Historic Maurice Stephens House

THE MAURICE STEPHENS HOUSE Sarah Reisert, Volunteer, Valley Forge Park Alliance Honoring The Past And Looking To The Future

The Maurice Stephens House is located just across Route 23 from Washington Memorial Chapel, on the lands of Valley Forge National Historical Park's Grand Parade. According to the incised date stone found in the upper portion of the building's original east gable wall, the main portion of the house was constructed in 1816.

Oral history recorded in 1850 in Henry Woodman's The History of Valley Forge indicates that the property was the site of Brigadier General Jedediah Huntington's quarters during the Valley Forge winter encampment. The Provincial tax record for the property indicates that in 1769 the property was occupied by one Zachariah Davis, and it was likely Davis' log house which Woodman states served as General Huntington's quarters. Woodman goes on to state that there were a number of huts erected on the property as well, one of which was occupied by General von Steuben, who would drill soldiers on what would become the Stephens property.

Maurice Stephens is first listed in the Provincial tax record for the property in the year 1779, but it is not known exactly when he moved in. After building the stone house that is the heart of the structure we see today in 1816, he sold the property in 1825, two years before his death. It passed through the hands of four other owners before becoming part of Valley Forge State Park in 1919. Initially, it continued to be utilized as a farm and the barn home to a flock of 115 sheep that helped keep the grass down in the Park. Over the years it served as ranger dormitories, Park offices, and even a nature center, but the house had been vacant since the mid-1990s.

The Stephens House is one of many (and one of the most prominent) historic structures that the Park aims to lease through its adaptive reuse program. Through this program, the Park puts historic structures back into use while realizing rental income that it can then use to rehabilitate other structures.

Because of the Stephens House's prominent location in the Park, Park leadership saw it as the ideal home for the Valley Forge Park Alliance. The beautiful building contains ample space to house the Alliance's offices and is well suited to serve as a hub of Park activities that would draw attention to the Alliance and its efforts to assist the Park. It will also feature a café operated by ANEU in Paoli, creating a refreshing oasis for weary travelers in the very heart of the Park. The Alliance convened the Maurice Stephens Advisory Group one year ago. The group is comprised of community leaders with expertise in construction, fundraising, leasing, and the small businesses that could partner with the Alliance in this space so that it can once again welcome visitors. They are working hand-in-hand with the Alliance and Park leaders to finalize the construction plans, agree on lease terms that satisfy both entities, plan the public use of the space, and raise the funds required to make it all happen.

“VFPA's rehabilitation and operation of the Maurice Stephens house would serve as a shining example of the capacity of publicprivate partnerships to restore and breathe new life into historic structures,” said the Park's business manager, Patrick Madden. The Alliance couldn't agree more, and they are eager to welcome you to their new home once the doors open sometime in 2023.