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Survey of
Historic Sites and Buildings

	GRAEME PARK Pennsylvania
Location: Graeme Park, Keith Valley Road, Horsham. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission

Ownership and Administration (1961). Historical and Museum Commission, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg.

Significance. This Pennsylvania fieldstone house, located about 25 miles north of central Philadelphia, is one of the most distinguished of many architectural examples of 18th-century houses in the region. The structure reflects the work of master builders and possesses exceptional value as a type specimen of its period and locale. In addition, the house has been identified traditionally as the home of Sir William Keith, Royal Governor of the colony from 1717 to 1726, although recent investigation suggests that it was originally constructed as a malt house, part of an industrial settlement planned by Keith for the production of grain. The present house was one of a number of buildings that made up the Graeme Park settlement; none of the others has survived.

About 10 years after Sir William Keith's return to England in 1728, the estate came into the possession of Dr. Thomas Graeme, a prominent Philadelphia physician, husband of the Governor's step-daughter. Graeme bought the property for a country estate and experimented with a variety of farming techniques. Recent research indicates that the present house was made into a dwelling during Dr. Graeme's ownership. Graeme's daughter, Elizabeth, inherited the estate when her father died in 1772. Her husband, Henry Fergusson, was a loyalist who served with British forces during the Revolution. Later owners divided the estate into small parcels of land for sale or rent, and in 1801 Samuel Penrose purchased the small lot on which the present house stands. About 1810 Penrose built a new dwelling, and from this time on the old house was not used as a main dwelling. Work done by owners in the 19th and 20th centuries has been mainly to preserve the property.

This striking fieldstone house at Graeme Park, Horsham, Pa., is the only surviving building on the country estate of Sir William Keith, Royal Governor of Pennsylvania from 1717 to 1726. (National Park Service)

Present Appearance (1961). The house is plain and almost severe in exterior design and contains 2-1/2 stories, with a high gambrel roof and two tall chimneys rising from the center deck of the roof. The structure is approximately 60 by 25 feet in size, with walls 2 feet thick of fieldstone carefully laid and fitted. Windows and doors are tall and narrow, set in plain frames that accentuate the austerity of the exterior design.

While the exterior is plainly colonial, the interior paneling, mantels, and door frames are Georgian of an advanced design. The first floor consists of a small entry and stairhall, a square center room, and two flanking rooms. The spacious paneled parlor on the east end of the first floor is notable for its marble-trimmed fireplace and wainscoted walls, which rise 14 feet from floor to ceiling. The second story also consists of three rooms, similar to the first-floor plan although with lower ceilings. The half-story third floor contains one large finished and three small unfinished rooms.

The house was recently donated by its private owners to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Graeme Park is in process of restoration over a 6-year period, involving extensive archeological and historical research to provide the basis for an authentic restoration to protect the outstanding features of the building. [57]