The Slate Roof House was a

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...

that stood on 2nd Street north of Walnut Street in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, from about 1687 until its demolition in 1867. Built for Barbadian

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

merchant Samuel Carpenter, the house occupied a small hill overlooking the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

. It was built of

brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

in the Jacobean style with its

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

featuring two projecting wings that flanked a recessed central entrance. The house was notable for its large size as well for its

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

roof, which was a rarity in early Philadelphia.

History

For two years (1699-1701), during his second visit to America,

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...

rented the house for use as a city residence while maintaining his country house at Pennsbury Manor in

Bucks County, Pennsylvania Bucks County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the List of counties in Pennsylvania, four ...

. It was at the Slate Roof House that he wrote and issued his "Charter of Privileges," a progressive framework for Pennsylvania’s government that became the model for the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...

and is still the basis of free governments all over the world. James Logan, the secretary of the Proprietary after Penn returned to England, later lived in the Slate Roof House. He administered the colony of Pennsylvania from there between 1701 and 1704. In later years, the house was the temporary abode of

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...

John Hancock John Hancock ( – October 8, 1793) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father, merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot of the American Revolution. He was the longest-serving Presi ...

, and many other distinguished members of the

First Continental Congress The First Continental Congress was a meeting of delegates of twelve of the Thirteen Colonies held from September 5 to October 26, 1774, at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia at the beginning of the American Revolution. The meeting was organized b ...

, and also of Baron Johann de Kalb, who fell, fighting for American independence, at the

Battle of Camden The Battle of Camden (August 16, 1780), also known as the Battle of Camden Court House, was a major victory for the Kingdom of Great Britain, British in the Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War. On August 16, 1780, British forces ...

. It was the death site for General Charles Lee and for General John Forbes, second in command, and afterwards successor to General

Edward Braddock Edward Braddock (January 1695 – 13 July 1755) was a British officer and commander-in-chief for the Thirteen Colonies during the start of the French and Indian War (1754–1763), the North American front of what is known in Europe and Canada as ...

. The Slate Roof House was altered for commercial use in the 18th century and became dilapidated during the 1800s. Despite protests from historians, the house was razed in 1867. It was replaced by a large Victorian commercial structure that stood until 1976.

Modern site

In 1982, an urban courtyard called Welcome Park was built on the site, managed by Independence National Historical Park. The park features William Penn’s plan of the city of Philadelphia laid out in slate and marble, as well as a bronze model of the house. A miniature version of the statue of Penn by

Alexander Milne Calder Alexander Milne Calder (August 23, 1846 – June 4, 1923) (MILL-nee) was a Scottish American sculptor best known for the architectural sculpture of Philadelphia City Hall. Both his son, Alexander Stirling Calder, and grandson, Alexander Calder ...

that crowns

Philadelphia City Hall Philadelphia City Hall is the seat of the municipal government of the City of Philadelphia in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Built in the ornate Second Empire style, City Hall houses the chambers of the Philadelphia City Council and the office ...

stands on a pedestal in the center. The park also features a timeline of Penn’s life on the enclosing wall. Welcome Park was named after Penn's ship, ''Welcome'', which brought Penn and over one hundred passengers, mostly Quakers, to America in 1682. The National Park Service proposed renovation of the park in a 2024 preliminary draft that included removal of the Penn statue. The renovation plan is under review. The park is adjacent to the Thomas Bond House.

Sources

Watson's Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, 1857
* Harry Kyriakodis, ''Philadelphia's Lost Waterfront'' (The History Press, 2011), at 91, 99.

References

External links

"The Slate Roof House"
at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania {{DEFAULTSORT:Slate Roof House 1687 establishments in Pennsylvania Buildings and structures demolished in 1867 Demolished buildings and structures in Philadelphia Houses completed in 1687 Houses in Philadelphia Jacobean architecture in Pennsylvania Landmarks in Philadelphia

History

Modern site

See also

Sources

References

External links