I lived a couple of houses down from the stature circle on Widener Rd in the mid-50's. The mansion was still there but I think it was used for storage by the Penn Salt company. As kids we managed to get inside of it one time and it was in horrible condition and very scary. We played around the defunct fountains and statues. It was a great place to live and living there helped create my vivid imagination. I was in the area in the late 1900s and was so sad to see the mansion gone and the statuary damaged. I will never forget living there with all of its remaing treasures to explore.

I was raised in Glenside and discovered Whitemarsh Hall as a high school student. My (now) husband and I went through the mansion on a Sunday afternoon in May of 1971. It was our first date. The property was in very bad shape, but we managed to explore it from top to bottom. We then went to the Philadelphia Free Library and did research on the man and the property. We also researched Horace Trumbauer, the architect and discovered that he was famous for designing many iconic Philadelphia landmarks, including The Philadelphia Art Museum and Grey Towers Castle at Arcadia University. That experience sparked a lifelong interest in history and architecture. We went back a number of times over the years to take pictures and watched as it was torn down.

In 2004 Charles and Edward Zwicker, with the Springfield Historical Society published an Images of America book entitled "Whitemarsh Hall, The Estate of Edward T. Stotesbury." It's an excellent collection of images and information about this iconic man, his family and his magnificent estate.

Hello,
I have seen Eva Stotesbury's grave in Oak woods cemetery. I am the author of Chicago's South Shore Country Club and know Eva was a guest there. Love your site and would enjoy communicating with you. hope to be the first to purchase your book. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and great images and film clips. Wonderful!

would like to have seen the estate in its prime, still visit the location from time to time, always take a camera with me when I go up there

My father was an architect and we lived in Willow Grove PA when I was young. He used to take us to explore the remains of this treasure several times (until we finally were asked to leave the premises by police - safety reasons). It is so cool to see actual photos of it in its heyday. Thank you. Even back then in my youth (late 70's) I knew it must have been something special. How wonderful to now know its history.

If you are a male Stotesbury (and any other spelling variant of the name) and want to learn more about your heritage, come join u our team! Contact our FTDNA Project Team Administrator, Linda Stokesbury Brennan @ usstokesy@stokesbury.org.

Great web site. Love the video from the '20's and "30"s.

The whole affair involving Whitemarsh Hall is a huge disgrace. Woodlawn Cemetery, where Edward Stotesbury and his family are buried, is located close-by and just a few blocks south of the University of Pennsylvania. Their graves are neglected ruins in one of the worst ghettos of the city.

I grew up in Plymouth Meeting. Use to visit the estate often in the 1970s to take photographs. The ever-present Springfield Police never bothered me. Maybe it was the tripod and camera case. Even as a ruin, the mansion was spectacular in every respect. Its loss, an almost unspeakable tragedy. What they say is true. "As a civilization, we are judged not by what we have built, but by what we have allowed to be destroyed."

In the destruction of Whitemarsh Hall, the condition of Philadelphia -- itself a ruin. A modern failed state. A slum -- can be fully explained. It's the bad Karma the city has racked-up over the century long rush to destroy its past. It breaks your heart.

Just found out that the Leslie Hindman auction house at their Palm Beach location will feature four Stotesbury silver vegetables dishes, two sterling S Kirk & Son, with the Stotesbury coat of arms & two silver plate made by Cartier. Two were purchased at the Philadelphia house auction in 1948, (an original auction brochure will also be available for purchase) & the other two at the El Mirasol auction in Palm Beach. Rare opportunity to enjoy a piece of this iconic American social history.

Really great website.
The astonishing film of Mr. Stotesbury's 1930 birthday party describes the film as "out takes". Have you ever seen the full film? It's fascinating to hear Mrs. Stotesbury's voice, by the way, albeit briefly.
Again, great work on the website.

I had the distinct honor to write a history of a small railroad company called the Ironton once located near Allentown, Pa. In the end it was Mr. Stotesbury's task to negotiate the sale of this railroad equally to two of his prominent mainline railroads:the Lehigh Valley and the Reading. This task included the sale of the Ironton Railroad's parent, the pioneering Thomas Iron Co. I was struck by the fact that as these sales negotiations were underway, Stotesbury was involved in building and appointing these magnificent homes. I enjoyed this website so very much For it deapened my understanding of a man i only briefly researched prior...

Great site! I came across electrical blueprints from the Whitemarsh House dated August 1, 1917 some 35 years ago. Yes they really are a blue cloth! Considering they will be 100 years old tomorrow, they are still in good shape. They have always been a great conversation piece.

This is such a treasure! Thank you for sharing it. My 12 year old said I needed to send a note to thank the person who is responsible for sharing the photos and history. We are trying to establish who built a house that had many Mizner influences that look a great deal like features of this home, albeit a micro miniature. There was a Charles F. Barndt who lived there, he and his wife Bertha Rosenberg were from Pennsylvania. Bertha and Chesterfield Marhoff lived there next, and a Julia Morris. We are grateful to be able to have the essence of the life of this home communicated through the website. Thank you so much!

This site is amazing. Thanks.

I happen to be a historian and I was facsinated by the story of this fabulous mansion and it's distinguished owners. What a shame that most people have no appreciation of the hard work, design and effort that was put into such glorious creations. I hope that someone will be able to purchase and restore Lynnewood Hall before it suffers a similar fate. If I knew any publishers I would love to write a history of America's lost treasures of the Guilded Age.