The Francis Cope House at Awbury Arboretum is the largest of several historic homes of the Cope-Haines family. Built in 1862, this gracious Victorian mansion also hosts an art gallery for local artists. It is built entirely of Wissahickon schist.

Built in 1803 by architect James Matthews, and purchased by the Wistar family in 1812, the Federal style mansion sits in the middle of the beautiful Vernon Park. Located in the heart of Germantown, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966.

Cliveden, also known as the Benjamin Chew House, is a Georgian country house located in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  The house was built 1763-1767 by local German craftsmen as a summer home for prominent lawyer Benjamin Chew (1722-1810) and his family as a respite from heat and yellow fever epidemics.  There is no named architect of Cliveden, but the Chew Family Papers, held at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, include nine original drawings associated with the design process, which are attributed to lawyer and draftsman William Peters (1702-1786), and reference Andrea Palladio (1508-1580) and British architect Abraham Swan (active 1745-68).  The Chew Family Papers also document through detailed account books which identify master carpenter Jacob Knorr and master mason John Hesser, among others, as the Germantown builders responsible for its construction.

See the Cliveden website for more information.

Built in 1859 by either Joseph Hoxie or Samuel Sloan for wealthy merchant Ebenezer Maxwell, the Ebenezer Maxwell House is Philadelphia’s only restored Victorian museum mansion. The house is a beautifully preserved example of the Victorian mansion, with a three story tower, four chimneys, and three porches, along with restored gardens.

This 1795 building, a perfect example of the Federal Style, is designated a Significant Contributing property within the Colonial Germantown Historic District and figured at the center of the early to mid 20th century national Colonial Revivalism movement. It is directly across from the Germantown White House.

Built by David Deshler in 1752, this colonial mansion was rented by President George Washington several times during trips to Philadelphia.

Grumblethorpe, built in 1774 for Philadelphia’s Wistar family, is a restored American Georgian museum mansion. An example of Germantown’s natural resources, the stone for the house was quarried on the property, and the wood was hewn from oaks in Wister Woods, also owned by the family. Although originally intended as a summer residence, the Wistar’s lived at Grumblethorpe for 160 years.

Historic Rittenhousetown features early 18th and 19th century architecture ranging from German vernacular to Greek Revival. The earliest structure, the Homestead, is a typical German vernacular bank house that dates to 1707. Eight generations of the Rittenhouse family continued to live and work in the valley, all establishing homes and outbuildings along with their milling operations. Today six of the original family homes survive in addition to the WPA era reproduction barn.

Built in 1768 by architect Jacob Norr, this Colonial Georgian style home is better known for its role as a stop on the Underground Railroad.

Built in 1723-30 by master architect John Nicholas, this incredibly well preserved estate is one of the most well-preserved and oldest historic mansions in Philadelphia. It is an outstanding example of the American Georgian style.

The Wyck House is one of the most architecturally innovative buildings in Germantown, with a colonial appearance and fashionable whitewashed stucco, and an interior that represents architecture from across the 18th century. It was rearranged by William Strickland in 1824 to integrate the garden into the house with a new open plan.