''Woodcrest Mansion'' is an historic, American

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 is located in Radnor Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2008.

History and architectural features

Horace Trumbauer Horace Trumbauer (December 28, 1868 – September 18, 1938) was a prominent American architect of the Gilded Age, known for designing residential manors for the wealthy. Later in his career he also designed hotels, office buildings, and much of t ...

for James W. Paul, a managing partner in Drexel and Company Banking (now

JPMorgan Chase JPMorgan Chase & Co. (stylized as JPMorganChase) is an American multinational financial services, finance corporation headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. It is List of largest banks in the United States, the largest ba ...

), it was one of the oldest buildings on the campus of

Cabrini University Cabrini University was a private Catholic university in Radnor Township, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1957, and was named after the first American naturalized citizen saint, Mother Franc ...

, where it served as the main administration building from 1957 to 2024 when it ceased to exist and was acquired by

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Saint Thom ...

. It was originally built in 1901; major renovations and additions were then undertaken almost immediately and continued through 1907, with additional modifications executed in 1914. This historic mansion is a three-story, fifty-one-room, 47,000-square-foot building that was created in the Elizabethan Tudor Revival style. It was once part of a 238-acre estate, 112 acres of which later became Cabrini University. Administrators of the estate of Dr. John T. Dorrance, inventor of the process for condensed soup and president of the

Campbell Soup Company The Campbell's Company (doing business as Campbell's and formerly known as the Campbell Soup Company) is an American company, most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products. The classic red-and-white can design used by many Campbe ...

, sold this property to the

Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus The Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a Catholic Church, Catholic female religious congregation founded in 1880 by Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini. Their aim is to spread devotion to the Sacred Heart by means of spiritual and corpo ...

in 1953. Cabrini University (then called Cabrini College) subsequently opened on the grounds of that former estate in September 1957. Woodcrest served as its first home. ''Note:'' This includes This mansion was added to the

in 2008.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Tudor Revival architecture in Pennsylvania Houses completed in 1901 Houses in Delaware County, Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Delaware County, Pennsylvania Horace Trumbauer buildings