The Cliffs
Encyclopedia
The Cliffs is a historic country house located near 33rd and Oxford Sts. in East Fairmount Park
, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, in the United States
. It is a Registered Historic Place.
(1707-1783), the great-grandfather of Joseph Wharton
. It overlooks the Schuylkill River
from the east, just north of Girard Avenue Bridge and quite close to where Fountain Green Drive meets Kelly Drive along the river. It is a country house in the Georgian style, constructed in stone, with two stories and a basement, originally heated by double fireplaces on both floors and basement. The estate surrounding the house included a farm.
The house was the location where Benjamin Franklin
's daughter, Sarah Franklin Bache
, and her sewing group made clothing and bandages for the Continental soldiers during the Revolutionary War
.
Joshua Fisher
(1707-1783) settled in Lewes, Delaware
, marrying Sarah Rodman, and as a young man started a hat-making business using the locally plentiful animal skins. He developed a robust transatlantic trade in animal pelts and became wealthy, moving his family to downtown Philadelphia in 1746, and building the Cliffs as a country getaway. He brought his family to the Cliffs house and farm in the summer and they grew up interested in nature, with an appreciation of the Quaker testimony of simplicity. Fisher's son Samuel Rowland Fisher
, his wife Hannah Rodman Fisher, and their three children, Sarah, Deborah
, and Thomas, spent their summers in the house during the years 1793-1834.
The house remained in the Fisher family for more than 100 years until the Fairmount Park Commission
purchased it in 1868. The house was rented and maintained until the 1960s when it became vacant. The house had a substantial amount of woodwork and paneling. It was taken over and repaired in the 1960s by the Shackamaxon Society, a local civic group.
allowed city officials to live in the park's 45 historic houses rent-free. As a result of the news stories, the Park Commission decided to charge rent, but renters could not be found for some of the houses. Those that were occupied were thereby protected and maintained. The Cliffs was unoccupied from 1970, and due to a lack of funds, neither the Park Commission nor the Shackamaxon Society could maintain it.
Today, what remains of the Cliffs is a shell of masonry that can only hint at its history and former glory. It is visible from the Schuylkill Expressway
and the West River Drive just north of the Girard Avenue bridge in the winter months when the foliage has dropped from the trees.
Fairmount Park
Fairmount Park is the municipal park system of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It consists of 63 parks, with , all overseen by the Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation, successor to the Fairmount Park Commission in 2010.-Fairmount Park proper:...
, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is a Registered Historic Place.
History
The Cliffs was built in 1753 by Philadelphia merchant Joshua FisherJoshua Fisher
Joshua Fisher was a prominent Philadelphia merchant involved in transatlantic trade and mapmaking as applied to nautical charts...
(1707-1783), the great-grandfather of Joseph Wharton
Joseph Wharton
Joseph Wharton was a prominent Philadelphia merchant, industrialist and philanthropist, who was involved in mining, manufacturing and education...
. It overlooks the Schuylkill River
Schuylkill River
The Schuylkill River is a river in Pennsylvania. It is a designated Pennsylvania Scenic River.The river is about long. Its watershed of about lies entirely within the state of Pennsylvania. The source of its eastern branch is in the Appalachian Mountains at Tuscarora Springs, near Tamaqua in...
from the east, just north of Girard Avenue Bridge and quite close to where Fountain Green Drive meets Kelly Drive along the river. It is a country house in the Georgian style, constructed in stone, with two stories and a basement, originally heated by double fireplaces on both floors and basement. The estate surrounding the house included a farm.
The house was the location where Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
's daughter, Sarah Franklin Bache
Sarah Franklin Bache
Sarah Franklin “Sally” Bache was the daughter of Benjamin Franklin and Deborah Read.Known as "Sally" throughout her life, she was an ardent American patriot during the Revolutionary War through relief work and as her father's political hostess...
, and her sewing group made clothing and bandages for the Continental soldiers during the Revolutionary War
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
.
Joshua Fisher
Joshua Fisher was a prominent Philadelphia merchant involved in transatlantic trade and mapmaking as applied to nautical charts...
(1707-1783) settled in Lewes, Delaware
Lewes, Delaware
Lewes is an incorporated city in Sussex County, Delaware, USA, on the Delmarva Peninsula. According to the 2010 census, the population is 2,747, a decrease of 6.3% from 2000....
, marrying Sarah Rodman, and as a young man started a hat-making business using the locally plentiful animal skins. He developed a robust transatlantic trade in animal pelts and became wealthy, moving his family to downtown Philadelphia in 1746, and building the Cliffs as a country getaway. He brought his family to the Cliffs house and farm in the summer and they grew up interested in nature, with an appreciation of the Quaker testimony of simplicity. Fisher's son Samuel Rowland Fisher
Samuel Rowland Fisher
Samuel Rowland Fisher was a prominent Philadelphia merchant involved in transatlantic trade. He owned a large shipping line that ran between London and Philadelphia, but was exiled and imprisoned during the Revolutionary War because of his Quaker beliefs.-Early years:Fisher was born in Lewes,...
, his wife Hannah Rodman Fisher, and their three children, Sarah, Deborah
Deborah Fisher Wharton
Deborah Fisher Wharton was an American Quaker minister, suffragist, social reformer and proponent of women's rights, and the mother of industrialist Joseph Wharton.She was one of a small group of dedicated Quakers who founded Swarthmore College...
, and Thomas, spent their summers in the house during the years 1793-1834.
Fairmount Park
Fairmount Park is the municipal park system of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It consists of 63 parks, with , all overseen by the Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation, successor to the Fairmount Park Commission in 2010.-Fairmount Park proper:...
purchased it in 1868. The house was rented and maintained until the 1960s when it became vacant. The house had a substantial amount of woodwork and paneling. It was taken over and repaired in the 1960s by the Shackamaxon Society, a local civic group.
Vandalism
The Cliffs house was vandalized in the 1970s and 1980s, possibly due to publicity that the Fairmount Park CommissionFairmount Park
Fairmount Park is the municipal park system of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It consists of 63 parks, with , all overseen by the Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation, successor to the Fairmount Park Commission in 2010.-Fairmount Park proper:...
allowed city officials to live in the park's 45 historic houses rent-free. As a result of the news stories, the Park Commission decided to charge rent, but renters could not be found for some of the houses. Those that were occupied were thereby protected and maintained. The Cliffs was unoccupied from 1970, and due to a lack of funds, neither the Park Commission nor the Shackamaxon Society could maintain it.
Fire
The Cliffs burned on February 22, 1986, due to vandalism and arson. Firefighters were unable to extinguish the fire because their heavy trucks sank in the clay earth surrounding the house. The clay had been trucked into the site in order to cover an area near the house used as a dump for refuse from various municipal construction projects.Schuylkill Expressway
The Schuylkill Expressway , locally known as the Schuylkill, is a freeway through southwestern Montgomery County and the city of Philadelphia, and the easternmost segment of Interstate 76 in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania...
and the West River Drive just north of the Girard Avenue bridge in the winter months when the foliage has dropped from the trees.
External links
- Fairmount Park
- List of Registered Historic Places in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
- Building - #72001147 in the National Register of Historic Places: http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/PA/Philadelphia/state2.html
- The Cliffs at the Historic American Buildings SurveyHistoric American Buildings SurveyThe Historic American Buildings Survey , Historic American Engineering Record , and Historic American Landscapes Survey are programs of the National Park Service established for the purpose of documenting historic places. Records consists of measured drawings, archival photographs, and written...