Captain John Davis’ Quarters aka Cassatt Homestead
Description: The Davis family was one of the original European settlers in the Great Chester Valley. The main Davis residence, called Bluestone Farm, sat along Valley Creek, and is where young John Davis assuredly lived before he took a commission in the Continental Army. When the Army came to Valley Forge in December 1777, Captain John Davis, a junior officer, was most probably allowed to occupy a local house because of his family connections. It is suspected that the reason he was not allowed to live on Bluestone Farm was that officers were only allowed to reside inside the Continental picket line. Bluestone Farm was outside that line, whereas the house next door was on the picket line for which special permission was unnecessary. More than a century later, A. J. Cassatt used this home, which stood next to Mill Lane, as the manor house on his sprawling estate. The property was located in the approximate location of today's Tredyffrin Township Building. The house burned to the ground many years ago, and no traces remain. This Lucy Sampson image appeared in the book "The Chronicle of American Heroism" by Frank Taylor (1905). - Herb Fry and Roger Thorne
Photographer/artist: Lucy Sampson
Date taken: 1905 or earlier
Photo location:
Type: photo
Subject: Business
Township: Tredyffrin
Source: Herb and Barbara Fry Collection
References: The Generals' Quarters in the 18th Century Tredyffrin section of the web site.
Contributor: Digitized by Roger Thorne
Notes: Valley Forge: A Chronicle of American Heroism by Frank Taylor (1905). Available online at Hathitrust.org
Also from Robert Bruce, The Historic Philadelphia-Pittsburgh Route, Motor Travel Magazine, Dec. 1917, p. 33.
Available online at hathitrust.org
