The Richard Wall house is a historic home in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, built in 1682. It was owned by the Wall family for 165 years.[3][4][clarification needed] It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as Wall House and is also sometimes referred to as The Ivy.
Wall House | |
 Richard Wall house in October 2018 | |
  | |
| Location | Wall Park Drive, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°4′42″N 75°7′44″W / 40.07833°N 75.12889°W |
| Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| Built | 1682 |
| NRHP reference No. | 79002302[1] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | June 28, 1979 |
| Designated PHMC | November 21, 1982[2] |
The home has undergone several renovations, and a section of the basement wall is the only original remaining construction. It was the site of religious meetings and weddings, and among the earliest locations of Quaker worship in the United States. It is now a museum open to the public, and is located at Church Road and Wall Park Drive in Elkins Park.
History
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Richard Wall was a founder of Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania. He arrived with William Penn's group of Quakers in 1682. He and fourteen others pooled their land purchases to create the township. They named the township for the main town in Gloucestershire, England, where they apparently originated.
The Wall family was joined in marriage by the Shoemaker family. The families owned a corn grist mill on Tacony Creek. Descendants of the Walls lived in the house until 1847,[4] followed by the Bosler family.
In 1932, the township acquired the house and surrounding lands, which was named Wall Park. The house was rented from 1932 to 1979. In 1941, Harold C. Pike, the township manager, moved into the home and resided there until his death in 1978.
Since 1980, the house has been managed by the Cheltenham Township Historical Commission, which opened the museum and orientation center in 1993.
An original section of masonry wall can be seen in the current basement. The house was redesigned in 1730, 1760, and 1805. Later renovations added running water and electricity.
The permanent exhibits display elements of life over more than 200 years of residence. Highlights include a fully furnished and electrified 5-foot-tall (1.5 m) doll house created before 1920[5] and a collection of over 100 antique tools.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ "PHMC Historical Markers". Historical Marker Database. Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
- ^ "The Richard Wall House Museum", an information sheet provided to visitors of the museum.
- ^ a b Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. "Wall House (The Ivy)" (historical marker), Church Road and Wall Park Drive, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. 1982.
- ^ Hirsch, Lois. "The Doll House Lady and Her Doll House", an information sheet provided to visitors of the museum. Collected July 3, 2006.
Further reading
edit- Rothschild, Elaine W., A History of Cheltenham Township. Pennsylvania: Cheltenham Township Historical Commission, 1976.
External links
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- Richard Wall House Museum at CheltenhamTownship.org
- Slideshow of The Richard Wall House by Russell Heimlich
- Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. PA-6056, "Wall House, 100 Wall Park Drive, Elkins Park, Montgomery County, PA", 6 photos, 3 data pages, 1 photo caption page