The Woodlands Historic Mansion and Cemetery

Built in stages mostly between 1770 and 1789 on an original 250 acre tract by lawyer Andrew Hamilton on the West bank of the Schuylkill River in what is now Philadelphia, Woodlands Mansion is a testiment to the influence of English style. The concave recess in the entry hall is a classic example of the Adam style in America.

Particularly interesting to me was the stairwell, with a hand rail sweeping down in one unbroken line and an undulating outside wall. Although a tour de force, the stairwell is not visible from the formal entrance hall, but is seen through an arched doorway. The parts of the house which may be seen by the public are impressive, but depressing in that maintenance has been neglected for many years.

Hamilton's son, William, was a well-known botanist and his estate and greenhouses grew to contain more than 10,000 different species of plants including the first specimens introduced into America of the Gingko Biloba, Paper Mulberry, Sycamore Maple, Ailanthus, and Lombardy Poplar. including (above)  a Caucasian Zelkova on the grounds. Hamilton also collected and exchanged numerous native plants with his friends and neighbors, the Bartram family of botanists from nearby Bartram's Garden (see my earlier blog http://activerain.com/blogsview/1880197/bartram-s-garden-in-philadelphia-a-historic-spot).

By 1840, Hamilton heirs sold the last 92 acres to the Woodlands Cemetery Company of Philadelphia. An early advertisement touted the wholesome atmosphere of rural cemeteries where "... the decaying bodies of the dead may securely moulder into kindred dust, with an abundant vegetation and free winds to absorb and dissipate all noxious effluvia."  Many famous Philadelphians are buried here, including members of the Drexel family of bankers (tomb above), artists Thomas Eakins, Rembrandt Peale and Thomas Rush. The view of the Schuylkill River, once at the end of a sweeping view from the mansion is blocked by a railroad track and buildings. Bartram's mansion could once be seen across the river.