Historic Strawberry Mansion
Encyclopedia
Historic Strawberry Mansion is a summer home originally built for Judge William Lewis
in 1789. It is located in East Fairmount Park
, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, USA.
The house was restored in 1926 by The Committee of 1926 for use as a historic house museum and place of hospitality.
to a Quaker
family of Welsh
ancestry. As a lawyer during revolutionary times, he consistently defended other Quakers against charges of treason after they refused to fight in battle or pay taxes. In doing so he participated in creating the foundations of Conscientious Objection. Lewis was appointed to Federal Judicial positions by George Washington
and also advised Alexander Hamilton
on the first national bank. His most important achievement was his role in the drafting and passage of the Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slaveryhttp://www.docheritage.state.pa.us/documents/slaveryabolition.asp in 1780. This legislation was the first legal action towards the abolition of slavery in the United States of America. Judge Lewis died peacefully at Strawberry Mansion, then called Summerville, at the age of 68.
was born in 1770 in Chester County, now Delaware County. He purchased Strawberry Mansion two years after Lewis's death in 1821. His family was responsible for adding the Greek Revival wings to the principal Federal style structure, erected by Lewis, ca. 1828. He served as a member of the House of Representatives, in addition to being a prominent lawyer and judge. Hemphill is, perhaps, more well known among antique collectors for his role in the limited manufacture of Hemphill and Tucker porcelain. His collaborative effort with Philadelphia porcelain maker William Ellis Tucker lasted only 6 years, from 1832 to 1838.
. The area came to be known as East Fairmount Park, under the supervision of the Fairmount Park Commission.
to create a Sesquicentennial Exposition
in South Philadelphia in honor of the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Several women from the event did not want to disband, and instead sought an area to move many of the antique furniture collections to another location. Under the supervision of the Philadelphia Museum of Art
and the Fairmount Park Commission, the new Committee of 1926 radically renovated the house to be used as a museum space and "place of hospitality". Funds for the renovation were donated by Joseph Horn, of Horn and Hardart's Automats. Horn grew up in the Philadelphia area and was fond of playing in the park as a child. Decor and furnishings were the charge of various women's societies throughout the city who filled the rooms with exceptional period furnishings. The house officially reopened in 1931 with Mrs. J. Willis Martin (Elizabeth Price) as the first president of the Committee of 1926. Today the Committee of 1926 continues to preserve the historic house museum and the principles of hospitality on which it was founded.
, Woodford
, and Laurel Hill
.
NOTE: Strawberry Mansion has been under renovations for several years. The exterior currently is completed, and interior work continues. It is currently closed for tours but is expected to reopen sometime in 2012.
William Lewis (judge)
William Lewis was a Pennsylvania attorney and politician.Born in Edgemont, Pennsylvania, Lewis read law to enter the bar in 1773. He was in private practice in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from then until 1787, when he was elected as a representative to the Pennsylvania State Legislature...
in 1789. It is located in East Fairmount Park
Fairmount Park
Fairmount Park is the municipal park system of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It consists of 63 parks, with , all overseen by the Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation, successor to the Fairmount Park Commission in 2010.-Fairmount Park proper:...
, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, USA.
The house was restored in 1926 by The Committee of 1926 for use as a historic house museum and place of hospitality.
William Lewis
William Lewis was born in 1751 in Edgemont, PennsylvaniaEdgemont, Pennsylvania
Edgemont is a unincorporated community in Susquehanna Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania in the Harrisburg-Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area, nearby bordering the state capital city of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania northeast, and the nearby census-designated place of Progress, Pennsylvania, the...
to a Quaker
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
family of Welsh
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
ancestry. As a lawyer during revolutionary times, he consistently defended other Quakers against charges of treason after they refused to fight in battle or pay taxes. In doing so he participated in creating the foundations of Conscientious Objection. Lewis was appointed to Federal Judicial positions by George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
and also advised Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton was a Founding Father, soldier, economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury...
on the first national bank. His most important achievement was his role in the drafting and passage of the Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slaveryhttp://www.docheritage.state.pa.us/documents/slaveryabolition.asp in 1780. This legislation was the first legal action towards the abolition of slavery in the United States of America. Judge Lewis died peacefully at Strawberry Mansion, then called Summerville, at the age of 68.
Joseph Hemphill
Joseph HemphillJoseph Hemphill
Joseph Hemphill was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.Hemphill was born in Thornbury Township, Pennsylvania. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia in 1791. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1793 and commenced practice in West...
was born in 1770 in Chester County, now Delaware County. He purchased Strawberry Mansion two years after Lewis's death in 1821. His family was responsible for adding the Greek Revival wings to the principal Federal style structure, erected by Lewis, ca. 1828. He served as a member of the House of Representatives, in addition to being a prominent lawyer and judge. Hemphill is, perhaps, more well known among antique collectors for his role in the limited manufacture of Hemphill and Tucker porcelain. His collaborative effort with Philadelphia porcelain maker William Ellis Tucker lasted only 6 years, from 1832 to 1838.
Property of Fairmount Park
In 1867 Strawberry Mansion was sold to the city by a landowner who had been in possession of it since Judge Hemphill's death in 1842. The purchase of the mansion, along with a great deal of the surrounding land, was part of an effort to protect the source of the city's drinking water, the Schuylkill RiverSchuylkill River
The Schuylkill River is a river in Pennsylvania. It is a designated Pennsylvania Scenic River.The river is about long. Its watershed of about lies entirely within the state of Pennsylvania. The source of its eastern branch is in the Appalachian Mountains at Tuscarora Springs, near Tamaqua in...
. The area came to be known as East Fairmount Park, under the supervision of the Fairmount Park Commission.
Renovation era
In 1926 several women's clubs combined efforts with Mayor W. Freeland KendrickW. Freeland Kendrick
W. Freeland Kendrick was the Republican Mayor of Philadelphia from 1924-1928. He served as a delegate from Pennsylvania to the Republican National Convention in 1920, and served as the President of the Sesquicentennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1926.-Shriner:Kendrick was also an active...
to create a Sesquicentennial Exposition
Sesquicentennial Exposition
The Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition of 1926 was a world's fair hosted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence, and the 50th anniversary of the 1876 Centennial Exposition-History:The honor of hosting...
in South Philadelphia in honor of the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Several women from the event did not want to disband, and instead sought an area to move many of the antique furniture collections to another location. Under the supervision of the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Philadelphia Museum of Art
The Philadelphia Museum of Art is among the largest art museums in the United States. It is located at the west end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. The Museum was established in 1876 in conjunction with the Centennial Exposition of the same year...
and the Fairmount Park Commission, the new Committee of 1926 radically renovated the house to be used as a museum space and "place of hospitality". Funds for the renovation were donated by Joseph Horn, of Horn and Hardart's Automats. Horn grew up in the Philadelphia area and was fond of playing in the park as a child. Decor and furnishings were the charge of various women's societies throughout the city who filled the rooms with exceptional period furnishings. The house officially reopened in 1931 with Mrs. J. Willis Martin (Elizabeth Price) as the first president of the Committee of 1926. Today the Committee of 1926 continues to preserve the historic house museum and the principles of hospitality on which it was founded.
Tours
Historic Strawberry Mansion is open from July through December, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, Wednesday through Sunday. Several other nearby historic park houses share nearly the same visiting hours, including Lemon HillLemon Hill
Lemon Hill is a Federal-style mansion in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, built by the merchant Henry Pratt. Originally part of Robert Morris's estate, The Hills, Pratt purchased at a sheriff's sale for $14,654 in 1799. According to Pratt's letterbooks, recently discovered by Philadelphia Museum of...
, Woodford
Woodford (mansion)
Woodford is a historic mansion in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Built in 1756, Woodford is the first of the great, opulent, late-Georgian mansions to be erected in the Philadelphia area...
, and Laurel Hill
Laurel Hill
Laurel Hill may refer to the following:In Australia*Laurel Hill, New South Wales, a town in the Riverina regionIn Ireland*Laurel Hill Coláiste, a school in Limerick, IrelandIn the United States*Laurel Hill, Florida, a city in Okaloosa County...
.
NOTE: Strawberry Mansion has been under renovations for several years. The exterior currently is completed, and interior work continues. It is currently closed for tours but is expected to reopen sometime in 2012.
See also
- Strawberry MansionStrawberry MansionStrawberry Mansion could refer to:*Historic Strawberry Mansion, historic house in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania*Nannie Lee House, historic house in Melbourne, Florida - also known as the Strawberry Mansion...
- Strawberry Mansion BridgeStrawberry Mansion BridgeThe Strawberry Mansion Bridge is a steel arch truss bridge across the Schuylkill River in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States....