Ravenhill is a

Renaissance Revival Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...

mansion at 3480-90 School House Lane in the West Germantown section of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

.Weightman Residence
from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings. Designed by architect

Willis Gaylord Hale Willis Gaylord Hale (January 1848, Seneca Falls, New York – August 29, 1907, Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was a late-19th century architect who worked primarily in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His flamboyant, highly-ornate style ...

and completed in 1887, the suburban house was built for chemical manufacturer

William Weightman William Weightman (September 30, 1813 – August 25, 1904) was a chemical manufacturer and one of the largest landowners in the United States. Nicknamed the "Quinine King," he created a synthetic form of the drug. His company, Powers & Weightman ...

. Weightman was popularly known as the "Quinine King" and "the richest man in Pennsylvania." For much of the 20th century, the mansion housed Ravenhill Academy, a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

private school for girls. It is now part of the East Falls campus of

Thomas Jefferson University Thomas Jefferson University is a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Established in its earliest form in 1824, the university officially combined with Philadelphia University in 2017. To signify its heritage, the univer ...

History

The 27-acre (10.9 hectare) property is located on a ridge that overlooks the

Wissahickon Valley Wissahickon Creek is a tributary of the Schuylkill River in Montgomery and Philadelphia Counties, Pennsylvania. Wissahickon Creek rises in Montgomery County, runs approximately 23 miles (37 km) passing through and dividing Northwest ...

to the northwest and

East Falls East Falls (also The Falls, formerly the Falls of Schuylkill) is a neighborhood in the Northwest section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It lies on the east bank of the "Falls of the Schuylkill," cataracts submerged in 1 ...

to the southeast.George W. & Walter S. Bromley, ''Atlas of the City of Philadelphia'' (Philadelphia: G. W. Bromley and Company, 1901), Plate 31. A stone house was constructed on the site in 1802, that Weightman purchased by 1844. The English-born chemist made an enormous fortune after inventing a synthetic form of

quinine Quinine is a medication used to treat malaria and babesiosis. This includes the treatment of malaria due to '' Plasmodium falciparum'' that is resistant to chloroquine when artesunate is not available. While sometimes used for nocturnal le ...

, a

prophylaxis Preventive healthcare, or prophylaxis, consists of measures taken for the purposes of disease prevention.Hugh R. Leavell and E. Gurney Clark as "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical and mental hea ...

for

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

. His factory, Powers & Weightman's Chemical Works, was located less than a mile away, along the

Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river running northwest to southeast in eastern Pennsylvania. The river was improved by navigations into the Schuylkill Canal, and several of its tributaries drain major parts of Pennsylvania's Coal Region. It f ...

, at School House Lane and Ridge Avenue. Weightman married Louisa Stillwagon in 1841, and together they had three children: John, William Jr., and Anne. Weightman hired his niece's husband, Willis G. Hale, to design the mansion. Horticulture was Weightman's hobby, and the estate featured a large variety of rare and exotic plants.Mnardi, Joseph. "History Matters: The Amazing Weightman", ''The Local'', September 7, 2017
/ref> He also owned a city house on

Rittenhouse Square Rittenhouse Square is a neighborhood, including a public park, in Center City Philadelphia. The park is one of the five original open-space parks planned by William Penn and his surveyor Thomas Holme during the late 17th century. The neighborho ...

, and a summer cottage at

Cape May, New Jersey Cape May is a city located at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the country's oldest vacation resort destinations, and part of ...

. Weightman developed dozens of blocks of Philadelphia real estate with middle class housing (designed by Hale). His investment in large tracts of Pennsylvania land made him "one of the largest real estate owners in the country."

Ravenhill Academy

Upon Weightman's death in 1904, Ravenhill passed to his daughter

Anne Weightman Anne Weightman Walker Penfield (December 15, 1844 – February 25, 1932) was a philanthropist and one of the richest women in the world. Biography She was born in December 15, 1844, to William Weightman, "the quinine king," Mary Sieminski, "Anne W ...

Walker, who donated the estate to the

Archdiocese of Philadelphia The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Philadelphia is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in southeastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. It covers the City and County of Philadelphia as well a ...

in 1910. Cardinal

Dennis Joseph Dougherty Dennis Joseph Dougherty (August 16, 1865 – May 31, 1951) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Philadelphia from 1918 until his death in 1951, and was made a cardinal in 1921. He was Philadelphia's longes ...

granted it to the

Religious of the Assumption The Religious of the Assumption is an international Roman Catholic women's congregation founded by Saint Marie Eugénie Milleret in Paris in 1839, and dedicated to the education of young girls. The Assumption Mission Associates is an affiliate ...

in 1919. The order of nuns opened a finishing school in the mansion, that later became a K-12 girl's private school known as Ravenhill Academy. Its best known alumna was the future actress and princess,

Grace Kelly Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an American actress who, after starring in several significant films in the early to mid-1950s, became Princess of Monaco by marrying Prince Rainier III in April 1956. Kelly ...

. Ravenhill Academy's last class graduated in 1976. A stained glass window was added to Ravenhill, depicting the foundress of the Religious of the Assumption, Mother (now Saint) Marie Eugenie. Prior to the sale of the mansion, the window was moved to the order's congregation house in

Lansdale, Pennsylvania Lansdale is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a densely-populated commuter town, with many residents traveling daily to Philadelphia using SEPTA Regional Rail's Lansdale/Doylestown Line. In 1900, 2,754 people live ...

Thomas Jefferson University

Ravenhill was sold to

Philadelphia University Thomas Jefferson University is a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Established in its earliest form in 1824, the university officially combined with Philadelphia University in 2017. To signify its heritage, the univer ...

in 1982. Philadelphia University merged with

in 2017. Ravenhill currently houses the administrative and faculty offices for Jefferson's School of General Studies.

References

External links

Ravenhill Academy
from Facebook {{coord, 40.01547, -75.19639, type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-PA, display=title Houses in Philadelphia Thomas Jefferson University Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia East Falls, Philadelphia