The Highlands (Whitemarsh, Pennsylvania)

Last updated
The Highlands
Highlands Montco PA.jpg
USA Pennsylvania location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location7001 Sheaff Lane, Whitemarsh Township, Pennsylvania
Coordinates 40°8′4″N75°13′56″W / 40.13444°N 75.23222°W / 40.13444; -75.23222
Area44 acres (180,000 m2)
Built1794
ArchitectCol. Timothy Matlack
Architectural styleGeorgian
NRHP reference No. 76001653 [1]
Added to NRHPDecember 12, 1976

The Highlands is a historic building and property located near Fort Washington, Whitemarsh Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, in the United States.

Contents

The Highlands was built in 1794-1796 by Philadelphia merchant and politician Anthony Morris (1766-1860), and was designed by Philadelphia politician Timothy Matlack (1730-1829). It is a large 2+12-story, dressed fieldstone structure in the late Georgian style. The front facade features two, two-story, Ionic order pilasters. Morris was the speaker of the Pennsylvania senate, and had signed the bill authorizing troops to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion. He was also a director of the Bank of North America (1800-1806) and a trustee of the University of Pennsylvania (1806-1817). From 1810 to 1814, he was President James Madison's unofficial envoy to Spain. [2]

Morris sold the property to Daniel Hittner (1765-1841) in 1808. In the five years that Hittner owned the estate, he accumulated 300+ additional acres. In 1813, it was sold to wine merchant George Sheaff (1779-1851). After Sheaff's death, the heirs sold off the majority of the estate, leaving a mere 59 acres (240,000 m2) remaining with Sheaff's grandson, John. In 1917, after the death of the last remaining Sheaff heir, it was sold to Miss Caroline Sinkler, and then subsequently sold to her niece Emily Sinkler Roosevelt in 1941. Roosevelt and her husband donated the property to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1957. [3]

Today, the Highlands is a 44-acre (180,000 m2) site with a late 18th-century Georgian mansion and formal gardens. It is operated as a museum and historic site by the Highlands Historical Society, a non-profit educational organization. It is available to rent for weddings and parties. [3]

The Highlands Historical Society also runs a number of social and fund-raising events throughout the year. One of these events is the annual Highlands Craft Show which began in 1982 as a means to raise funds to support the restoration of the 2-acre (8,100 m2) formal garden. The craft show has become an excellent venue where unique artisans throughout the United States can gather to display their crafts within the mansion. Some of the crafts that are offered for sale include fabric, fabric arts, pottery, hand-bags, and hand-crafted jewelry. Other popular events include a pumpkin and jack-o-lantern display which takes place around Halloween, and the Highlands Hunt Breakfast which takes place in early November. The Hunt Breakfast consists of a mock fox hunt equipped with a pack of hounds and approximately 20 local horseback riders who ride through surrounding properties, eventually returning to the mansion to rest and eat breakfast with friends and family. [3]

Owners of the Highlands

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Washington, Pennsylvania</span> Census-designated place in Pennsylvania, United States

Fort Washington is a census-designated place and suburb of Philadelphia in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,446 at the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jordanville, New York</span> Hamlet in New York, United States

Jordanville is a hamlet in the town of Warren, Herkimer County, New York, United States. Jordanville is in the northwestern part of Warren, at the intersection of New York State Route 167 and County Route 155. The community was settled by European Americans after the Revolutionary War and before 1791. Its name was derived from the nearby Ocquionis Creek, which was used by settlers for baptisms and likened by them to the Jordan River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Breakers</span> Vanderbilt mansion in Newport, Rhode Island, US

The Breakers is a Gilded Age mansion located at 44 Ochre Point Avenue, Newport, Rhode Island, US. It was built between 1893 and 1895 as a summer residence for Cornelius Vanderbilt II, a member of the wealthy Vanderbilt family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whitemarsh Hall</span> Former mansion in Pennsylvania, United States

Whitemarsh Hall was a large estate located on 300 acres (1.2 km2) of land in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania, United States, and owned by banking executive Edward T. Stotesbury and his wife, Eva. Designed by the Gilded Age architect Horace Trumbauer, it was built in 1921 and demolished in 1980. Before its destruction, the mansion was the third largest private residence in the United States. Today, it is regarded as one of the great losses in American architectural history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site</span> National Historic Site of the United States

Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site is a historic house museum in Hyde Park, New York. It became a National Historic Landmark in 1940. It is owned and operated by the National Park Service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skylands (estate)</span> Historic house in New Jersey, United States

Skylands is a 1,119-acre (4.53 km2) estate property located in Ringwood State Park in Ringwood, New Jersey, a borough in Passaic County in the state of New Jersey. The Skylands property consists of the historic Skylands Manor mansion, The Castle at Skylands Manor and the New Jersey Botanical Garden; the botanical garden is 96 acres (390,000 m2) and it is open to the public year-round. The Skylands property is within the Ramapo Mountains and it is maintained by the Skyland Association. The property is marketed with the garden as New Jersey State Botanical Garden at Skylands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Germantown White House</span> Historic house in Pennsylvania, United States

The Germantown White House is a historic mansion in the Germantown section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is the oldest surviving presidential residence, having twice housed Founding Father George Washington during his presidency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hope Lodge (Whitemarsh Township, Pennsylvania)</span> Historic house in Pennsylvania, United States

Hope Lodge is a historic building located at 553 South Bethlehem Pike in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, in the United States. This mansion has been described as "one of the finest examples of Georgian Colonial architecture in this part of the country. It was used by Continental troops during the 1777 Philadelphia Campaign during the American Revolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gershom Craft House</span> Historic house in Pennsylvania, United States

The Gershom Craft House, also known as Pomona Farm, is a historical house in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, across the Delaware River about 2 miles from Trenton, New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Farmar Mill</span> United States historic place

Farmar Mill is a historic mill building. The mill was powered by the Wissahickon Creek and is located on Mather's Lane near Skippack Pike, and just west of the historic Bethlehem Pike in the village of Whitemarsh, Pennsylvania, in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Epping Forest (Jacksonville)</span> United States historic place

The Epping Forest was a historic, 58-acre (230,000 m2) estate in Jacksonville, Florida, United States where a luxurious riverfront mansion was built in the mid-1920s by industrialist Alfred I. du Pont and his third wife, Jessie Ball du Pont. It was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and has been restored to its original grandeur as the home of the Epping Forest Yacht Club. On April 18, 2012, the AIA's Florida Chapter placed the Epping Forest Yacht Club on its list of "Florida Architecture: 100 Years. 100 Places".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graeme Park</span> Historic house in Pennsylvania, United States

Graeme Park is an historic site and National Historic Landmark at 859 County Line Road in Horsham, Pennsylvania, United States. It is owned by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and operated by the non-profit group, The Friends of Graeme Park. It is the only surviving residence of a colonial-era Pennsylvania governor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mill Grove</span> Historic house in Pennsylvania, United States

Mill Grove is a historic house and estate on Pawlings Road in Audubon, Pennsylvania. Built in the 1760s, it is notable as the first home in America of painter and naturalist John James Audubon (1785-1851), for whom the community is named. The 130-acre (53 ha) estate is now maintained as a museum and wildlife sanctuary by Montgomery County, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989. The house serves as the educational center of the Pennsylvania chapter of the National Audubon Society, and is known as John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodford (mansion)</span> Historic house in Pennsylvania, United States

Woodford is a historic mansion at Ford Road and Greenland Drive in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Built c. 1756, it is the first of Philadelphia's great colonial Georgian mansion houses to be built, and exemplifies the opulence of such houses. A National Historic Landmark, it now a historic house museum open to the public.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Howe (architect)</span> American architect and educator (1886–1955)

George Howe (1886–1955) was an American architect and educator, and an early convert to the International style. His personal residence, High Hollow (1914-1917), established the standard for house design in the Philadelphia region through the early 20th century. His partnership with William Lescaze yielded the design of Philadelphia's PSFS Building (1930–32), considered the first International style skyscraper built in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C.E. Toberman Estate</span> Historic house in California, United States

The C. E. Toberman Estate, also known as Villa Las Colinas, is a gated Mission Revival mansion and estate on Camino Palmero in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, and as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Hope Estate</span> National Register of Historic Places-listed property

Mount Hope Estate is a National Register of Historic Places-listed property in Rapho and Penn Townships, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The original estate was the center of operations of the Grubb Family Iron Dynasty during the 19th century and included over 2,500 acres (1,000 ha), a charcoal iron furnace, a grist mill, housing for employees and tenants, plus supporting structures such as a post office, a general store, a railroad station, a school and a church. The existing mansion and grounds remain from what was once a thriving industrial headquarters complex and small village.

Archibald Rogers Estate, also known as "Crumwold," is a historic mansion located at Hyde Park in Dutchess County, New York. It was designed by noted New York architect Richard Morris Hunt. The house is currently owned by the Millennial Kingdom Family Church, a Christian group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bitar Mansion</span> Historic building in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

Bitar Mansion, also known as Harry A. Green House or the Harry A. and Ada Green House, is a mansion in the Laurelhurst neighborhood of Portland, Oregon, United States. The 12,000-square-foot (1,100 m2) and 17-room structure was designed by architect Herman Brookman and built in 1927 for $410,000, equivalent to $6.91 million today. The Mediterranean-style house contains a grand ballroom and many elaborate details. The mansion has views of the Tualatin Mountains and adjacent Laurelhurst Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erdenheim Farm</span>

Erdenheim Farm is a 450-acre (1.82 km2) working farm in Springfield and Whitemarsh Townships, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located just outside the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia, it is bordered by the Morris Arboretum & Gardens to the east, Whitemarsh Valley Country Club to the south, Carson Valley School to the north, and Corson's Quarry to the west. The Wissahickon Creek flows through the farm and Stenton Avenue crosses it. All but 23 acres of the land is now protected from development by conservation easements.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. "National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania" (Searchable database). CRGIS: Cultural Resources Geographic Information System.Note: This includes David M. Berman (April 1966). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: The Highlands" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-12-29.
  3. 1 2 3 The Highlands Mansion and Gardens website