Grumblethorpe, in Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was the home of the

Wister family Wister may refer to: People * Annis Lee Wister (1830–1908), American translator * John Caspar Wister (1887–1982), American horticulturist * Langhorne Wister (1834–1891), American Union Civil War brevet brigadier general * Owen Wister (1860– ...

, who lived there for over 160 years. It was built in 1744 as a summer residence, but it became the family's year-round residence in 1793. It is a museum, part of the Colonial Germantown Historic District.

Early history

Grumblethorpe was built as a summer residence in 1744 by Philadelphia merchant and wine importer

John Wister John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, when Germantown was a semi-rural area outside the city of Philadelphia. It eventually became the family's year-round residence when they withdrew from the city during the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793. It has a stone and oak facade and was known as "John Wister's Big House". It has lower-ceilinged rooms than those at Cliveden, Loudoun, and Stenton, other historic houses in the area. The stones for the house were quarried on the property and the joists were hewn from oaks in Wister Woods, also owned by the family. The original section of the

Grumblethorpe Tenant House Grumblethorpe Tenant House, also known as the Tenant House of Wister's Big House, is a historic home located in the Wister neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was built about 1744, and expanded in the early 19th-century. It is a -sto ...

was built as a dependency. The Wister family lived in the house for over 160 years. Diarist

Sally Wister Sally may refer to: People *Sally (name), a list of notable people with the name Military *Sally (military), an attack by the defenders of a town or fortress under siege against a besieging force; see sally port *Sally, the Allied reporting nam ...

lived there from 1789 until her death in 1804. Because it was built on the fertile soil of Schuylkill Valley, Grumblethorpe's garden was among the most productive in the region. It was primarily a working farm, and it dominated Philadelphia's horticultural trends for nearly two centuries (1740-1910). The land was a prime source of marketable crops and animal husbandry from the 1740s to the 1870s, and it decreased in practical use only when the farmstead grew smaller in the late 19th century.

During the American Revolutionary War

In September 1777, the house was the scene of events in the

Battle of Germantown The Battle of Germantown was a major engagement in the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War. It was fought on October 4, 1777, at Germantown, Pennsylvania, between the British Army led by Sir William Howe, and the American Con ...

. While the Wisters were staying in another home, British General

James Agnew Sir James Willson Agnew (2 October 1815 – 8 November 1901) was an Irish-born Australian politician, who was Premier of Tasmania from 1886 to 1887. Early life Agnew was born in Ballyclare, Ireland and educated at London, Paris and Glasgow; h ...

occupied the house as his headquarters during the battle. He was wounded and died in the front parlor, where his blood stains can still be seen on the floor.

Later history

In the 1960s, the house was restored and refurnished to match the original period (removing an early 19th-century Georgian-style facade) and now serves as a museum. The gardens are also being restored. Grumblethorpe was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. It is a

contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distri ...

of the Colonial Germantown Historic District, which has been designated a National Historic Landmark.

References

External links

Official Grumblethorpe page
at

Philadelphia Society for the Preservation of Landmarks The Philadelphia Society for the Preservation of Landmarks (aka Landmarks) founded in 1931, maintains and preserves four historic house museums in the region around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. These are: * Grumblethorpe * Hill-Physick-Keith Hous ...

website * *
Listing
at Philadelphia Architects and Buildings
Painting of Grumblethorpe
{{National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania American Revolutionary War museums in Pennsylvania Historic American Buildings Survey in Philadelphia Historic district contributing properties in Pennsylvania Historic house museums in Philadelphia Houses completed in 1744 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia Georgian architecture in Pennsylvania Germantown, Philadelphia Wister, Philadelphia 1744 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies Wister family Historic House Museums of the Pennsylvania Germans

Early history

During the American Revolutionary War

Later history

See also

References

Further reading

External links