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Fort Washington State Park

1953 establishments in PennsylvaniaIUCN Category IIIParks in Montgomery County, PennsylvaniaProtected areas established in 1953Protected areas of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
State parks of Pennsylvania
PA MONTCO FTWASHINGTON WISSAHICKON
PA MONTCO FTWASHINGTON WISSAHICKON

Fort Washington State Park is a 493-acre (200 ha) Pennsylvania state park in Springfield and Whitemarsh Townships, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The park is noted for the springtime flowering of dogwood trees, and is popular with families for picnics and hiking. It is approximately 17 miles (27 km) north of Philadelphia, 2 miles (3.2 km) from exit 339 of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Fort Washington State Park (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Fort Washington State Park
Joshua Road,

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N 40.119722222222 ° E -75.233611111111 °
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Joshua Road 6275
19034
Pennsylvania, United States
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PA MONTCO FTWASHINGTON WISSAHICKON
PA MONTCO FTWASHINGTON WISSAHICKON
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Battle of White Marsh
Battle of White Marsh

The Battle of White Marsh or Battle of Edge Hill was a battle of the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War fought December 5–8, 1777, in the area surrounding Whitemarsh Township, Pennsylvania. The battle, which took the form of a series of skirmish actions, was the last major engagement of 1777 between British and American forces. George Washington, commander-in-chief of the American revolutionary forces, spent the weeks after his defeat at the Battle of Germantown encamped with the Continental Army in various locations throughout upper Philadelphia County (now Montgomery County), just north of the British-occupied city. In early November, the Americans established an entrenched position approximately 16 miles (26 km) north of Philadelphia along the Wissahickon Creek and Sandy Run, primarily situated on several hills between Old York Road and Bethlehem Pike. From here, Washington monitored British troop movements in Philadelphia and evaluated his options. On December 4, Gen. Sir William Howe, the commander-in-chief of British forces in North America, led a sizable contingent of troops out of Philadelphia in one last attempt to destroy Washington and the Continental Army before the onset of winter. After a series of skirmishes, Howe called off the attack and returned to Philadelphia without engaging Washington in a decisive conflict. With the British back in Philadelphia, Washington was able to march his troops to winter quarters at Valley Forge.

Farmar Mill
Farmar Mill

Farmar Mill (also known as Mathers Mill) is a historic mill building. The mill was powered by the Wissahickon Creek and is located on Mather's Lane near Skippack Pike (Pennsylvania Route 73), and just west of the historic Bethlehem Pike in the village of Whitemarsh (near Fort Washington), Pennsylvania, in the United States. The water-powered gristmill was built around the year 1690 by Edward Farmar. Farmar's father was a British army officer living in Ireland who had purchased a 5,000-acre (2,000 ha) parcel of land in Pennsylvania from William Penn. This tract contained most of what is present-day Whitemarsh Township. Farmar's father died before he could move his family to America, but his mother brought the family to America in 1685, settling in the area of present-day Fort Washington. Farmar Mill was the original terminus for Skippack Pike, which was established in 1713. By 1722, a road also existed from Farmar Mill, through the village of Three Tuns, to Richard Saunders' ferry, on the Neshaminy Creek (later the village of Bridge Point, now Edison) in Bucks County.In 1740, Quaker businessman Samuel Morris bought a one-half interest in the mill, and bought the remaining half interest after Farmar's death in 1746. During the period of 1743 and 1748, Morris was building his country mansion "Whitemarsh Estate" (later known as Hope Lodge) a mere stone's throw from Farmar's Mill. After Morris' death in 1770, his brother Joshua sold the mill and 4 acres (16,000 m2) of land to Isaac Mather, whose son Joseph built the present mill in 1820.Farmar Mill is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Today, Farmar Mill is part of a museum and historic site at Hope Lodge operated by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Due to concerns of structural integrity, the building is not open to the public.

The Highlands (Whitemarsh, Pennsylvania)
The Highlands (Whitemarsh, Pennsylvania)

The Highlands is a historic building and property located near Fort Washington, Whitemarsh Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The Highlands was built in 1794-1796 by Philadelphia merchant and politician Anthony Morris (1766-1860), and was designed by Philadelphia politician Timothy Matlack (1730-1829). It is a large 2+1⁄2-story, dressed fieldstone structure in the late Georgian style. The front facade features two, two-story, Ionic order pilasters. Morris was the speaker of the Pennsylvania senate, and had signed the bill authorizing troops to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion. He was also a director of the Bank of North America (1800-1806) and a trustee of the University of Pennsylvania (1806-1817). From 1810 to 1814, he was President James Madison's unofficial envoy to Spain.Morris sold the property to Daniel Hittner (1765-1841) in 1808. In the five years that Hittner owned the estate, he accumulated 300+ additional acres. In 1813, it was sold to wine merchant George Sheaff (1779-1851). After Sheaff's death, the heirs sold off the majority of the estate, leaving a mere 59 acres (240,000 m2) remaining with Sheaff's grandson, John. In 1917, after the death of the last remaining Sheaff heir, it was sold to Miss Caroline Sinkler, and then subsequently sold to her niece Emily Sinkler Roosevelt in 1941. Roosevelt and her husband donated the property to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1957.Today, the Highlands is a 44-acre (180,000 m2) site with a late 18th-century Georgian mansion and formal gardens. It is operated as a museum and historic site by the Highlands Historical Society, a non-profit educational organization. It is available to rent for weddings and parties.The Highlands Historical Society also runs a number of social and fund-raising events throughout the year. One of these events is the annual Highlands Craft Show which began in 1982 as a means to raise funds to support the restoration of the 2-acre (8,100 m2) formal garden. The craft show has become an excellent venue where unique artisans throughout the United States can gather to display their crafts within the mansion. Some of the crafts that are offered for sale include fabric, fabric arts, pottery, hand-bags, and hand-crafted jewelry. Other popular events include a pumpkin and jack-o-lantern display which takes place around Halloween, and the Highlands Hunt Breakfast which takes place in early November. The Hunt Breakfast consists of a mock fox hunt equipped with a pack of hounds and approximately 20 local horseback riders who ride through surrounding properties, eventually returning to the mansion to rest and eat breakfast with friends and family.