Governed by the Fairmount Park Commission
Administered by the Colonial Dames of America, Chapter II
By 1770, merchant, entrepreneur and financier Robert Morris began to accumulate parcels of land along the east bank of the Schuylkill River. Here, Morris developed an extensive working farm with a tenant house, barns and numerous outbuildings. The estate, known as the Hills, included an elegant greenhouse surrounded by gardens and fruit trees. Finding himself financially overextended by 1799, Morris was forced to sell all of his holdings to satisfy his creditors. A portion of the property was purchased by Henry Pratt, also a merchant, who built the present house in 1800. He named it Lemon Hill after the famous lemon trees in the Morris greenhouse.
Lemon Hill was built in the Neoclassical style, reflecting Pratt’s desire to turn the house and grounds into an impressive showplace. Its entrance consists of a pair of curving steps leading up to double doors framed by sidelights and a fanlight in delicate pattern. The house features oval rooms with curved doors and fireplaces on each of the three levels. The architectural details of Lemon Hill reflect the interest in classical antiquity which strongly influenced American architecture of the period. Pratt further developed the grounds of Lemon Hill into an attractive garden. He opened his garden “freely to the public” and it soon became one of the “grand resorts of fashionable company in the summer.”
The furnishings of Lemon Hill include a number of important examples from the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and represent the talents of a number of Philadelphia craftsmen working in the Neoclassical style during the period of Pratt’s occupancy. After Henry Pratt’s death in 1838, the property was acquired by the city of Philadelphia. In 1844, it became the first country estate built along the Schuylkill River added to the grounds of the Water Works in the formation of Fairmount Park. Since 1957, Lemon Hill has been administered by the Colonial Dames of America, Chapter II, a nonprofit patriotic society.
Hours
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