Built 1690–1732 Designated NHLD April 27, 1992 Area 34 ha Added to NRHP 27 April 1992 | NRHP Reference # 92001878 Designated PHMC April 8, 1991 Phone +1 215-438-5711 | |
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Location 206–210 Lincoln Drive,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Address Andorra Natural Area, 208 Lincoln Dr, Philadelphia, PA 19144, USA Hours Closed today ThursdayClosedFridayClosedSaturday12–4PMSunday12–4PMMondayClosedTuesdayClosedWednesdayClosedSuggest an edit Architectural styles Georgian architecture, Federal architecture Similar John Johnson House, Germantown White House, Ebenezer Maxwell House, Grumblethorpe, Cliveden Profiles | ||
The Rittenhousetown Historic District encompasses the remains of an early industrial community where the first paper mill in British North America was built by William Rittenhouse and his son Nicholas on the north bank of Monoshone Creek near (and now within) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The district, off Lincoln Drive near Wissahickon Avenue in Fairmount Park, includes a few buildings and archaeological remains of these industries. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was designated a National Historic Landmark District on April 27, 1992.
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History
Flax was woven into linen in nearby Germantown. When the linen fabrics wore out, the rags were brought to Rittenhousetown to be made into paper. Paper produced at the Rittenhouse mill was sold to printers in Germantown, Philadelphia, and New York City. The Rittenhouse paper works operated until about the 1850s, by which time the family was leasing its facilities out to other types of manufacturing. In 1890, Rittenhousetown became part of the Germantown section of Philadelphia.
The site was acquired through donations and several purchases by the City of Philadelphia through the Fairmount Park Commission over the years from 1890 to 1917. Historic RittenhouseTown, Inc. was formed in 1984 to preserve, restore, and historically interpret RittenhouseTown.
Description
The Rittenhousetown district includes five historic buildings maintained by Historic RittenhouseTown: Abraham Rittenhouse Home (c. 1720), which serves as the visitor center; Rittenhouse Homestead (1707); Enoch Rittenhouse Home; Jacob Rittenhouse Home; and the Rittenhouse Home. There is also a barn and bakehouse that are used for paper-making and cooking demonstrations.
The buildings in the district date from about 1690 to the early 19th century. All are built of stone and finished in stucco, and generally exhibit colonial building methods. They are all that are left of a much larger industrial complex and worker village, of which more than thirty buildings have been demolished. The area also includes archaeological industrial remains of some of the mill buildings.