Courtesy of The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania at STENTON, Philadelphia.

STENTON | CLIVEDEN

Teck Deck Interview Channel 2
T: Hi I’m Teck reporting live with Channel 2 News. I’m interviewing James Logan. So James when did you build your house and when did you finish it?
JL: Well Teck I started in 1730 and finished in 1773.
T: That’s a long period of time. I heard there are 50,000 bricks in this house?
JL: Yes there are Teck and it’s a hard job trust me I counted all the bricks.
T: I heard that you have a thirst for books?
JL: Yes and I have 2,681 book.
T. That’s a lot of books. Who are some of your best friends?
JL: Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson.
T: What kind of things do you collect?
JL: I collect silver, shells and of course books. I teach manners here in my house to boys and girls. Oh and ah Teck, do you want to learn the three D’s?
T: Sure James I would love to.
JL: Dinah, Deborah and the Dames.
T: What kind of bed do your daughters sleep in?
JL: A pull out bed.
T: I didn’t know they made pull out beds until three years ago. I heard you are a Quaker?
JL: Yes Teck I am a Quaker.
T: There is a plaque in memory of your slave maid?
JL: Yes I do Teck.
T: Why do you have one for her and no one else?
JL: She saved the mansion.
T: By lying. So, you lied one time in your life. Okay, whatever, do you have any indentured servants? If you do can you tell us about one?
JL: Well Teck I have one. Once I slipped on a piece of ice and broke my hips.
T: This just in folks, James Logan died last night (Halloween night). That’s scary or freaky. Penn got the fastest runners he could. So the Native Americans had to walk. So Penn got the most land. So you see in the colonial days as far as a man could walk that’s how much land you would get. That’s all, see you on Teck Deck News. Next week the trip to Cliveden.

Stenton by Sophia Nolas
I’m news reporter Sophia Nolas reporting about Stenton.

Stenton was built in 1723, on 500 acres of land. To build it, slaves, indentured servants, and paid workers used 50,000 brick. It was three times the size of a regular house at that time. It was owned by James Logan, and in case you don’t know, Mr. Logan was William Penn’s secretary.

Mr. Logan owned 2,681 books, he had many jobs. He worked as a fur trader, a merchant, a construction supervisor, and a surveyor. He also worked as a tax collector, an accountant, a land and real estate salesman, and a landlord.
Now, to get back to the house. There is no handle on the front door of the house. Why? It is there so people can’t just come in without being asked to, but there was a way to get in if you didn’t have a key, and that was by the servants. They would open the door if you knocked, then you would wait in the waiting room, (like a door room) until Mr. Logan came to see you.

The house also had an office and 2 bedrooms which could connect together into one room if Mr. Logan wanted them to. Also the house had a child room that was just like the adult room only smaller, and had dolls. There also was a baby servant room. That room was used to let a servant raise a Logan baby and give the baby to the Logan’s when the baby was older.
The house also had a parlor, and in case you didn’t know, the parlor is the living room. In the living room you had to have perfect manners and bow to your parents and other people that were older than you.

Stenton also had a huge stone barn, which and two floors. The bottom floor was for the animals, and the top floor was for any other farm work they could do in the barn.
One last thing about the house, it had slave stairs to hide the slaves from people. The slaves’ stairs were smaller and narrower than the main stairs.

Okay, well, that’s all I’ve got to say about Stenton, but remember, Pennsylvania was once a colony, and before that it was a wild wilderness populated by the Lenape. That’s all from Sophia Nolas, History Hunter, news reporter, reporting from Stenton.

by Lydia Scoffone

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Stenton by Lucy Spiller
This is a picture of the Stenton House. A lot of famous people like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson came here a lot (when they weren’t famous yet). Here are some facts: it was built in 1723, completed in 1730, and made up of 50,000 bricks!!!

This is a picture of one of the bedrooms. In this picture you can see that the bed has curtains, and that curtains are shipped from England. So there pretty expensive. In fact they were the second most expensive item in the Stenton House! Also the china tea pot and cups were rare too. I think I would like to have this room.

Stenton by Eli Epperson
Hi, my class 102 visited the Stenton House owned by James Logan in the early 1700’s. James Logan was a Quaker who became wealthy when he met and befriended William Penn. But William left Pennsylvania (the land that he owned) to go to England. James assumed many roles in William’s absence. This holy story fireplace was one of the nine fireplaces in his home.

This piece of art was made with shells, except for the wooden box. The box was made by wealthy girls and when finished was admired by family members.

Grandfather clock, Bed warmer
Other picture that I made (not shown):
Wampum, Baby bed, Ink well, Dresser, Globe

by Yasmir Stanal

by Ana Koemer

Philadelphia Gazette by Ana Koerner

A British Soldier Paints a Picture ñ Recently, a British soldier got shot in the middle of the neck by a musket ball. Tons of blood was oozing out. While he was still alive, he managed to stick his finger into his neck and paint a picture of his wife on the wall with his blood. You can still see it at the Cliveden house.

British Soldiers Use Cliveden as a Defense ñ British soldiers use Cliveden as a defense. Tis was a smart decision for the British. American seem wounded and miserable. British has the advantage because Cliveden is made up of stones that are two feet thick. Tis impossible to break through.

Big Damage Done on Cliveden ñ A musket ball was shot by an American soldier. It leaves a huge dent on the wall. Tis very deep in the wall. There are dents on the stone in the front but not much inside, except the musket ball.

A Lot of Children for Mr. Chew. Mr. Chew now has 13 children total. 12 girls and 1 boy. When his last child was born, his oldest was 31 years old and married.

Interview for Channel 10 by Lucy Spillern

This is Lucy reporting for on Channel 10. I am here with Benjamin Chew. So Ben, wjy did you build Cliveden?

BC: Well Lucy, I built it for a summer house.
LS: Why did you need a summer house Ben?
BC: Of course you know that I have a lot of children. So I need a big house for them, and the summers here are very, very hot and sticky.
LS: Ben is there a specific reason that you named it Cliveden?

BC: Yes there is Lucy. I named it after a house in England, because I wanted people to know about my connections with England.

LS: How did you feel when you found British soldiers in Cliveden?

BC: I felt like the workers and I did all that work for nothing.

LS: How was it knowing that your vacation house was in the middle, in fact part of the Revolutionary War?

BC: I felt really, really bad that my house was damaged.

LS: Well, it was nice seeing you Ben. Thanks for joining us.

BC: Thank you Lucy.

July 6, 1776 by Sophia Nolas

This is news reporter Sophia Nolas

ditorializing about the news. I know you are all waiting for my editorial, so let me tell you my editorial.

Today is July 6, 1776 and I want you to know the greatest thing that has happened since we came here! Our leaders just signed a declaration of independence so we can be free from Great Britian! This is great, but I can tell there will be a long time of bloody battles, but right now letís not talk about that, it will let our spirits down and in the mean time, letís think about after all we are free. First of all, there will be no taxation without representation and we will be able to speak our minds!

One other think you should know before the fighting starts, be ready to take sides ñ Patriots or Loyalists- as for me, I am a Patriot. Thatís all from Sophia Nolas, news reporter.

Germantown with Teck Deck News by Justine King

Hi, Iím Teck reporting live here at Cliveden house in Germantown. Mrs. Stevens and Ms. Stumms 4th Grade classes went on a trip to Cliveden Tuesday November 2, 2004. I rode the bus to Cliveden. The soldiers wore shirts made out of linen. The old bullets were made out of lead. They were called musket balls. At the house there were dents from cannon balls and bullets (musket balls) on the outside wall. They didnít go all the way through because the stone was 2 feet thick. My tour guide was Mrs. Mackie. While in the Cliveden house our guide told us about the beds. The beds had rope instead of springs. Our guide said Benjamin Chew was one of the people who invented donít let the bed bugs bite because bugs would crawl under your bed and bite. Benjamin Chew finished building his house in 1767. Chews summer home was in the middle of the Battle of Germantown. A revolution is something that changes the future. Germantown had Quakers living there. Benjamin Chew had a personal servant named Will. Philadelphians did not know how to fight. There is a Colonel named Thomas Musgrave. Colonel Musgrave was the head of the soldiers in the basement. The Colonel looks like George Washington. There is a street called Musgrave Street. A haversack has spoons made out of animal horns. The forks are made out of twisted wire. There are two tongs instead of four. The cups are made out of metal, sometimes used as pots. The bandages were made out of linen. The blankets were made out of cotton. The soldiers carried the blankets with them everywhere. Even when is was very hot outside. When the Americans tried to surprise the Germans, they were already at the gate waiting for them. Then the Germans starting firing then the Americans started firing. I enjoyed the Cliveden trip very much!!!!