The Richard Wall house, built 1682, is "the oldest house in Pennsylvania which has had continuous family residency".^[1] It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as "Wall House" also known as "The Ivy". Having hosted religious meetings and weddings, the house is also among the earliest places of Quaker worship still standing in the United States. It is now a museum located at Church Road and Wall Park Drive, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. The National Register of Historic Places is the USAs official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects worthy of preservation. ... The Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as Quakers, or Friends, is a religious community founded in England in the 17th century. ... Elkins Park is a unincorporated community in Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania in the Philadelphia area of Pennsylvania. ...

Richard Wall was a founder of Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania. He arrived with William Penn's group of Quakers in 1682. He and fourteen others pooled their land purchases to create the township. They named the township for the main town in Gloucestershire, England, where they apparently originated. Cheltenham Township is a township located in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. ... William Penn William Penn (October 14, 1644–July 30, 1718) founded the Province of Pennsylvania, the British North American colony that became the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. ... Gloucestershire (pronounced ; GLOSS-ter-sher) is a county in South West England. ...

The Wall family was joined in marriage by the Shoemaker family. The families owned a corn grist mill at Tacony Creek. Descendents of the Walls lived in the house until 1847^[2], followed by the Bosler family. In 1932 the township acquired the house as its manager's residence. Since 1980 the house has been managed by the Cheltenham Township Historical Commission, which opened the museum and orientation center in 1993.

An original section of wall can be seen in the current basement. The house was redesigned in 1730, 1760, and 1805. Later renovations added running water and electricity.

The permanent exhibits display elements of life during more than two hundred years of residence. Highlights include a fully furnished and electrified, five foot tall doll house created before 1920^[3]; and a collection of over 100 antique tools.

Source used

• "The Richard Wall House Museum", an information sheet provided to visitors of the museum. Collected July 3, 2006. Contact: Cheltenham Township Assistant Manager's Office, 8230 Old York Road, Elkins Park, PA 19027. Telephone: 1-215-887-1000 extension 112.

Footnotes

Op cit - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) owns, operates and maintains numerous historical and cultural sites located throughout Pennsylvania. ...

For further reading

• Rothschild, Elaine W., A History of Cheltenham Township. Cheltenham Township, Pa.: Cheltenham Township Historical Commission, 1976.

External links

• Richard Wall House Museum at CheltenhamTownship.org
• Slideshow of The Richard Wall House by Russell Heimlich