Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society
History Quarterly Digital Archives

Source: January 1987 Volume 25 Number 1, Pages 17–19

The DuPortail House

Grace Winthrop

• Sources

Page 17

That old cliche, that "if these walls could only talk, what a tale they would tell", certainly pertains to this house. It was built when this area was first being settled, and has been involved in many interesting events throughout its more than 245 years.

I will comment first on the general history of the house, and then add a few of my own recollections of visiting here in later years.

In 1706 David Meredith received a patent for 1500 acres of land in the "Welsh Tract" from one of William Penn's agents. He soon afterward deeded 700 of the acres to David Powel, who in 1707 transferred them to John Havard for his farm. (The Havards were to become one of the wealthiest and most prominent families in this area.) Havard later divided his farm among his children, and John Havard Jr. received this piece of property. He built his house here; the middle room with the huge fireplace was the earliest section, built in 1740.

In the winter of 1777-78 General DuPortail established his quarters here, during the encampment of the American Army at Valley Forge. General Louis Lebeque DuPortail was the Chief Engineer of the American Army. He was educated at the French Military School in Mezieres, and a member of the Royal Corps of Engineers. At the suggestion of Benjamin Franklin he was chosen to come to America by the French Minister of War in July 1777. He is best remembered as the designer of the defenses at Valley Forge, and was a great help to Washington and the American Army in many military engagements.

Page 18

John Havard Jr. died in 1797, at which time this property was left to his daughter Mary Havard, wife of William Davis. The property then remained in the Davis family until 1893. The last Davis to live here was Rebecca Davis, who conducted popular sceances and spiritual rituals in the old house. She died at the age of 94 in 1893.

A Mr. McCormick, who operated the Bellevue Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia, bought the property in 1910, planning to use it as his summer home. His wife, however, had other ideas; she did not like living in the country. So the house was opened only for special occasions, such as a hunt breakfast every spring.

My great uncle was the manager of the farm at the time, and his son, my Uncle George, would come to help out. (He was around eleven years old at the time.) He said he was delighted to be here because it was rare to have such "high society" out in the country. The ladies, of course, did not hunt, so they would come out from Philadelphia in their carriages, all dolled up in their finery. Uncle George would meet the carriages at the door and take them to the stables. Elaborate food was sent out, with caterers from the hotel, and there would be a string ensemble, also from the hotel. It was really quite a breakfast!

The farm produced the watercress for the hotel, and so it was called the "Cressbrook Farm".

In 1926 Henry Woolman, an executive of the Supplee-Wills-Jones Milk Company, bought the farm, 178 acres, with the intention of giving it to the University of Pennsylvania. He was the President of the Alumni Society and of the opinion that the growth around the University and the school's metropolitan location were beginning to seriously interfere with development and well-being of the institution. After much study and haggling by various committees, the offer was finally accepted in 1939, but the property was not actually used by the University. Woolman died in 1953.

In May 1933 the tablet to the left of the front door, designating the house as the DuPortail House, was presented and dedicated.

It was during this time, while the University owned the property but couldn't decide what to do with it, that my Uncle John came here. He was a Professor of English at the University, a history buff, and President of the Lower Merion Historical Society, and was very interested in the early history of the area. He was able to rent the house from the University, and he and my Aunt Eleanor lived here for fourteen years.

The house today looks very much the same as it did then, but the grounds are quite different since the Fox Companies bought it in 1974. When my uncle and aunt lived here, the entrance to the house was a long, one-lane driveway which came into the farm from Valley Forge road. There was a pasture on one side and woods on the other, with flower beds along each side as you came closer to the house. When my daughter was young she and her father used to come to the woods to select and cut our Christmas tree every year. It was always a ceremony when they came back to the house to warm up, the children with hot chocolate and the men with something more fortifying.

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On Christmas night Uncle John and Aunt Eleanor always had open house for all the family and special guests, with several large trees in the living room and candles in the windows. My grandmother was a very charming English lady who, in spite of having been in the United States since she was 12 years old, still called the boys "lads" and held on to her English accent. She sat by one of the fireplaces and told such wonderful stories of the old times, while "Fran-Fran", Uncle John's father, could usually be found at the other fireplace, surrounded by all the young grand-daughters waiting to have their palms read. In the dining room there was a large table, groaning with goodies, and Johnny, the houseman, would be serving cheer at the hunt table in the corner.

I also remember being here one summer day to celebrate Grandma's 84th birthday. Before things hardly got started, one of her young grandsons, who had been running around the back yard, fell into an old abandoned cesspool! It was quite deep, but his uncles, with the aid of a heavy rope, soon had him out. He was about ten years old at the time, and as soon as he heard what the hole was, he dashed up to the bathroom. He took about three showers that afternoon, and his mother said he was in the tub at home all week every time he thought about it!

These are some of my most vivid recollections of my visits here, and I hope I have given you some idea of life in this old house. Although these old houses are not always as efficient as our modern homes, they still have much to offer in other ways.

Sources

Brigadier-General Louis Lebeque DuPortail, 1777-1778 by Elizabeth Kits

""Spirituairsm and a Contested Will", TEHC~Q, Volume XX, Number 4

"The Valley Forge Project of the University of Pennsylvania", TEHCQ, Volume XXIV, Number 1

Personal recollections and conversations with Eleanor Nugent