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Survey of
Historic Sites and Buildings

	JOHN BARTRAM HOUSE Pennsylvania
Location: 54th Street and Eastwick Avenue, Philadelphia. Bartram's Garden

Ownership and Administration (1961). City of Philadelphia, administered by Fairmount Park Commission, Philadelphia.

Significance. The house and gardens of John Bartram stand as a memorial to a pioneer American botanist, and are an eloquent symbol of the rise of scientific inquiry in the English Colonies of the 18th century. John Bartram was America's first native botanist and has been called the greatest natural botanist of his time. Born in 1699 near Darby, Pa., he acquired a love of nature in the countryside around Philadelphia. His learning was self-taught, and his interests were those of a collector and describer of plants rather than a formal scientist. He had an extensive correspondence with leading botanists abroad and made a number of important journeys throughout the Colonies observing and collecting plants and noting everything on the colonial scene—wildlife, and the earth itself. A Quaker by birth and inclination, he was ejected by the Society of Friends probably because his broad knowledge of life and science made difficult his conformation to the strict orthodoxy of the faith. Many famous figures of the time came to his gardens.

John Bartram built his Philadelphia home in 1731, shown here, with his own hands. (Courtesy, Philadelphia Historical Commission.)

Bartram was appointed botanist to the King in 1765, and important field trips were made in the service of the Crown. Like Franklin and Washington, who were his frequent guests, Bartram was representative of the best elements in the developing Colonies. He was a man of curiosity and keen intellect, equally at home with the great figures of his time and with the slaves whom he freed but who remained with him as paid servants. The gardens, filled by Bartram with rare and exotic plants, were enlarged by his son, William, and after a period of neglect were saved to perpetuate the memory of a notable American of the 18th century.

Present Appearance (1961). John Bartram's house, built with his own hands in 1731, is one of distinctive, even unusual character, preserving the flavor of Bartram and his time. The 2-1/2-story colonial building is of local stone with tall Ionic columns probably added when the house was remodeled some years after its original construction. A recessed porch and window casings of carved stone help give the house its distinctive character. Interior furnishings are of the period of Bartram's significant work. [58]