This is a great historical site, even though it is a recreation. It's still a lot of fun to see…read morePA's founder William Penn's dwellings as they might have been. The visitor center sells the tickets, has a gift shop, and quite a thorough exhibit on William Penn and his decision to found a colony and the influences behind how he ran it, including his conversion to Quakerism. The house itself has tours regularly, and our tour group was pretty big. They have evidence of the foundation and recreated his summer house based on multiple sources, and the house has a different vibe than something from the colonial area around a hundred years later. You can see a simpler and English-inspired architecture with dark wooden interiors and focus on basic metal and wooden furnishings. The tour passes through the more public rooms, the bedrooms, and the kitchen where the tour finishes. The tour guide did seem to have a particular interest in herbs that were used medicinally at the time. The overall information was interesting to learn about Penn, his family, and life at the time. On site, they also had a few reenactor tradespeople, including a joiner, two weavers, and two blacksmiths. They were all very enthusiastic about answering questions on their crafts. There is also a garden to walk through and some livestock. Between the indoor and outdoor exhibits, it was a really thorough site with different things for everyone to enjoy.

I went to Pennsybury manor on a field trip as a chaperone…read more The manor is the place where William Penn stayed for a short time. You can see vegetable gardens, a barn, a wooden boat, a kitchen, and a guy squashing apples to make cider. (Kids love that). There is also a little workshop where a guy does woodworking. Another guy was carving a log into a canoe. There is a gift shoppe which sells pencils and stuffed animals, if you can't find one at the local discount mart in your neighborhood and have a paucity of these in your bedroom. There is also a tour of the mansion. It has no lights. It is not original but recreated to perhaps be like the original. There is also a outhouse adjacent to this structure, but people are prohibited from making deposits in it.

First of course some history:…read more Hope Lodge was completed in 1748 by Samuel Morris who was a wealthy Quaker businessman. As a young man Sammy worked with his father at a mill complex in Ambler. Later he bought and sold commercial property in Philadelphia along with owning ships, a quarry, kilns, a tannery and Mather Mill which is only a block away from the mansion. As if that wasn't enough, Morris also had side hustles as being the justice of the peace for Whitemarsh, Philadelphia county commissioner and an assessor for Philadelphia county. While Morris supposedly had never been to England, he adopted the most current architectural style of the day in both England and America, Georgian, named for King George I who was reigning at the time. The style was popular in Great Britain for its balance and symmetry. Fun rumor #1 is that Edmund Woolley, architect of Independence Hall, offered some advice on the mansion's design in exchange for some quarried lime and farm goods. Now here's where the historic part comes in. In 1777 the Whitemarsh Encampment, a six-week period of the American Revolution when the Continental Army camped in the surrounding fields after the Battle of Germantown and before encamping at Valley Forge occurs. During that time the house was used as the HQ of George Washington's Surgeon General, John Cochran. Fun rumor #2 is that while Washington never slept at the mansion or on the property, supposedly GW rode his horse through the first floor hallway of Hope Lodge during a visit. There is no evidence to support this claim, even though the hallway is wide enough, but no doubt that Washington would have visited Dr. Cochran frequently during the encampment. Eventually everything gets sold to English banker Henry Hope. Hope, to give you a sense of his importance, has enough juice at the time that Adam Smith in the 4th Edition of his still read today economics masterwork The Wealth of Nations, dedicated the book to Hope. Also if the Hope family name sounds familiar it's because among other things the Hope Diamond was named after them due to their ownership of the diamond. Never intending to live in Whitemarsh, Hope purchased the property as a wedding gift for his ward, James Watmough. It was the Watmoughs who named the site Hope Lodge, in honor of their benefactor. Prior to that and during Samuel Morris's lifetime the property is known as Whitemarsh Farms and Whitemarsh Estate. The property is then sold to a family who for almost the next century uses it primarily for farming. Lack of funds prevented upgrades to more modern things gas lighting and indoor plumbing in the late 19th century which meant the mansion's 18th century integrity is retained. From the Internet: "In 1921 the property is sold to Keasbey and Mattison, a development company whose plan was to demolish the structure and extend a nearby limestone quarry. To save it from destruction, William and Alice Degn bought the property in 1922. Early historic preservationists, they carefully restored the house and added their collection of 18th and early 19th century furnishings. They did not install a central heating system in the main house because of its destructive piping; rather they added a wing onto the existing summer kitchen for a winter residence. Both of the Degns loved flowers, and they created a beautiful rose garden on the south side of the house. After Mr. Degn's death in 1940, and Mrs. Degn's death in 1953, ownership of the house was transferred to the Hope Lodge Foundation, and in 1957, to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Today, Hope Lodge is administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission with the Friends of Hope Lodge, a non-profit support group formed to assist with operations at the site." So what you have today is a house that does not have the historical gravitas of a place where a Founding Father lived, worked or slept but due to the love it has received particularly from the Degn's the actual bones of the house are in amazing condition with the feature being the incomparable woodwork. If you go: Hope Lodge is not unlike a lot of other PHMC sites in that you really have to want to see it. Tours are only done one day a month, usually the 3rd Sunday, at 1pm and 2:30pm. Some months offer special events like a symphony concert, beer tasting, movie night under the stars and the biggie which is the annual re-enactment of the 1777 Whitemarsh Encampment which takes place in November. Tour admission is $5.00 for adults, $4.00 for seniors, $4.00 for youth age 6-17, children under 5 are free and Friends of Historic Hope Lodge members are free. Cash or check only. Active military personnel and their families are also free. Parking is via two smallish lots one on the side of the property near the gardens and the other in the rear of the property. The property is on South Bethlehem Pike which is very easy to get to from both the PA Turnpike and Route 309.

Exquisite site and gardens. Excellent example of 18th century architecture and furnishings. Great…read morehistorical gem in our own backyard.

Founded in the late 17th Century as part of William Penn's land grant from the King of England in…read morecooperation with the local Delaware Indian tribes (Walking Treaty), Wrightstown, Bucks County, retains much of its historic and natural charm. It is made up of five small villages, the best known of which are Penn's Park, Pineville and Wycombe. Each of these has its own post office and classic tavern where locals gather for drink, victuals and merriment. Governmentally, it is part of a Jointure, a cooperative arrangement for collective zoning with its neighbors Newtown and Upper Makefield. It is the only such association in the Commonwealth with a joint comprehensive plan and monthly meetings to review and recommend enactment of zoning ordinances that address such things as land development, open space, waste water management and roadside signage. This 40 year arrangement has allowed each community to grow distinctly. Wrightstown retains a rural nature with stone quarries it's primary industry; Upper Makefield without public sewer and water systems offers minimum 3 acre tracts for housing and limited commercial/industrial zones; while Newtown accepted more density, most commerce for the region, larger population, and a lot of the issues that go along with them. It also has among the lowest taxes in the county and the best schools (Council Rock). Wrightstown is also the home of the Grange, an agrarian social group like the 4H, that sponsors a large country fair every summer that attracts huge crowds for its carnival rides and farm husbandry competitions. It may seem a sleepy burg, but that's really just the way they want it.

While the mansion is still undergoing renovations so we were not able to include that and so my…read morereview may change in the future. Don't expect to take even a full afternoon visiting but it is a lovely preserved estate around the city. There's some goats, and the grounds are enjoyable to take an hour or so to walk with nice historical signs for context. There is some parking but it likely gets packed in high traffic times. I can't put it in my top gardens available for Philadelphia, it's good to have treasures like these to keep the sense of history and love of horticulture the area has long held.

This is a really cute hidden local treasure - very charming and pretty. We had some wedding photos…read moretaken here, so it will always have a special place in our hearts! Lots of cool spots outside for photos, and the inside is really cute as well. I'm not sure they usually open the house, but the grounds are very nice to walk around. We stopped by again recently and had some time to reminisce before heading out because it was too cold.

The only way this place could be better is if it was open more. It's a direct link to…read morepre-america, and was the place the battle of trenton was likely planned. You can stop in for a tour on the first Saturday of every month, and most months, the third Saturday as well. The House is original, dating to roughly 1765, and housed George Washington for the week, from December 8th to the 14th, 1776, as Washington wavered between heading to Philadelphia or turning north on the offensive. When leaving he turned north, crossed the river at Washington Crossing and turned the tide of the American Revolution. The best idea of Pre-America likely happened here for Washington. Could you have a great idea too?

A sarcastic shout out to the The New York Times (1.11.25) for anointing Bucks County Pennsylvania…read moreand artsy New Age mecca New Hope as the new "IT" destinations for The Hamptons crowd. Just what we need, more Range Rovers, faux foodies and sugar daddy bedazzlers. As if the crisp fall afternoons could become any more clogged with well heeled pedestrians clamoring for a seat at a panoply of overpriced, underwhelming eateries and endless curio shops. Many still cling to the "quaint" sobriquet to describe New Hope's charms, although i much prefer Don Henley's more apt observation... Call something paradise/You can kiss it goodbye. Thanks for nothing NYT.

I LOVE New Hope except for the parking !!! Even if the kiosks are out of order, it's YOUR…read moreresponsibility to take the time ( and space on your phone! ) to download a parking app so they can get their money!!! There's nothing I like more than wasting 15 minutes trying to pay while the kiosk ' cancels ' my payment or is a blank screen and I'm now late for a reservation!

Pretty neat museum. Only been in it a few times…read more I usually go to the playground that is on the same premises and my daughter loves it. When it comes to the museum it's pretty interesting, but their are only certain hours. You'd have to check the times beforehand to make sure they are open.

As the story goes, Joseph willed Burholme to his second wife, Anne and upon her death, son Robert…read more Upon Joseph's death, Robert and stepmother Anne moved back to Burholme, then adding to the home a parlor and library. Just months before Robert's death he married his housekeeper, Mary Ann Reed. Robert left her Burholme, with stipulations stating the estate (Burholme), be turned over to the city to be used as a park, museum, and library. After Robert's death, Mary Ann remarried, continued to travel and collect items, from around the world. The museum is free and open Friday - Sunday. This isn't the average museum. It's less pictures and more, statues, trinkets, artifacts, books, and so on. Throughout the collection you see the traveller; the passion for collecting is evident. The eclectic collection makes you wonder about life in the past, their friends abroad, and their legacy to allow us into their world of wonder.

I would definitely recommend to anyone passing through off the highway to stop in this little…read moreborough for breakfast or coffee. There's even an antique shop and a couple of other stores and restaurants. The scenery is beautiful and the town itself is very quaint with much to offer, including local's recommended bike shops and a spa!

There are very few places in life that you really fall in love with…read more This town is one of them. This is the ideal place to raise a family, work, live and grow old in. It is quaint, idyllic and down right beautiful. The people are also really nice. If i could move here, I would