Deshler-Morris House

Infobox nrhp
name = Deshler-Morris House
nrhp_type =

---

caption =
location = 5442 Germantown Avenue
Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
lat_degrees = 40
lat_minutes = 2
lat_seconds = 1.6
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 75
long_minutes = 10
long_seconds = 18.4
long_direction = W
locmapin = Pennsylvania
area = < convert|1|acre|m2|sing=on
built = 1752
architect = David Deshler
architecture =
added = January 13, 1972
visitation_num =
visitation_year =
refnum = 72000095cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007-01-23|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]
mpsub =
governing_body = National Park ServiceThe Deshler-Morris House, also known as the Deshler House or Perot-Morris House, is a historic mansion in the Germantown section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the scene of fighting in the Battle of Germantown, and it is the oldest official presidential residence, having twice sheltered George Washington.

Construction

The house takes its name from its first and last owners. David Deshler, a merchant, bought a two acre lot from George and Anna Bringhurst in 1751-52 and constructed a four-room summer cottage here in 1752. Twenty years later he built a 3-story, 9-room addition to the front, making it one of the most elegant homes in the region.

Isaac Franks, a former colonel in the Continental Army, bought the house after Deshler died in 1792, then rented it to Washington. Franks later sold it to the Morris family who retained ownership until Elliston P. Morris donated it to the National Park Service in 1948.

Revolutionary War

In 1777, it was a scene of fighting in the Battle of Germantown, after which British General Sir William Howe occupied the house.

Germantown White House

When the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 struck Philadelphia, President Washington and his cabinet fled the capital to Germantown, then ten miles (16 km) to the northwest of the city. From November 16 to 30, Washington lived in the house, where he met four times with his cabinet, including Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, Edmund Randolph, and Henry Knox. Today, the house is sometimes called the "Germantown White House."

The following summer Washington returned to the house with his wife Martha and their adopted children (also step-grandchildren), Eleanor Parke Custis and George Washington Parke Custis. The President posed for painter Gilbert Stuart, who kept a studio nearby, and the family attended the German Reformed Church across the square.

Preservation

Later the house was sold to Elliston and John Perot, and in 1834 to Elliston's son-in-law, Samuel B. Morris. The Morris family lived in the house for over a hundred years before donating it to the National Park Service in 1948.

The house is administered by Independence National Historical Park and operated by the Volunteers of the Deshler-Morris House Committee, Inc.

Bringhurst House

In 1973, the Bringhurst house, neighboring the Deshler-Morris House on the northwest, was donated to the National Park Service from the Germantown Savings Bank in order to "assure access, light, and air for the historic structure". The Bringhurst property is currently in the process of conversion into an exhibition space and welcome center for the Deshler-Morris landscape.cite web|url=http://philadelphia.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2007/09/10/story12.html?jst=s_cn_hl|title=Five Million Dollars to be spent to preserve historic sites in Germantown|date=2008-05-19|]

References

Further reading

*Marion, John Francis, "Bicentennial City: Walking Tours of Historic Philadelphia". Princeton: The Pyne Press, 1974.
*Jenkins, Charles F., "The Guide Book to Historic Germantown". Germantown Historical Society, 1973.
*Jenkins, Charles F., "Washington in Germantown". Philadelphia: Canterbury Press, 1905.
*"Deshler-Morris House." National Park Service brochure. Independence National Historic Park.

External links

* [http://www.nps.gov/demo/ Deshler-Morris House] at the National Park Service
* [http://www.ushistory.org/germantown/lower/deshler.htm Article at UShistory.org]