Pennsylvania; his guests were Franklin, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe,
Lafayette, John Randolph; occupied by General Washington, August, 1777,
on way to the Battle of Brandywine; by General Howe during Battle of
Germantown; Washington dined here with Dr. Logan, July, 1787, while the
Constitutional Convention was in session. There is a curious underground
passage from cellar to stable; the stream on the place was named
“Wingohocking” for an Indian chief, who himself took the name of Logan;
now in charge of the Pennsylvania Society of Colonial Dames, who have
refurnished it with original pieces and relics of the Logan family; open
daily 1.00 P.M. to 6.00 P.M., excepting Sunday and Thursday. Admission
fee, fifteen cents. Northwest corner of Apsley Street and Germantown
Avenue, LOUDOUN, built in 1801, residence of Thomas Armat, now occupied
by Armat and Logan descendants; many wounded Americans died and were
buried here in Battle of Germantown. 4825 Germantown Avenue, house built
by Christopher Ottinger in 1781; walls two feet thick; rafters unhewn
trees; his son, born here in 1804, was Captain Douglas Ottinger in the
United States Revenue Marine; he invented the Ottinger life car which,
in 1849, equipped eight life-saving stations on the New Jersey coast.
4810 Germantown Avenue, site of Wagner house, built, 1747; used as
hospital after the Battle of Germantown, stable doors were taken for
operating tables; many died and were buried in a trench in the rear.
4908 Germantown Avenue, built in 1760, was bought, 1828, by John S.
Henry, whose son, Alexander Henry, was three times Mayor of
Philadelphia and a member of Congress.
Northeast corner of East Logan and Germantown Avenue, Lower or HOOD’S
BURIAL GROUND, presented to borough in 1693 by Jan Streepers; John F.
Watson placed stones over graves of General Agnew and Colonel Bird,
British officers killed in Battle of Germantown; see Burial Grounds.
5109 Germantown Avenue, site of Thones Kunder’s home, part of original
north wall is still standing; first meetings of the Society of Friends
in Germantown were held here; and a public protest against slavery was
made in 1688; the paper, written and signed by Pastorius and three
others, was forwarded to the Yearly Meeting in Burlington; Thones
Kunder, by trade a dyer, was the ancestor of the Conard and Conrad
families, also of Sir Samuel Cunard, founder of the Cunard Steamship
Line; he died in 1729.
South side of Manheim Street, west of Germantown Avenue, residence of
Jacques Marie Roset, who came to America in 1792, first to introduce the
tomato plant into Germantown; his granddaughter was the wife of Anthony
J. Drexel, Esq.; opposite, 153 Manheim Street was Taggert’s field;
British Infantry encamped here. Manheim Street, corner of Morris Street,
GERMANTOWN CRICKET CLUB, organized in 1854; William Rotch Wister, was
the first American to study the science and points of the play, and
teach it; he was known as “The father of American cricket”; first
American field, “Belfield Cricket Club,” Stenton and Olney Avenues, was
the Wister pasture and orchard; second club, “Young America,” field,
rear of residence of Thomas A. Newhall, Esq., Manheim and Hansberry
Streets; they consolidated in 1889. Queen Lane, west of Pulaski Avenue,
site of Potter’s Field in 1765, a burial place for “all strangers,
negroes and mulattoes as die in any part of Germantown.”
5106 Germantown Avenue, residence of Commodore James Barron, Commandant
Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1842; Captain of the _Chesapeake_, when
captured by the British ship _Leopard_; in 1807 he killed Commodore
Stephen Decatur in a duel at Bladensburg, Maryland. 5157 Germantown
Avenue, residence and printing office, now altered, of Philip R. Freas;
publisher of _The Village Telegraph_, in 1830; later _The Germantown
Telegraph_. ST. STEPHEN’S METHODIST CHURCH, opened in 1856; site of
Frederick Fraley’s carpenter shop; gun carriages were made here for the
American Army; Washington was a frequent visitor. 5140 Germantown
Avenue, residence of GILBERT STUART, 1794-95; the barn was used as his
studio; portrait of Washington, now in the Athenaeum of Boston, was
painted here; also a full length portrait of “Cornplanter,” the Indian
chief. 5253-55 Germantown Avenue, formerly one dwelling, OWEN WISTER,
novelist, was born here July 14, 1860, son of Dr. Owen J. and Sarah
Butler Wister; his mother was a daughter of Pierce and Fanny Kemble
Butler. 5219 Germantown Avenue, residence of John Bringhurst, carriage
maker, 1775-95; a founder of the Germantown Academy; in 1780 he made a
“chariot” for General Washington, whose arms and crest were properly
displayed; cost £210 in gold; Martha Washington rode to Mount Vernon in
it. Colonel Bird, British officer, died here. 5249 Germantown Avenue,
built by Dr. Owen Wister, was his residence from 1860-70, he then moved
to Butler Place on York Road; 5253 Germantown Avenue site of CHRISTOPHER
SAUR’S residence and printing office, who arrived in Germantown, 1724;
secured a printing outfit from Germany in 1738; published the first
German newspaper in America, 1739; printed the first Bible in European
language in America, 1743; Christopher Saur, Jr., was Bishop of the
Dunkard Church, 1753. 5242-44 Germantown Avenue, site of Indian Queen
Tavern, which gave the name to Queen Street. 5261 Germantown Avenue,
erected by John Wister in 1744, stones were quarried from a hill in the
rear; joists from oaks in Wister’s woods; family removed to Penllyn
during occupancy by British, where SALLY WISTER, a daughter, wrote her
charming “Diary.” The British General, James Agnew, lived here at the
time of Battle of Germantown; was brought back wounded, and died here;
now owned and occupied by Wister descendants. 5300 Germantown Avenue,
corner of Queen Street, parsonage of TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH; was one of
the Saur properties; first type cast in America, in 1772, was made in
the cellar of this house; church built, 1837; many well-known
Germantowners lie in the graveyard. 5275-77 Germantown Avenue,
Germantown National Bank, 1825-68; John Fanning Watson was cashier, he
lived at 5277; building was occupied by Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of
State, and Edmund Randolph, Attorney General of the United States, in
1793, during the yellow fever in Philadelphia.
Northeast corner of Germantown Avenue and Coulter Street, ST. LUKE’S
PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH, first Episcopal Church in Germantown,
built, 1811; land given by Thomas Armat, Esq.; John Fanning Watson, the
annalist, is buried in the churchyard. Northwest corner of Germantown
Avenue, and Coulter Street, FRIENDS’ MEETING, land given by Jacob
Shoemaker, fifty acres, in 1693; in the library is a photograph of the
first protest against slavery. 5425 Germantown Avenue, Masonic Lodge
room; site, residence of A. Bronson Alcott, where LOUISA MAY ALCOTT,
authoress, was born. 5430 Germantown Avenue, residence of Captain ALBERT
ASHMEAD, of the Philadelphia County Troop who commanded a troop of
cavalry, and escorted General Lafayette from Bristol to Philadelphia in
1824; French Embassy during 1793. 5434 Germantown Avenue, residence of
John Ashmead, father of Captain Albert Ashmead; who designed and made
the first carriages known as Germantown wagons, in 1824, in the shop at
rear of house; also first plows with wrought iron mold board; Lafayette
purchased four, for his La Grange farm in France.
MARKET SQUARE, Battle of Germantown fought here, September 25, 1777;
here was the market house, prison, stocks, and public scales; in
February, 1764, several hundred Paxtang boys, from banks of the
Conestoga and Susquehanna Rivers, encamped here; they came east to
murder the peaceful Moravian Indians, sheltered in Philadelphia, and
were met by Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Willing, Benjamin Chew, and
others, who persuaded them to return. Monument erected in 1883, to Civil
War soldiers and sailors, pedestal with tablets, containing names of
Germantown soldiers and sailors, at base are two coast defense mortars
from the Civil War, two bronze cannon on wheels from the United States
Arsenal; the enclosure is of musket barrels and bayonets, used during
Civil War, and broken cannon from British frigate _Augusta_, sunk by
American batteries during Revolutionary War. MARKET SQUARE PRESBYTERIAN
CHURCH, originally German Reformed, built in 1733; Count Zinzendorf
preached his first sermon in America here, December, 1741, and last on
leaving, June, 1742; Washington worshiped here while living in the
Morris house opposite; a battalion of Ninth Virginia, captured by the
British, was confined here.
5442 Germantown Avenue, MORRIS HOUSE, Washington’s summer residence, in
1793-94, built by David Deshler, 1772-73; Sir William Howe occupied it
after the battle in 1777; in 1804, it was bought by Mr. Perot for a
country residence, and became the property of his son-in-law, Mr.
Morris; the yard is kept in the simple elegance of colonial times. 5450
Germantown Avenue, in 1790 residence of Thomas Armat, who lived later at
“Loudoun.” 5452 Germantown Avenue, erected in 1711 by John Ashmead,
great grandfather of Captain Albert Ashmead; front rebuilt 1790. 5454
Germantown Avenue, occupied in 1742 by Count Zinzendorf; commencement of
Moravian Seminary, now in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Saving Fund Building,
site, residence of Jacob Tellner, first stone house built in Germantown;
William Penn present at the roof raising; he once preached here.
School House Lane and Greene Street, GERMANTOWN ACADEMY, built, 1759;
colonial, native stone; founded by Christopher Saur, and others of
German birth, to furnish education in “English, High Dutch, and the
German language.” It has always held high rank as a school; the bell was
brought to Philadelphia in 1774, in the tea ship Polly, the cargo was
not allowed to land, it was taken back to England, and returned here
when the war was ended; telescope used by Washington during battle, when
the building was used as a hospital, is here; several British soldiers
were buried in the yard; cricket was first played in America here, by
British officers; Bank of Pennsylvania was brought here, escorted by
McPherson’s Blues in 1798, during the second yellow fever epidemic in
Philadelphia; gymnasium on Green Street, modern. On School House Lane,
farther west, is Cricket Field of the William Penn Charter School.
Northeast corner of School House Lane and Germantown Avenue, Mutual Fire
Insurance Company, in the office is “Shag Rag,” an old hand engine,
imported from England, 1764; site, De la Plaine house, Whitefield
preached from balcony to about 500 people in the Square. Northwest
corner of Germantown Avenue and School House Lane, Germantown Bank,
chartered, 1813; site of Germantown Library in 1806; used by United
States Bank in 1798, escorted from Philadelphia by body of Light Horse.
5516-18-20 Germantown Avenue, site, KING OF PRUSSIA TAVERN in 1757, the
sign was painted by Gilbert Stuart; a stage coach, with awning, ran from
King of Prussia to the “George Inn,” Second and Arch Streets, three
times a week. Germantown Avenue north of Chelten Avenue, Vernon Park,
residence of John Wister, member of Congress until 1883; now belongs to
the city; mansion, built in 1803, is used as museum by the Site Relic
Society; marble statue of John Wister, near the door, made in Italy,
given by his son, Jones Wister, who posed for the figure. Free library
building in Park. South side of Haines Street, east of Chew, still
stands a farmhouse; residence of Christopher Ludwig in 1777; appointed
“Baker General” to American Army; said to be the original of Harvey
Birch in Cooper’s novel, “The Spy.”
Southeast corner Germantown Avenue and High Street, site of the
Morris-Littell house, was residence of DR. CHRISTOPHER WITT, physician,
botanist, musician, artist, astronomer, poet; originally one of the
hermits of the Wissahickon; friend of John Bartram and Francis Daniel
Pastorius; an oil portrait of Johannes Kelpius, painted by Dr. Witt in
1705, is said to be the first oil portrait painted in America, now at
Pennsylvania Historical Society; he started the first botanical garden
in America, twenty years earlier than Bartram’s. Now yard of high school
building. South side of High Street, two squares east from Germantown
Avenue, ST. MICHAEL’S PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH; window of St. Michael
after Guido Reni by William and Annie Lee Willet; grave of Dr.
Christopher Witt is here; died in 1765, aged 90; site of old Warner
burial ground; British and American soldiers were buried here.
METHODIST CHURCH, 6019 Germantown Avenue, site, Green Tree Tavern in
1748, kept by Francis Daniel Pastorius until 1754; General Anthony
Wayne came this far, time of battle; Pastorius was the hero in
Whittier’s “Pennsylvania Pilgrim.” Died in 1719; was buried, probably,
in the Friends’ burial ground, Germantown Avenue above Coulter Street.
Southwest corner of Walnut Lane and Germantown Avenue, “Wyck,” built in
1690; thought to be the oldest house now in Germantown; was used as
hospital and operating room after battle; Lafayette was entertained here
July, 1825. 6043 Germantown Avenue, southeast corner of Walnut Lane, was
bought in 1775 by Dr. William Shippen as a summer home; center of fierce
skirmish during battle; Pennsylvania manual training school was here
under Dr. George Junkin, who was afterwards President of Washington and
Lee University; his daughter was married to General Stonewall Jackson;
in 1832, Dr. Junkin was President of Lafayette College, Easton; in 1851
this property was bought by Charlotte Cushman, actress.
Germantown Avenue above Herman Street, MENNONITE MEETING HOUSE, founded,
1708; present building erected, 1770; William Rittenhouse, first pastor;
Brigadier General Agnew was mortally wounded near here. 6205 Germantown
Avenue, site of house built in 1738 by Dirck Keyser, a silk merchant,
who came from Amsterdam in 1688. 6239 Germantown Avenue, was known as
Washington Tavern in 1793. 6306 Germantown Avenue, Johnson House, in
thickest of fight; time of battle the British swarmed through, and
cleared everything edible; family fled to the cellar. Germantown Avenue,
north of Washington Lane, built, 1775, Concord School House; now
Charter Oak Library. North of library is the Upper Burial Ground; has
probably the oldest existing stone to a German in Pennsylvania,
Cornelius Tyson, buried in 1716; graves of the Lippard family are here,
ancestors of George Lippard, author; American soldiers’ memorial stone
was erected by John Fanning Watson. Southeast corner of Germantown
Avenue and Duval Street, site, “Pomona,” residence Colonel Thomas
Forrest, artillery officer; later member of the Sixteenth and
Seventeenth Congress. 6338 Germantown Avenue, site, the Ship House,
built, 1760; had representation of a ship on south gable; rear, site of
first public hall in Germantown.
Northeast corner of Germantown Avenue and Johnson Street, CHEW HOUSE,
“Cliveden,” known as the “Germantown Battle Field,” built in 1760 by
Benjamin Chew, Attorney General of the Province, member of Council,
later Chief Justice; colonial, solid and heavy masonry; forming
admirable fortification; was the scene of most important battle in
Germantown, October 4, 1777; family were away; house partly furnished
was left in charge of servants, the building was battered with bullets,
holes still shown in the doors. Northwest corner of Germantown Avenue
and Johnson Streets, UPSALA, one of the finest examples of colonial
architecture; built in 1798 by John Johnson; is still occupied by his
descendants; during the battle, Americans put their cannon in the yard
to fire on the Chew House, opposite. Northeast corner of Germantown
Avenue and Upsal Street, Billmyer house, built in 1727; Washington stood
on the horse block, telescope in hand, to penetrate the smoke of battle,
and discover force of the enemy at Chew House. Woodwork bears marks of
bullets and attempts by soldiers to set it on fire; bought by Michael
Billmyer in 1788, a celebrated German painter, whose business plant was
here; tablet placed by Site and Relic Society.
6611 Germantown Avenue, parsonage of DUNKARD MEETING HOUSE, said to be
over two hundred years old; near it, in the battle, General Nash was
mortally wounded and Major Witherspoon, son of Rev. John Witherspoon,
President of Princeton College, killed by the same cannon ball; they
were buried in St. Michael’s Lutheran Churchyard. 6613 Germantown
Avenue, mother church of the Brethren, or DUNKARDS, in America; who came
here in 1719; Church was organized by Peter Becker, first pastor, in
1723, present building, erected, 1770, has tablet to Christopher Saur in
the meeting house, he published the first American quarto edition of the
Bible, 1743; in the graveyard is buried Alexander Mack, founder of the
Dunkard sect in Germany, who came to America, 1729.
Southeast corner of Germantown Avenue and Phil-Ellena Street, ST.
MICHAEL’S LUTHERAN CHURCH, founded 1737; in 1742, Rev. Henry Melchoir
Muhlenberg had charge here, and of St. John’s in Philadelphia; pews were
placed in 1750; during the battle, the organ was destroyed by British
soldiers, who ran along the streets blowing the pipes; in the graveyard
is buried Christopher Ludwig, and other patriots. 6749 Germantown
Avenue, residence George Hesser; Elizabeth Drinker’s journal, written
while staying here in 1793, during yellow fever epidemic in
Philadelphia, gives interesting local details of life in Germantown.
7301 Germantown Avenue, opposite Allen’s Lane, LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL
SEMINARY, site, “Mount Airy,” summer residence of Chief Justice William
Allen; Lafayette was entertained here; later a school was conducted by
Benjamin C. Constant, “The American Classical and Military Institute.”
General Meade and his brother, also General Beauregard, were educated
here. Southeast corner of Germantown and Gowen Avenues, now part of
Lutheran Theological Seminary; residence, in 1792, of Joseph Miller,
whose daughter was married to James Gowen; their son, Franklin B. Gowen,
was born and lived here many years, also his brother, James E. Gowen.
7406 Germantown Avenue, Mount Airy, PENNSYLVANIA INSTITUTION FOR DEAF,
semi-deaf and blind-deaf; founded in 1820 by David G. Seixas, who
gathered deaf street roamers in his home, taught, fed, and clothed them;
a school was planned, Bishop White presiding; constitution adopted, and
directors chosen; now a splendidly equipped trade teaching department
for boys and girls; articulation, and lip reading taught; architecture,
Norman.
INTERESTING PLACES WEST, NOT ON GERMANTOWN AVENUE
Queen Lane, two blocks west on Wissahickon Avenue, CARLTON, residence of
Henry Hall; Washington’s headquarters, August, 1777, and two days in
September, before and immediately after the Battle of Brandywine; when
the British occupied Germantown, the Hessian detachment encamped from
here to the Schuylkill River: General Kuyphansen’s headquarters: beyond
the house, toward Queen Lane reservoir, is a granite monument erected by
Sons of the Revolution in 1895 to commemorate the earlier encampment of
the American army at this point. Corner of Rittenhouse Street and
Lincoln Drive, birthplace of David Rittenhouse, Pennsylvania’s first and
greatest astronomer, born April 8, 1732; house erected in 1707; his
grandfather, William Rittenhouse, came to America in 1690; first paper
maker in America; mill located near the house.
PLACES OF INTEREST EAST
East Logan Street, across Wissahickon Avenue, the picturesque WAKEFIELD
MILLS and residence of Thomas and Sarah Fisher, née Logan, in 1795,
granddaughter of James Logan, of Stenton; passing Wakefield, Old York
Road is soon reached. JEWISH HOSPITAL on the right. Old York Road, on
left, residence of Pierce Butler, bought in 1812; he was a member of the
Constitutional Convention, and Senator from South Carolina; his son,
Pierce Butler, Jr., married Fanny Kemble; present residence of Owen
Wister, their grandson; the British outpost was stationed near here.
Church Lane and Wingohocking Creek, site of Roberts Mill, built in 1683;
first in the country; built by Richard Townsend, a passenger on the
_Welcome_ with William Penn; back of mill, British had a small redoubt,
guarding their encampment in Germantown. Northeast corner of Church Lane
and Dunton Street, Spencer farmhouse; Thomas Godfrey, inventor of the
quadrant, was born here; he died in 1749. Northwest corner of Haines
Street and Limekiln Turnpike, PHILADELPHIA NATIONAL CEMETERY, thirteen
acres, founded in 1885; soldiers of the War of the Rebellion are buried
here. Farther along Limekiln Turnpike left wing of Washington’s army
moved down this road, and a sharp encounter occurred with an outpost of
British.
II
BUCKS COUNTY
Automobile ride of historic interest through Washington’s itinerary to
New Hope. Return to Philadelphia via Bristol and Frankford.
One of the first three counties established by William Penn, 1682, named
for Buckinghamshire (Bucks), England, Penn’s ancestral home. From
HATBORO, Montgomery County, take the Old York Road to WARMINSTER, site
where John Fitch, in 1785, made a model of the first successful
steamboat, marked by monument; he ran a boat, with side wheels, by
steam, on a pond in 1786, and on the Delaware River, during session of
Federal Constitution at State House in Philadelphia, 1787; twenty years
before Robert Fulton’s trial trip on the Hudson; before Fitch, first
model of steamboat in United States was made by William Henry, of
Lancaster, 1763. Approaching Hartsville, is site of Log College, origin
of Princeton University, founded by Rev. William Tennent, 1740, near
Christ’s Home, where everything is obtained through prayer. Neshaminy
Church in a grove of very old oak trees, where William Tennent preached,
is one of the oldest Presbyterian churches in Pennsylvania. HARTSVILLE,
Cobe Scout’s shop, on Little Neshaminy; bulk of American army was at
Neshaminy Camp, with General Stephen and Lord Sterling, when Lafayette
joined it, and was handed his commission by General Washington in
Moreland house, near the bridge; marked, inscription,
[Illustration: BUCKS COUNTY]
“Washington’s headquarters, August, 1777, Bucks County Historical
Society.” First Pike west of Hartsville, wooden covered bridge over
Little Neshaminy; inscription, “Bucks County Bridge, 1821, 20 mi. to P.”
Continue York Road beyond Jamison’s Corner, seven arch stone bridge over
Big Neshaminy at Bridge Valley, built, 1800; beyond bridge, first left
road, over Crawford’s Hill, fine view of Neshaminy Valley.
Via Pebble Hill to DOYLESTOWN, county seat, settled, 1778, population
3857; court house, native gray stone; concrete fountain in front,
Renaissance, with benches and lamp posts, designed by William R. Mercer,
Jr., erected by borough, 1912, in commemoration of one hundredth
anniversary of the county seat. Bucks County Historical Society, Library
and Museum, built, 1915, of reinforced concrete, interior groined arch
construction, designed, built, and presented to the Society by Dr. Henry
C. Mercer; the court, surrounded by four galleries, contains collections
illustrating history of the United States by means of utensils of
American pioneers; unique of its kind in America; includes Indian
relics, decorated stove plates, illustrated in a booklet “The Bible in
Iron”; arms and relics of the Rebellion. Former library building, now
the Auditorium, brick, built, 1904; colonial, designed from “Homewood,”
Baltimore residence of Charles Carroll of Carrollton; was presented to
the Society by William L. Elkins, Esq.
Fountain House, Main Street, opposite National Bank, oldest hostelry in
continuous use in upper Bucks County, built, 1745, rebuilt, 1758, low,
two story, with porches, was the old stagehouse to Easton; contains
large collection of colonial furnishings and old prints. “Aldie,”
residence of William R. Mercer, Jr., has notable pheasantry, rare fowls
from eastern Asia; concrete garden ornaments made by Mr. Mercer; and
antique sculpture from pre-Christian era; Font Hill, outside borough
limits, residence, Dr. Henry C. Mercer; beamed and vaulted ceilings;
roof terraces and many windows, entirely of reinforced concrete; walls
and ceilings adorned with mosaics and tiles made by Dr. Mercer at the
neighboring “Moravian Pottery and Tile Works.” Living room decoration,
Bible pictures in tiles, adapted from Pennsylvania German stove plates;
Columbus room, ceiling and pavement tiles, discovery and exploration of
America; Bow room, ceiling tiles, Cortez’ maps of ancient Mexico,
pavement, Aztec picture writings; Yellow room tiles, story of Bluebeard;
also collection of classical and Renaissance mosaics, and ancient tiles,
from historic buildings; may be seen by writing to the owner for
admission.