Chapter IX: Part III (7)

The Georgian building was designed and constructed in 1756 by Robert Smith, a master carpenter of Philadelphia. Both on the exterior and the interior, it has changed only slightly throughout the years. It was originally a two-story brick structure, rectangular in shape, with gable roof. A one-story polygonal bay extends westward from the rear southwest comer. Near the same corner, a two-story service wing of brick and stone runs southward. Above the windows of the main facade are flat stone winged arches with keystones. Over the center door is a fanlight surmounted by a triangular pediment. The exterior has retained its original appearance and arrangement except that small double dormers were later inserted in the center of the front and rear roofs to create a third level. Additions in 1868 were a wide one-story frame porch on the front of the residence and a one-story frame, polygonal bay on the east side near the northeast front corner.

The center door opens into a central hall that extends through the house to rear stairs, against the east wall. To the east of the hall are a library and study. The fireplace wall in the library is fully paneled. To the west of the hall are a parlor and dining room. The second floor of the main house contains four bedrooms; the third floor, three additional rooms. Two bedrooms are located on the second floor of the service wing. In excellent condition, the house is open to the public.

Tusculum, New Jersey ⊗

_Location: Mercer County, 166 Cherry Hill Road, Princeton._

John Witherspoon made this his home from 1779 until his death in 1794. In 1773, while serving as president of the College of New Jersey (later Princeton University), he acquired some farmland near Princeton and built Tusculum. For several years he leased out the house and farm, but in 1779 he moved from the President’s House to Tusculum.

The two-story Georgian structure of fieldstone with gabled roof and two pairs of end chimneys originally had only one extension, a lower, two-story, stone and frame wing attached to the west end of the house along its main axis. First-story windows of both sections have exterior paneled shutters; second-story windows, louvered shutters. In later years, two additional wings, both of frame and two stories in height, were added to the east and west ends of the structure. Designed in the same style as the rest of the house, they do not seriously alter the original appearance of the front elevation.

The stairway is located in an ell at the rear portion of the center hall along the east wall. To the east of the hall lie the living room and study; to the west, a large dining room, which occupies the entire west half of the main house. Four bedrooms are upstairs. The finish in two of them date from about 1825. The original service wing, on the west side, contains a kitchen on the first floor and two bedrooms on the second.

Tusculum has never undergone any major alterations and it is in excellent condition. In 1924 the present owner acquired it. Under his supervision, a Philadelphia firm restored it to its 18th-century appearance. The major changes were the removal of 19th-century porches at the front, or south, and elimination of a partition wall in the dining room. The structure continues to serve as a private residence and is not shown to visitors.

Floyd Birthplace (Fire Island National Seashore), New York ☑

_Location: Suffolk County, 20 Washington Avenue, Mastic, Long
Island; address: Fire Island National Seashore, P.O. Box 229,
Patchogue, N.Y. 11772._

This farmhouse, which stood on a large estate the Floyd family had acquired in 1718, was the birthplace in 1734 of William Floyd and his residence for the greater part of his life—though he and his family were forced to abandon it in the period 1776–83 and flee to Middletown, Conn. During that time, British troops and Loyalists considerably damaged the estate. In 1803 Floyd presented the house to his son Nicoll and moved to present Westernville, N.Y.

The earliest section of the large, frame Georgian building, which was enlarged several times along its west side during the 18th century, dates from about 1724. The structure now consists of a two-story main section and three wings. The former, entered through a Dutch door, is laid out in central hall fashion. To the west of the hall are a parlor and back of that an office; to the east, a dining room, behind which are a gunroom and pantry side by side. Interesting features on the first floor are exposed ceiling beams and wide floorboards. Seven bedrooms occupy the second floor.

Extending from the rear of the central hall is a two-story north service wing, probably added about 1900. A 1½-story east service wing, with a dormered, gable roof, dates from the 18th century. At the rear, or to the north, of this wing, is a third service wing, 1½ stories high. It contained the original kitchen and was once located at the west end of the main house. Except for this relocation and the addition of the north wing, the main house and east wing are basically unchanged from their 18th-century appearance. The overall structure is in good condition and is furnished with many original pieces belonging to the Floyd family.

In 1965 Floyd descendants donated 613 acres of the estate to the U.S. Government for inclusion in Fire Island National Seashore, but retained use and occupational rights to 43 acres and the house for a period of 25 years. Thus the residence will not be open to the public until 1990.

General Floyd House, New York ∆

_Location: Oneida County, on the west side of Main Street opposite
Gilford Hill Road, Westernville._

William Floyd lived in this home from 1803 until his death in 1821. In 1784 he had begun purchasing frontier land near present Rome in western New York, and 3 years later the State granted him 10,240 acres in the same area. During the summers, he visited and developed his tracts. In 1803, nearly 70 years of age, he deeded his residence at present Mastic, on Long Island, N.Y., to his son Nicoll and moved the rest of his family to present Westernville, where he constructed this farmhouse. He spent the remainder of his life farming and improving his wilderness lands.

Constructed of frame, the Georgian-style residence consists of a large, two-story main section with gable roof and a lower, two-story service wing attached to the west end. A center door, flanked by a pair of small windows, opens into a central hall that extends through the house to another door on the north side. The stairs are set against the west wall of the hall. To the east of the hall are two large parlors containing cupboards and paneled fireplace walls. To the west of the hall is a dining room and behind that a study. The rooms have plastered walls and ceilings and wide floorboards. Four bedrooms occupy the second floor, and the attic is unfinished. The service wing, which includes the kitchen, is located to the west of the dining room.

The structure, unaltered except for metal roofs and modern plumbing, is in excellent condition. It remained in the possession of Floyd descendants until 1956. Still privately owned, it is not open to the public.

Iredell House, North Carolina ⊗

_Location: Chowan County, 107 East Church Street, Edenton._

Early in 1798, in a state of extreme mental anguish because of mounting debts brought on by unwise speculation in lands, James Wilson, probably while visiting North Carolina on Federal circuit court matters, took refuge in this house. It was the home of his friend and fellow U.S. Supreme Court Justice James Iredell. Within a few months, Wilson died there.

The little-altered Iredell House is a large L-shaped structure. It is constructed of frame and is two stories in height with gable roof. Two-story verandas span the front, or south, and rear elevations of the long arm of the ell. The building was erected in three stages. The earliest, the present short, or east, arm of the ell, was built in 1759 by John Wilkins, with its narrow gable end fronting on the street. In 1776 Joseph Whedbee enlarged the structure by adding to its west side the two easternmost bays of the present five-bay long arm. In 1810 Iredell’s widow extended the arm by three bays to its present size and added the verandas.

The original section of the house contains a living room and one other room on the first floor and two bedrooms on the second. The first floor of the 1776 section consists of the dining room; the second floor, a large bedroom. These two sections are furnished as a historic house museum and are open to the public. The remaining section of the long arm, dating from 1810, serves as the caretaker’s quarters. The State owns and administers the residence.

Nash-Hooper House, North Carolina ∆

_Location: Orange County, 118 West Tryon Street, Hillsborough._

The Nash-Hooper House is the only extant residence that can be associated with William Hooper and is the only surviving home of a signer in the State. It was built in 1772 by Francis Nash, who later attained the rank of brigadier general in the Continental Army and lost his life in the War for Independence. In 1782, after the British had driven Hooper into hiding and destroyed his estate Finian near Wilmington, he moved to Hillsborough, where his family had fled. He purchased the Nash-Hooper House and resided in it until his death in 1790. Subsequently, from 1869 until 1875, it was the home of William A. Graham, former Governor of North Carolina.

The original portion of the rectangular, two-story house was constructed with a braced oak frame that was held together by pegs and pins. It rests on shale foundations over an elevated basement, in which are located two rooms and a center hall. The roof is gabled, with a chimney at each end. A one-story, frame, “sitting room” (later dining room) wing, added in 1819 on a log base, extends from the rear, or north, of the house and creates its present L-shape. Weatherboarded siding covers both sides of the wing and the front of the main section. All the windows are flanked with exterior louvered shutters. The one-story porch spanning the front of the house dates from the late 19th century. A detached kitchen, erected in 1819 just east of the house adjacent to the storeroom and dining room in the north wing, was demolished in 1908. Sometime during the period 1939–59, the dining room in the north wing was converted into the present kitchen, and bathrooms were installed in the residence.

The center hall of the main house is divided into two sections by means of an arch near the rear. West of the hall are a large library and a small study or bedroom; to the east, a large parlor and in the rear corner a narrow, lateral stair hall, with the stairs set against the north wall. Three bedrooms are located on the second floor, and the attic is unfinished. Wide floorboards are exposed throughout most of the main house. An original pine mantel remains in the dining room.

Although the little-altered Nash-Hooper House is structurally sound, it has never been restored, and extensive painting and plastering will be required to return it to good condition. It is privately owned and is not open to the public.

Hooper was buried to the east of his home in the garden. That part of the garden was later absorbed by the town cemetery, behind the Presbyterian Church. In 1894 Hooper’s remains were reinterred at Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, N.C., though his original gravestone remains in the Hillsborough cemetery.

Independence National Historical Park, Pennsylvania ☑

_Location: Philadelphia County, in downtown Philadelphia; address:
313 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 19106._

This park in the old part of Philadelphia is not only preeminent among the sites associated with the signers of the Declaration of Independence, but also notably commemorates other major aspects of the Nation’s founding and initial growth and many momentous national events. These include meetings of the First and Second Continental Congresses; adoption and signing of the Declaration, which marked the creation of the United States; and the labors of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, which perpetuated it. As historian Carl Van Doren has said: “On account of the Declaration of Independence, [Independence Hall] is a shrine honored wherever the rights of man are honored. On account of the Constitution, it is a shrine cherished wherever the principles of self-government on a federal scale are cherished.”

Independence Hall was originally the State House for the Province of Pennsylvania. In 1729 the provincial assembly set aside funds for the building, designed by lawyer Andrew Hamilton. Three years later, construction began under the supervision of master carpenter Edmund Wooley. In 1736 the assembly moved into the statehouse, which was not fully completed until 1756.

As American opposition to British colonial policies mounted, Philadelphia became a center of organized protest. To decide on a unified course of action, in 1774 the First Continental Congress met in newly finished Carpenters’ Hall, whose erection the Carpenters’ Company of Philadelphia had begun 4 years earlier. In 1775 the Second Continental Congress, taking over the east room of the ground floor of the statehouse from the Pennsylvania assembly, moved from protest to resistance. Warfare had already begun in Massachusetts. Congress created an Army and appointed George Washington as commander in chief. Yet the final break with the Crown had not come; not until a year later would independence be declared.

On July 2, 1776, Congress passed Richard Henry Lee’s resolution of June 7 recommending independence. The Delegates then turned their attention to Thomas Jefferson’s draft of the Declaration, which had been submitted on June 28. After modification, it was adopted on July 4. Four days later, in Independence Square, the document was first read publicly, to the citizens of Philadelphia. In a formal ceremony on August 2, about 50 of the 56 signers affixed their signatures to the Declaration; the others apparently did so later.

Long, hard years of war ensued. In the late autumn and winter of 1776–77, the British threatened Philadelphia and Congress moved to Baltimore. Again in the fall of 1777 it departed, this time for York, Pa. During the British occupation of Philadelphia that winter and the next spring, the redcoats used Independence Hall as a barracks and as a hospital for American prisoners. In the summer of 1778, the Government returned. On November 3, 1781, Congress officially received news of Cornwallis’ surrender at Yorktown. Independence practically had been won.

Earlier that same year, the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union had gone into effect. Under the Confederation, Congress stayed in Philadelphia until 1783, and later met in other cities. In 1787 the Constitutional Convention also held its highly secret sessions in Independence Hall, in the same chamber in which the Declaration had been adopted.

About the same time that Philadelphia became the second Capital (1790–1800) under the Constitution, after the Government had moved from New York City, Independence Hall acquired three new neighbors in Independence Square: City Hall (1791), on the east; County Court House (1789), on the west; and American Philosophical Society Hall, on the southeast. Beginning in 1790, Congress met in the County Court House (subsequently known as Congress Hall). The following year, after sitting for a few days in Independence Hall, the U.S. Supreme Court moved to City Hall. In 1793 George Washington was inaugurated for his second term as President in Congress Hall, and 4 years later President Adams also took his oath of office there.

In 1799 the State government vacated Independence Hall and moved to Lancaster. The next year, the Federal Government relocated to Washington, D.C. The city of Philadelphia then used City Hall and Congress Hall, and various tenants occupied Independence Hall until the city acquired it in 1818. For example, during the period 1802–27 artist Charles Willson Peale operated a museum there. He and his son painted many of the signers and heroes of the War for Independence. These portraits form the nucleus of the park’s present collection, which is exhibited in the Second Bank of the United States Building; a special room is devoted to the signers.

Stately and symmetrical Independence Hall, a 2½-story red brick structure that has been carefully restored, is the most beautiful 18th-century public building of Georgian style in the United States. The tall belltower, reconstructed along the original lines in 1828 by architect William Strickland, dominates the south facade. Smaller two-story, hip-roofed, brick wings, erected in 1736 and 1739 and restored in 1897–98, one of which serves as a park information center, are connected to the main building by arcades.

The interior focus of interest in Independence Hall is the Assembly Room, the eastern one on the first floor. Probably no other room in the United States has been the scene of such political courage and wisdom. In this chamber, members of the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention formulated and signed the Declaration of Independence and Constitution. The room is about 40 feet square and 20 feet high. Twin segmental-arched fireplaces along the east wall flank the speaker’s dais. Massive fluted pilasters raised on pedestals adorn the paneled east wall. The other three walls are plastered. A heavy Roman Doric entablature borders the plaster ceiling. The furniture arrangement at the time of the Continental Congress has been duplicated. The only original furnishings are the “Rising Sun” chair and the silver inkstand with quill box and shaker used by the signers of the Declaration and the Constitution.

The other large room on the ground floor, where the U.S. Supreme Court held sessions for a few days in 1791 and again in August 1796, housed the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and later other State and local courts. The paneled walls are decorated with massive fluted pilasters of the Roman Doric order. The central hall between this room and the Assembly Room is richly adorned with a Roman Doric order of columns and entablature, fully membered. On the second floor are the Long Room, Governor’s Council Chamber, and Committee Room. These are furnished to represent the activities of the Pennsylvania legislature and government prior to 1775.

The Liberty Bell, a worldwide emblem of freedom, is displayed in the tower stair hall on the south end of the first floor. [When this volume went to press, the bell was scheduled to be moved in the near future to a newly constructed belltower, part of the park visitor center, located 2 blocks from Independence Hall.] The source of the 2,080-pound bell’s name is the “Proclaim Liberty” inscription, engraved on it to commemorate the 50th anniversary of William Penn’s Charter of Privileges (1701). In 1750 the Pennsylvania assembly authorized erection of the Independence Hall belltower, and the next year ordered a bell from England. After it arrived in 1752, it was cracked during testing and was twice recast by local workmen. As the official statehouse bell, it was rung on public occasions. In 1777, before the British occupied Philadelphia, the Government moved it temporarily to Allentown, Pa. Traditionally the bell cracked once again, in 1835, while tolling the death of Chief Justice John Marshall. The exterior appearances of City Hall and Congress Hall have changed little since the 1790’s, when many of the signers served in the Government. The interior of Congress Hall has been restored and refurnished as the meetingplace of Congress in the 1790’s. Exhibits in City Hall describe the activities of the U.S. Supreme Court during the same period of time, and portray Philadelphia life during the late 18th century. Carpenters’ Hall, a block east of Independence Square, is still owned and operated by the Carpenters’ Company of Philadelphia. The hall memorializes the First Continental Congress and possesses architectural significance.

The American Philosophical Society, founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin and the oldest learned society in the United States, still maintains its headquarters in Philosophical Hall. Its distinguished membership once included 15 of the signers. The society’s collections also contain furniture and documents associated with them.

In the years 1789–91, the Library Company of Philadelphia (organized in 1731), one of the first public libraries in the United States, erected Library Hall, across from Independence Square on the corner of Library and Fifth Streets. Numbering among the members were 11 signers, including company founder Franklin. Library Hall, reconstructed by the American Philosophical Society, now serves as its library. The Library Company is quartered elsewhere in the city.

In addition to the preceding buildings, numerous sites associated with the signers have also been identified within the park. Many of them have been marked. On some, later buildings now stand. In a few instances, the National Park Service has excavated and stabilized foundations. Outstanding among the sites is that of the Jacob Graff, Jr., House, two blocks from Independence Hall on the southwest corner of Seventh and Market Streets. Jefferson was occupying the second floor of the 3½-story brick house when he wrote the Declaration in June 1776. His rented quarters consisted of a bedroom and parlor. He likely did much of his writing on a portable writing desk of his own design. In 1791 the Graff House was also the residence of signer James Wilson. It was demolished in 1883.

Other sites include those of the home (1766–90) and other structures associated with Franklin, on Franklin Court in the block south of Market Street between Third and Fourth Streets; two adjoining homes (1785–90 and 1790–95) of Robert Morris, on the southeast corner of Market and Sixth Streets, one of which was the unofficial Presidential Mansion (1790–1800), where John Adams resided (1797–1800) while President; Clarke Hall, on the southwest corner of Chestnut and Third Streets, the residence of Samuel Huntington (1779–81) and Thomas McKean (1781); Benjamin Rush’s home (1791–93), on the northwest corner of Walnut and Third Streets; the James Wilson home (“Fort Wilson”) (1778–90), on the southwest corner of the same intersection; and City Tavern, near Walnut and Second Streets, a gathering place for members of the Continental Congress and Constitutional Convention, as well as other Government officials.

In connection with the U.S. Bicentennial commemoration, the National Park Service plans to reconstruct the Graff House and the City Tavern.

The graves and tombs of seven signers are also located in the park. Five (Franklin, Hewes, Hopkinson, Ross, and Rush) are in Christ Church Burial Ground, at the southeast corner of Fifth and Arch Streets; and two (Wilson and Robert Morris) in the yard of Christ Church, on Second Street between Church and Filbert Streets. The graves of Hewes and Ross are unmarked. A rose garden, dedicated in January 1971 to the memory of the signers of the Declaration by the Daughters of the American Revolution, is situated in a plot in the area between Walnut and Locust and Fourth and Fifth Streets.

Buildings and sites in the park that are mainly of interest in other themes of history than that treated in this volume include: the First Bank of the United States; the Second Bank of the United States (Old Custom House); New Hall (Marine Corps Museum); the Pemberton House (Army-Navy Museum); the Philadelphia (Merchants’) Exchange; the Bishop White House; the Deshler-Morris House, in Germantown; the Todd House; St. George’s Church; St. Joseph’s Church; St. Mary’s Church; Mikveh Israel Cemetery; and Gloria Dei (Old Swede’s) Church National Historic Site.

The structures and properties in 22-acre Independence National Historical Park, most of which are open to the public, include those owned by the city of Philadelphia, but administered by the National Park Service. These consist of Independence Hall, Congress Hall, City Hall, and Independence Square. In recent years, to enhance the setting of the area, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has created Independence Mall in the three blocks directly north of Independence Hall. Federally owned buildings include the First and Second Banks of the United States; the Deshler-Morris House, administered by the Germantown Historical Society; Todd House; Bishop White House; New Hall; Pemberton House; and the Philadelphia Exchange.

Among those privately owned buildings whose owners have cooperative agreements with the National Park Service are Carpenters’ Hall and Christ Church, both National Historic Landmarks. The American Philosophical Society owns Philosophical Hall, another Landmark and the only privately owned building on the square, but also operates Library Hall, on federally owned land.

In 1948, upon recommendation of the Philadelphia National Shrines Park Commission, Congress created Independence National Historical Park. This act specified the Federal Government’s role in the commemoration of existing historic sites and buildings and the acquisition and management of others. The entire undertaking is guided by an advisory commission of distinguished citizens. Many individuals and private and civic organizations have contributed to the preservation and beautification of the park.

Parsons-Taylor House, Pennsylvania ⊗

_Location: Northampton County, northeast corner of Fourth and Ferry
Streets, Easton._

This house, built by William Parsons in 1757, was leased by George Taylor during the last year of his life and was the site of his death in February 1781. His health failing and his iron business declining, he had moved there the previous April from Greenwich Township, N.J.

The residence, a small, two-story Georgian structure constructed of fieldstone, has a steep gable roof and a pent roof extending along the front at the second-floor level. A single chimney is located in the north sidewall. The front door is surmounted by a rectangular transom; the center door, in the south side, is sheltered by a hood. A frame attachment to the house, probably existing in 1780, no longer stands.

A single large room containing stairs and a fireplace on the north wall make up the first floor. The walls are plastered, and the joists are supported by heavy, exposed beams. Bedrooms occupy the second floor and attic. Restored about 1906, the structure is in fine condition and is owned by the George Taylor Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, which uses it as a meetingplace. It is not usually open to visitors.

Shippen-Wistar House, Pennsylvania ⊗

_Location: Philadelphia County, southwest corner of Fourth and
Locust Streets, Philadelphia._

Meetingplace of medical and political dignitaries, this townhouse was the residence of three eminent doctors and was visited by some of the signers and other key governmental officials. It was erected about 1750 by Dr. William Shippen, Sr. (1712–1802). A prominent medical man of his day, he also served in the Continental Congress and contributed to Philadelphia’s cultural life. His son, Dr. William Shippen, Jr. (1736–1808), won distinction as a teacher as well as a practitioner, helped found the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, and in the period 1777–81 directed medical services in the Continental Army. He and his father apparently shared the residence part of the time during their careers. Like the Shippens, Dr. Caspar Wistar (1761–1818), who acquired the house in 1798, was distinguished in medical and intellectual circles.

Various signers and other Delegates to the Continental Congress paid visits to the home. Richard Henry Lee, brother-in-law of young Shippen, stayed there. Francis Lightfoot and Arthur Lee likely often made calls. On occasion John Adams and John Witherspoon stopped by. Other notables who did so later were George Washington, while presiding over the Constitutional Convention (1787); Benjamin Rush, before his clash with Shippen, Jr., over medical conditions in the Continental Army; Robert R. Livingston, who had served on the Declaration drafting committee, in the 1780’s; John Adams, while Vice President; and Jefferson, as Secretary of State.

The exterior of the house is in good condition, but the interior has been extensively altered. A 3½-story building in the colonial Philadelphia architectural style, it is constructed in Flemish bond with red bricks and black headers. The windows are shuttered. Notable are a high gable on the Fourth Street side and brick parapet walls on the roof joining the two end chimneys, one on each side of the roof near the peak of the ridge. A garden extends along the Locust Street side at the original rear of the house, which is now entered from that side rather than from Fourth Street. The building is owned and occupied by an insurance company, which has built a passageway between it and the adjacent Cadwalader House on the south. Access to the two structures is limited to the company’s customers.

Summerseat, Pennsylvania ∆

_Location: Bucks County, on Clymer Street in the block bounded by
Morris and Hillcrest Avenues, Morrisville._

Summerseat was erected in the 1770’s by Thomas Barclay, a Philadelphia merchant. In 1806 George Clymer acquired it and resided in it until his death in 1813. It is a two-story, brick and stone Georgian structure over an elevated basement. The roof is gabled and slate-covered. The wall of the front, or east, facade is brick; the end walls, probably also of brick, are covered with cement; the rear wall is of fieldstone. Front first- and second-story windows are topped by flat arches of gauged brick; rear windows on both levels and all the basement windows, by segmental arches, also of gauged brick. Exterior solid shutters flank the first- and second-story windows.

A rectangular transom and triangular pediment surmount the front center door. Central halls divide the four rooms on each floor into pairs. Each of the rooms is equipped with a fireplace. The stairs, located at the rear of the hall along the south wall, are lighted by a large window over the landing. The walls, floors, and some of the woodwork appear to be original. Restored in 1931 and renovated 4 years later, the house is owned by the Morrisville School District and is used for educational purposes. It is open to the public only on a restricted basis.

Taylor House, Pennsylvania ∆

_Location: Lehigh County, on Front Street, Catasauqua._

In 1768 George Taylor employed Philadelphia carpenters to build this stone residence on the east bank of the Lehigh River, about 15 miles west of Easton at the site of present Catasauqua. The structure was located on a 331-acre tract of land, known as the “Manor of Chawton,” which he had acquired the previous year. In 1771 he leased out most of the manor as a farm, and 5 years later sold the house and land to Philadelphia merchant John Benezet.

The rectangular residence is Georgian in style and consists of two stories over an elevated basement. The thick walls are built of stone masonry rubble faced with a whitish, slaked-lime stucco. Over the windows are flat arches of gauged brick. First-floor windows have exterior solid-panel shutters; those on the second floor, louvered. A heavy, overhanging cornice surrounds the truncated hip roof. The brick chimneys at both ends are symmetrically paired. A two-story stone kitchen wing, dating from about 1800, adjoins the house at the south end.

At the center of the front, or west, facade, a flight of marble pyramidal steps lead up to a double door, over which are a rectangular transom and triangular pediment. The central hall, which extends to the rear of the house toward the stairway, is divided by an archway, with fluted pilasters. Situated to the north of the hall are living room and parlor; to the south, dining room and reception, or service, room. Of special interest in the dining room, parlor, and living room are the finely executed door pediments and fully paneled fireplace walls. Other walls in these rooms have paneled wainscots and finely detailed chair rails. The fireplace paneling and mantel in the dining room date from the 19th century and represent the Greek Revival style, but the rest of the first-floor paneling and mantels are original, as are also the wide pine floorboards and iron hardware.

The second floor consists of four bedrooms and two small dressing rooms. The fireplace paneling in the two bedrooms on the front side of the house is almost as elaborate as that downstairs. A 1½-story, brick summer kitchen, near the rear of the house, dates from about 1850.

The slightly altered Taylor House, acquired in 1945 by the Lehigh County Historical Society and restored in 1966–68, is in excellent condition and is open to the public.

Governor Hopkins House, Rhode Island ∆

_Location: Providence County, 15 Hopkins Street, Providence._

Stephen Hopkins bought this framehouse in 1742 and resided in it until his death in 1785. It is the only extant structure closely associated with him. The oldest section, the lower level of the present southwest rear ell, dates from about 1707, when the small dwelling comprised two first-floor rooms and an attic. As soon as he acquired the building, Hopkins enlarged and remodeled it into its present L-shaped, two-story form.

The Georgian building, which has a gabled roof and two chimneys, is clapboarded. Cornices decorate the first-story windows. In 1928, during a major restoration, a reconstructed door, with triangular pediment and pilasters typical of the 18th century, was inserted in place of one of the four windows along the present front elevation. This door, the only major alteration in the house, became the main entrance. It replaced a door on the west side, which opens into the original kitchen and is still extant.

The central hall, along the east wall of which is the main stairway, divides the front of the residence into two rooms, study and parlor. The recessed parlor bookshelves, set in paneling above the hearth, are distinctive. The paneling of the two fireplaces in the study and ell is simpler. A passageway leads from the parlor to the southwest ell, which consists of the original kitchen and in the southeast corner a small bedroom. Five bedrooms, two of which are equipped with fireplaces, are located upstairs. The interior of the house, including stairs, woodwork, floors, and fireplaces, is largely original. The fine garden was designed by a descendant of Stephen Hopkins, the late Alden Hopkins, prominent landscape architect.

The Governor Hopkins House, first located on the northeast corner of Hopkins and South Main Streets, was moved eastward in 1804 along the north side of and about halfway up Hopkins Street. In 1927, to make way for the construction of a new courthouse, the building was again relocated eastward along the same street, to its present site, and the next year was restored. Since that time, the State of Rhode Island has owned the house and maintained the exterior and grounds. The Society of Colonial Dames in the State of Rhode Island maintains and administers the interior as a historic house museum.

Heyward-Washington House, South Carolina ∆

_Location: Charleston County, 87 Church Street, Charleston._

From 1778 until 1794 this townhouse was the principal residence of Thomas Heyward, Jr. During this period, however, he also spent considerable time at White Hall, his country estate near that of his father about 25 miles northeast of Savannah, and in 1780–81 was imprisoned by the British at St. Augustine. In 1770 his father, Daniel, a rice planter, had purchased the lot and a two-story house standing on it. Within 2 years, he probably demolished it and erected the present one. Thomas inherited it in 1777, and moved in the following year, upon completion of his tour in the Continental Congress. In 1780, when the British took Charleston, they captured him and forced his family to flee from the townhouse. For a week in 1791 the city rented it for use of President Washington, who was visiting Charleston while touring the Southern States. Three years later, Heyward sold the property and retired to White Hall.

A slightly altered Georgian structure, the residence is a superb example of a Charleston “double house.” The floor plan is the typical Georgian center hall type, with four rooms on each floor. Two interior chimneys allow for two fireplaces in pairs set back to back on all floors. The first-floor rooms are simple; those on the second, elaborate, for entertaining. The downstairs hall, divided by an arch at midpoint, extends to a rear door. A Palladian window lights the stairway, located at the rear of the hall against the north wall.

The large second-floor drawing room, the most elaborate room in the house, features paneled walls, pedimented doors, interior paneled shutters, an elaborate ceiling cornice, and a fireplace with a magnificent carved mantel. In addition to the drawing room, the second floor contains a smaller parlor and two bedrooms, each of which has a paneled fireplace wall. Four more rooms are located on both the first and third floors. Except for reconstruction in 1929 of one front room and the front of the hall on the first floor, the structure is largely original.

The brick house is square and rises three stories. The hipped roof is pierced by a single front dormer and ornamented by a narrow, denticulated cornice. Brick flat arches head the windows. The upper windows have louvered shutters; those on the first floor, paneled shutters. The center entrance, a reconstruction, consists of a fan-lighted door surmounted by a pediment and flanked by Roman Doric columns. A rear courtyard contains a brick kitchen-laundry with slave quarters above, a carriage house, wood and tool sheds, a necessary, and garden.

Subsequent to Heyward’s ownership, the house passed through several hands until rescued from the threat of demolition in 1929 by the Charleston Museum. After restoration and furnishing with period pieces, it was opened to the public. A collection of china once owned by Heyward is on display, as well as portraits of the Heyward family.

Hopsewee-on-the-Santee, South Carolina ∆

_Location: Georgetown County, on an unimproved road just west of
U.S. 17, about 13 miles southwest of Georgetown._

Erected by his father during the 1740’s, this house on the north bank of the North Santee River was the birthplace in 1749 and the boyhood home of Thomas Lynch, Jr. He lived in it until his father sold it in 1763, the year before young Lynch sailed to Europe to continue his education. It is the only surviving residence closely associated with him.

The 2½-story framehouse rests on a brick foundation, which is covered with scored tabby. Two front dormers and two interior chimneys protrude from the hip roof. A broad, two-story porch, or piazza, with square columns extends across the front of the building. The frame, comprised of black cypress, is of mortise-and-tenon construction, and the walls are clapboarded. Exterior paneled shutters flank the first- and second-story windows. Except for the present metal roof and the screening of the front porch, the outside of the structure has not been appreciably altered.

The central hall arrangement divides four rooms into pairs on the first two floors. All the rooms are equipped with fireplaces. Throughout, the mantels, wainscoting, cornice mold, and heart pine floors are original and excellently crafted. The full cellar is constructed of brick and divided into rooms. Two one-story, cypress, shingled outbuildings, located to the northeast and northwest of the main house, probably once served as kitchens. About 1948, by which time the house had fallen into decay and the grounds were overgrown, the present owner acquired the property, restored the garden, and repaired the residence. In fine condition, it is privately occupied, but is shown to the public part of the week.

Middleton Place, South Carolina ∆

_Location: Dorchester County, on an unimproved road just east of
S.C. 61, about 13 miles northwest of Charleston._

This mansion, of which only the south wing stands today, was the birthplace and lifelong home of Arthur Middleton (1742–87). About 1738 his grandfather had built a 3½-story brick house at the site. Some 3 years later, Arthur’s father began laying out the surrounding gardens that have since won international fame as Middleton Place Gardens. More than 100 slaves labored for a decade to complete the 45-acre gardens and 16-acre lawn. In 1755 the mansion was enlarged by the addition of two two-story brick flankers, or detached wings, on the north and south sides of the original structure, for use respectively as a library-conservatory and guest quarters.

During the War for Independence, British troops pillaged the residence and despoiled the plantation. In 1865, as Union soldiers approached during the Civil War, the slaves set the mansion to the torch, which left only the walls standing. In 1868 William Middleton erected a roof over the south wing, the least damaged section of the three, and reoccupied it. In 1886 an earthquake felled the ruined walls of the north wing and central section.

In the 1930’s the two-story, brick south wing was renovated and enlarged. The major additions, both two-story brick and executed in an 18th-century manner, were a service wing along the main axis of the wing at the south end; and, on the west side, a right-angled entrance wing, containing a vestibule and stairway, and constructed with a stepped and curvilinear gable roof to match those on the ends of the original south wing. A third addition in the 1930’s was a one-story brick porch on the east, or river, elevation. All the brickwork is Flemish bond, the shutters are paneled, and a louvered circular window decorates the gable end of the new entrance wing. The interior chimneys are three in number. A parlor, dining room, and living room are located on the first floor of the original south wing and three bedrooms on the second. The interior finish dates from the mid-19th century, but many of the furnishings are original 18th-century Middleton pieces.

To the east and north of the present house and ruins of the central block and north wing are the famous gardens, which have been enlarged and perfected over the years. They extend from the Ashley River and the paired butterfly lakes at their foot west toward the residence and beyond in sweeping terraces. To the northwest of the house, in another 18th-century formal garden, is the family graveyard, containing the mausoleum of Arthur Middleton.

The estate comprises 7,000 acres and is still owned by Middleton descendants. They occupy the south wing, which is not open to the public, unlike the gardens. According to present plans, about 110 acres, embracing the gardens, burial plot, plantation house, and reconstructed outbuildings, will be donated to a nonprofit organization that will preserve them and keep them open to the public.

Rutledge House, South Carolina ∆

_Location: Charleston County, 117 Broad Street, Charleston._

The residence of Edward Rutledge during his later years, this building is the only existing one that can be identified with him. Unfortunately the construction date and the exact years of his residence cannot be determined, though he was definitely the occupant in 1787.

The large, rectilinear, clapboarded, frame structure is two stories high over a basement. The roof is hipped. A bilevel porch, supported by columns, extends across the west side and around the south, or rear, side of the house. A central modillioned pediment with circular window fronts the main roof and is “supported” by consoles. Exterior louvered shutters flank the corniced windows. The center doorway, once crowned by a cornice, now has a triangular pediment. A small, two-story clapboard wing, added to the front of the east end along the main axis in the late 19th century, is the only definite major exterior alteration. Behind it, runs a two-story porch.

A center hall extends about halfway through the house. On one side are two rooms with fireplaces; on the other, a front stair hall containing a curved stairway. Behind this is a large room, accessible only from the entrance hall. The kitchen, possibly another later addition, is located in a wing that projects from the rear of the house at the southeast corner. The interior woodwork appears to date from the 1880’s, and partition walls now subdivide the large original rooms into smaller ones.

The Rutledge House, known in modern times as the Carter-May House, is now a Roman Catholic home for elderly women. Portions of the first floor may be visited upon request. A large garden is located at the rear of the building.

Berkeley, Virginia ∆

_Location: Charles City County, on the south side of Va. 5, about 8
miles west of Charles City._

In historical interest this fine mansion has few rivals among the James River plantations. It was the birthplace and lifelong home of Benjamin Harrison V (1726–91), signer of the Declaration and three-term Governor of Virginia, as well as the birthplace and boyhood residence of his son, William Henry (1773–1841), ninth President of the United States and grandfather of Benjamin (1833–1901), the 23rd President. William Henry probably wrote his 1841 inaugural address at Berkeley in the room in which he had been born.

Benjamin Harrison IV, the signer’s father, built the structure in 1726. In 1781 British troops under Benedict Arnold plundered the plantation, but did not seriously harm the mansion. In the 1790’s one of the Harrisons, probably Benjamin VI, made some architectural alterations and redecorated the interior in the Adam style. By the time of the Civil War, the plantation was known as Harrison’s Landing. In 1862 it served as a supply base and camp for the Union Army of the Potomac following its retreat from the Battle of Malvern Hill, Va., which ended the Peninsular Campaign. Gen. George B. McClellan utilized the mansion as his headquarters. While quartered nearby, Gen. Daniel Butterfield composed the famous bugle call “Taps.”

The early Georgian mansion has been altered somewhat over the years, but retains much of the original structure and character. It is 2½ stories high and has a dormered, gable roof with two tall interior ridge chimneys, and distinctive pedimented gable ends, including modillioned cornice. The brick walls are laid in Flemish bond. Gauged brick is employed in the flat window arches, the belt course, and door pediments. The broad-piered central doors on the north and south elevations, with pediments in gauged brick, are reconstructions. Two detached, two-story, brick dependencies, set slightly south of the house on the river side, were built in the 1840’s to replace similar structures that had been erected sometime before 1800.

The center hall plan has been slightly modified. The hall bisects the four rooms on the first floor into pairs. A small stairs in the northwest corner was probably inserted about 1800. Most of the interior finish clearly reflects the Adam alterations of the 1790’s.

By 1915 the mansion was in poor condition. Subsequent owners have reconstructed and restored it to its 18th-century appearance. This included removal of a 19th-century porch on all four sides, replacement of the window sash and exterior door framings, and reconstruction of the center stairs. The upper floors are used as a private residence, but the basement and first floor may be visited. The unmarked grave of signer Benjamin Harrison is located in the family cemetery, a quarter of a mile southeast of the plantation house.

Elsing Green, Virginia ∆

_Location: King William County, on a private road about 1 mile
southwest of Va. 632, some 10 miles southwest of King William Court
House._

In 1758, while Carter Braxton was visiting in England, his brother George probably built for him this impressive plantation home on a high bluff overlooking the Pamunkey River. Upon his return in 1760, Carter took up residence in it and lived there until 1767. He then moved to a new residence, Chericoke, a few miles to the northwest.

The exterior is original, but about 1800 a fire destroyed the interior. The present 18th-century style woodwork is a 20th-century reconstruction. The Georgian structure of brick, laid in Flemish bond, is U-shaped. Two wings project to the north, or rear, of the central section. The large building is two stories in height and has a hip roof and four tall chimneys. Side doors are centered in each wing, and there are also central doors in the front and rear facades of the main house. The door on the front, or river, facade, with gauged brick triangular pediment, is a reconstruction.

The flat window arches are constructed of splayed brick. The second-floor level is marked by a strong course of gauged brick, unmolded and four courses high. Two old, detached, brick dependencies, 1½ stories high, flank the mansion. The eastern one may date from 1719; the western contains a restored kitchen. A reconstructed smokehouse and dairy rest on their original, symmetrically located, foundations.

An off-center hall extends northward halfway through the main arm of the U from the south, or front, entrance and intersects with an east-west lateral hall running the length of the main mansion. The ends of this long cross hall each contain a stairway set against the south wall. The southeast comer of the residence is occupied by a large parlor; the southwest corner, by a smaller living room; and each of the north wings, by a single large room. Four bedrooms are upstairs, which has the same general plan as the ground floor.

The carefully restored house and well maintained estate, which now includes about 3,000 acres, are in excellent condition but are privately occupied and not open to visitors.

Menokin, Virginia ∆

_Location: Richmond County, on an unimproved road about 1 mile west
of County Route 690, some 4 miles northwest of Warsaw._

Menokin, completed in 1769 by Col. John Tayloe of nearby Mount Airy as a wedding gift for his daughter and her husband, Francis Lightfoot Lee, was the home where they spent most of their lives and the one Lee loved best. He died there in 1797.

This late Georgian house, similar in many respects to Mount Airy though much smaller, was likely constructed by the same architect-builder, probably John Ariss. The exterior possesses the qualities of a large mansion, though the actual dimensions are rather modest.

The residence, constructed of local brown sandstone, is two stories high with hip-on-hip roof and two large interior chimneys. Its exterior walls are covered with plaster. The stone trim—quoins, belt courses, and window and door trim—is elaborate. Two stone belt courses, one at the second-floor line and the other at the sill level of the upper windows, divide the main, or north, facade horizontally. The upper course is eliminated on the other three facades. No longer standing are two two-story, gable-roofed, detached, symmetrical service buildings, a kitchen to the east and office to the west, which once stood in the forecourt at right angles to the main house. They undoubtedly heightened the impression of the mansion’s large size.

A center hall extends halfway through the first floor, which contains dining room, living room, kitchen, and bedroom. Four bedrooms, divided into pairs by a central hall, are located on the second floor.

Unoccupied for many years, Menokin is in ruinous condition. The roof and walls on the southeast side have collapsed. The yard and grounds, part of a 590-acre farm, are overgrown with vegetation and small trees. The owner has removed and stored the original interior paneling. Extensive reconstruction would be required to restore the structure to its original condition. It is not open to the public.

Monticello, Virginia ∆

_Location: Albemarle County, just off Va. 53, about 2 miles
southeast of Charlottesville._

“Monticello,” Italian for “Little Mountain,” is an enduring tribute to the genius and versatility of Thomas Jefferson, who personally designed and supervised erection of the splendid mansion. He resided in it for many years of his long life, his spirit lives on in its architectural perfection and the ingenious devices with which he equipped it, and he is buried nearby. Sitting amid pleasant gardens and lawns on a hilltop, the residence overlooks Charlottesville; the University of Virginia, which Jefferson founded and some of whose buildings he designed; and the green rolling hills of the surrounding countryside. Especially after his retirement from public life in 1809 until his death, at the age of 83 on July 4, 1826, the prominent men of his age made pilgrimages to Monticello. To this day it is visited by the humble, as well as the great—all who admire Jefferson’s character and accomplishments.

In 1757 Jefferson’s father died and passed on the property, 2,750 acres, to him. Eleven years later, he began leveling the hilltop. To make all parts of it accessible, he built paths, or roundabouts, as he called them, on its slopes at four different levels; remains of these are visible today. In 1770 fire destroyed Jefferson’s modest residence, his birthplace Shadwell, and he moved to Monticello, where he had already begun building a mansion. The first part of it completed was the small southwest pavilion, which Jefferson occupied as a bachelor’s quarters until January 1772, when he brought his bride, Martha Wayles Skelton, to share it with him. It is still known as “Honeymoon Cottage.”

The first Monticello, vastly different from the present one, was probably completed in 1775. Constructed of brick with cut-stone trim, it consisted of a central two-story unit, with pedimented gable roof running from front to rear and one-story gabled wings, set perpendicularly to the central block. The chief architectural accent was the main two-story portico, Doric below and Ionic above. Small polygonal bays projected from the ends of the wings. Jefferson made numerous alterations and major changes after the War for Independence. The present two-wing structure, built between 1793 and 1809, incorporates the rooms of the original house at its rear. It also reflects a shift in architectural preference in the United States from Georgian to Roman Revival—elements of both of which are represented. Jefferson was almost entirely responsible for starting the Roman Revival.