic Landmark (1973).
6026 Germantown Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19144
(215) 848-1690
www.wyck.org
Resources
Chestnut Hill Historical Society: www.chhist.orgGermantown Historical Society: www.germantownhistory.org/
Historic Germantown/Freedom's Backyard: www.freedomsbackyard.com
Revolutionary Germantown: www.revolutionarygermantown.org
