Morelton Manor - Gilded Age Mansion in Philadelphia

by Linda Stern

Title

Morelton Manor - Gilded Age Mansion in Philadelphia

Artist

Linda Stern

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Photograph - Photograph, Photography, Fine Art Photography

Description

Morelton Manor: one of the last two mansions left from the Gilded Age along the banks of the Delaware River in Northeast Philadelphia, as seen from Amico Island, NJ In 1850, Philadelphia financier Charles Macalester, Jr., allegedly the richest man in the world at the time, snapped up 1,000 acres of farmland along the Delaware River in what is now known as the Far Northeast. Why there? Let’s just say he wanted to keep up with the Biddles.

Macalester sold off much of the land, but retained a prime slice of riverfront for an estate he named Glengarry after his ancestral home in Scotland. The Italianate mansion sat on the small bluff where the Poquessing Creek enters the Delaware River. The original estate included a three-story mansion, a Gothic-style gatehouse, five greenhouses, and a riverfront cupola. Naturally, Macalester had a yacht. Why else live on a river?

During the summer, heads of state from Washington, DC flocked to Glengarry, but they didn’t come for the view. They came because Macalester was a major player in U.S. politics and finance. He was president of the Second National Bank and served as adviser to several presidents.

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September 13th, 2023

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