The John Welsh House, also known as "Rauhala," is an historic American home that is located in Wyndmoor in Springfield Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It 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 1990.

History and architectural features

Built in 1867, this historic structure was expanded in 1892. It consists of an asymmetrical

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

cottage in front of a cubic Italianate-style cottage. John Welsh Portrait

The house is made from cut and squared Wissahickon

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes o ...

, ''Note:'' This includes and is located on Stenton Avenue, which borders Wyndmoor and the Chestnut Hill area 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 ...

. The original property was owned by Hannah Callowhill Penn. She was the second wife of William Penn, the first colonial proprietor of the Province of Pennsylvania. After her husband suffered a series of strokes in 1712, she became acting Proprietor of Pennsylvania. While in this role, the Crown put great pressure on her to surrender the colony for a cash settlement that would relieve the Penn family of debt. Hannah Penn, through careful planning and difficult decisions, was able to prevent the surrender of the colony to the Crown. Due to her financial management, the proprietary colony remained in the hands of Hannah's branch of the Penn family until the Revolution. Penn later became the first woman awarded the status of Honorary Citizen of United States. This honor, which was conferred to her by President Ronald Reagan through a Presidential Proclamation in 1984, cited her “devotion to the pursuit of peace and justice." Major General Washburn purchased the home and property as a wedding gift for his daughter Jeannette Garr Washburn and her husband Albert Warren Kelsey. Though Major General Washburn never resided on the property, his leadership and service to his country left a lasting impact on his daughter and descendants. During the Civil War, Washburn organized the Wisconsin Volunteer Cavalry for the Union Army and earned his rank as major general. Washburn came from a family of political and business leaders. He served as the governor of Wisconsin for one term, U.S. Congressmen for ten years, and was one of the seven famous Washburn brothers; three of whom served their country in roles of governor, congressional representative and U.S. Secretary of State."The Eagle & Brooklyn, Vol 1.” Brooklyn Public Library-Brooklyn Collection, NY, 22 February 1864, http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/civilwar/cwdoc064.html After moving into the John Welsh House in 1886, newlyweds Albert & Jeanette Kelsey renamed the home “Rauhala” (Finnish for “peaceful place”).

Later years

This house was added to the

in 1990. On September 27, 1997, Keystone House opened its doors as the first freestanding residential hospice in southeastern Pennsylvania at the John Welsh House. Today, Keystone House is owned and operated b
KeystoneCare
a nonprofit home health and hospice care provider.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Welsh, John, Homestead Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Gothic Revival architecture in Pennsylvania Italianate architecture in Pennsylvania Houses completed in 1892 Houses in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania