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Independence National Historical Park
Declaration House
Jefferson House

Declaration House


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701 Market Street
The Declaration House, located on the southwest corner of 7th and Market Streets, was reconstructed in 1975. The exhibit is open year round, though hours vary by season.The house was originally built in 1775 by Philadelphia bricklayer Jacob Graff, Jr. During the summer of 1776 Thomas Jefferson, a 33-year-old delegate from Virginia to the Continental Congress, rented the two second-floor rooms and there drafted the Declaration of Independence. The first floor contains exhibits and a short film on the drafting of the Declaration. On the second floor, the bedroom and parlor that Jefferson occupied have been recreated and contain period furnishings. Also included are reproductions of Jefferson's swivel chair and the lap desk he used when he wrote the Declaration.

Jefferson's rough draft of the Declaration of Independence

Try Independence National Historical Park Cell Phone Audio Tour! Call 267-519-4295, press Prompt #19 for Declaration House information. Read the press release and flyer with stops and other park sites.

 
Declaration House
 
Thomas Jefferson's writing board

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Photo of Justice Bell

Did You Know?
The Justice Bell is an early replica of the Liberty Bell. Ordered during the Women’s Suffrage Movement by Katherine Roshenbuger, it traveled all over as a symbol of suffrage. Now it rests at Valley Forge. Women gained the right to vote with the 19th Amendment in 1920.

Last Updated: June 06, 2011 at 09:58 MST