Boelson Cottage

Boelson Cottage is a Dutch and Swedish-style colonial era cottage located in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia.[6] The ​1 1⁄2-story gambrel-roofed fieldstone cottage[4] was built sometime between 1678 and 1684.[6] The cottage is situated on the west bank of the Schuylkill River within a plot of 100 acres (40 ha) of land granted to John Boelson in 1677 by the Swedish colonial court in Upland, Pennsylvania.[6] Boelson's cottage is the oldest extant structure in Fairmount Park.[6]

Boelson Cottage
Location2110 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive (fka, West River Drive), Philadelphia 19131[1]
Coordinates39.9896°N 75.2030°W / 39.9896; -75.2030
Built1678–84
Architectural styleDutch, Swedish colonial
NRHP reference No.72001151[2][3][4]
Significant dates
Designated NRHPFebruary 7, 1972
Designated PRHPMay 28, 1963[5]

The name of the cottage varied over the years, including Pig's Eye, Tom Moore's, Aunt Cornelia's, and Belmont Cottage—the latter due to its proximity to Belmont Mansion and its possible use as housing for servants of that mansion. The name is also sometimes spelled, or misspelled, Boelsen.[4]

A wooden shed was attached to the south wall of the cottage around 1950.[4] A group called the Friends of the Philadelphia Parks renovated the cottage in 1989–90 and then used it as their office.[4][6] The original floor, windows, and doors were replaced, as was most of the original woodwork and ironwork.[4]

The cottage is registered on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places[5] and is an inventoried structure within the Fairmount Park Historic District entry on the National Register of Historic Places.[2][3][4]

See also

 Philadelphia portal

References
  1. "District Directory - District 5" (archive). page 10. segerpark.net. Philadelphia Parks & Recreation. May 2011. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  2. "National Register Information System – Fairmount Park (#72001151)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013. Retrieved November 14, 2017. (archive)
  3. "National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form". (archive) by George B. Tatum of the Philadelphia Historical Commission. dot7.state.pa.us. National Park Service document via the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Cultural Resources Geographic Information System, the Department of Transportation website and the records of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. January 11, 1972. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  4. "Boelsen Cottage, Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania". (archive) loc.gov. National Park Service. Retrieved November 14, 2017. Note: this National Park Service source lists many name alternatives and differs in three ways from the Fairmount Park Commission's report: by spelling of last name (Boelsen, rather than Boelson), year of construction (c.1800, rather than 1678–84), and use of the house (possible servant's quarters for Belmont Mansion, instead of the personal home of its owner).
  5. "Resources Listed on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places Without Official Addresses" (archive). phila.gov. Philadelphia Historical Commission. April 9, 2012. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  6. "Fairmount Park Trail Master Plan". issuu.com. Andropogon Associates, Ltd (for the Fairmount Park Commission). December 31, 2000. Retrieved November 5, 2017.

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