Glen Foerd is a historic mansion and estate located in the

Torresdale Torresdale, also formerly known as Torrisdale, is a neighborhood in the Far Northeast section of Philadelphia. Torresdale is located along the Delaware River between Holmesburg and Bensalem Township in neighboring Bucks County. The adjacent ...

neighborhood of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

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, ...

, overlooking 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 ...

near the mouth of

Poquessing Creek Poquessing Creek is a creek,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 a right tributary of the Delaware River, that forms part of the boundary between Bucks County and ...

History

The mansion, then named Glengarry, was built as a summer home about 1850 in the

Italianate style 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 ...

by Charles Macalester, Jr., a prosperous businessman and banker. Mr. Macalester became the trusted adviser of the eminent philanthropist

George Peabody George Peabody ( ; February 18, 1795 – November 4, 1869) was an American financier and philanthropist. He is widely regarded as the father of modern philanthropy. Born into a poor family in Massachusetts, Peabody went into business in dry go ...

, and afterwards a trustee of his magnificent bequest to the cause of education in the Southern States. George Peabody was widely regarded as the "father of modern

philanthropy Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

." Mr. Macalester held close personal relations with U.S. Presidents

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; nl, Maarten van Buren; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party (Uni ...

James K. Polk James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He previously was the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives (1835–1839) and ninth governor of Tennessee (183 ...

Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. He was a northern Democrat who believed that the abolitionist movement was a fundamental threat to the nation's unity ...

James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and repr ...

, and

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

. From President Jackson, he received the appointment as one of the government directors of the

Second Bank of the United States The Second Bank of the United States was the second federally authorized Hamiltonian national bank in the United States. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the bank was chartered from February 1816 to January 1836.. The Bank's formal name, ac ...

, and was serving in such capacity in 1836, when the charter of the bank expired (source needed). In 1893, it was purchased by

Robert H. Foerderer Robert Hermann Foerderer (May 16, 1860July 26, 1903) was an American businessman and politician who served as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Pennsylvania's at-large congressional district from 1901 to 1903 and Penn ...

, a U.S. congressman and industrialist, who gave it its present name. He enlarged the house in 1903 in the

Edwardian The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...

Classical Revival Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

style. In 1971, the estate was given to the

Lutheran Church Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

of America. In 1985, Glen Foerd Conservation Corporation and the

Fairmount Park Commission Fairmount Park is the largest municipal park in Philadelphia and the historic name for a group of parks located throughout the city. Fairmount Park consists of two park sections named East Park and West Park, divided by the Schuylkill River, with ...

assumed ownership of the property. Today, the estate is operated as a

historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that has been transformed into a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a ...

, whose grounds are a public park. Glen Foerd was listed on 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 1979.

References

External links

* {{Philadelphia Houses completed in 1850 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia Historic house museums in Philadelphia Parks in Philadelphia Northeast Philadelphia

History

See also

References

External links