The Penrose Strawbridge House

The Penrose/Strawbridge Farm is a 102-acre property located on the southwest side of County Line Rd. in Horsham Township, Montgomery County and is part of the Horsham Township Park System. It is located next to Graeme Park, the estate of colonial Governor Sir William Keith which is now a state park and museum.

Horsham has granted a lease on 10 acres of this property including the buildings to a joint venture of HPHA and HPPI for the purpose of restoration. The farmstead consists of two houses, a barn, a well and pump house and two smaller outbuildings.

Governor Road, commissioned by Sir William Keith in 1722, bisects the property. In that year he authorized a road to be built from Philadelphia to his “new building” in Horsham. At the entrance to the property, there are two features. The first is a three walled ruin, which is believed to be the remains of a barn dating to 1735-37. This barn appears on a drawing from 1737 found with documents requesting that Governor Road be expanded from Horsham to Eureka.

The second feature is a stone marker carved with “18 M to P’, which probably indicates 18 miles to Philadelphia from that point on Governor Rd. It may be an early mail delivery marker.

The complex of buildings begins approximately 125 feet east of Governor Rd. The first structure is a small silo. Nineteen feet from the silo are two wooden shed type structures used as stables. The next three outbuildings used parts of the remains of a barn built by the Penrose family in 1839 for livestock. The well/pump house is located in front of the livestock barn. All of these buildings are of plastered rubble stone construction.

The original structure, we believe, was built by Governor Keith as part of the estate he called Fountain Low as early as 1721. Keith's Estate passed down to Dr. Thomas Graeme, to his daughter Elizabeth Graeme Fergusson, then to Samuel Penrose and his descendants. It was purchased by Welsh and Margaret Strawbridge in 1920. The Penroses made a great many changes to the property including greatly expanding what we now call the Penrose Strawbridge House,.

The Strawbridges donated the portion of the estate now known as Graeme Park to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1957 to guarantee its preservation. When Welch Strawbridge died in 1969, Mrs. Strawbridge took control of the remaining 101-acre farm. In 1982 in an effort to preserve the farm and the surrounding land, Mrs. Strawbridge sold the tract to the National Lands Trust for $1.00. Part of this agreement of sale included a clause allowing Mrs. Strawbridge to live in the house until her death. Mrs. Strawbridge died in 1996. On January 8,1997 the 101 acres of the Penrose/Strawbridge farm was sold to Horsham Township by the Natural Lands Trust. The agreement of sale states the property is to be used for open space and will not be used for further development of the Township.

The people who have lived and worked and visited Graeme Park over the past (almost) 300 years are fascinating. Pages for some of them are shown in the menu to the right.

The property includes the main Penrose Strawbridge House and a number of other buildings, some in fairly good condition, and others that require a great deal of restoration.

HPHA has made major repairs to the main house and has improved its condition to the point where the house is used both as a residence for our onsite caretakers, and as an office and meeting place for the organization.

The goal of HPHA is to restore the property to its condition in the late 1800's as a Living History Farm. We currently have received designation as a farm, a museum, and a library. The restoration has not progressed to the point where the property is open to the public but we are happy to offer tours by appointment. The house and property are also open during special events.

The building itself includes the original structure from 1721, and additions by the Penroses through the 1800s (see below). The second floor area is used as living quarters for the present caretaker’s family and includes a modern kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, living room and HPHA office space

The Strawbridge house is now on the National Register as a Contributing Resource to Keith House (a building, site, structure, or object adding to the historic significance of a property.)

(PS House detailed History 10 02.doc)

Telling the Story

Our goal in documenting this project here is to try to bring to life some of the people of the past who have been associated with this little piece of land here in Horsham: the Keiths, Graemes, Penroses, and Strawbridges; and to illustrate - as best we can - how the property and the buildings on it evolved over the past almost 300 years ... and finally, to restore parts of the property back to how they were at a certain point in their history and to document our progress and the obstacles we encounter in doing this restoration.

There's a story to tell here.... so let's begin.

1810 Penrose House

What is now the front part of the house was built in 1810 by the Penroses. Samuel and Sarah Roberts Penrose had purchased Graeme Park from Dr. William Smith, the nephew of Elizabeth Graeme Fergusson,upon her death in 1801. This was added on to the the original structure that was built by Governor Keith in 1721. The Penroses had been living in the Keith House but moved to the new house when completed. The Penroses did not live in the Keith House after 1821 but did protect and maintain the building and even gave tours of the house. They considered it “a relic of antiquity worthy of being preserved and handed down to posterity.”

Samuel’s son William and wife Hannah Jarrett Penrose made many improvements to Graeme Park. They built two barns, one in 1829 (what is now the Visitor's Center at Graeme Park) and the other in 1839 (destroyed by fire in 1956). They built the second floor above the pre-1810 cabin in 1830 and the 1858 kitchen addition. Through their hard work, Graeme Park became one of the most valuable pieces of land in Horsham Township as recorded in the 1850 census. William died intestate in 1863. The estate was not settled for two years, and then was divided among the children.

In April of 1865, Abel Penrose became the third Generation of the Penrose Family to own Graeme Park. With the introduction of new machinery and farming techniques, Abel and his wife continued to make Graeme Park a success. Like his father William, and his grand father Samuel, Abel continued to maintain the Keith House and gave tours of the house. Abel died in 1893. His sons, Morris and William owned the land jointly for the next 27 years. Morris continued to live in the house with his sister Mary Penrose Carothers. Continuing the Penrose tradition, Morris and his sister Mary opened Keith Manor to the public.

While Welsh Strawbridge and Margaret Ely Marshall were courting, they visited Graeme Park. Mrs. Strawbridge remembered that visit well. When they became engaged, Welsh asked her, “Would you like to live here, or would you rather have a castle in Spain? Because I have an opportunity to go into the wool business in Spain. And, if we lived in Spain, you could have a castle.” Margaret replied, “I would prefer living in Pennsylvania.” Welch Strawbridge purchased Graeme Park in 1920. He and Margaret were married in 1922 and after a 3 month honeymoon in Europe, they moved into the 1810 House at Graeme Park.

The entire house is constructed of rubble stone, which has been plastered. The house has four sections and is in the shape of an “L”. The largest section of the house is a five bay, one pile, end gable (40 ft. by 21 ft.) three story Georgian home built in 1810.

The first floor of the southern façade has an attached 8ft stone porch supported by Doric order columns which was added to the home in the early 1920’s. The house is entered through a central door, which is surrounded by both side lights and transom lights. The second story windows are 6 over 9, and there are 3 over 6 windows on the third floor.

The eastern façade is composed of the gable end of the 1810 structure, which has one floor to ceiling window on the first floor. The third floor has a 4 by 4 window on each side to the chimney. The remainder of the eastern façade is composed of three sections (40 ft. by 20 ft.) that are attached to the 1810 house. This facade had a pent roof, which ran the entire 61-ft length until 1994 when a new roof was put on the house.

Herb Levy, a retired historical architect and a former board member of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, believes the center section of the eastern façade is the oldest section of the home and that it was constructed in two parts. The first floor is believed to have been a one-story, one-room pen plan cabin built before 1810 (possibly before Keith House, which dates to 1722). The first floor has a plain post and lintel entrance door. The three windows on the first floor are not the same. One is a 6 by 6 sash, the other two are 6 by 9 sash windows. The center window may be the window in the original cabin. The second floor of the center section was added to the cabin structure in 1830. The third section of the eastern facade is a small two and one half-story addition built in 1858.

Each section of the main house has a basement. Inspection of the basement of the possible pre-1810 section shows two large supports. One of the supports is for the large fireplace one the first floor. The other support is a mystery. It is almost identical to the fireplace support and is much larger than needed for any normal kitchen activities above. The basement also has a circular stone structure that may have been a well or a vat, used for water storage or possibly ice. Upon closer inspection of this basement, the remains of a winder were discovered directly below the winder in the dining room.

A (very) short video of the front of the house taken by Pete Choate in 2008...

1848 Springhouse

This three-bedroom house atop a free flowing spring is now a renovated rental unit which serves as a source of income for the sustainability of the site. It is not open to the public as a caretaker is living there. The spring is the main source of water for both dwellings and for the pond below them. It then flows into Park Creek, a Neshaminy watershed tributary.

This was originally a springhouse and was converted to a home in 1853, possibly to make additional living quarters for members of the Penrose Family. The building is constructed of plastered rubble stone. What remains of the original springhouse is now below ground level on the northern side of the structure. The roof portion of this façade is supported by four circular pilings, which are very similar to the supports that remain of the 1839 barn. The first floor of this 1853 home appears to be built directly over the foundation of the old springhouse.

pre-1839 Equipment Barn and Hired Hand Apartment

This structure is located to the north of the main house and to the east of the spring house. It is an open front series of rooms with sliding barn doors. There are 2 second floor rooms, one at each end of the building but these are not connected.

Marge Murphy granddaghter of Margaret's housekeeper, Mrs. Murphy tells us that one of the upper rooms was as an apartment by Sam, a hired hand. There is a fireplace for heat and behind the building are “his” and “hers” outhouses. The hired hands took their meals in Mrs. Murphy’s kitchen.

One of the bays or stalls on the ground floor of the building was likely used at one time to keep animals. There is a chute built into the rear wall that was probably used to dispose of manure.

1839 Masonry Outhouse

Prior to plumbing, this stone and stucco outhouse was used by the Penrose family. It is now used for gardening.

1939 Well Room

Used as a source of water for the animals in the adjacent barn. It was modified for use as a cleaning room for dairy products.

1839 Barn

The original banked barn burned down in 1956. Rebuilt as a one story barn, it houses tools and equipment and could (and did) contain chickens and cows. The barn museum presently contains old farm implements such as a copper apple butter kettle, a grinding wheel, hand tools, butter churns and related farm food production implements.

1920 Steeplechase Stables

Used to house the steeplechase horses raised and raced by Welsh Strawbridge. These structures are in serious disrepair.

Grain Silo

Used to store fodder for the animals and now used for garden equipment.

1735 Barn

All that is left of the 1735 barn are 3 foundation walls set into an earthen embankment. (more on the 1735 Barn)

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Penrose Strawbridg House 1956

Front of Penrose Strawbridge House taken in 1956. Black and White

1956

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Penrose Strawbridge Site Map

aerial view of the present day Penrose Strawbridge Farm and Graeme Park

6/24/2012

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Penrose Strawbridge Barn and Broken Wall

The barn at the Pennrose Strawbridge House as seen over the broken wall with Mrs Strawbridge's daffodils in the foreground

April 2010

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Penrose Strawbridge House Front

Photograph by: Pete Choate 6/3/2008

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Equipment Barn

built probably prior to 1839 this building has 5 bays on the ground level the center 2 were probably used for animals. There are 2 rooms on the 2nd floor, at least one which was used as a hired hands apartment

Photograph by: Kevin Winters 12/22/2011

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Manure Chute Exterior

Exterior view of the manure chute

Photograph by: Kevin Winters 12/22/2011

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Horse Stalls

Horse Stalls at Penrose Strawbridge House. Once used for Welsh Strawbridge's Steeplechasers, these structures are now in disrepair

Photograph by: Kevin Winters 12/22/2011

Gallery

Click on photo to see larger image with description