New Product Line Available on Zazzle

We've created a new product line in our Zazzle gallery featuring images of the tall case clock once owned by Elizabeth Graeme Fergusson. The clock was made by William Tomlinson of London and owned by the Graeme family throughout Elizabeth's life. In 1797 she wrote an essay about the clock entitled "A Woman's Mediations on her Old Family Clock."

Here are some of the products we're offering in this collection.

The "tempest fugit" mug and mouse pad feature a close up image of the clock face and William Tomlinson signature. What a great reminder with your morning coffee and email check to make the most of your day.

The "carpe diem" magnet shows the ornate face of the clock and provides another reminder to "seize the day."

And finally our tempest fugit post card allows you to share these sentiments with others.

See the complete product line in our Zazzle gallery for these and other product options. We'll be using other collections items for future products, so be sure to bookmark our gallery and come back.

Tour "Horsham's Most Haunted House" this Halloween

Ask any Horsham resident what they know about Graeme Park and inevitably they will tell you it is haunted! Long the source of local lore and legend of the hauntings that take place here, Graeme Park will be hosting its annual Haunted Moonlight Halloween tours on Friday, October 16 and Saturday, October 17 at 6:30, 7:00, 7:30, 8:00, 8:30, and 9:00 p.m. The tours are $12/person and reservations and prepayment are required. Light refreshments are included.


On the surface, Elizabeth Graeme Fergusson, mistress of the house in the late 18th century, seemed to have it all. She was the granddaughter of the Governor and the daughter of a prominent Philadelphia physician. She was well-educated and well traveled, a noted poet, and salon hostess who moved in elite circles and held her own intellectually with her male counterparts. She was however, unlucky in love and a victim of circumstances when she got caught up in the politics of the Revolution, and it all went wrong for her very quickly. Her possessions were sold at auction and she was at risk of losing her home. Rumors of her husband’s infidelity were spreading through Philadelphia and her very loyalty to the American government was called into question.

Did the events which haunted Elizabeth during her life prevent her from retiring peacefully after her death? Reports of her ghost have been circulating since 1801, just months after her death, when her friend Betsy Stedman reported “passing her on the stairs” of the Keith House at Graeme Park. Could Mrs. Strawbridge, the 20th century owner of the house, been mistaken when she heard “the rustle of her skirts?” Surely the pilots from the nearby Willow Grove Naval Air Station weren’t imagining things every time they saw mysterious lights over the pond?

Visitors will hear the details of these reports and many others, interwoven with the story of Elizabeth’s life, on these guided candlelit tours. Costumed actors bring to life the events which may contribute to Elizabeth’s unrest through the ages and relay some of the stories that have “haunted” the Keith House since the dawn of the 19th century.

The event is being put on by the Friends of Graeme Park, in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

Call 215-343-0965 for details. Directions are available on our website at www.ushistory.org/graeme.

Restoration Work on the Keith House

This summer a few restoration projects have been started on the Keith House at Graeme Park. The first, undertaken by the state, is the restoration of some of the window and door sills and framing, which were badly rotted in some places. The original sash were removed so the work could be done, giving us an opportunity to see the 18th century construction, including the boxwood pulleys, ropes, and weights that aided in the opening and closing of the sash. The channels housing these mechanisms where hand chiseled out of solid pieces of wood.

The door jambs were repaired using a dutchman repair to piece in new, solid wood where it was needed and retain the old original wood where we could. Resin helps to reinforce the older wood where it was beginning to deteriorate but was still salvagable. The repairs are apparent on close inspection, but this is considered desirable so that future generations may distinguish the original 18th century work from the 21st century repairs.

The project also includes repainting of all the trim in a blue just slightly different than the current blue. This is based on the paint analysis done in the 1980s. Some of the new paint color has already been applied, but there is still more to do.

A second project that is underway is on the gables of the summer kitchen. The paint was badly peeling and Mike MacCausland offered to take on the scraping and repainting for the Friends of Graeme Park. Since the summer kitchen is a reproduction building, the work can be done by volunteers.