The restoration was undertaken in 1918 by the Junior League of Philadelphia, with the advice of the Museum, and the house now serves as the headquarters for the Junior League.
On entering, the visitor will be impressed with the simplicity of the architecture and the delicacy of the ornament. Of a later date than that of Mount Pleasant, the style is more classic, varied by the relief ornament of the mantels and the number of large graceful windows. The large reception room contains four beautifully carved Heppelwhite side chairs, a pair of mahogany card tables and a sofa of the same style. Wedgwood vases, gilt torchères and a large Oriental rug represent imported objects which the room might have exhibited in its original state. A rare acquisition, a complete set of William Birch’s views of Philadelphia, hang upon these walls and on the stair landing. At the right of the fireplace stands a painted armchair with needlepoint back and seat, and nearby is a tripod candlestand. These pieces formed a part of the original furnishings of Sweetbrier, and have been lent by the descendants of Samuel Breck. In a vitrine near the west door, a miniature on ivory shows the youthful Samuel Breck.
CEDAR GROVE, 1721-1795 Shown on map as No. 2
CEDAR GROVE
Cedar Grove is an ancestral home of the Morris family. The house, which stood for over two hundred years near Harrowgate station in Frankford, in 1927 was removed stone by stone. It has been re-erected on Lansdowne Drive near Memorial Hall, with its original contents, through the generosity of Miss Lydia Thompson Morris. The land at Frankford was bought in 1714 by Thomas Coates of High Street, the father of Elizabeth Coates. In 1721 Elizabeth married Isaac Paschall, and it is from this time that dates the oldest portion of the house. Isaac Paschall, a son of Elizabeth, married Patience Mifflin in 1767. The house came to his daughter Sarah, who married Isaac W. Morris in 1795.
Through the munificent gift of Miss Morris, Cedar Grove has retained its heirlooms dating from 1720 to 1800. Within its walls may be seen furniture from the simple William and Mary type to the elegant examples of Heppelwhite and Sheraton.
One enters directly into the living room with the informality of pre-Revolutionary times. The Chippendale sofa, upholstered in yellow brocade, the pie-crust table and the six ball-and-claw foot chairs combine easily with the earlier William and Mary highboy and lowboy.
In the dining room, the majority of pieces illustrate the formal Heppelwhite style. The kitchen remains in a simple state, its large fireplace adequately supplied with cranes and pots.
Passing upstairs one visits the several bedrooms, furnished mainly in Heppelwhite style. The beds with their fluted posts and straight chintz hangings illustrate the simplicity which followed Chippendale’s exuberant curves. In the same style are mahogany chests of drawers with bracket feet.