The South Brook Farm, also known as the Charles A. Higgins Estate and the New Bolton Center for Veterinary Medicine, is an historic American

estate Estate or The Estate may refer to: Law * Estate (law), a term in common law for a person's property, entitlements and obligations * Estates of the realm, a broad social category in the histories of certain countries. ** The Estates, representativ ...

located in East Marlborough Township,

Chester County, Pennsylvania Chester County (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Tscheschter Kaundi''), colloquially referred to as Chesco, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in ...

. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1991.

History and architectural features

The original section of the house was built in 1717; it was then expanded during the nineteenth century. In 1940, it was modernized and enlarged by the architect

R. Brognard Okie Richardson Brognard Okie Jr. (1875–1945) was an American architect. He is noted for his Colonial Revival architecture, Colonial-Revival houses and his sensitive restorations of historic buildings. Biography Okie was born in Camden, New Jers ...

, reflecting the

Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the arch ...

style. Also located on the property are a former stable or

carriage house A ''carriage house'', also called a ''remise'' or ''coach house'', is a term used in North America to describe an outbuilding that was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and their related tack. Carriage houses were often two ...

that was transformed into a cottage and photographic studio, an English

bank barn A bank barn or banked barn is a style of barn which is accessible from the ground, on two separate levels. Often built into the side of a hill or bank, the upper and the lower floors could both be accessed from the ground, one area at the top of ...

, an early twentieth-century

terracotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic OED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware obj ...

silo A silo () is a structure for storing Bulk material handling, bulk materials. Silos are commonly used for bulk storage of grain, coal, cement, carbon black, woodchips, food products and sawdust. Three types of silos are in widespread use toda ...

, and a one-story garage (1940). ''Note:'' This includes This historic house was originally built as the retirement residence of

Caleb Pusey The Caleb Pusey House, built in 1683 near Chester Creek in Upland, Pennsylvania in the United States, is List of the oldest buildings in Pennsylvania, the oldest English-built house in Pennsylvania. It is the only remaining house that William ...

(c. 1650–1727), an associate of

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...

and a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

leader. The farm remained in the Pusey family until acquired by the industrialist Charles A. Higgins (1882-c. 1956) between 1939 and 1940. He hired the architect R. Brognard Okie to transform the property into a gentleman's estate. Since 1958, the house has been the centerpiece of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

's veterinary and animal research complex, known as the

New Bolton Center New Bolton Center is the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine's 700 acre campus in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. It is home to one of the busiest large animal teaching veterinary clinics in the nation. Since 1958, it has been ...

. It was added to the

in 1991.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Colonial Revival architecture in Pennsylvania Houses completed in 1940 Houses in Chester County, Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Chester County, Pennsylvania