The Barnardus Van Leer House, is an historic house in the

colonial style American colonial architecture includes several building design styles associated with the colonial period of the United States, including First Period English (late-medieval), French Colonial, Spanish Colonial, Dutch Colonial, and Georgian. T ...

. Built for Dr.

Bernardhus Van Leer Bernardhus Van Leer (1687–January 26, 1790) was a German-American early settler of the Province of Pennsylvania. He worked as a physician and was father of American Revolutionary War Captain Samuel Van Leer. He built the Barnardus Van Leer Hous ...

, it is one of the last historical dwellings in

Marple Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania Marple Township is a township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. It contains the census designated place of Broomall. The population was 23,743 at 2015. ZIP codes include mainly 19008, but also partially 19064 and 19063. The towns ...

History

The original structure belonged to an estate owned by the

Van Leer family The Van Leer family, originally spelled Von Lohr, is an influential German-American family that emigrated to the Province of Pennsylvania in the 17th century from the Electorate of Hesse near Isenberg, Germany. The family made their fortune in the U ...

who immigrated from Germany in 1698. The land passed to the Van Leer family in 1720 or 1721, and Dr. Bernardhus Van Leer built the house with the help of his father-in-law, ironmaster William Branson, in c. 1742. According to local historian Lucy Simler it was sometimes called the Black Mansion or the Van Leer mansion; she reported that it had been speculated that it was built on the site of or taken material from an earlier building on the site built by the Stanfield family. A nearby

log cabin A log cabin is a small log house, especially a less finished or less architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first generation home building by settlers. Eur ...

, located on Conestoga High School, was also owned by the Van Leer family and used as an

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...

station.

References

{{Delaware County, Pennsylvania Houses completed in 1742 Houses in Delaware County, Pennsylvania Van Leer family