The Dorrance Mansion is a historic house built in 1862–63, located at 300 Radcliffe St.,

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

Bucks County Bucks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the fourth-most populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Doylestown. The county is named after the English ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

on the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...

in the Bristol Historic District. The house represents the lavish life of Bristol's early Victorian industrialists. It is considered one of the grandest homes on Radcliffe Street and is the only example of residential

Italianate architecture The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

in Bristol.Dorrance Mansion
Delaware and Lehigh National Historic Corridor, A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary, National Park ServiceKathleen K. Cook, 1986, NRHP Nomination Form - Dorrance MansionEnter "public" for ID and "public" for password to access the site. The house was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1986.

Architecture

The brick mansion is nearly unchanged since its construction. An illusion of great height is given by the symmetrical front facade with the windows on the upper floors decreasing in their proportions. The rear three-story porch and five-story elliptical central tower are especially distinctive. The tower contains a winding staircase that extends from the basement to the top of the tower. The original kitchen is in the basement, and the tower contains a second staircase that connects the kitchen with the dining room. The river level foundation is built of random coursed fieldstone.

History

John Dorrance, Sr., bought an interest in Bristol Mills about 1827 and later bought out his partners. The mills themselves were constructed in 1701. Dorrance became a director in companies involved in steamboat lines, railroads, and shipping. He participated in local business, politics, and government from 1835 to 1860. During this time the mills sold corn meal to the West Indies and to Southern States. Dorrance lived across the street while the mansion was being built on a lot he bought in 1828. After his death in 1869, Dorrance's sons sold the mills, which included a

mill race A mill race, millrace or millrun, mill lade (Scotland) or mill leat (Southwest England) is the current of water that turns a water wheel, or the channel ( sluice) conducting water to or from a water wheel. Compared with the broad waters of a mi ...

and pond, a saw mill, a

grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

, a lumber yard, canal stables, coal sheds, a blacksmith shop, a store, and two houses. Dorrance's sons inherited the mansion and John, Jr. bought out his brother in 1879. The son of John, Jr., G. Morris Dorrance, later inherited the mansion. The Dorrance family kept the mansion until 1921; soon it was bought by the Bristol

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney on March 29, 1882. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. It is led by Patrick E. Kelly, the order's 14th Supreme Knight. ...

. The mansion returned to use as a private residence in 1982. Another son of John Dorrance, Sr., Arthur was an early investor and manager of the

Campbell Soup Company Campbell Soup Company, trade name, doing business as Campbell's, is an American processed food and snack company. The company is most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products; however, through mergers and acquisitions, it has gro ...

. Arthur hired his nephew,

John Thompson Dorrance John Thompson Dorrance (November 11, 1873 – September 21, 1930) was an American chemist who discovered a method to create condensed soup, and served as president of the Campbell Soup Company from 1914 to 1930. Early life Born in Bristol, Penn ...

, sometimes known as John Dorrance III, who developed the company's condensed soup line, and in 1915 became sole owner of the company. John Thompson Dorrance's grandson, also known as John Dorrance III, sold his share of the company in 1995-96 for about $1.5 billion, and with a 2009 net worth of $2.3 billion was listed as number 296 in the

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

list of the world's richest people.Forbes, The World's Billionaires #296 John Dorrance III
March 2009

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Italianate architecture in Pennsylvania Houses completed in 1862 Houses in Bucks County, Pennsylvania Knights of Columbus buildings in the United States Clubhouses in Pennsylvania 1862 establishments in Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Bucks County, Pennsylvania