Stenton (mansion)

	Stenton
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	U.S. National Historic Landmark
	Stenton mansion in November 1960
Location	4601 North 18th Street, ; Logan, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Coordinates	40°1′25.6″N 75°9′16.6″W / 40.023778°N 75.154611°W
Area	3 acres (12,000 m2)
Built	1723–1730
Architect	John Nicholas (d. 1756), master builder
Architectural style	American Georgian
Website	http://www.stenton.org
NRHP reference No.	66000690
Added to NRHP	January 12, 1965

Stenton, also known as the James Logan Home, was the country home of James Logan, the first Mayor of Philadelphia and Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court during the colonial-era governance of the Province of Pennsylvania. The home is located at 4601 North 18th Street in the Logan neighborhood of North Philadelphia.

Charles Follen McKim once pronounced the home to be the finest example of colonial architecture in the United States.^[2]

History

Stenton was named for Logan's father's Scottish birthplace, and was built between 1723 and 1730 on 511 acres (2.07 km²) as the country seat of James Logan, who was recognized in his lifetime as "a universal man in the Renaissance tradition."

Logan arrived in Philadelphia in 1699 as William Penn's secretary. He went on to occupy pivotal roles in the governance of colonial-era Province of Pennsylvania for five decades, including as a mayor of Philadelphia, 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 in the fertilization of corn (an achievement that caused Linnaeus to consider him "among the demigods of science"), and amassed a fortune in the fur trade.^[3]

The building is of red brick, with dark headers. The roof atop its 21⁄2 stories is hipped.

After 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.

After William's death in 1776,^[4] Stenton was inherited by his son, George Logan (1753–1821), a physician and later U.S. senator.

The house was part of Battle of Germantown in 1777. Both Continental Army general George Washington 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.^[5]

20th century

The mansion remained in the hands of the Logan family until 1910, when it was acquired by the City of Philadelphia.^[3]

Museum

Stenton is now open as a historic house museum and is part of the Germantown Historic District.^[6] The house is considered one of the nation's best still-standing examples of 18th century American Georgian architecture.^[7]

In January 1965, in recognition of the house's historical value and notability, Stenton was designated a National Historic Landmark. The mansion lends its name to nearby Stenton Park and Stenton Avenue. The village of Stanton, New Jersey in Readington Township, New Jersey 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.^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12]

References

^ NHL Listing at the National Park Service
^ Philadelphia. Vol. 10. City Government Publishing Company (published 1909). July 1909. p. 9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
^ ^a ^b "Logan family papers, 1684-1925". dla.library.upenn.edu. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
^ "Logan family papers, 1684-1925". dla.library.upenn.edu. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
^ Albert Cook Myers, ed., Introduction, Sally Wister's Journal: A True Narrative: Being a Quaker Maiden's Account of Her Experiences with Officers of the Continental Army, 1777–1779, Ferris & Leach, Philadelphia, 1902.
^ "Historic Germantown". Retrieved September 29, 2015.
^ "Stenton". Retrieved September 29, 2015.
^ "In Remembrance: Marj Dusay (1936-2020)". FilmInt.nu. January 30, 2020. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
^ "Andrew Repasky McElhinney", Wikipedia, June 24, 2022, retrieved September 2, 2022
^ McElhinney, Andrew Repasky (March 24, 2000), A Chronicle of Corpses (Drama, Horror), ARM/Cinema 25 Pictures Inc., retrieved September 2, 2022
^ Kehr, Dave (October 24, 2001). "FILM REVIEW; Decadence Meets Death On an 1800's Plantation". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
^ "Andrew Repasky McElhinney | MoMA". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved September 2, 2022.

External links

Official website
"Stenton" at Visit Philadelphia
"Stenton Museum" at Visit Pennsylvania
"Stenton" at Independence Hall Association
Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) documentation:
- HABS No. PA-1714, "Stenton", 4 photos, 10 measured drawings, 1 photo caption page
- HABS No. PA-1714-A, "Stenton, Kitchen Wing", 3 measured drawings
- HABS No. PA-6184, "Schuylkill River Villas", 18 data pages of historical context
Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALS) No. PA-24, "Stenton, 4601 North 18th Street, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, PA", 7 data pages

[1] NHL Listing at the National Park Service

[2] Philadelphia. Vol. 10. City Government Publishing Company (published 1909). July 1909. p. 9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)

[:0-3] "Logan family papers, 1684-1925". dla.library.upenn.edu. Retrieved September 29, 2015.

[4] "Logan family papers, 1684-1925". dla.library.upenn.edu. Retrieved September 29, 2015.

[5] Albert Cook Myers, ed., Introduction, Sally Wister's Journal: A True Narrative: Being a Quaker Maiden's Account of Her Experiences with Officers of the Continental Army, 1777–1779, Ferris & Leach, Philadelphia, 1902.

[6] "Historic Germantown". Retrieved September 29, 2015.

[7] "Stenton". Retrieved September 29, 2015.

[8] "In Remembrance: Marj Dusay (1936-2020)". FilmInt.nu. January 30, 2020. Retrieved September 2, 2022.

[9] "Andrew Repasky McElhinney", Wikipedia, June 24, 2022, retrieved September 2, 2022

[10] McElhinney, Andrew Repasky (March 24, 2000), A Chronicle of Corpses (Drama, Horror), ARM/Cinema 25 Pictures Inc., retrieved September 2, 2022

[11] Kehr, Dave (October 24, 2001). "FILM REVIEW; Decadence Meets Death On an 1800's Plantation". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 2, 2022.

[12] "Andrew Repasky McElhinney | MoMA". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved September 2, 2022.

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