Cliveden (mansion)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Cliveden, aka Benjamin Chew House | |
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| (U.S. National Historic Landmark) | |
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| Location: | 6401 Germantown Avenue Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA |
| Coordinates: | Coordinates: |
| Area: | < 1 acre |
| Built/Founded: | 1763 - 1767 |
| Architect: | William Peters |
| Architectural style(s): | Georgian colonial |
| Added to NRHP: | 1966 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 66000677 |
| Governing body: | The National Trust for Historic Preservation |
Cliveden (enPR: klĭvʹdən), also known as the Benjamin Chew House, is a historic mansion in Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the scene of some of the bloodiest fighting of the Battle of Germantown, fought in 1777 during the American Revolutionary War.
The mansion was inhabited from colonial times by seven generations of the Chew family, from Benjamin Chew, who built the house from 1763 to 1767, up until 1972.[1] Benjamin Chew was a Supreme Court Justice for the state of Pennsylvania and was among the wealthy elite in the 18th century. His mansion at Cliveden was merely a summer home, with other locations in Center City Philadelphia and Delaware.
During the battle, Chew, a loyalist, was being held in New Jersey. The British, under Colonel Musgrave, occupied the stone house, and with muskets and bayonets fought off an attack by Continental soldiers. George Washington's army was repelled and sent back down Germantown Avenue in a defeat.
In 1966, Cliveden was designated a National Historic Landmark, part of the Colonial Germantown Historic District.[2]
Chew family papers discovered throughout the house are currently being archived by a team from the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. These papers are expected to shed new light on the history of slavery in Philadelphia and the region.[3] Benjamin Chew was known to have possessed many slaves at the Cliveden mansion. One of these slaves, Charity, is the feature of new research surrounding the discovery of the Benjamin Chew papers.[4]
The National Trust for Historic Preservation operates Cliveden as a historic house museum, and offers tours from April through December.
[edit] External links
- Cliveden of the National Trust
- Cliveden at USHistory.org
- Cliveden's listing as a National Historic Landmark
- Images of Cliveden at the Library of Congress
- Image at the Library of Congress
- Listing, drawings, and photographs at the Historic American Buildings Survey
- Cliveden's 2008 Walnut Lane Bridge Exhibit
[edit] References
- ^ Marion, John Francis. Bicentennial City: Walking Tours of Historic Philadelphia. Princeton: The Pyne Press, 1974.
- ^ Jenkins, Charles F. The Guide Book to Historic Germantown. Germantown Historical Society, 1973.
- ^ Clark, Vernon. "Papers cast light on slavery in Phila.: A treasure trove from Cliveden.", Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Media Holdings LLC, 2007-11-12. Retrieved on 2007-11-12. (English)
- ^ Johns Hopkins University Museums | Homewood Museum
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