Keith House (Upper Makefield Township, Pennsylvania)
Keith House—Washington's Headquarters | |
 Keith House, Washington's Headquarters, image from 1898 | |
  | |
| Location | Pineville Road, Upper Makefield Township, Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°17′44″N 74°56′49″W / 40.29556°N 74.94694°W |
| Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| Built | c. 1742 |
| NRHP reference No. | 78002356[1] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | November 14, 1978 |
| Designated PHMC | 1947[2] |
The Keith House, also known as Washington's Headquarters or Headquarters Farm, was a historic house in Upper Makefield Township, Bucks County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It served as the headquarters for George Washington during the American Revolutionary War and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.[1]
History
[edit]The 230 acres (93 ha) of land surrounding the Keith House was originally set aside by William Penn for use by his family, but sold it in 1697 to a group of investors after he found people already living on it.[3] The house was likely constructed sometime around 1742, with the land being acquired through an auction by William Keith in 1761.[3]
During the American Revolutionary War, the house was headquarters for General George Washington from December 14 to December 24, 1776.[4] It was the location from which Washington planned the crossing of the Delaware River and subsequent Battle of Trenton.[3] Legend has it that the Keith House's spring house was where double agent John Honeyman was imprisoned to inform Washington of the plans of the Hessian troops in Trenton.[3]
The house was kept in Keith family for 133 years. After the death of John Slack Keith, the house was sold to John Paxon in 1893.[5] The property was acquired and owned by Henry Bristol between 1933 and 1946. The house was then sold to James Rendall.[6]
It was destroyed by fire in the 1980s[7] and later rebuilt, but not included in Washington's Crossing, the National Historic Landmark.[8]
See also
[edit]- National Register of Historic Places listings in Bucks County, Pennsylvania
- List of Washington's Headquarters during the Revolutionary War
References
[edit]- ^ a b "NPS Focus". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. Retrieved July 24, 2010.
- ^ "PHMC Historical Markers". Historical Marker Database. Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission. Archived from the original on December 7, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
- ^ a b c d Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, § 8, p. 1.
- ^ Washington, George (December 14, 1776). "From George Washington to Brigadier Generals James Ewing, Hugh Mercer, Adam Stephen, and Lord Stirling, 14 December 1776". Founders Online, National Archives.
Note 1: For a description of Keith's house, which is no longer standing, see Davis, "Washington on the West Bank of the Delaware,"
- ^ Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, § 8, p. 2.
- ^ National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: Keith House–Washington's Headquarters. National Park Service. 1978. With accompanying 4 photos.
- ^ "Washington's Revolutionary War Itinerary". The Washington Papers.
- ^ Del Sordo, Stephen G. (1985). "Historic Resources of Washington's Crossing of the Delaware" (PDF). National Park Service.
It has been rebuilt in a manner that was not consistent with its original eighteenth century appearance.
External links
[edit]
- "Keith House, Washington's Headquarters". PA-SHARE. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
NR Nomination Form, Photo Pages
- Stryker, William S. (1898). The Battles of Trenton and Princeton. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company. pp. 30–33.
image of the Keith House, Washington's Headquarters
