Ridgeland Mansion is an historic -story, gable-roofed house located in west
Fairmount Park
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 ...
,
Philadelphia. The land was purchased by a
yeoman named William Couch in 1718 and the current house was probably constructed sometime between 1752 and 1762.
History and architectural features
Originally created as a farm house, it was expanded to
mansion
A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...
proportions through various alterations and additions made by later owners, as well as by the city which had acquired the property in 1869 for the expansion of Fairmount Park.
George Clymer, a
Founding Father of the United States, owned the house between 1784 and 1794, though he apparently only rented it out and never lived there.
A notable feature of the house is the use of round windows, including two small oval windows, one on each of the first and second stories of the northwestern
facade, and a divided semicircular window in the southeastern
gable. Though the main part of the house is composed of
Wissahickon schist, several wood-frame extensions with stone foundations adjoin the northeastern end of the house. These extensions include a two-story gable-roofed addition with
clapboard siding and a large
chimney
A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typic ...
on the northern corner, and another two-story clapboard addition to the east with a gable roof including a
dentilled
cornice
In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...
and a semi-octagonal wall. Finally, a one-story clapboard kitchen wing was attached to the northeastern wall. Two barns and an
ice house also stand on the property.
Since 1997, the house has been leased and operated by the
Cancer Support Community The Cancer Support Community (CSC) focuses on three areas of support: direct service delivery, research, and advocacy.
The organization includes an international network of Affiliates that offer social and emotional support for people impacted by c ...
Greater Philadelphia (CSCGP) through the Fairmount Park Conservancy's Historic Preservation Trust. Events are held at the house and on the grounds of what has been named the CSCGP at The Suzanne Morgan Center at Ridgeland.
["Our History"]
archive
''cancersupportphiladelphia.org''. Cancer Support Community The Cancer Support Community (CSC) focuses on three areas of support: direct service delivery, research, and advocacy.
The organization includes an international network of Affiliates that offer social and emotional support for people impacted by c ...
Greater Philadelphia. Retrieved November 5, 2017. The city's leasing agreements for Fairmount Park properties require lessees to commit financial resources to help with restoration and ongoing maintenance work. The lessees are not permitted to alter the historic architectural features of the structures, and must allow for public access.
"Leasing Program"archive
. ''fairmountparktrust.org''. Fairmount Park Historic Preservation Trust. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
Ridgeland Mansion is registered on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places
See also
*
* List of houses in Fairmount Park
* National Register of Historic Places listings in West Philadelphia – an inventoried structure within the Fairmount Park listing
References
External links
*
* Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) documentation:
**
** of historical context
{{Philadelphia, state=collapsed
Houses in Fairmount Park
Philadelphia Register of Historic Places
West Fairmount Park
Federal architecture in Pennsylvania
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia
Historic American Buildings Survey in Philadelphia