Field Trips & Outings

During the Revolutionary War, this house served as General George Washington’s headquarters for nearly two weeks in August 1777. The Continental Army, moving between Philadelphia and New York camped along the Neshaminy Creek while awaiting word on British movements. It was here that the Marquis de Lafayette came to join Washington’s army and that Count Casimir Pulaskimet Washington for the first time. Additionally, a Council of War was held here that included 13 men of note from American history.

The summer home of Provincial Governor Sir William Keith and later, Dr. Thomas Graeme, physician for the Port of Philadelphia and a Judge on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.  His daughter, Elizabeth Graeme Ferguson, inherited the house.  She was a famous literary figure during the Revolutionary War era and hosted America’s first literary salon.  She experienced much unhappiness in life, first through a failed romance with Benjamin Franklin’s son William, and then by her marriage to Fritz Hugh Ferguson, who proved to be a Loyalist during the Revolution and escaped Philadelphia for England after the British left the City in 1778 never to return.