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History
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THE HISTORY
Wishing to provide his family with a refuge from the yellow fever epidemics sweeping Philadelphia, Anthony Morris (1766-1860), a wealthy politician and merchant, purchased just over 200 acres of land in Whitemarsh, Montgomery County, in 1794. Construction of the elaborate country estate, “The Highlands” was completed by 1796. Morris suffered extreme financial difficulties and in 1808 was forced to sell The Highlands to Daniel Hitner (1765-1841). Hitner sold the property and its accumulated 300+ acres to a Philadelphia wine merchant, George Sheaff (1779-1851) in 1813.
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During the Sheaff family ownership, which spanned more
than a century, there were numerous improvements made both to the Georgian mansion and to the landscape. After George Sheaff’s death in 1851. His heirs sold part of the estate and the youngest son, John, retained 59 acres including the mansion and adjoining outbuildings.
In 1917, two years after the death of the last Sheaff heir, the property was sold to Miss Caroline Sinkler (1860-1949), a native South Carolinian with strong ties to Philadelphia.
The house and gardens had deteriorated, but through the efforts of Miss Sinkler, the property regained its elegance and prominence as an historical treasure. Click here for more on the garden. Miss Sinkler’s niece, Emily Sinkler Roosevelt, and her husband Nicholas, purchased the property in 1941. The Roosevelts gave the property to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1957.
In 1975, The Highlands Historical Society formed to preserve, restore and interpret the historic mansion and grounds from 1794 to the present. return to top |
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