Philadelphia's Historic 'Cliveden' Adds Servant Quarters To Public Tours
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -
The 1767 Cliveden mansion and estate, built by the Chew family, is best known for being the site of the infamous Battle of Germantown of the Revolutionary War.
But those who manage the estate for the National Trust for Historic Preservation have been focusing on a goal of an expanded African-American interpretation for the historic site.
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The servant quarters of Cliveden have now been added to tours of the estate, and education director Rick Fink says they are now working on finding out about those who worked for the Chews.
One servant, says Fink, was a former slave named James Smith.
"He purchased his own freedom, and when he purchased his own freedom he came up here and worked for the Chews. And he was a personal coachman for the Chew family," says Fink.
The servant quarters were opened thanks to members of Boy Scout Troop 358, who cleaned out the facility one weekend as a service project.
Reported by Karin Phillips, KYW Newsradio 1060
Join Karin Phillips on a tour of the Cliveden servants' quarters in this CBS Philly podcast… (13:46)
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