The first family to till this land was that of Peter and Rosanna Wentz, who were both first-generation Americans. Peter Wentz inherited the property from his father who may have purchased it as early as 1710. The couple had six children.
This farm was sold to Dewalt Bieber in 1784 and then to Melchior Schultz, a minister of the Schwenkfelder faith, in 1794. Schultz family descendants owned the home until 1969 when it was purchased by the County of Montgomery.
The Georgian-style mansion was built in 1758, and is a large 2+1⁄2-story, dwelling with attached summer kitchen and bake oven. The main house consists of two floors with four rooms and a large hallway on both, a cellar with a spring house and a full attic. The front facade is built of dressed red sandstone and the remainder of the building is built on uncut sandstone. Located nearby is a red building that has a visitor center with restrooms and a gift-shop and employees offices upstairs. Also located on the property, there are many reconstructed outbuildings, including an Privy, a smokehouse, a woodshed, an ice-house, a barn, a chicken house, and a sheepfold. Currently, the farm has sheep, cows, pigs, horses, and chickens.
The house served as headquarters for the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army George Washington before and after the Battle of Germantown, October 2–4 and 16–21, 1777. His Excellency did not travel alone. He had a staff of 9 military secretaries or aides-de-camp, a dozen servants and his personal guard unit, the Commander-in-Chief's Guard. That unit consisted of sixty infantry soldiers and three officers. Washington set his 12,000 strong army two miles south on top of the Methacton hill to be in striking distance of 8,000 Crown forces in nearby Germantown.[2]
By October 20 news arrived that the fortifications and breastworks around Philadelphia were completed, the British abandoned their outpost in Germantown. Washington responded by moving his troops within a half days march of Philadelphia. Whitemarsh or Fort Washington was chosen as it was 15 miles (24 km) away.[3]
^George Washington to Continental Congress, September 29, 1777, George Washington Papers at the Library of Congress, 1741–1799: Series 4. General Correspondence. 1697–1799, Image 477 of 1104.
^"National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania" (Searchable database). CRGIS: Cultural Resources Geographic Information System. Note: This includes William K. Watson (November 1972). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Peter Wentz Homestead" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-05-05.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Peter Wentz Homestead.
Peter Wentz Farmstead – official site
January 01, 1970
peter, wentz, homestead, confused, with, peter, wentz, house, residence, also, national, register, historic, places, provo, utah, peter, wentz, farmstead, historic, pennsylvania, german, farm, that, been, continuously, farmed, since, 1744, located, worcester, . Not to be confused with the Peter Wentz House a residence also on the National Register of Historic Places in Provo Utah The Peter Wentz Farmstead is an historic Pennsylvania German farm that has been continuously farmed since 1744 It is located in Worcester Township Montgomery County Pennsylvania near Lansdale Peter Wentz HomesteadU S National Register of Historic PlacesPeter Wentz Homestead September 2012 Show map of PennsylvaniaShow map of the United StatesLocationSchultz Rd Worcester Township PennsylvaniaCoordinates40 11 56 N 75 20 2 W 40 19889 N 75 33389 W 40 19889 75 33389Area9 9 acres 4 0 ha Built1758Architectural styleGeorgianNRHP reference No 73001656 1 Added to NRHPMay 8 1973 It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 1 Contents 1 History 2 See also 3 Gallery 4 References 5 External linksHistory editThe first family to till this land was that of Peter and Rosanna Wentz who were both first generation Americans Peter Wentz inherited the property from his father who may have purchased it as early as 1710 The couple had six children This farm was sold to Dewalt Bieber in 1784 and then to Melchior Schultz a minister of the Schwenkfelder faith in 1794 Schultz family descendants owned the home until 1969 when it was purchased by the County of Montgomery The Georgian style mansion was built in 1758 and is a large 2 1 2 story dwelling with attached summer kitchen and bake oven The main house consists of two floors with four rooms and a large hallway on both a cellar with a spring house and a full attic The front facade is built of dressed red sandstone and the remainder of the building is built on uncut sandstone Located nearby is a red building that has a visitor center with restrooms and a gift shop and employees offices upstairs Also located on the property there are many reconstructed outbuildings including an Privy a smokehouse a woodshed an ice house a barn a chicken house and a sheepfold Currently the farm has sheep cows pigs horses and chickens The house served as headquarters for the Commander in Chief of the Continental Army George Washington before and after the Battle of Germantown October 2 4 and 16 21 1777 His Excellency did not travel alone He had a staff of 9 military secretaries or aides de camp a dozen servants and his personal guard unit the Commander in Chief s Guard That unit consisted of sixty infantry soldiers and three officers Washington set his 12 000 strong army two miles south on top of the Methacton hill to be in striking distance of 8 000 Crown forces in nearby Germantown 2 By October 20 news arrived that the fortifications and breastworks around Philadelphia were completed the British abandoned their outpost in Germantown Washington responded by moving his troops within a half days march of Philadelphia Whitemarsh or Fort Washington was chosen as it was 15 miles 24 km away 3 This property was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 1 See also edit nbsp National Register of Historic Places portal National Register of Historic Places in Montgomery County Pennsylvania List of Washington s Headquarters during the Revolutionary WarGallery edit nbsp Front room Peter Wentz residence April 2016References edit a b c National Register Information System National Register of Historic Places National Park Service July 9 2010 George Washington to Continental Congress September 29 1777 George Washington Papers at the Library of Congress 1741 1799 Series 4 General Correspondence 1697 1799 Image 477 of 1104 National Historic Landmarks amp National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Searchable database CRGIS Cultural Resources Geographic Information System Note This includes William K Watson November 1972 National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form Peter Wentz Homestead PDF Retrieved 2012 05 05 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Peter Wentz Homestead Peter Wentz Farmstead official site Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Peter Wentz Homestead amp oldid 1177927474, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
