Stenton, also known as the James Logan Home, was the country home of James Logan, the first

Mayor of Philadelphia The mayor of Philadelphia is the chief executive of the government of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as stipulated by the Charter of the City of Philadelphia. The current mayor of Philadelphia is Cherelle Parker, who is the first woman to hold the ...

and Chief Justice of the

Pennsylvania Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System. It began in 1684 as the Provincial Court, and casual references to it as the "Supreme Court" of Pennsylvania were made offici ...

during the colonial-era governance of the

Province of Pennsylvania The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn, who received the land through a grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania was derived from ...

. The home is located at 4601 North 18th Street in the Logan neighborhood of North

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. Architect

Charles Follen McKim Charles Follen McKim (August 24, 1847 – September 14, 1909) was an American Beaux-Arts architect of the late 19th century. Along with William Rutherford Mead and Stanford White, he provided the architectural expertise as a member of the par ...

once pronounced the home to be the finest example of

colonial architecture Colonial architecture is a hybrid architectural style that arose as colonists combined architectural styles from their country of origin with design characteristics of the settled country. Colonists frequently built houses and buildings in a sty ...

in the United States.

History

Stenton was named for Logan's father's Scottish birthplace, and was built between 1723 and 1730 on as the country seat of James Logan, who was recognized in his lifetime as "a universal man in the Renaissance tradition." Logan arrived in

in 1699 as

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 ...

's secretary. He went on to occupy pivotal roles in the governance of colonial-era

for five decades, including

mayor of Philadelphia The mayor of Philadelphia is the chief executive of the government of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as stipulated by the Charter of the City of Philadelphia. The current mayor of Philadelphia is Cherelle Parker, who is the first woman to hold the ...

, chief justice of the province's Supreme Court, and acting governor of the province. He assembled one of the best libraries in colonial America, discovered the vital role of

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by most types of flowers of seed plants for the purpose of sexual reproduction. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced Gametophyte#Heterospory, microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm ...

in the fertilization of

corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

(an achievement that caused

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

to consider him "among the demigods of science"), and amassed a fortune in the fur trade. The building is of red brick, with blackened headers. The roof atop its 2 stories is hipped. Following Logan's death in 1751, Stenton was inherited by his son, William Logan (1717–1776), who chose to live in Philadelphia for most of the year and used it predominantly a summer residence. William Logan also built the kitchen and added many fine furnishings. Following William's death in 1776, Stenton was inherited by his son, George Logan (1753–1821), a physician and later

U.S. senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

. The house was part of

Battle of Germantown The Battle of Germantown was a major engagement in the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War. It was fought on October 4, 1777, at Germantown, Pennsylvania, between the British Army led by Sir William Howe, and the American ...

in 1777. Both

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

general

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

and British General Lord William Howe used it as a headquarters. George Logan married Deborah Norris (1761–1839), a noted diarist and historian for whom '' Sally Wister's Journal'' was written in 1781.

20th century

The mansion remained in the hands of the Logan family until 1910, when it was acquired by the City of Philadelphia.

Museum

Stenton is now open as a

historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that is preserved as a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a variety of ...

and is part of the Germantown Historic District. The house is considered one of the nation's best still-standing examples of 18th century American

Georgian architecture Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarchs of the House of Han ...

. In January 1965, in recognition of the house's historical value and notability, Stenton was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

. The mansion lends its name to nearby Stenton Park and Stenton Avenue. The village of Stanton, New Jersey in

Readington Township, New Jersey Readington Township is a Township (New Jersey), township located in the easternmost portion of Hunterdon County, New Jersey, Hunterdon County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 16 ...

also borrows its name from the mansion.

In popular culture

*In Summer 1999, Stenton was the location for the filming of various scenes in '' A Chronicle of Corpses'', a film directed by Andrew Repasky McElhinney.

References

External links

*
"Stenton"
at Visit Philadelphia
"Stenton Museum"
at Visit Pennsylvania

at

Independence Hall Association The Independence Hall Association (IHA) is a Philadelphia--based historical organization. Founded in 1942, it was the driving force behind the creation of Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which houses Independence ...

Historic American Buildings Survey The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

(HABS) documentation: ** ** ** of historical context * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stenton (Mansion) American Revolutionary War museums in Pennsylvania Historic American Buildings Survey in Philadelphia Historic American Landscapes Survey in Pennsylvania Historic house museums in Philadelphia Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia Houses completed in 1730 Logan, Philadelphia National Historic Landmarks in Pennsylvania National Society of the Colonial Dames of America