Livezey House

The Livezey House, also known as Glen Fern, is a historic house and mill on the east side of Wissahickon Creek in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[1] It was designated on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places on June 26, 1956.

Glen Fern
Digital photo of the Livezey House taken in March 2013.
LocationPhiladelphia, PA
Coordinates40°02′58″N 75°12′48″W
AreaWissahickon Park
Builtc.1725
ArchitectThomas Shoemaker
OwnerThomas Livezey & family
DesignatedJune 26, 1956

The house was constructed (c.1725) by Thomas Shoemaker and sold to Thomas Livezey, Jr. (1723–1790) on October 10, 1747, who constructed a mill at the site.[2] The following year, on April 2, Livezey married Martha Knowles. They were devout Quakers and raised a large family of 5 sons and 5 daughters in that tradition at Glen Fern,[3] some of whom inherited the management of the mill.[4] Livezey's descendants occupied Glen Fern for more than 120 years.[5]

Grounds and structures

In 1873, the Livezey House and property was purchased by the City of Philadelphia for Fairmount Park and operations of the mill ceased. In 2020, the house continues to be a private residence, and many ruined structures from the days of the mill are scattered around the grounds. The house consists of "three adjoining gable-roof structures in diminishing order, each with a single shed-roof dormer in its roof."[6] Livezey expanded the house in 1764, and constructed several other buildings including a barn in 1768.[7]

The Livezey dam crosses the Wissahickon Creek and is visible in a historic ambrotype photograph taken in 1858. The dam is still extant but the stone outhouse was removed, presumably during the late 19th century.

Revolutionary tales

Several stories from the Revolution have been passed down, though of uncertain authenticity. Officers of the British and Continental forces purportedly met on neutral grounds at the Livezey House, and another story claims that eleven Hessian soldiers were killed along the stone wall in front of the house.[8]

According to an entry in Elizabeth Drinker's journal, the Livezey mill caught fire on October 24, 1793 and was burned to the ground. Six hundred barrels of flour, and five hundred bushels of wheat, were lost in the fire.[3]

Historic ambrotype photograph of Glen Fern taken on June 2, 1858.

References
  1. Herman, Andrew Mark (2004). Along the Wissahickon Creek. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-3521-0.
  2. "Thomas Livezey: Pennsylvania Merchant Miller, Part 1 - ProQuest". search.proquest.com. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  3. Eberlein, Harold Donaldson; Lippncott, Horace Mather (1912). The Colonial Homes of Philadelphia and Its Neighbourhood. J.B. Lippincott.
  4. Revolution, Daughters of the American (1912). Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine. National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
  5. Women, Philadelphia Museum of Art Associate Committee of (1956). The Park Houses, Fairmount Park, Philadelphia. Associate Committee of Women of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
  6. Cousins, Frank; Riley, Phil Madison (1920). The Colonial Architecture of Philadelphia. Little, Brown.
  7. "Thomas Livezey: Pennsylvania Merchant Miller, Part II - ProQuest". search.proquest.com. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  8. Commission, Pennsylvania Louisiana Purchase Exposition (1904). Pennsylvania, the Building of an Empire. McCartney & Benesch Publishing Company.
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