Ravenhill (mansion)

Ravenhill is a Renaissance Revival mansion at 3480-90 School House Lane in the West Germantown section of Philadelphia.[1] Designed by architect Willis Gaylord Hale and completed in 1887,[1] it was built as the summer home for chemical manufacturer William Weightman, one of the nation’s largest land owners and "popularly known as the richest man in Pennsylvania."[2]

"Ravenhill" in 1901

For most of the 20th century, the mansion housed Ravenhill Academy, a Catholic private school for girls. It is now part of the East Falls campus of Thomas Jefferson University.

History

The 27-acre (10.9 hectare) property was located on a ridge that overlooked the Wissahickon Valley to the northwest.[3] A house was constructed on the site in 1802, and Weightman purchased the property by 1844.

The English-born chemist invented a synthetic form of quinine, a prophylaxis for malaria. His factory, Powers & Weightman's Chemical Works, was located less than a mile away, at School House Lane and Ridge Avenue, in the East Falls section of the city.[3]

In 1841, Weightman married Louisa Stillwagon, and together, they had three children: John, William Jr., and Anne.[4] Gardening was the hobby of the "Quinine King," who tended his exotic garden of rare plants and flowers.[5]

Weightman hired his niece's husband, Willis G. Hale, to design the mansion.[6] Besides Ravenhill, Weightman owned a city house on Rittenhouse Square, and a summer cottage at Cape May.

Ravenhill Academy

Upon Weightman's death in 1904, Ravenhill passed to his daughter Anne Weightman, who donated the estate to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in 1910. Cardinal Dennis Joseph Dougherty granted Ravenhill Mansion to the Religious of the Assumption in 1919.[5] The order of nuns opened a finishing school in the mansion, that later became a K-12 girl's private school known as Ravenhill Academy. Its best known attendee was the future actress and princess, Grace Kelly. The last class graduated in 1976.[7] The stained glass window depicting the order's foundress, Mother (now Saint) Marie Eugenie, was moved to their congregation house in Lansdale, Pennsylvania.[8]

Thomas Jefferson University

Ravenhill was sold to Philadelphia University in 1982.[1] Philadelphia University merged with Thomas Jefferson University in 2017.[9] Ravenhill Mansion currently houses the administrative and faculty offices for the School of General Studies.

References
  1. Weightman Residence from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings.
  2. "William Weightman Dead. One of the Largest Real Estate Owners in the Country". New York Times. August 26, 1904. Retrieved 2010-09-28. William Weightman, popularly known as the richest man in Pennsylvania, and certainly one of the largest real estate owners in the country, died this morning at his Summer home, "Raven Hill," in West School Lane, Falls of Schuylkill.
  3. George W. & Walter S. Bromley, Atlas of the City of Philadelphia (Philadelphia: G. W. Bromley and Company, 1901), Plate 31.
  4. William Weightman from Find-A-Grave
  5. Mnardi, Joseph. "History Matters: The Amazing Weightman", The Local, September 7, 2017
  6. Willis Gaylord Hale (1848-1907) from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings.
  7. "Ravenhill Academy in East Falls holds all-school reunion", The Review, June 20, 2018
  8. "Ravenhill Academy Reunion", Assumption Sisters
  9. "Official Combination of Philadelphia University & Thomas Jefferson University Signals Disruption in a Stagnant Education Industry".

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