On December 7, 1771 Elizabeth’s friend Benjamin Rush brought a Scotsman named Henry Hugh Fergusson to one of her attic evenings. Well-educated and handsome, Henry did not own property, nor was he in a position to inherit any. This, and their age difference (he was 11 years younger than she) made him a bad match […]
It stood on the corner of Keith Valley and Davis Grove Roads for some 277 years, originally providing shelter for Joseph Kenderdine and his family who built and operated the mill on the opposite corner. The success of the mill meant the opening of Keith Valley and Davis Grove Roads so as to provide the […]
Things have been progressing nicely with the landscaping around the Open Aire Affairs tent. The sides of the new gravel path have been graded with dirt and seeded and the beds around the entrance to the tent have been planted with two small ornamental Kousa Dogwood trees, some ornamental grasses and some small, white flowering […]
So here is the path with the gravel and they’ve also put in a small paver entrance and marked out where new planting beds will be going in on either side of the glass doors.
With the nice weather we’ve been having, Open Aire Affairs has been able to get started on the new gravel path that will connect the wedding and party tent to both the back door of the Visitors’ Center and the existing macadam pathway that leads to the parking lot and the Keith House. […]
Did your ancestors immigrate through the Port of Philadelphia in the 1700s? If so, they may have crossed paths with Dr. Graeme! As both a Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court from 1731 through at least 1750, and the Port Physician for the Port of Philadelphia from 1727-1741, Dr. Graeme encountered thousands of immigrants. As […]
(Paraphrased from The Most Learned Woman in America by Anne Ousterhout). On the evening of February 11, 1801, while she sat up writing, Elizabeth suffered a chill. Her friend Betsy Stedman persuaded her to go to bed. By morning she was suffering a stranguary, but she refused to allow Betsy to call a doctor because […]
Edward Lamson Henry painted “Drafting the Letter,” the painting in the photo at left, in 1871. You may recognize certain elements in the room as being similar to the master bedroom in the Keith House at Graeme Park. In fact it is based on this room – Henry painted what was called “historic fiction,” so […]
Elizabeth Graeme Fergusson led a life of wealth and privilege, romance and intrigue, heartbreak, poverty and sorrow. She was the youngest child of the prominent and wealthy Dr. Thomas Graeme and his wife, Ann Diggs Graeme, and the step-granddaughter of Sir William Keith, Lt. Governor of Pennsylvania. She spent her summers at idyllic Graeme Park […]
After laying out sheets of plywood on Dec. 30 so the lift truck wouldn’t get stuck, the “new roof” project was put back on hold until this week. Tuesday the crew showed up to install our brand, spankin’ new “temporary” rubber roof. This will help prevent additional leaking and plaster damage on the third floor […]