THE HOUSE AT FRIENDSHIP HILL

An imposing structure on the landscape, the Gallatin House does not give away it's secrets easily. This guide is designed to answer often asked questions about the home. Floor plans and illustrations accompany the text as you survey the historic building.

THE BRICK HOUSE - 1789

The Brick House is the oldest section of Albert Gallatin's friendship hill. Begun in early 1789, it would take Gallatin several years to complete this modest frontier home. Constructed of bricks made on the site and laid in the Flemish bond arrangement, the house is a fine example of Federal style architecture. On the exterior, the house was finished with shutters and porches; first and second story porches on the east side (front) and a balcony on the west side. the interior floor space consisted of full basement used for storage; the first floor as a parlor, library and dining room; the second floor was a bedroom with an attic above. Much of the woodwork in the Brick House is not original to the time of its construction. Remodeling by later owners and fire have altered its appearance. The exterior brick work was covered over with scored stucco in the mid 1800's. The original fireplace mantel with a marble seen today. Hints of the house's original woodwork sometimes are revealed. The original beaded vertical paneling of the partition wall was uncovered during restoration work. Sections on the partition wall reveal the original paneling and the various layers of plaster work from later remodeling efforts.

Within this house, Albert Gallatin and his partners planned their financial future in the wilderness with the creation of the industrial town of New Geneva. Joy and sorrow are also ingrained into this house where Gallatin's first wife, Sophia, lived and died.

THE FRAME HOUSE - 1798

Constructed on the north side of the Brick House, the Frame House was built to provide room for Gallatin's growing family which by the late 1790's consisted of his second wife, Hannah, and a young son James. The first level served as a dining room and the second as an additional bedroom. This addition did not have a basement.

The wall construction consists of half-timbered framing members with brick infill. Based upon archaeological evidence, the exterior wall was finished with a seven to eight inch wide clapboard siding, painted white. Remodeling by later owners replaced or covered the existing siding with stucco. Likewise the interior has seen replacement of woodwork and window treatments with the change of ownership since Gallatin's day.

THE STONE HOUSE - 1823

This structure and the Stone Kitchen (built in 1824) were the last additions built during Gallatin's ownership. Longing for retirement from public affairs, Gallatin sent his youngest son, Albert Rolaz, to Friendship Hill in 1821 to supervise construction of the Stone House. The ochre-colored sandstone used in these walls was quarried along the banks of the Monongahela River nearby. Timber for the house was purchased in Pittsburgh and cut at Gallatin's saw mill along Georges Creek near the town of New Geneva. The completed three and one half story house has a basement, two first floor parlors, two bedrooms on the second floor, four finished rooms on the third floor and an attic. The house was described by Gallatin as Hyberno-teutonic in architecture although from his letters he had planned for a Greek Revival style structure. Though spared from the fires of 1979, the Stone House was not immune to remodeling. New window treatments, mantels, flooring and wood trim are found intermixed with the original fabric of Gallatin's Stone House.

Host to the Marquis de LaFayette's visit in May of 1825, the Stone House was quite lavish in appearance. In it were placed French wallpapers, marble fireplaces, carpeting and cut glass chandeliers. And yet the family stayed here only two years. Three of the family members found the home too remote from the social pleasures they had enjoyed in places such as New York City, Washington D.C. and Paris. In the autumn of 1825 Gallatin would bow to their wishes and move the family east never to return.

Post Gallatin Additions

STATE DINING ROOM - 1895

The State Dining Room was the first of three post-Gallatin additions constructed by the Charles Speer family. A first floor dining area and two bedrooms upstairs occupied this section originally. Park planners decided to make adaptive use of this structure along with the South Bedroom Wing and Servants' Quarters. By using existing sections of the house as exhibit space, offices and storage there was no need to construct a new building that would intrude on the historic scene.

SOUTH BEDROOM WING - 1901-02

The second post-Gallatin addition is the South Bedroom Wing. The owners of the property, The Speer family, constructed the stuccoed brick wing to provide additional bedroom space for family and guests. Today, park offices and the library are housed in this section.

SERVANTS' QUARTERS - 1903

The Servants' Quarters was the last post-Gallatin addition constructed by the Speer family at the turn of the twentieth century. The structure provided living quarters to the house servants and a laundry room. Today the building serves as the park auditorium and ranger office.