Kennedy Mansion (Valley Forge)
Encyclopedia
Kennedy Mansion, also known as Kennedy-Supplee Mansion, is an Italian-villa-style residence within Valley Forge National Historical Park
. Now squeezed between PA Route 23
and U.S. Route 422
(Pottstown Expressway), it once overlooked the 19th-century industrial village of Port Kennedy
.
Port Kennedy was named for Alexander Kennedy, a major figure in the American lime industry. Limestone was quarried from the Valley Forge hills and processed into lime, which was shipped on the Schuylkill Canal
and, after 1849, on the Reading Railroad. The 1852 mansion and the 1845 Port Kennedy Presbyterian Church, now on opposite sides of a superhighway, are all that is left of the village.
Summary from the Historic American Buildings Survey:
From 1911 to 1936, the mansion was owned by J. Henderson Supplee, at the time of his death, one of the last Civil War veterans in Montgomery County
. It later served as the Port Kennedy Inn, and a boardinghouse. U.S. Route 422
(Pottstown Expressway) was constructed through the property in the 1960s. Adjacent Valley Forge State Park became Valley Forge National Historical Park
in 1976.
In 1978, the National Park Service
acquired the mansion through eminent domain, and used it to house Park employees. In 1986, Kennedy Supplee Associates LP signed a 55-year lease with NPS, restored the building, and operated it as the Kennedy-Supplee Mansion Restaurant. The private company entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2005, and auctioned off its assets in April 2006. The mansion is now vacant.
Valley Forge National Historical Park
Valley Forge National Historical Park is the site where the Continental Army spent the winter of 1777–1778 near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, during the American Revolutionary War. The National Historical Park preserves the site and interprets the history of the Valley Forge encampment. ...
. Now squeezed between PA Route 23
Pennsylvania Route 23
Pennsylvania Route 23 is a state highway in southeastern Pennsylvania. The route begins at Pennsylvania Route 441 in Marietta and heads east to U.S. Route 1 in Philadelphia.-Marietta to Valley Forge:...
and U.S. Route 422
U.S. Route 422
U.S. Route 422 is a long spur route of US 22 split into two segments in the U.S. states of Ohio and Pennsylvania. The western spur begins in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, and ends at Ebensburg, Pennsylvania...
(Pottstown Expressway), it once overlooked the 19th-century industrial village of Port Kennedy
Port Kennedy, Pennsylvania
Port Kennedy was an industrial village located where U.S. Route 422 now crosses the Schuylkill River in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States of America...
.
Port Kennedy was named for Alexander Kennedy, a major figure in the American lime industry. Limestone was quarried from the Valley Forge hills and processed into lime, which was shipped on the Schuylkill Canal
Schuylkill Canal
Schuylkill Canal is the common, but technically inaccurate, name for the Schuylkill Navigation, a 19th-century commercial waterway in and along the Schuylkill River in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The "canal" was actually a system of interconnected man-made canals and slack-water pools in the...
and, after 1849, on the Reading Railroad. The 1852 mansion and the 1845 Port Kennedy Presbyterian Church, now on opposite sides of a superhighway, are all that is left of the village.
Summary from the Historic American Buildings Survey:
When John Kennedy built this mansion in 1852, it was the focal point of Port Kennedy Village. A fine example of the Italian Villa Style, it retains many of its exterior and interior features. The first floor rooms, large and well-proportioned, still possess their elegant details and the door and window enframements, which narrow, reflect the Egyptian Revival Style. The elaborate plaster ceiling decorations in the principal rooms are superb. They represent the ultimate in craftsmanship in a now almost lost art. Surrounding the main block of the house is a graceful porch with a concave roof supported by cast-iron trellises in a grapevine-and-morning-glory design. A balcony ornaments the second-floor facade of the tower.
The mansion sits on a knoll, which originally overlooked the community and is one of the few structures to survive the decline of the lime and blast furnaces in the area.
John Kennedy was born in 1815, the youngest of Alexander Kennedy's eight children. In 1842 he purchased the lime works at Port Kennedy, and built one of the extensive lime productions in the area. The lime industry and Kennedy flourished during Kennedy's lifetime. The village also included a three-story hotel, a blast furnace with stone house and workshops, a Reading Railroad station, and the Presbyterian Church, a handsome stone structure built in 1845.
John Kennedy died in 1877. His widow remained in the house until her death. Six owners followed. Additions were made to the house ca. 1920, and about 1950. The structure was remodeled into apartments. The National Park Service acquired the property in 1978. The Kennedy Mansion is located in Valley Forge National Historical Park.
From 1911 to 1936, the mansion was owned by J. Henderson Supplee, at the time of his death, one of the last Civil War veterans in Montgomery County
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Montgomery County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of 2010, the population was 799,874, making it the third most populous county in Pennsylvania . The county seat is Norristown.The county was created on September 10, 1784, out of land originally part...
. It later served as the Port Kennedy Inn, and a boardinghouse. U.S. Route 422
U.S. Route 422
U.S. Route 422 is a long spur route of US 22 split into two segments in the U.S. states of Ohio and Pennsylvania. The western spur begins in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, and ends at Ebensburg, Pennsylvania...
(Pottstown Expressway) was constructed through the property in the 1960s. Adjacent Valley Forge State Park became Valley Forge National Historical Park
Valley Forge National Historical Park
Valley Forge National Historical Park is the site where the Continental Army spent the winter of 1777–1778 near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, during the American Revolutionary War. The National Historical Park preserves the site and interprets the history of the Valley Forge encampment. ...
in 1976.
In 1978, the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
acquired the mansion through eminent domain, and used it to house Park employees. In 1986, Kennedy Supplee Associates LP signed a 55-year lease with NPS, restored the building, and operated it as the Kennedy-Supplee Mansion Restaurant. The private company entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2005, and auctioned off its assets in April 2006. The mansion is now vacant.
External links
- 29 Kennedy Mansion photos from Historic American Buildings Survey
- Measured drawings from Historic American Buildings Survey