IN THE NORTHERN LIBERTIES, FAIRMOUNT PARK OONSPICUOUS among the seats that line the east bank of the Schuylkill is Laurel Hill. Separated from Ormiston by a deep-wooded combe and standing on a high bluff overlooking the river, it commands an unexcelled view up and down the banks of that stream, which for natural beauty has few peers and for the social distinction of the dwellers along its shores had not its equal in the Colonies. In Colonial times and for long afterwards, until the land was taken for park purposes, within the compass of a few miles, beside its waters were to be found more plantations belonging to folk of quality and substance than in any like neighbourhood. Great distances separated many of the Hudson manors, and on the James a like state of comparative isolation was not uncommon. The Schuylkill, on the contrary, combined virgin loveliness of scenery with an unsurpassed opportunity for easy and frequent intercourse with the most agreeable of neighbours as well as convenient proximity to the city. The house at Laurel Hill-the name, by the way, is derived from the luxuriant growth of laurel for which the bluffs along the river were once noted-though not as large as some others nearby, is a striking sample of Georgian architecture, two storeys in height with hipped roof. The walls are of brick painted yellow and all the woodwork is white. The main entrance, on the eastern or land front, is through a spacious classic doorway with flanking pilasters and a pediment above. A pediment likewise springs from the cornice in a line with the doorway pediment and this repetition of the motive imparts a dignified emphasis to the façade. A transverse wing with octagon ends at the northern side of the house is characteristic of a number of countryseats erected about the same period. This device relieves the angularity of the exterior and gives an opportunity to make an apartment of notable elegance within. Entering the door, one steps at once into a long gallery extending across the front of the house. At one end is a small room containing a square staircase, while at the other is a door opening into the great drawing-room, a chamber of truly princely dimensions with octagon ends. A handsome fireplace adorns the side opposite the entrance and, over against it, balancing the door from the gallery is a door into the dining-room. The interior woodwork of Laurel Hill is admirably wrought and in good preservation. Joseph Shute, who owned large tracts of land close by, built Laurel Hill about 1748. In 1760 Francis Rawle bought the estate for his summer residence and it was during the occupancy of the Rawle family that the place began to figure on the stage of history. Francis Rawle, born in Philadelphia in 1729, was an only child and inherited an ample fortune from his parents. As a young man he made the “Grand Tour" of Europe as a part of his education and, after travelling extensively, returned to his native city. He was a broadly educated, cultured gentleman of wide interests. In 1756, shortly after his homecoming, he married Rebecca, daughter of Edward Warner, a wealthy and prominent citizen. At Laurel Hill they had as neighbours on either bank of the river the Whartons, Mifflins, Fishers, Simses, Swifts, Galloways, Penns, Peterses, Warners, and many more well-known families. Unfortunately Francis Rawle did not live long to enjoy the pleasures of his plantation. In 1761, he was mortally wounded by the accidental discharge of a fowling-piece while shooting near the Delaware and died, leaving a wife and three small children, to wit, Anna, who later became Mrs. Clifford; William, and Margaret, who in time married Isaac Wharton. By his will he left all his property to his widow, including Laurel Hill, and there during the summer months they lived. Mrs. Rawle, in 1767, married Samuel Shoemaker, himself a widower with children and formerly the intimate friend of her first husband. Thereafter the united Rawle and Shoemaker families divided their time in summer between Laurel Hill and Mr. Shoemaker's own estate in Germantown. Mr. Shoemaker was an accomplished, estimable and much respected gentleman of large means. He held many important public posts in Philadelphia under the Royal and Proprietary governments, and from 1755 to 1776 was continually in office, serving at one time or another as councilman, alderman, assemblyman, city treasurer, mayor, judge of the County Courts and justice of the peace. When the War for Independence broke out he, like many other conscientious and worthy people, remained staunchly loyal to the government under which he had so long lived and held office, and when Philadelphia was oc |