Bellevue Mansion
Bellevue Mansion was a historic country house in North Philadelphia. The site on which it stood is now between North Marston and North Etting Streets, near 29th Street and Allegheny Avenue.
Bellevue was purchased from Thomas Ketland and his wife Elizabeth as a country estate in 1802 by Philadelphia merchant Charles Wharton (1743–1838), grandfather of industrialist Joseph Wharton. It was located about 3 miles (4.8 km) northwest of Philadelphia, just below the heights of Germantown.
Bellevue remained in the Wharton family for more than 60 years. In 1834 Charles Wharton gave the estate to his son William (1790–1856), who resided there in the summer with his wife Deborah Fisher Wharton for two decades raising their family. It was a working farm of 106 acres (0.43 km2), situated in rolling hills, with house, barn, sheds, vegetable gardens, orchards, fields, and farm animals. The manor house overlooked a small valley and brook that flowed into the Schuylkill River. Large willows, sycamores, and oaks dominated the house and landscape. Servants, mostly Irish, assisted with housekeeping and hired hands worked the fields and maintained the farm animals. The estate was surrounded by woods and estates of other wealthy Philadelphians.
Bellevue Mansion was large and roomy, constructed in stone, with two stories, basement, and widow's walk on the roof. Originally constructed by an Englishman who enjoyed dancing, it contained a large ballroom, used by the Wharton family as a game room. The family visited Bellevue often, entertaining many guests young and old. Paralleling the creek nearby was Nicetown Lane, leading about a half mile down to the Schuylkill River.
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