Path Progress: Adding Gravel and Pavers to the New Walkway
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.
06Apr
2012
2012
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06Apr
2012
2012
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Our Path is Clear: Breaking Ground for a New Walkway
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. […]
16Mar
2012
2012
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Six Degrees of Doctor Graeme: Did Your Ancestors Immigrate through the Port of Philadelphia?
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 […]
23Feb
2012
2012
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R.I.P. – Elizabeth Graeme Fergusson Mourned by Friends
(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 […]
12Jan
2012
2012
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The Graeme Park Story Behind Edward Lamson Henry’s Painting, “Drafting the Letter”
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 […]
07Jan
2012
2012
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The Sweetheart of Graeme Park: Elizabeth’s Loves, Losses, and Heartbreak
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 […]
06Jan
2012
2012
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It’s Better than a Blue Tarp: Progress? on the Roof
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 […]
31Dec
2011
2011
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Count Down to the New Year: Elizabeth’s Reflections on Her Old Family Clock
With the New Year upon us, I thought it appropriate to revisit Elizabeth Graeme Fergusson’s essay on the tall case clock that had been in her family most, if not all, of her life. The clock was meaningful to Elizabeth in that it marked […]
17Dec
2011
2011
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Historic “doll house” miniatures inspired by Graeme Park
One of the things we frequently hear at Graeme Park is how much bigger the house seems once you’re inside, but did you know that Graeme Park was the inspiration for more than one miniature version? The earliest we’ve encountered were models created by architects employed by the Works Projects/Progress Administration (WPA) as part of […]
27Nov
2011
2011
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Explore the Cellar of the Keith House with Us!
Way back in January of 2010 we took you up the roof access stairs for a quick peek in under the eaves. I’m very belatedly following up on my promise back then to show you the cellar next. The current access to the cellar is through the bulkhead doors on the south side of the […]