Rock Ford Plantation on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Historic Rock Ford or the General Edward Hand House is an historic house in southeastern
Irish-American soldier Edward Hand bought the land on which the plantation was built in two transactions, first purchasing 160 acres (65 ha) in 1785 and later buying an additional 17 acres (6.9 ha) in 1792. In late 18th Century Pennsylvania, the word “plantation” was a term for land under cultivation—essentially synonymous with “farm”—and had not yet developed the close association with slavery that it has in modern parlance. Nevertheless, slavery was legal in all of the thirteen original states and existed in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania during the time of the Hand family's residence at Rock Ford. Hand was also a
Historic Rock Ford is also home to the John J. Snyder, Jr. Gallery of Early Lancaster County Decorative Arts. The gallery is housed on the 2nd floor of a reconstructed 18th century bank barn, and is accessible via a modern welcome center addition. Located on the site of Rock Ford's original barn, it was renovated to showcase an exceptional collection of Lancaster County decorative arts including tall case clocks, furniture, silver, ceramics, and paintings which were gifted to the foundation by the renowned scholar John J. Snyder, Jr.. Visitors can also see the Kauffman collection of Lancaster County Pennsylvania Long Rifles on display. The gallery exhibits decorative arts from the eras of the Revolutionary War and the Early American Republic, circa 1760–1820; a period roughly congruent with the Hand family's residence in Lancaster.
Rockford
at the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) (Library of Congress) {{National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Houses completed in 1793 Houses in Lancaster, Pennsylvania Georgian architecture in Pennsylvania Museums in Lancaster, Pennsylvania Historic house museums in Pennsylvania Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Historic American Buildings Survey in Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster, ( ; pdc, Lengeschder) is a city in and the county seat of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest inland cities in the United States. With a population at the 2020 census of 58,039, it ranks 11th in population amon ...
. Although the property is surrounded by Lancaster County Central Park, it is privately owned and operated by the Rock Ford Foundation, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. It 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 ...
on November 21, 1976. Edward Hand was an adjutant general to George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
during the American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
.
History
Irish-American soldier Edward Hand bought the land on which the plantation was built in two transactions, first purchasing 160 acres (65 ha) in 1785 and later buying an additional 17 acres (6.9 ha) in 1792. In late 18th Century Pennsylvania, the word “plantation” was a term for land under cultivation—essentially synonymous with “farm”—and had not yet developed the close association with slavery that it has in modern parlance. Nevertheless, slavery was legal in all of the thirteen original states and existed in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania during the time of the Hand family's residence at Rock Ford. Hand was also a enslaver
The following is a list of slave owners, for which there is a consensus of historical evidence of slave ownership, in alphabetical order by last name.
A
* Adelicia Acklen (1817–1887), at one time the wealthiest woman in Tennessee, she in ...
, owning several enslaved people, one of whom, Frank, ran away in 1802.
The Georgian
Georgian may refer to:
Common meanings
* Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country)
** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group
** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians
**Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
-style brick mansion was built in 1794, and its architecture has since remained largely unchanged. All four floors conform to the same plan, a center hall and four corner rooms, as was typical of the period. Historic Rock Ford stands on the banks of the Conestoga River
The Conestoga River, also referred to as Conestoga Creek, is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Susquehanna River flowing through the cente ...
, southeast of the center of Lancaster. ''Note:'' This includes General Edward Hand and his wife Katherine Hand lived at Rock Ford with their seven children from 1794 until his death in 1802, and then her death in 1805.
After being sold from the Hand Estate in 1810, the property was operated as a tenant farm into the mid-20th century. The tenant farmers living here for about 150 years made almost no changes to the house.
Museum
Rock Ford was saved from destruction by the Junior League in 1958, the house was renovated and restored to become an historic house museum. Rock Ford Foundation was established as a nonprofit to operate the museum. Today, visitors can come to Historic Rock Ford for guided tours and learn what it was like to live there between 1794 and 1805. The house is set up to reflect the inventory of the house when Hand died in 1802. The mansion is on the National Register of Historic Places and is recorded in the Historic American Buildings Survey. Historic Rock Ford is widely considered to be one of the most important examples of Georgian domestic architecture surviving in Pennsylvania and the most intact building predating 1800 in Lancaster County. The mansion's elegant rooms are furnished with an outstanding collection of period furnishings and decorative arts.Historic Rock Ford is also home to the John J. Snyder, Jr. Gallery of Early Lancaster County Decorative Arts. The gallery is housed on the 2nd floor of a reconstructed 18th century bank barn, and is accessible via a modern welcome center addition. Located on the site of Rock Ford's original barn, it was renovated to showcase an exceptional collection of Lancaster County decorative arts including tall case clocks, furniture, silver, ceramics, and paintings which were gifted to the foundation by the renowned scholar John J. Snyder, Jr.. Visitors can also see the Kauffman collection of Lancaster County Pennsylvania Long Rifles on display. The gallery exhibits decorative arts from the eras of the Revolutionary War and the Early American Republic, circa 1760–1820; a period roughly congruent with the Hand family's residence in Lancaster.
See also
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Lancaster, Pennsylvania * Edward HandReferences
External links
*Rockford
at the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) (Library of Congress) {{National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Houses completed in 1793 Houses in Lancaster, Pennsylvania Georgian architecture in Pennsylvania Museums in Lancaster, Pennsylvania Historic house museums in Pennsylvania Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Historic American Buildings Survey in Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Lancaster, Pennsylvania