Historic Quaker Houses of Philadelphia

Wyck House
6026 Germantown Ave. Germantown
Home to Nine Generations
of the Same Quaker Family:

Above: Wyck House in Germantown, Philadelphia. Image source: Vin de Vie

 Wyck House: Home of Caspar Wistar,
Early American Glass Pioneer
Founder of the First Successful Glass Factory in the Colonies

Above: Glass attributed to Caspar Wistar / Wistarburgh Glassworks, active 1739 to 1777.
Left: Schnapshund / Schnapps hound for serving schnapps: Metropolitan Museum of Art. Center: Cream basket, Corning Museum of Glass. Right: Covered bowl, Winterthur

  The Wistarburgh Glassworks was founded ca. 1739 in Salem County, New Jersey, by German Quaker immigrant Caspar Wistar. It was the first successful glass factory in the American colonies. Wistar produced bottles, window glass, and scientific glassware. The company played a vital role in supplying goods that were otherwise imported from Europe.
The glassworks helped establish early American industry and trained a generation of glassblowers whose skills spread throughout the colonies. Its success marked a shift toward domestic manufacturing and self-sufficiency, making Wistarburgh a key chapter in the development of American industrial history.
Caspar Wistar moved into the Wyck House with his wife, Catherine Johnson, after they married in 1726. Philadelphia was Caspar Wistar’s primary residence. Wyck House in Germantown served as a family home and summer retreat.

 The 1820s Rose Garden at Wyck
The Oldest Rose Garden in its Original Plan in America:

Above: The rose garden at Wyck in Germantown. Image source: Wyck.org

The Wyck rose garden dates to the 1820s and is widely recognized as the oldest rose garden in original plan in America. This historic garden was designed in 1821 by Jane Bowne Haines (1790-1843), who moved from New York to Philadelphia after marrying Reuben Haines III. The garden was installed alongside house renovations by noted architect William Strickland.
What makes Wyck's garden particularly significant is that it contains both the original rose plants from the 19th century design and plants from its earlier iteration as a kitchen garden in the 18th century. The garden is a rare survivor of its time, with over 50 cultivars of historic roses still growing in their original locations.

 Jane Bowne Haines
Her Rose Garden at Wyck House:

Above: Left: ‘Lafayette’ Rose. Center: Jane Bowne Haines. Right: ‘Elegant Gallica’ Rose. Image sources: Wyck.org and Instagram WyckHouse
Jane Bowne Haines designed the Wyck rose garden in 1821. Her sketch of the garden parterres survives today. Her grand-daugher, also named Jane Bowne Haines, founded the Pennsylvania School of Horticulture for Women in 1910. Today that school is the campus of Temple University Ambler.

 Links: