Stenton House Tours November 25, 2010

Stenton is known as one of the earliest, best-preserved and most believable historic houses in Philadelphia. Its distinguished Georgian architecture, its outstanding collection, and its superb documentation combine to create one of the most authentic house museums in the region. As part of Philadelphia's Historic Northwest, Stenton now sits on three acres of the original 500-acre plantation. The site includes an elegant c. 1730 mansion, a kitchen wing, privy, icehouse, barn, and Colonial Revival garden. Built and owned by James Logan, Secretary to Pennsylvania founder William Penn, Stenton is a house of learning, past and present. As Pennsylvania grew as a Colony, James Logan was one of the most important individuals in guiding that growth. In time, he was able to build a country house, saying, "I am about purchasing a plantation to retire to for I am heartily out of love with the world." During the last twenty years of his life when he lived at Stenton, Logan was a distinguished scholar and collected a tremendous library, which he left to the City of Philadelphia. Through tours, educational programs and special events, Stenton continues to be an historic object lesson for visitors, giving them a sense of what life was like in the 18th Century.