The Mather family name is familiar to the Fort Washington community because of the most famous building existed on South Bethlehem Pike: Hope Lodge.
So, what's the connection between Hope Lodge and Whitpain?
Hope Lodge and Mather Mill
The Mather Mill was constructed around the late 17th century by Edward Farmar, and around the 1740s, Samuel Morris purchased the 150 acres including the mill, and built Hope Lodge. While Hope Lodge was occupied by different owners, the Mather Mill stayed untouched.
After Samuel Morris died, his brother Joshua took ownership of Hope Lodge, but sold the mill and 4 acres to Isaac Mather, a millwright who married his daughter Mary Morris.
Hope Lodge is currently operated by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission whose Eastern division office is located on the property.
Fun Fact #1: Hope Lodge played a role during the American Revolutionary War where it was used as an encampment site. Hope Lodge was also used as a hospital by surgeon general John Cochran.
Charles Mather and the Woodlawn Plantation
Charles Mather (1784-1830) built the Woodlawn plantation in Whitpain in 1804 and also the mill next to the home. It was considered a landmark in the community where farmers traveled from miles away to have their grain grounded into flour.
The homestead and the mill was passed onto his eldest son Job Mather Roberts (1810-1900) who make slight changes to the place. He lived at the homestead for 90 years. He made slight changes to the homestead around 1808.
His nephew in-law, J. Sims Wilson (1856-1911), was his executor, and came into possession of the Mather property. He used the Woodlawn homestead as a summer home while spending the winter in Philadelphia.
Fun Fact #2: J. Sims Wilson was a well-known builder in Ambler, and was the builder behind the first Ambler Post Office.
J. Sims Wilson's wife Annie W. Wilson (1853-1929) occupied the home after her husband's death. Before she died, she named her children Mary M. and John S. as executors of her will. She stated in her will that her daughter will be given 2/3 of the estate while her son will have 1/3 of it.
Mary and John sold their Woodlawn homestead to George C. Klauder who made improvements on the property.
Fun Fact #3: George C. Klauder was the law partner of former Philadelphia mayor Harry A. Mackey.
Architecture
Based on the picture taken from Horace Mather Lippincott's The Mather Family of Cheltenham, Pennsylvania, the physical look of the home does not match the present buildings standing on the former Mather property. But, the two homes were located on the same property along the Wissahickon Creek because of the mill still standing.
It is never clear if the home was completely renovated or it was torn down and was newly built. According to a clipping from the Ambler Gazette, it said that George Klauder planned to remodel the old Woodlawn plantation and add two wings to the home. He also planned to restore the roof to its "original colonial lines." I would assume some major changes to the old home was made by George Klauder.
By comparing the photographs below, you can see major differences between these two homes on the same property.
The photo on the left has a flat roofed porch and two steep roofs that looks Gothic revival-inspired. The structure of the home looked like it was covered in stucco, possibly built of stone.
The photo on the right, meanwhile, has more of a Dutch colonial revival look with its gambrel roof, a centered arched fanlight window on the front facade, and three gabled dormers. Right away, you can see the home was built of stone.
According to the PA Historic Resource Survey Form, a springhouse was built on the property.
One possible conclusion I have is that the original home was demolished, and was rebuilt differently by George Klauder based on evidence found in the Ambler Gazette.
Bibliography
"18th Century Housing of America." 18th Century History (blog). Accessed February 15, 2022. https://www.history1700s.com/index.php/articles/14-guest-authors/1729-18th-century-housing-of-america.html.
"Amblerite Loses Life In St. Lawrence." Ambler Gazette. August 31, 1933. Page 1. http://digitalcollections.powerlibrary.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/wivp-gazett/id/20709/rec/6.
Franklin Survey Co. Atlas: Montgomery County 1935 Vol B, Plate 7, 1935.
"Google Maps Area Calculator Tool." DaftLogic. Accessed February 19, 2022. https://www.daftlogic.com/projects-google-maps-area-calculator-tool.htm.
"History." Historic Hope Lodge. Accessed February 15, 2022. https://www.historichopelodge.org/history.
Hopkins, G.M. Atlas of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Page 031, 1871.
"John Roberts Place, Penllyn." Ambler Gazette. June 19, 1913. Page 2. http://digitalcollections.powerlibrary.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/wivp-gazett/id/9721/rec/1.
"Joseph Mather." Geni. Last modified May 17, 2021. https://www.geni.com/people/Joseph-Mather/6000000006963369045.
"Joseph Mather (1664 - 1724)." WikiTree. Last modified September 10, 2020. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Mather-693.
Lippincott, Horace Mather. The Mather Family of Cheltenham, Pennsylvania: Being an Account of the Descendants of Joseph Mather, Complied from the Records of Charles Mather of Jenkintown. (Philadelphia: Lewis J. Levick, 1910): 15-33, 37, 114, 121-122.
"Mather Mill: A Model for Developing Resiliency for Historic Properties." Pennsylvania Historic Preservation (blog). September 4, 2019. https://pahistoricpreservation.com/mather-mill-model-for-developing-resiliency-for-historic-properties/.
Miller, Jim. "Charles Mather Mill." Mills and Covered Bridges from All Over the World (blog). Accessed February 15, 2022. https://millpictures.com/mills.php?millid=540.
Morris, William E, and Smith & Wistar. Map of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania: from original surveys. (Philadelphia: Smith & Wistar, 1849) Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/2012590207/.
Mueller, A. H. Atlas of the North Penn Section of Montgomery County, Pa., Plate 27, 1916.
"Obituary. Job Roberts Mather." Ambler Gazette. March 15, 1900. Page 4. http://digitalcollections.powerlibrary.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/wivp-gazett/id/3990/rec/1.
Smith, J. L. Montgomery County 1893, Whitpain and Worcester Townships, Bethel Hill, Fairview, Cedar Hill, Washington Square, Broad Axe Left, 1893.
"The Merion Friends Burying Ground." Merion Friends Meeting. Accessed February 15, 2022. https://www.merionfriends.org/burying-ground.
"'Woodlawn Sold." Ambler Gazette. December 17, 1931. Page 6. http://digitalcollections.powerlibrary.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/wivp-gazett/id/19927/rec/1.
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