On June 14, 2014 we had a visitor who worked for Mr. Strawbridge in 1954 — he shared the following memories with us: Mr. Strawbridge was in his 70s and the visitor was 15 at the time of his employment. He was paid $1/hour and his job was to sweep out the fireplaces in the […]
We were recently presented with a few artifacts that a park visitor had found on the grounds – a metal shank button and what appears to be a handle from a piece of furniture. Please note, as a state property, we do not allow digging or metal detecting, and any remains that may wash up […]
Mention Graeme Park to a Horsham resident, and most will tell you it’s haunted! The stories of Elizabeth Graeme Fergusson’s ghost have been circulating since her death in 1801 and continue to be experienced by our staff and volunteers today. The Horsham police dread the nighttime alarms they are sometimes called upon to answer at […]
Following is a charming note addressed to Mrs. Strawbridge after a visit to Graeme Park. June 30, 1946 My Dear Mrs. Strawbridge Many are the colonial buildings I have examined, perhaps not as many as I would have liked, yet I don’t remember, anywhere, a place where there was such dignity as “Graeme Park.” I […]
We’ve recently been contacted by representatives of the Samuel Johnson Society in Lichfield, England regarding planting a cutting of the Lichfield Willow (also known as Johnson’s Willow) at Graeme Park. The Willow is a 4th generation descendant of one that stood during Johnson’s time and of which he was very fond, but what makes it exciting for […]
We’ve been contacted by a researcher, Ken Nairn, in Scotland who’s been researching Elizabeth Graeme’s husband, Henry Hugh Fergusson. He’s provided us with a picture of his tombstone and a transcription of the inscription, which was made back in 1997 when it was less deteriorated. The inscription reads as follows: “Here is interred HUGH FERGUSSON […]
Quarantine, social distancing, and community spread are very much on our minds these days, but the concepts were not unknown to earlier doctors, including our own Dr. Graeme. Even though disease vectors were not always understood or accurately identified (bad air was often blamed), it was observed that those who avoided the sick escaped disease. While […]
William Penn, a Quaker, was looking for a haven in the New World where he and other Quakers could practice their religion freely and without persecution. He asked King Charles II to grant him land in the territory between Lord Baltimore’s province of Maryland and the Duke of York’s province of New York in order […]
Perhaps you received a DNA kit for Christmas and are curious to learn more about your ancestors, but not yet ready to commit to an Ancestry.com membership. Did you know that the Pennsylvania Archives partnered with the popular genealogy research website to allow them to digitize records held by the Archives in exchange for Ancestry […]
For 355 days of the year the original 1681 Charter, by which Charles II granted Pennsylvania to William Penn, is kept in darkness in a locked cabinet in a locked vault at the Pennsylvania Archives. The cement block room has a chemical fire suppression system and is maintained at a temperature of 55-degrees and a […]