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Deshler-Morris House

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1772 with later rear ell; 1856 enlarged; 1949–1950 and 1975–1976 restored, National Park Service. 5442 Germantown Ave.
  • (Photograph by Matthew Aungst)
  • (HABS)
  • (Photograph by Matthew Aungst)

Merchant David Deshler's house is a variant of the mature English Georgian, evidenced by its stuccoed exterior walls that were scored to look like blocks of masonry, its handsome center door with Tuscan surround, and flanking pairs of windows. The plan reflects the elevation with a central hall between a parlor and a dining room, each with centered fireplaces on the long wall. The rear range of rooms is unusual with a small drawing room with a corner fireplace behind the parlor and a dogleg stair to the rear of the dining room providing access to the second story's three chambers. The Deshler house was occupied by General William Howe during the battle of Germantown (1777); in the 1790s, President Washington rented the house during the yellow fever epidemics of 1793 and 1794. It is operated by the National Park Service.

Writing Credits

Author: 
George E. Thomas
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Data

What's Nearby

St. Luke's Episcopal Church
Germantown Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends Meetinghouse
Germantown Academy (Germantown Union School)
“Grumblethorpe,” John Wister House
Vernon

Citation

George E. Thomas, "Deshler-Morris House", [Philadelphia, Pennsylvania], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/PA-02-PH156.

Print Source

Cover: Buildings of PA vol 2

Buildings of Pennsylvania: Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania, George E. Thomas, with Patricia Likos Ricci, Richard J. Webster, Lawrence M. Newman, Robert Janosov, and Bruce Thomas. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2012, 139-139.

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