Blondie
~*~*~*~<br><font color=blue>This TF always enjoys
- Joined
- Aug 18, 1999
- Messages
- 17,306
Long photo post ahead...... 
When we lived in Pennsylvania (and before we had kids), DH and I used to cruise Ridley State Park all the time. It was a great place to go and party or just hang out with friends. Back then the State Troopers pretended they didn't see you, and we pretended we didn't see them.
I've always admired the park office which used to be the Jefford's Mansion. I love old houses/mansions, etc. and the stories they tell but didn't know much about the actual history until Saturday.
Ridley Creek State Park encompasses over 2,606 acres of Delaware County woodlands and meadows. The gently rolling terrain of the park, bisected by Ridley Creek, is only 16 miles from center city Philadelphia.
The park office is in the Hunting Hill mansion, built by the Jeffords family in 1914. The mansion was built around a 1789 Pennsylvania stone farmhouse that forms the core of the building and serves as the reception center. In 1789 the house was the largest in the township and was valued at $580.00. (wait until you see what the state paid for it!)
From 1915-1918 the Jeffords proceeded to enlarge the old house by adding two large wings. The east wing housed the kitchen, family dining room and servant's quarters plus a sitting room, & secretary's office on the second floor. The west wing housed the guests' rooms, a son's bedroom and Mrs. Jeffords' book room. While construction was going on Mr. & Mrs. Jeffords lived in the old Jesse Green house near the stables. It took one year to complete the inside of the house, while the exterior was completed in 1918.
The middle or old section housed the Jeffords bedrooms and baths. The ballroom or living room on the first floor has a beautiful ceiling of hand-molded plaster that was constructed in six-foot square sections with four different relief patterns. The oak paneling in the grand staircase came from oak trees on the property.
The house has 38 rooms, 13 fireplaces and 11 bathrooms and is built in the style of an English Tudor Manor house.
The barn that stood next to the mansion to the west, burned in the 1930's and now the walls enclose both a rose garden and boxwood barden. Two tenants in the park at the time Mr. George Link and Mr. John Wood caped the top of the barn walls with shingles to finish them off. There is also a large barn, stables and some maintenance shop to the east of the mansion. The stone maintenance shop was used to house the single male employees.
In August of 1966 the Commonwealth of PA bought from Walter Jeffords Jr. the estate of 2,000 acres by imminent domain for the sum of $5,600,000.00! The State also acquired an additional 500 acres from surrounding owners.
We were there fairly early in the morning on Saturday so we had the whole park to ourselves. It was also freezing cold!
Our photo of the mansion came out blurry, so I borrowed this from the net, it really doesn't do it justice though:
Across from the park office/mansion are the stables:
Grand staircase made from oak trees on the property. This is the first photo we've ever taken that had "orbs" in them! See if you can spot them. (and yes, that's me on the left pointing out a sign to my son preventing people from wandering upstairs--as he was about to do!)
I feel that they could do more restoration to this once magnificent property, but I guess being "state owned" there is only so much money to go around for such projects? Or there just isn't an interest?
Here is a balcony overlook, access to the upper floors is restricted.
Look...another "orb!"
Here are two ballroom shots where you can see the detail that went in to the hand molded plaster ceiling. They hold little events in there now, on the day we were there they were setting up for a some kind of reptile demonstration for kids. I read that it can also be used for wedding receptions.
The fireplace doesn't look as beautiful as it was in person, it was huge, but didn't have a fancy mantle like I thought it would!
In back of my two sons was the barn that burned down in the 1930's.
And from another angle:
A reflecting pool:
Just around the grounds of the mansion:
One of the many, many walking trails around the mansion:
When we lived in Pennsylvania (and before we had kids), DH and I used to cruise Ridley State Park all the time. It was a great place to go and party or just hang out with friends. Back then the State Troopers pretended they didn't see you, and we pretended we didn't see them.
I've always admired the park office which used to be the Jefford's Mansion. I love old houses/mansions, etc. and the stories they tell but didn't know much about the actual history until Saturday.
Ridley Creek State Park encompasses over 2,606 acres of Delaware County woodlands and meadows. The gently rolling terrain of the park, bisected by Ridley Creek, is only 16 miles from center city Philadelphia.
The park office is in the Hunting Hill mansion, built by the Jeffords family in 1914. The mansion was built around a 1789 Pennsylvania stone farmhouse that forms the core of the building and serves as the reception center. In 1789 the house was the largest in the township and was valued at $580.00. (wait until you see what the state paid for it!)
From 1915-1918 the Jeffords proceeded to enlarge the old house by adding two large wings. The east wing housed the kitchen, family dining room and servant's quarters plus a sitting room, & secretary's office on the second floor. The west wing housed the guests' rooms, a son's bedroom and Mrs. Jeffords' book room. While construction was going on Mr. & Mrs. Jeffords lived in the old Jesse Green house near the stables. It took one year to complete the inside of the house, while the exterior was completed in 1918.
The middle or old section housed the Jeffords bedrooms and baths. The ballroom or living room on the first floor has a beautiful ceiling of hand-molded plaster that was constructed in six-foot square sections with four different relief patterns. The oak paneling in the grand staircase came from oak trees on the property.
The house has 38 rooms, 13 fireplaces and 11 bathrooms and is built in the style of an English Tudor Manor house.
The barn that stood next to the mansion to the west, burned in the 1930's and now the walls enclose both a rose garden and boxwood barden. Two tenants in the park at the time Mr. George Link and Mr. John Wood caped the top of the barn walls with shingles to finish them off. There is also a large barn, stables and some maintenance shop to the east of the mansion. The stone maintenance shop was used to house the single male employees.
In August of 1966 the Commonwealth of PA bought from Walter Jeffords Jr. the estate of 2,000 acres by imminent domain for the sum of $5,600,000.00! The State also acquired an additional 500 acres from surrounding owners.
We were there fairly early in the morning on Saturday so we had the whole park to ourselves. It was also freezing cold!
Our photo of the mansion came out blurry, so I borrowed this from the net, it really doesn't do it justice though:
Across from the park office/mansion are the stables:
Grand staircase made from oak trees on the property. This is the first photo we've ever taken that had "orbs" in them! See if you can spot them. (and yes, that's me on the left pointing out a sign to my son preventing people from wandering upstairs--as he was about to do!)
I feel that they could do more restoration to this once magnificent property, but I guess being "state owned" there is only so much money to go around for such projects? Or there just isn't an interest?
Here is a balcony overlook, access to the upper floors is restricted.
Look...another "orb!"
Here are two ballroom shots where you can see the detail that went in to the hand molded plaster ceiling. They hold little events in there now, on the day we were there they were setting up for a some kind of reptile demonstration for kids. I read that it can also be used for wedding receptions.
The fireplace doesn't look as beautiful as it was in person, it was huge, but didn't have a fancy mantle like I thought it would!
In back of my two sons was the barn that burned down in the 1930's.
And from another angle:
A reflecting pool:
Just around the grounds of the mansion:
One of the many, many walking trails around the mansion:
