The Project Gutenberg eBook, Historic Shrines of America, by John T. (John Thomson) Faris

Title: Historic Shrines of America

Being the Story of One Hundred and Twenty Historic Buildings and the Pioneers Who Made Them Notable

Author: John T. (John Thomson) Faris

Release Date: March 6, 2012 [eBook #39068]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1

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Historic Shrines of America

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BY JOHN T. FARIS

HISTORIC SHRINES OF
AMERICA

BEING THE STORY OF ONE HUNDRED
AND TWENTY HISTORIC BUILDINGS
AND THE PIONEERS WHO MADE
THEM NOTABLE

BY
JOHN T. FARIS

Member of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and Fellow of the
American Geographical Society
Author of "Real Stories from Our History," "Old Roads
Out of Philadelphia," etc.

ILLUSTRATED

NEW YORK
GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY

Copyright, 1918,
By George H. Doran Company

Printed in the United States of America

FOREWORD

Circular tours have long been popular in England. There was a time—as there will be a time again—when American visitors felt that to make the rounds of the cathedral towns or the historic castles or the homes and haunts of great men and women, was a necessary part of seeing the tight little island.

"What a pity it is that we in America have no such wealth of historic places," one returning tourist was heard to remark. "Oh, of course, there are a few spots like Independence Hall and Concord and Lexington," he went on, "but there are not enough of them to make it worth while to plan a tour such as those in which we have taken delight in England."

It was easy to point out to the traveler his mistake; most Americans know that the country is rich in places of historic interest. Just how rich it is they may not realize until they make a serious study of the landmarks of their own land, as does the European tourist of the centers noted in his guidebook.

In fact, there are in America so many houses, churches, and other buildings having a vital connection with our history that volumes would be required to tell of them all. Even a brief record of the buildings whose owners or occupants played a conspicuous part in the early history of the country would fill a large book.

It is fascinating to learn of these houses and public buildings and to delve into the biographies which tell what happened to the people who lived in them. Fiction seems tame after connecting, for instance, the story of Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler with the Ford Mansion and the Campfield House at Morristown, New Jersey, then with the Schuyler Mansion in Albany, New York, and The Grange in New York City. The heart of the patriot burns with new love for his country as he reads of Faneuil Hall and the Old South Church and Carpenters' Hall. The story of the Revolution is clothed with living interest when Washington and his generals are followed to Valley Forge and Newburgh and Cambridge and Morristown and Princeton. Fresh appreciation of the sacrifice of the pioneers comes from going with them into the garrison houses of New England, along the Wilderness Road in Kentucky, to the settlements on the Ohio, or to the banks of the Wabash where more than one Indian treaty was made.

Next comes the keen pleasure of visiting the houses and churches which, through the piecing together of these facts, have become like familiar friends. The vacation journey that includes a careful study of a few of these buildings becomes a fascinating course in patriotism.

It is the purpose of the author of "Historic Shrines of America" to tell just enough about each of one hundred and twenty of these buildings of historic interest to create a hunger for more; to present pictures sufficiently attractive to make those who turn the pages of the book determine to visit the places described; to arrange the brief chapters in such sequence that it will be possible for the reader to plan for successive vacations a series of journeys through the centers where historic buildings may be found, and, in doing this, to pass by so many structures of interest that the reader and the tourist will have abundant opportunity to discover houses and churches of which he will say, "I wonder why this was not included."

CONTENTS

CHAPTER   PAGE ONE: IN THE LAND OF THE PILGRIMS I The Old State House, Boston, Massachusetts 19 II Paul Revere's House, Boston, Massachusetts 23 III Faneuil Hall, Boston, Massachusetts 28 IV Three Historic Churches of Boston 32 V Elmwood, Cambridge, Massachusetts 36 VI The Craigie House, Cambridge, Massachusetts 40

class="tdr">VII The Adams Houses, Quincy, Massachusetts 44 VIII The Quincy Mansion, Quincy, Massachusetts 49 IX Fernside Farm, Haverhill, Massachusetts 54 X The Duston Garrison House, Haverhill, Massachusetts 56 XI The Old Manse and the Wayside, Concord, Massachusetts 61 XII The Royall House, Medford, Massachusetts 66 XIII Broadhearth and the Bennet-Boardman House, Saugus, Massachusetts 69 XIV The Colonel Jeremiah Lee House, Marblehead, Massachusetts 72 XV The Old South Church, Newburyport, Massachusetts 75 XVI The First Baptist Church, Providence, Rhode Island 80 TWO: WHERE PATROONS AND KNICKERBOCKERS FLOURISHED XVII The Morris-Jumel Mansion, New York City 87 XVIII The Philipse Manor House, Yonkers, New York 91 XIX St. Paul's Chapel, New York City 95 XX Fraunces' Tavern, New York City 97 XXI The Grange, New York City 100 XXII The Van Cortlandt House, New York City 104 XXIII The Hasbrouck House, Newburgh, New York 106 THREE: ACROSS THE JERSEYS WITH THE PATRIOTS XXIV The Franklin Palace, Perth Amboy, New Jersey 115 XXV The Church at Caldwell, New Jersey 119 XXVI Old Tennent Church, Freehold, New Jersey 122 XXVII The Ford Mansion, Morristown, New Jersey 126 XXVIII Nassau Hall, Princeton, New Jersey 130 XXIX Three Historic Houses at Princeton, New Jersey 134 XXX The Springfield Meeting House, New Jersey 138 FOUR: RAMBLES ABOUT THE CITY OF BROTHERLY LOVE XXXI The Letitia Penn House, Philadelphia 145 XXXII Carpenters' Hall, Philadelphia 149 XXXIII St. Peter's Church, Philadelphia 153 XXXIV Cliveden,

Germantown, Philadelphia 156 XXXV Old Pine Street Church, Philadelphia 159 XXXVI Independence Hall, Philadelphia 162 XXXVII The David Rittenhouse Home, near Philadelphia 170 XXXVIII The Headquarters at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania 174 XXXIX Three Headquarters of Washington 178 XL Sweetbrier-on-the-Schuylkill, Philadelphia 183 XLI Mill Grove and Fatlands, near Philadelphia 187 XLII Waynesborough, near Paoli, Pennsylvania 192 XLIII The Moravian Church, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 196 FIVE: OVER THE MASON AND DIXON LINE XLIV Historic Landmarks at New Castle, Delaware 203 XLV The Ridgely House, Dover, Delaware 208 XLVI Rehoboth Church on the Pocomoke, Maryland 211 XLVII Doughoregan Manor, near Ellicott City, Maryland 216 XLVIII The Upton Scott House, Annapolis, Maryland 220 XLIX The Capitol at Washington 225 L The White House, Washington 230 LI The Octagon House, Washington 234 SIX: HOMES AND HAUNTS OF THE CAVALIERS LII Mount Vernon, Virginia 241 LIII Arlington, Virginia 246 LIV Christ Church, Alexandria, Virginia 249 LV The Mary Washington House, Fredericksburg, Virginia 251 LVI Greenway and Sherwood Forest, Virginia 257 LVII Two Historic Courthouses of Virginia 262 LVIII St. John's Church, Richmond 266 LIX The Nelson House and the Moore House, Yorktown, Virginia 270 LX The John Marshall House, Richmond, Virginia 274 LXI Five Old Houses of Tidewater, Virginia 278

class="tdr">LXII Gunston Hall, Virginia 281 LXIII The Washington College Building, Lexington, Virginia 285 LXIV Bruton Parish Church, Williamsburg, Virginia 288 LXV William and Mary College, Williamsburg, Virginia 291 LXVI The Monumental Church, Richmond, Virginia 294 LXVII Montpelier, Orange County, Virginia 296 LXVIII Oak Hill, Loudoun County, Virginia 301 LXIX Red Hill, Charlotte County, Virginia 305 LXX Pohick Church, Truro Parish, Virginia 311 LXXI Mount Airy, Richmond County, Virginia 314 LXXII Two of Virginia's Oldest Church Buildings 318 LXXIII Monticello, near Charlottesville, Virginia 322 LXXIV The University of Virginia at Charlottesville, Virginia 326 SEVEN: THROUGH THE SUNNY SOUTH LXXV Three Old Churches in Charleston, South Carolina 333 LXXVI The House of Rebecca Motte, Charleston, South Carolina 336 LXXVII The Independent Church, Savannah, Georgia 340 LXXVIII The Cabildo of New Orleans 343 LXXIX The Alamo, San Antonio, Texas 347 LXXX The Hermitage, Nashville, Tennessee 351 LXXXI Ashland, Lexington, Kentucky 355 LXXXII Sportsman's Hall, Whitley's Station, Kentucky 359 LXXXIII White Haven, near St. Louis, Missouri 362 EIGHT: ALL THE WAY BACK TO NEW ENGLAND LXXXIV The Abraham Lincoln House, Springfield, Illinois 369 LXXXV The Governor's Palace at Vincennes, Indiana 374 LXXXVI The House of General Rufus Putnam, Marietta, Ohio 377 LXXXVII Monument Place, Elm Grove, West Virginia 381 LXXXVIII The Castle at Fort Niagara, New York 386 LXXXIX

class="smcap">The Schuyler Mansion, Albany, New York 391 XC The Wentworth House, Portsmouth, New Hampshire 395 XCI The Wadsworth Longfellow House, Portland, Maine 400   Bibliography 407   Index 411

ILLUSTRATIONS

Independence Hall, Rear View, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Frontispiece   PAGE Old State House, Boston, Massachusetts 25 Paul Revere House, Boston, Massachusetts 26 Hancock-Clarke House, Lexington, Massachusetts 26 Old North Church, Boston, Massachusetts 34 Old South Church, Boston, Massachusetts 35 Craigie House, Cambridge, Massachusetts 48 Fernside Farm, Haverhill, Massachusetts 48 Duston Garrison House, Haverhill, Massachusetts 49 Royall House, Medford, Massachusetts 49 Broadhearth, Saugus, Massachusetts 70 Bennet-Boardman House, Saugus, Massachusetts 70 Old South Church, Newburyport, Massachusetts 71 Morris-Jumel House, New York City 97 Philipse Manor House, Yonkers, New York 97 Fraunces' Tavern, New York City 98 Van Cortlandt House, New York City 98 The Franklin Palace, Perth Amboy, New Jersey 121 Old Tennent Church, Freehold, New Jersey 121 Nassau Hall and the First President's House, Princeton, New Jersey 122 Morven, Princeton, New Jersey 122 Letitia Penn House, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 146 St. Peter's Protestant Episcopal Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 147 Cliveden, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 160 Third (Old Pine Street) Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 160

David Rittenhouse's House, Norriton, Pennsylvania 161 Dawesfield, near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 161 Emlen House, near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 179 Fatlands, near Phoenixville, Pennsylvania 179 Waynesborough, Paoli, Pennsylvania 180 Moravian Church, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 180 Amstel House, New Castle, Delaware 205 Doorway of Amstel House, New Castle, Delaware 205 Hall of Read House, New Castle, Delaware 205 Doorway of Rodney House, New Castle, Delaware 206 Doorway of Stewart House, New Castle, Delaware 206 Doorway of Read House, New Castle, Delaware 206 Doorway of Presbyterian Church, New Castle, Delaware 206 Immanuel Church, New Castle, Delaware 217 Ridgely House, Dover, Delaware 218 Doughoregan Manor, near Ellicott City, Maryland 218 Upton Scott House, Annapolis, Maryland 233 Octagon House, Washington, D. C. 233 The Stairway, Octagon House, Washington, D. C. 234 Mount Vernon, Virginia, Rear View 244 Arlington, Virginia 244 Christ Church, Alexandria, Virginia 245 Mary Washington's House, Fredericksburg, Virginia 262 Hanover Court House, Virginia 262 St. John's Church, Richmond, Virginia 263 Nelson House, Yorktown, Virginia 263 Westover on the James, Virginia 282 Gunston Hall on the Potomac, Virginia 282 Washington College Building, Lexington, Virginia 283 Bruton Parish Church, Williamsburg, Virginia 283 Monumental Church, Richmond, Virginia 314 Pohick Church,

Virginia 314 Mount Airy, Richmond County, Virginia 315 University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 315 Independent Presbyterian Church, Savannah, Georgia 336 Pringle House, Charleston, South Carolina 337 The Cabildo, New Orleans, Louisiana 337 The Hermitage, Nashville, Tennessee 352 Ashland, Lexington, Kentucky 352 Sportsman's Hall, Whitley's Station, Kentucky 353 White Haven, St. Louis, Missouri 353 Abraham Lincoln's House, Springfield, Illinois 370 William Henry Harrison's House, Vincennes, Indiana 370 Rufus Putnam's House, Marietta, Ohio 371 The Schuyler Mansion, Albany, New York 371 Wentworth House, Portsmouth, New Hampshire 394 Warner House, Portsmouth, New Hampshire 394 Wadsworth Longfellow House, Portland, Maine 395

ONE: IN THE LAND OF THE PILGRIMS