Belmont was the product of gradual growth. In the stone cottage Judge
Richard Peters, the most famous owner of the estate, was born on June
22, 1744. The adjoining brick structure, ultimately forming a south wing
of the mansion house, comes next in order of time, 1745. The present
main house, of brick and rubble, followed, probably about 1755, and,
somewhat later, the great stair tower. The style of their ornaments
indicates these were finished about 1760, and we know that by 1762 they
stood essentially complete, surrounded by well-developed gardens and
plantations.
William Peters, the father of Richard, had come to America in 1739,
married Mary Breitnall, and acquired the property by deed of July 21,
1742. It had been from the beginning of the war in the tenancy of
Richard Peters, to whom it was finally conveyed in 1786, and was
occupied by him until his death in 1828. In 1927 it was restored by
Fritz Pflug, restaurateur, with the advice of the Museum.
It represents the early Georgian style of the middle of the eighteenth
century, a precursor of the rocaille ornament of the Chippendale period.
The massiveness of the carving and plaster ceiling ornaments harks back
to motifs common to the late seventeenth century of the Louis XIV style.
The contents of the older part of the house are copies of mid-eighteenth
century Philadelphia furniture. In the parlour opposite the fireplace
stands a replica of the sofa owned by Washington during his residence in
Philadelphia. Above it is to be seen a portrait of William Peters, the
builder of Belmont. The ceiling is considered the earliest ornamental
plaster work in an American house.
[Illustration: STRAWBERRY, 1798 Shown on map as No. 4]