Belmont Mansion in Philadelphia was built in the mid-1700s and became a history museum in 1986. It was a prominent site in the antislavery movement and hosted many famous figures. The mansion also served as a rest stop for slaves on the Underground Railroad. Today, it offers guided tours and exhibits related to its historical importance.
The Belmont Mansion in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was the family home of a trustee in the employ of William Penn, founder of the state and a prominent Quaker. The mansion built in the mid-1700s became a history museum in 1986 and was renamed the Belmont Mansion Underground Museum in 2007. The new name reflects the site’s prominence as part of Philadelphia’s antislavery movement in the late 1700s and 1800s. Judge Richard Peters, a descendant of the original owner, William Peters, was actively involved in the abolitionist movement.
A number of prominent figures in the early United States visited the Belmont Mansion, including James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. Foreign dignitaries and leaders of the colonies were hosted here. The Belmont Mansion was a place of beauty, and visitors in the 1700s marveled at the view from its plateau, which is still considered one of the finest vistas in the city.
Some slaves who made their way north seeking freedom on the Underground Railroad rested at Belmont Mansion during the Civil War. The exhibits related to the underground railway are on display at the palace. Guided tours are available, as are recorded stories of the site’s historical importance.
The Belmont Mansion, located on Belmont Mansion Drive in West Fairmount Park, witnessed the Centennial Exhibition held in Philadelphia in 1876 when one of the new event pavilions was erected next to it. Today the historic home, done in the Palladian style, boasts one of the oldest ornamental plaster ceilings in the United States.
William Peters designed the historic structure and laid out the surrounding gardens in a formal style. His son, Richard Peters, was a prominent figure during the Revolutionary War. In later years he joined the Pennsylvania Society for the Abolition of Slavery, was elected a state senator, and also became a US District Court judge. He has turned his family’s land in the mansion into a working farm.
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