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With its various history spanning more than 255 years, the Cliveden site has been a place where visitors and tourists alike can learn, explore and converse about the Germantown-centered country home.
One of 19 historical sites among the Germantown section of Philadelphia, Cliveden was built and completed in 1767, as a country house for local attorney Benjamin Chew. Chew, who eventually became the chief justice of the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania through 1822, used the home to house the next seven generations of the Chew family.
The home has become known for its Georgian architecture, as well as for hosting the Battle of Germantown during the American Revolutionary War in 1777.
Carolyn Wallace, the education director of Cliveden, explained the historic site’s significance and its past as a plantation that relied on enslaved labor. Approximately 230,000 documents within the Chew family papers collection are currently housed at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in Center City; much of the collection contains documentation on enslaved people in Philadelphia.
“There’s just so many stories that are in that record that we’re still unpacking, and so thinking about [that] as sort of the extent of property, we are the ones that [are] still physically here, and so we were able to tell the stories of this much larger network of enslavement here in the Mid-Atlantic,” Wallace said.
Located in northwest Philadelphia, people lived and worked at Cliveden house until the 1970s when the home transitioned into a public museum. Wallace and her team have made efforts to interpret much of the history at the site.
“I think it’s just interesting to think about the American Revolution that sometimes seems sort of far away, happening right where you’re standing, right in your neighborhood, and we’re lucky to have that in Philadelphia, especially northwest,” Wallace said.
Cliveden features several historic structures, including a mid-century modern kitchen that was added in 1959, which brings a modern element to the property.
This addition reflects the site’s commitment to preserving its history, while accommodating changes over time, making sure that future generations can experience the property’s evolving story and something they also might want to experience as well.
“We try to tie in something that we are finding people having interest in, or something that’s timely to other things that are happening in the world,” Wallace said. “For example, in 2019, we created an installation that was focused on women to mark the anniversary of the 19th Amendment.”
This year, Cliveden is focusing on highlighting the house and the landscape, from the construction in 1763 through its completion in 1767, all the way to the 1777 Battle of Germantown. Cliveden took center stage in that fight as the American forces under Gen. George Washington worked to retake the city of Philadelphia which had been captured by the British about a month earlier.
Since becoming a museum in 1973, Wallace explained how, through a 21st-century lens with many histories being preserved, the Cliveden house has had the opportunity to explore more about the past.
Bordering two communities between Germantown and Mount Airy Northwest, the space is open to anyone willing to take in the green space and is also available for any special events at the venue.
“We also have groups, members of our community, involved in our interpretation,” Wallace said. “We’re doing a project funded by the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage, called ‘Transcending Thresholds,’ and we have a community commission that’s part of that.”
Wallace mentioned that community members and organizations play an important role in helping shape how Cliveden tells its stories. She noted that the site has used this collaborative approach across a variety of its programs, such as “Opera on Tap,” a celebration of Fête Galante 18th-century opera. In addition, the site offers programs throughout the year, as well as tours from Tuesday through Sunday, from noon to 4 p.m..
“I think there is a lot of connection between past and present, and so we hope that we lift that up in our tour experiences, and I think our goal is to share this site’s history in a way that people who visit can make some sort of connection,” Wallace said.
By preserving the property and involving the community, Cliveden continues to tell the stories that have shaped the site, helping visitors connect with its history and its lasting impact on Germantown in Philadelphia.
