Pleasant Hill Plantation, also known as Van Leer Place, is a historic stone farmhouse located near

Glen Moore Glen Moore (born October 28, 1941) is an American jazz bassist, who occasionally performs on piano, flute and violin. Moore was born in Portland, Oregon, United States. His performing career began at age 14 with the Young Oregonians in Portlan ...

in West Nantmeal Township,

Chester County, Pennsylvania Chester County (Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Tscheschter Kaundi''), colloquially known as Chesco, is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in the Delaware Valley region of the state. As of the 2020 census, the population was 53 ...

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The original structure of two stories and three bays was built by Matthew Robinson or Robertson, probably before the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

. He died in 1792 and left the house to his son David. Around 1800, it was sold to the Lewis brothers, John and Samuel. They were probably responsible for the addition of two bays on the west side of the house at this time. Local tradition associates the house with a tavern, possibly at this time; however, if so, it was never licensed to dispense liquor. In addition to their reputed tavern-keeping, the Lewises also opened an iron mine on the farm. They lost the property in 1824, when it was sold by the sheriff to Isaac Wayne Van Leer. ''Note:'' This includes Van Leer, a grandnephew of

Anthony Wayne Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745 – December 15, 1796) was an American soldier, officer, statesman, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his mil ...

, was the son of William R. Van Leer, a local ironmaster and grandson of

Samuel Van Leer Captain Samuel Van Leer (January 7, 1747 – October 15, 1825) was a military officer from Pennsylvania who served as a captain in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War and as lieutenant in the Chester County Light Horse Volu ...

a Captain in

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 ...

. Isaac Wayne was a progressive agriculturalist and horticulturalist. Isaac's renovations were influenced by his family's estate on the Reading Furnace. He enlarged an existing structure into a barn soon after purchase and replaced the old log kitchen with a new addition to the house in 1843. Van Leer also added gilt paint and other fashionable touches to the house. He called upon friends and family from other states to help plant rarities and build an arboretum. His grandnephew,

George Howard Earle III George Howard Earle III (December 5, 1890December 30, 1974) was an American politician and diplomat from Pennsylvania. He was a member of the prominent Earle and Van Leer families and the 30th Governor of Pennsylvania from 1935 to 1939. Earle ...

(later Governor of Pennsylvania) was born at the house in 1890. After Van Leer's death in 1896, the condition of Pleasant Hill deteriorated, particularly when it was rented out during the 1930s and eventually ransacked. It was restored in 1948 and remains a private residence. Pleasant Hill 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 ...

on February 24, 1983.

References

Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Houses completed in 1780 Houses in Chester County, Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Chester County, Pennsylvania Van Leer family {{ChesterCountyPA-NRHP-stub

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References