Germantown Historical Society
Welcome to Germantown!The Germantown Historical Society is an educational and research center dedicated to preserving and interpreting the history of the original German Township in northwest Philadelphia. Encompassing the contemporary neighborhoods of Germantown, Mt. Airy, and Chestnut Hill, greater Germantown is a dynamic and diverse community. The Society houses a unique collection of artifacts, books, manuscripts, maps, and images documenting Germantown’s many stories. Community residents, historians, scholars, anyone interested in experience this history by visiting our museum exhibition and exploring the resources in the Pat Henning Library and Archives.
Deshler-Morris House
The house was built in 1772 by merchant David Deshler, and a mere five years later it was in the middle of the raging Battle of Germantown. British General Sir William Howe occupied the house after the Battle.In 1793 the Yellow Fever epidemic swept through the capital of Philadelphia, and people from all over the city sought refuge in the country. President George Washington and his cabinet escaped the Fever in Germantown. Washington lived and conducted business from the Deshler-Morris house. At the time it was the Franks House, as it had passed to its second owner, Colonel Isaac Franks. During November, 1793, Washington lived in the house and met with his cabinet: Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, Edmund Randolph and Henry Knox. Much official and important business went on in the so-called "Germantown White House."Colonel Franks and the President had some disagreements about the rent and costs along the way. Franks charged Washington $131.56, which included Franks' traveling costs to and from Bethlehem, the cost of furniture and bedding for his own famiily, the loss of a flatiron, one fork, four plates, three ducks, four fowl, a bushel of potatoes, and one hundred bushels of hay. Despite these extra costs, Washington returned to the house the next summer with his family.Later the house was sold to Elliston and John Perot, and in 1834 to Elliston's son-in-law, Samuel B. Morris. Inside the house there is a portrait of the earlier Samuel Morris, signed by Washington. The Morris family lived in the house for over one hundred years before donating it to the National Park Service in 1948.Source: ushistory.org
Grumblethorpe
Grumblethorpe was the home of the Wister family. It was built in 1744 by Philadelphia merchant and wine importer John Wister as a summer home. It eventually became the family's year-round residence when they withdrew from the city during the Yellow Fever epidemic. The stones for the house were quarried on the property and the joists were hewn from oaks in Wister Woods, also owned by the family.With its strong stone and oak facade, Grumblethorpe was known as "John Wister's Big House." It is also a charming house, with lower-ceilinged rooms than those at Cliveden, Loudoun, or Stenton. There is a "Courting Door" in the parlor that enters onto the street. The door was named after its primary use, to admit the swains who came to pay court to the Wister ladies. It was used at the time of funerals. The dining room is simple and intimate. There is a chair made by Solomon Fussel, who made the chairs in Independence Hall. The Wisters were interested in botony and horticulture and their lovely gardens reflect this interest.The Wisters were staying in another home during the Battle of Germantown. General James Agnew occupied the house during the battle. He was wounded and died in the front parlor. His blood stains can still be seen on the floor.The Wister family lived in the house for over 160 years. Today the house has been restored and refurnished to match the original period. The historic gardens are also being restored.Source: ushistory.org
Christopher Sower House Site
Trinity Lutheran Church now stands on the site of Christopher Sower's printing establishment. Sower is remembered as the printer of America's first German Bible in 1743. (The first Bible printed in America was in an Indian language. The first English-language Bible followed 40 years later.)Sower is also known for priting the first German newspaper in America. Sower the elder died on September 25, 1758, and Christopher Sower II, continued his father's business and printed two more versions of the Bible in 1763 and 1776. He became a Bishop of the Dunker Church, but continued his printing business up to the Revolution. In 1772 or 1773 he cast the first type of American manufacture.During the British occupation of Philadelphia, Sower printed an English newspaper for them. After the British withdrew he refused to take the oath of allegiance to the State. As a result, he was termed a collaborator and his property and goods were confiscated and sold. He died a ruined man. His house was replaced by the church house attached to Trinity Lutheran Church in 1860. The business, Christopher Sower and Co. was carried on afterwards by generations of the Sower family.Source: ushistory.org
Barron House
The Barron House was owned by Commodore James Barron from 1839 to 1845. During this time Barron was in charge of the Philadelphia naval yard. Previously, Barron was in command of the Chesapeake during the famous confrontation with the British vessel, Leopard on June 23, 1807. This naval confrontation was one of the major events leading up to the outbreak of the War of 1812. It was Barron who killed naval hero Stephen Decatur in a duel at the dueling ground in Bladensburg, Maryland, in March, 1820.Source: ushistory.org
Lower Burying Ground
In 1692 Leonard Arets set aside by deed a half-acre of ground for burial purposes for Lower Germantown. By 1750 this cemetery was becoming crowded so the trustees limited burials to citizens of Lower Germantowns, and, as in so many cemeteries of the time, a space was designated as "Strangers' Ground."Here among the old trees, rose bushes, and weathered stones lie 41 soldiers who fought in the Revolution and soldiers from War of 1812, the Seminole War, Mexican War, and Civil War. One of the graves of interest is that of Sergeant Charles S. Bringhurst, who three times climbed to the rampart atop Fort Sumter to replace the flag when it was shot down by Confederates during the opening engagement of the Civil War. The earliest tombstone is of Samuel Coulson who died at the age of nine weeks on October 18, 1707.William Hood, a Germantown resident, gave the money for the front wall and gate in exchange for being allowed to select his own burial spot near the entrance. Hood died in Paris in 1850 and was buried in the grave he had chosen on the very day the work was completed on the entrance gate and wall.Source: ushistory.org
Loudoun
Loudoun is one of the glories of Germantown and of Philadelphia. Built about 1801 by Thomas Armat, it commands a promontory and creates an illusion that we are back two centuries in time. Loundoun is currently closed due to damage from a severe fire.The original house or the east end was built in 1801. The west end was built in 1810, and the Greek portico in 1830 at the height of the Greek Revival. As late as 1888 a two-story loft was added. The house, incidentally, was named after Loudoun County, Virginia, where Thomas Armat first settled when he came to America from Cumberland, England.This imposing Federal house stands thirty feet above the Avenue and some 100 feet back from it, lending it an aspect of grace and serenity. Inside are furniture and paintings of the 18th, early 19th, the later Victorian period, and the 20th centuries. Over the course of five generations of one family are reflected in the changing styles and fashions in the decorative arts.During the Battle of Germantown, wounded American were carried to the top of the hill on which Loudoun now stands. They were later carried in wagons to the city. Many of the dead after this battle may have been buried here. Also, there is evidence that had Philadelphia remained the nation's capital, the capitol itself would have been built where Loudoun now stands.Loudoun has a ghost who continues to haunt the house, named "Little Willie." The ghost is actually William Armat Logan, a descendent of James Logan of Stenton and Thomas Armat.Source: ushistory.org
Stenton
Stenton was the home James Logan, the great Philadelphian citizen. Logan held several major public offices in the Colonies and made numerous contributions to the city. He served for years as secretary to William Penn.Logan's splendid 18th century manor originally sat on 511 acres, surrounded by vast gardens. The land was acquired between 1723 and 1730, while the house was finished by 1730. Logan designed the manor himself and named it after his father's birthplace in East Lothian, Scotland.Today the property is considerably smaller, while old-fashioned gardens still surround the house. The interior is expansive and elegant, yet simple. Logan was a Quaker and his house reflects this typical inclination toward simplicity by the Quakers.The large entrance hall and impressive front staircase lead to the dining room and library. The dining room has a "whispering closet," where a servant could be stationed to listen to visitors before the Logans joined their guests. The visitors would not know they were being overheard. Underground tunnels connect from the cellar to the stables, and some say, to the family burial ground.The British General Sir William Howe occupied Stenton and used it as his headquarters during the Battle of Germantown. General Washington had the good sense to stay at Stenton on August 23, 1777 on his way to the Battle of Brandywine. It is the only house in Germantown which was used by both commanders as headquarters. Washington also dined here on July 8, 1787, with Dr. George Logan when he was in Philadelphia for the Constitutional Convention.Stenton was almost destroyed by the British during their occupation of Philadelphia. The story goes that the manor was saved by the old woman (an African-American housekeeper named Dinah) who was left to look after the house. Two British soldiers approached one day with the intention of burning Stenton to the ground. They entered the barn looking for straw to start the fire. The old woman also knew the soldiers' intention. Just then she noticed a British officer riding down Main Street looking for deserters. She ran out and told the officer that she saw two men who looked like deserters enter the barn. Just then the soldiers returned with the straw and the officer immediately apprehended them, despite their protests. Stenton was saved.Source: ushistory.org
