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 One of the main challenges facing historic sites is to make the stories that they tell meaningful to visitors. One of the ways that we do this is to think carefully about what stories are most appropriate, how they are told, how we illustrate them using objects, and how we support them with careful up to date research. Historic sites are increasingly bringing these ideas together into what is called an Interpretive Plan.
Over the last year, Stenton has been involved in an extensive interpretive planning project. The result of that plan has now been published, and is already being recognized as an innovative product that will shape how we present the site to the public for years to come. The Interpretive Plan resulted from a year of study generously funded by the Heritage Investment Program (a program of the Pew Charitable Trusts) and the Pennsylvania Humanities Council. The standard tour of Stenton, written by Collections Committee Chair Margaret Richardson in 1986 and revised in 1994, was an excellent starting point for our efforts. A team that included inter-disciplinary humanities scholars participated in several meetings and much discussion with Stenton staff and volunteers. The team worked to identify and develop the major historic themes of the site. As a benchmark for the project, Stenton used the Tri-State Coalition of Historic Places, Standards and Practices for Historic Site Administration, which encouraged us to strive for the "Best" practice for Interpretation and Presentation of an historic site.
 The project team embarked on an intensive review of existing interpretive material in order to enhance what visitors learn about the site. This included determining those overarching themes that offer the best framework for telling "the story of Stenton." The project has focused on those stories that could be addressed at Stenton more effectively than at other historic sites in the Philadelphia region. The NSCDA/PA has repeatedly revised its approach to furnishing and interpreting Stenton in keeping with changing ideas of historic house museum methodology, recognizing as early as 1928 the importance of furnishing " . . . the house as far as possible with Logan things." Beginning in 1955, the Dames restored Stenton's interior by painting the house in its "original" colors and looked to James Logan’s room-by-room inventory of the house for guidance in furnishing. Although this evolving interpretation has served Stenton well over the one hundred years of the Dames' administration, the recent increase in staffing and level of activity has demanded a new review of the interpretation; indeed, Stenton's Strategic Plan, adopted in 1999, calls for a “comprehensive interpretation plan for the entire site." The Interpretive Plan presented in this document is a product of efforts to that end. We hope this Plan will prove to be useful and flexible, yet we know our ideas of how best to interpret Stenton will continue to evolve and be affected by the visitors who bring their unique perspectives to the site.
Four major historic themes developed from meetings, discussions, consultant essays, and staff research. The themes focus the interpretation on the most important and/or most salient ideas that Stenton can address in the context of the Philadelphia region and Colonial and Early National American history.
The four major historic themes are:
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The Stenton network: A Center of Colonial Power
Stenton, the country house of James Logan (1674-1751), was at the center of a complex web of relationships – with Great Britain, with the backcountry, with Native Americans, with Quakers, with commercial interests in Pennsylvania, with servants, and with eminent figures of science and philosophy.
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James Logan: The Central Figure in Stenton's History
James Logan dominated the political, scientific, commercial and intellectual landscape of Colonial Pennsylvania in the first half of the 18th century, and his house was a physical expression of that power, wealth and influence. His story remains the central and most compelling among a range of stories about real people at Stenton.
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The Logan "Plantation": A Diverse Community
Although James Logan called Stenton his "plantation" it was different from common visitor ideas about southern plantations. By "plantation" Logan meant a large working colonial estate, which indicated a multi-layered community comprising the Logan family, slaves, indentured and hired servants, and tenant farmers. Native Americans visited on several occasions. The Logans, not unusually for Quakers in the first half of the 18th century, owned enslaved Africans, whose stories are central components of Stenton's history. Stenton can offer multiple perspectives on what life was like as part of a Quaker plantation community.
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The Women of Stenton: Deborah, Dinah and the Dames
Women at Stenton played important roles in saving and making history as well as forming identity. Dinah, a freed slave, spared the mansion from being burned and went to great lengths to keep her family intact despite the conditions of slavery. Deborah Logan became a well-known literary figure and historian, especially in her circle of women writers in and around Philadelphia in the late 18th century. Deborah and others who lived through the Revolution began to celebrate their American identity by documenting the events of their time and glorifying the past. This movement later manifested itself in myriad ways, one of which was the founding of patriotic societies like The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1891.
Using these broad themes, Stenton's interpretation will rely heavily on a material culture approach, treating its buildings, landscape, furnishings and archeological collections as objects that can tell us a great deal about the experiences of people, and the Logan family in particular, in the 18th and early 19th centuries. The objects are evidence of how life was lived at Stenton. Guided tours will be object focused, linking objects with the broader themes outlined in this Interpretive Plan. The exceptionally well-preserved nature of the site, particularly the mansion, is key to the visitor experience. At the same time, the urban setting presents challenges in conveying the context of a 500-acre estate. Still, visitors are impressed by the authenticity of the site, and this helps to develop a sense of connection with the past.
 The major themes outlined in this document can be conveyed to the visitor in myriad ways. The Interpretive Plan links our major historic themes with spaces at Stenton – the landscape, mansion, outbuildings and gardens. It also assigns the significant topics, ideas or stories to be covered in each space, supported by objects and people that help with their illustration. In the future, these may be covered by guided tours of the site, permanent or temporary signage, and permanent or temporary exhibits.
As a planning document, the Stenton Interpretive Plan is by its nature meant to serve as a framework for interpretation. At the same time, it must be adaptable. Stenton's interpretation will change and grow as scholarship develops, as further research is undertaken, and as interpretive techniques change. It is hoped that this Interpretive Plan will underpin Stenton's interpretation for at least ten years, with the ultimate mark of its success being its ability to guide our interpretation by defining strong themes that are deftly illustrated in our exhibit spaces and on tours while allowing for the incorporation of new material, new ideas and new ways of looking at the past.
Spring 2003
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