Fox Mansion Carriage House

Frank Furness was tied to the Fox family by multiple links of kinship and friendship. His Philadelphia career was just short of a decade old when he was commissioned to design this carriage house. The survival of this solitary piece of work, so distant from Philadelphia, is testimony to the intelligence of the design and durability of its plan. The building has a complicated roofline, as do all of Furness's works, with portions that are double-hipped, pyramidal, and gambrel, as well as gable- and shed-roofed dormers. Two extraordinary exterior chimneys with bulbous tops and a half-timbered tower defy stylistic categorization. The golden sandstone base is enlivened by a course of terra-cotta-colored brick that hops over the segmental-arched windows on three elevations.

The building was designed to store horses, hay, and carriages, and to house the coachman. Two large wooden doors on the east elevation open to the brick-lined carriage storage. South of these doors, the projecting gambrel roof protects the haymow doors above the tack room. A cistern with arched exterior access is below. Today, the second-story space contains a guest suite complete with kitchen, laundry, and fireplace. Immaculate horse stalls remain on the first story.