Cliveden is a historic site located in the Germantown neighborhood of Northwest Philadelphia. The 5.5-acre property is known for its role in the 1777 Revolutionary War Battle of Germantown. It was home to the Chew family for seven generations, who were among the largest slaveholders in the Mid-Atlantic Region.
Benjamin Chew had Cliveden constructed from 1763 to 1767 as a summer home to accompany his other residences in Society Hill and Delaware. Chew was a Supreme Court Justice for the State of Pennsylvania and was among the area’s wealthy elite.
Although alterations were made over the years, Benjamin Chew’s 18th-century house remains remarkably intact. In 1867-68 Anne Chew added a two-story wing to the rear, but designed it so that it could not be seen from the front of her grandfather’s house. In the 1950s, Cliveden’s last private owner, Samuel Chew III, tucked in closets, bathrooms, a modern kitchen, and built a patio and swimming pool to accommodate his young family.
The Chew House played a major role in the Revolutionary War. On October 4th, 1777 the Battle of Germantown took place on Cliveden’s grounds. The British, under Colonel Thomas Musgrave, occupied the stone house, and with only muskets and bayonets fought off an attack by George Washington’s army, which was repelled and sent back down Germantown Avenue in defeat.
Ben Chew Jr. inherited Cliveden in 1810 and expanded the grounds to 66 acres. He welcomed the Marquis de Lafayette when the Frenchman visited the Germantown battleground as part of his triumphal American tour in 1824-25.
When Ben Chew Jr. died in 1844, the family fought bitterly over Cliveden’s ownership. The favorite villain was his son “Bad Ben,” who removed and sold important family heirlooms until his death in 1864. The heroine proved to be his sister, Anne, and her nephew Sam, who determinedly decided to save her family’s home and honor.
Thanks to Sam’s efforts to invigorate the property’s prominence, Cliveden became increasingly identified as a national monument. In 1966, Cliveden was designated a National Historic Landmark, part of the Colonial Germantown Historic District. In 1972, the Chew family transferred ownership of Cliveden, its remaining 5.5 acres of parkland, and its collection of artifacts to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
220,000 Chew family papers discovered throughout the house are currently being archived by a team from the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. These papers are shedding light on the history of slavery in Philadelphia and the region. They also tell stories of resistance, bravery, and individual people’s lives. The Chews had plantations in Delaware and Maryland worked by enslaved Africans and African-Americans until at least 1831. These provided income to help the family support its lavish lifestyle.
The Chew family tradition of preserving, researching and interpreting this legendary house to the public continues today. Cliveden operates as a historic house museum and offers tours April through December. The site also hosts concerts, lectures and workshops, annual celebrations and special events, making Cliveden a vital member of Philadelphia’s Historic Germantown Neighborhood in Freedom’s Backyard.
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