Notes:

F Corlies Morgan home, Chestnut Hill:

Historically known as “The Gardens,” the estate at 8635 Montgomery Ave. was built in the early 1850s by developer Clayton T. Platt, who was responsible for many of the homes along Montgomery, Birch and Evergreen avenues, developing the area as the “country seat of Chestnut Hill.” Some believe that The Gardens was the first home built on Montgomery Avenue.

The home features a three-story grand staircase, original millwork, herringbone floors, nine working fireplaces and three stone terraces. Flanking the house is a once-elaborate sunken garden designed at the turn of the century by Oglesby Paul, who was the designated landscape gardener for Fairmount Park. The gardens were later enhanced by Robert Wheelwright, who went on to establish the Department of Landscape Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania.

The early families who lived at 8635 Montgomery – the Trotters and the Welshes – used the home as a summer escape from Spruce Street, where both families resided downtown during the year. A renovation was completed in 1915 by then-owner F. Corlies Morgan. Today, the house is nearly unchanged, aside from the kitchen, which was moved upstairs from the basement.

In the mid-1920’s, large parcels of the estate were given to children in the family, one of whom built what is now known as the McNeil estate, in back of the property. The other child built the home at the corner of Montgomery and Evergreen avenues. In the mid-1950’s, the remaining estate was divided into two properties, with the carriage house developed into a sizable home of its own with terraced gardens. In 2001, Sam Blake performed an extensive restoration of the property.

Fisher Mary Newbold Welsh 9 Sep 1908Providence, RI. Mary (daughter of John Lowber Welsh and Maria Newbold) 7 Sep 1876 Pennsylvania, USA; 16 Oct 1912Philadelphia, PA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Fisher Lilian Bartow Smith 4 Jun 1917Philadelphia. Lilian 5 Sep 1876 Pennsylvania, USA; 15 Oct 1970; Woodlands Cemetery, Philadelphia, PA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]