Stenton, also known as the James Logan Home, was the country home of
James Logan, colonial
Mayor of Philadelphia and Chief Justice of the
Pennsylvania Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System. It also claims to be the oldest appellate court in the United States, a claim that is disputed by the Massachusetts Supreme Ju ...
. The home is located at 4601 North 18th Street in the
Logan neighborhood of North
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
.
History
Stenton, which was named for Logan's father's
Scottish birthplace, was built between 1723 and 1730 on as the country seat of James Logan, who was recognized in his lifetime as "a universal man in the Renaissance tradition." Arriving in Philadelphia in 1699 as
William Penn
William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...
's secretary, Logan occupied pivotal roles in the colony's government—including that of chief justice of the Supreme Court and acting governor—for 50 years. He assembled one of the best libraries in colonial America, discovered the vital role of
pollen in the fertilization of
corn (an achievement that caused
Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
to consider him "among the demigods of science"), and amassed a fortune in the fur trade.
The building is of red brick, with dark
headers. The roof atop its 2 stories is
hipped.
After James Logan's death in 1751, Stenton was inherited by his son, William Logan (1717–1776). William used Stenton mainly as a summer residence, choosing to live in Philadelphia for the rest of the year. He also built the kitchen and added many fine furnishings.
After William's death in 1776, Stenton was in turn inherited by his son, Dr.
George Logan (1753–1821), a physician and later US senator. The house figured in the 1777
Battle of Germantown, and served as headquarters of both General
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 ...
and British General Lord
William Howe. George married
Deborah Norris (1761–1839), a noted diarist and historian, and the person to whom ''
Sally Wister's Journal'' was written, in 1781. The mansion remained in the hands of the Logan family until 1910, when it was acquired by the City of Philadelphia.
Museum
Stenton, now open 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 ...
, part of the Historic Germantown Historic Society is an outstanding example of early American Georgian architecture. Stenton was designated a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
on January 12, 1965. The mansion lends its name to nearby Stenton Park and Stenton Avenue. The village of
Stanton in
Readington Township, New Jersey
Readington Township is a township located in the easternmost portion of Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 16,126, reflecting an increase of 323 (+2.0%) from the 15,803 ...
also borrows its name from the mansion.
In Popular Culture
Summer 1999 director
Andrew Repasky McElhinney
Andrew Repasky McElhinney (born 1978) is an American film and theater director, writer and producer born in Philadelphia. McElhinney's cinema work is in the permanent collection of MoMA-The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Early life and educa ...
shot interiors at Stenton for his second feature as a writer/director, the period art-horror film, ''
A Chronicle of Corpses ''A Chronicle of Corpses'' is a 2000 gothic art-house film directed by Andrew Repasky McElhinney.
''A Chronicle of Corpses'' was named one of the Top Ten Movies of the Year by ''The New York Times''Kehr, Dave. "Distinctively American." The New Y ...
'', starring
Marj Dusay
Marjorie Ellen Mahoney Dusay (; née Mahoney; February 20, 1936 – January 28, 2020) was an American actress known for her roles on American soap operas. She was especially known for her role as Alexandra Spaulding on ''Guiding Light'', a role ...
, Kevin Mitchel Martin, Oliver Wyman, David Semonin, Margot White and Ryan Foley. ''
A Chronicle of Corpses ''A Chronicle of Corpses'' is a 2000 gothic art-house film directed by Andrew Repasky McElhinney.
''A Chronicle of Corpses'' was named one of the Top Ten Movies of the Year by ''The New York Times''Kehr, Dave. "Distinctively American." The New Y ...
'' was praised by Dave Kehr of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' as belonging "to the small but significant tradition of outsider art in American movies - films like Herk Harvey's ''Carnival of Souls'' or George Romero's ''Night of the Living Dead'' - that reflect powerful personalities formed outside any academic or professional tradition.” The original camera negative of ''A Chronicle of Corpses'' is in the permanent collection of
MoMA - The Museum of Modern Art (New York) along with other movies directed by McElhinney.
See also
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*
Wyck House
The Wyck house, also known as the Haines house or Hans Millan house, is a historic mansion, museum, garden, and urban farm in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was recognized as a National Historic Landmark in 1971 f ...
*
List of National Historic Landmarks in Philadelphia
There are 67 National Historic Landmarks within Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
See also the List of National Historic Landmarks in Pennsylvania, which covers the 102 landmarks in the rest of the state.
Current listings
...
*
References
Further reading
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External links
*
Engraved image of StentonListing and imagesat Philadelphia Architects and Buildings
at
La Salle UniversityListingat USHistory.org
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*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stenton (Mansion)
Historic American Buildings Survey in Philadelphia
Historic American Landscapes Survey in Pennsylvania
Historic house museums in Philadelphia
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia
National Historic Landmarks in Pennsylvania
Houses completed in 1730
American Revolutionary War museums in Pennsylvania
Logan, Philadelphia
National Society of the Colonial Dames of America