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Fall 2008 The Proper Equipage: Tea, Coffee, and Chocolate at James Logan's Stenton
Tea, coffee, and chocolate first appeared in England in the middle of the 1600s, and were being shipped to the colonies by the end of the century. Novelties at first, Englishmen were unaccustomed to the hot drinks that originated in China, the Ottoman Empire, and South America. Large shipments of tea began arriving in England in the early 18th century, attesting to the rapid growth in the popularity of the drink. James Logan ordered tea as early as 1713, when he requested “1/2 pound White salt glazed stoneware hexagonal teapot, c. 1740 (top) and detail showing molded relief decoration. Excavated in 1982 by Barbara Liggett. Major Grant Awarded in Support of History Hunters
Attingham Class of 2008
Historic Germantown Launches New BrandOn June 12, representatives of Stenton and the thirteen other member sites of Historic Germantown gathered at the Germantown Historical Society to launch their new brand, Historic Germantown: Freedom’s Backyard. In proclaiming Germantown Freedom’s Backyard, the new brand gives a nod to Philadelphia history and the story of Independence, but shows that the story doesn’t end in the historic mile. For more than three centuries, Historic Germantown has been home to the personal side of the battle for freedom – from a Revolutionary War battle fought on the grounds of Cliveden, to struggles against slavery waged quietly through the salvation found in Johnson House, a home on the Underground Railroad. The stories of Historic Germantown can be found in the historic house museums from Stenton to Deschler Morris, and the beautiful landscapes of Historic RittenhouseTown and Awbury Arboretum. Each has its own tale and its own definition of freedom – the fight for freedom from England, freedom from slavery, and even economic freedom. In developing the brand, Historic Germantown worked with Eight Marketing and Caspari-McCormick. Eight Marketing is a nationally renowned marketing firm that has worked with clients such as the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation and the Independence Visitor Center. In addition to developing and launching the brand and logo, the marketing and design firms created a new brochure with fold-out map, website, and marketing plan. The URL of this website is www.freedomsbackyard.com.
In other Historic Germantown news, for the first time this summer the partners jointly offered and marketed summer programs, using History Hunters as a model. The programs, offered to day camps and other summer camps in and around Philadelphia, offered camps the opportunity to spend the summer in Germantown, visiting as many as eight sites. Stenton Room Furnishing Study Goes to PressIn the 1730s the Stenton parlor was an austere, nearly colorless, reflective room. Imagine a shiny varnish over moderate grey painted paneled walls, the polished grey veined King of Prussia marble around the fireplace, black leather upholstery on polished baluster-backed Queen Anne-style chairs, reflective shiny mirrors, and silver and sanded bare floor boards. These polished surfaces would have augmented evening firelight and candlelight creating a kind of overall glow in the room. The shine of glazed blue and white ceramic tiles in the fireplace cheeks and the china and teawares stored in the cupboard provided the only bright color. This austere architectural scheme lent a sense of Classicism and a certain solidity of appearance to James Logan’s best room. The long-awaited Stenton Room Furnishings Study is receiving its final finishing touches in the way of images and captions. Authored by Stenton Curator, Laura Keim, the report represents our current understanding of Stenton and its historical appearance and use. Building on Ray Shepherd’s 1968 Master’s thesis on Stenton and on John Restoring the Yellowing Lodging Room, including possibly replicating a flying tester bed in the room, is one of the recommendations of the Room Furnishing Study. Transforming the "Wing Thing"
Utilizing generous funding from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and the McLean Contributionship, design work undertaken by Historical Architect John Bowie will lead to upgrades in several areas. Critical upgrades to the fire and security system for the entire campus will take place during the first phase of the project. Additionally, the failing roof on the Wing will be Above: The restoration and upgrading of the Stenton Education Center will provide much-needed improvement to the facilities that our many programs, including History Hunters, use the most. Right: Fairmount Park Historic Preservation Trust completed repairs to the Stenton Barn foundation and floor this summer. Replacement of the barn roof is anticipated in the near future. Farewell and WelcomeNSDCA-PA/Stenton Director Stephen Hague left Stenton in October to pursue his doctoral studies at Oxford. Hague served Stenton and the Society for nearly 8 years and brought a particular vision, overseeing the creation of our highly regarded History Hunters educational program for underserved Philadelphia students, successfully directing a capital campaign that will ensure Stenton’s future preservation, and positioning Stenton as a leader in our collaborative efforts with Historic Germantown and in Philadelphia’s museum and historic community at large. However, we haven’t seen the last of Hague, Stenton will feature prominently in his research and doctoral dissertation, which explores the cultural similarities between elites like James Logan living in England and the colonies during the eighteenth century.
Stenton Museum Assistant Kaelyn Barr also left Stenton at the end of October to have her first child. Congratulations to Kaelyn and we wish her and her new baby the very best for the future. Left to Right, Stephen Hague, Stenton Chair Jane Foster Willson, Dennis Pickeral Community Outreach at Stenton
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From a newly completed room furnishings study, to a number of master’s theses and Ph.D. dissertations that have incorporated our history and collections, Stenton’s interpretation continues to evolve and benefit from recent research projects. One such project is an investigation of tea, coffee and chocolate vessels at Stenton by new Museum Director, Dennis Pickeral. His research builds on a Master’s thesis by archaeologist Deborah Miller, who took on the task of inventorying and interpreting artifacts recovered during the excavation of a cistern at Stenton by archaeologist Barbara Liggett in 1982. The cistern, designated Feature 14, yielded approximately 22,000 artifacts, including a number of ceramics directly related to tea, coffee, and chocolate drinking at Stenton during James and William Logan’s lifetimes.
of ye best Bohea and as much fine green Tea with 2 lb of coffee” from his agent in London. At the time, tea-drinking was a costly habit indulged in mainly by the wealthy. By the middle of the 18th century, rising incomes, consumer demand, falling prices, and the desire of less affluent households to emulate their wealthy neighbors, led to the spread of tea drinking through nearly all levels of society. However, a comparison of salaries and prices shows that even at mid-century, tea was still a relatively expensive commodity. In 1748, John Smith, husband of Hannah Logan, paid his cook an annual salary of £20. Two years later, William Logan paid £1.7 for a pound of Hyson, or green tea for Stenton. 
In August, Stenton received a generous commitment from the Patricia Kind Foundation of $30,000 to fund the History Hunters Youth Reporter Program over the next three years. The Kind foundation is family managed and interested in encouraging practical solutions to community problems and supporting preventive and direct service efforts within its chosen fields. The Kind grant will subsidize the participation of thousands of underserved students in Philadelphia’s northwest and help sustain History Hunters as we work to raise the match toward a $300,000 National Endowment for the Humanities We the People challenge grant awarded in July 2007. The NEH grant requires Stenton to match $3 for every $1 received, and we are well on our way, having completed nearly three-quarters of the match. The challenge grant funds will be used to build Stenton’s endowment and support our programs, principally History Hunters.
The new marketing initiative was the culmination of a year-long planning project made possible through funding by the Heritage Philadelphia Program with additional support from the Marketing Innovation Program, both programs of the Philadelphia Center for Arts and Heritage, funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, and administered by The University of the Arts. 
Dickey’s and Reed Engle’s groundbreaking study for the Stenton Historic Structures Report in the early 1980s, the Room Furnishings Study focuses on the period of James Logan’s occupation of the house, 1730-1751. The document situates Stenton in its historical and art historical context, and undertakes a room-by-room analysis of appearance and function using the inventories and other documentary evidence along with archeological and artifactual evidence including the house itself to arrive at our understanding of the way Stenton looked and functioned in its early life. The report concludes with immediate, middle-term and long-term recommendations for alteration of Stenton’s public presentation so as to align it with our interpretive plan and our understanding of the historical function of Stenton’s rooms. Some of these recommendations are already in the new five-year strategic plan just adopted by the Board of Managers of the NSCDA/PA, and we will begin actively seeking funding to implement our plans in coming months.
As NSCDA-PA members sat down this summer to consider a new strategic plan, it soon became apparent that completing the restoration and upgrades to the Stenton Wing facilities would be a top priority. The revamped project, formerly dubbed the “Wing Thing,” will now be known as the Stenton Education Center, as the space’s primary use is for our many educational programs, including lectures, workshops, and of course, our national-award winning History Hunters Youth Reporter Program.
replaced, as will the roof on the Piazza behind the mansion, and deteriorated wood elements such as framing, dormers and cornices will be repaired. The project will also provide accessibility to the Wing and Mansion. Construction is scheduled to begin this spring. 
Hague will be sorely missed and we wish him the best for the future. However, we are pleased to welcome incoming Stenton Director Dennis Pickeral, who was appointed to the position at the end of September. Pickeral previously served as Site Administrator for Stenton and oversaw the History Hunters program for the last year. He formerly served as Site Administrator for the Flowerdew Hundred Foundation, an organization based just south of Richmond, VA, that conducted historical and archaeological research and operated a museum that interpreted the finds. He holds a B.A. in History from Virginia Commonwealth University and an M.A. in American Studies from Penn State, and recently completed the Attingham Summer School for the study of the architecture, contents and social history of the historic house in Britain and its gardens and landscape setting.
Community engagement was an important focus of the Historic Germantown planning project that Stenton participated in last year, and we have been working hard with our partners in Historic Germantown to develop relationships with various community groups and encourage our neighbors to use our spaces. In June, Stenton and fellow Historic Germantown members Cliveden, the Johnson House, and the Concord Schoolhouse partnered with the Ogontz Avenue Revitalization Corporation to offer programming in conjunction with the 2008 West Oak Lane Jazz and Arts Festival. The programs celebrated Juneteenth and explored the rich history of African American freedom in Germantown. Juneteenth is a holiday that has gained attention nationally in recent years and commemorates the date in 1865 that slaves in Galveston, Texas first received word of emancipation, nearly two years after Lincoln’s proclamation. At Stenton, performers associated with Keepers of the Culture, including Linda Goss, Philadelphia’s Official Storyteller, provided two days of traditional African and African-American storytelling, singing and dancing, and crafts.
In addition to partnering with the Jazz Festival, Stenton and Historic Germantown worked with the organizers of Unity Day, an annual community festival held just before Labor Day in lower Germantown near Freedom Square. Stenton hosted the Unity Day V.I.P. reception, while staff from Historic Germantown member site Grumblethorpe marched in the kickoff parade and the consortium manned a table with childrens’ activities. Stenton was also pleased to host a meeting of local neighborhood block captains in August. We look forward to working more closely with our neighbors to develop new programs in the future.
Stenton offered a variety of new programming in the spring, including our Lunch and Learn Series and Stenton’s annual Easter Egg Hunt. The Lunch and Learn Series consisted of three mid-day talks on topics such as the connections between Graeme Park and Stenton, Sir William Keith and James Logan, by Joan Hauger; the discovery of the previously unnamed member of Franklin’s Junto, by Dr. George Boudreau of Penn State Harrisburg, and Stenton’s archaeologically recovered tea wares, by our own Dennis Pickeral. National Park Service Archaeologist Jed Levin, director of the recent excavation of the President’s House site at Independence National Historical Park, also visited Stenton in February to discuss recent findings and the problematic interpretation of George Washington, his slaves, and the concept of liberty. Stenton’s Easter Egg Hunt is fast becoming an annual tradition. This year we received an overwhelming response, with nearly 200 children and parents participating.