A Brief History of Fort Washington, Pennsylvania

Book excerpt: Revolutionary War historians know Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, as the site where George Washington successfully repelled the British before moving on to Valley Forge. The Fort Washington of that day featured a landscape dominated by farmland, but the beauty of the area and its proximity to burgeoning Philadelphia ensured that it would not remain rural for long. Less than a hundred years after the crack of Patriot muskets reverberated through Fort Washington, the area grew into a thriving summer resort, and was well on its way to becoming an early Philadelphia suburb. As a playground for elite Philadelphians before the end of the nineteenth century, Fort Washington became the location for lavish summer homes and year-round estates. The popularity of the area continued to increase, and soon a thriving middle class developed, changing the face of Fort Washington and producing dozens of grand Victorian homes that survive to this day. A Brief History of Fort Washington, Pennsylvania: From Farmland to Suburb, by local historians Lewis and Trudy Keen tells the story of Fort Washington that few know. Drawing on a wealth of original documents, this look at Fort Washington's colorful past provides an accessible account of the people, events, homes and businesses that have made this area of Pennsylvania a prosperous and vibrant community.