The King's Highway | Holmesburg Tour

Guide Points

1. Stonyhurst

   This 1880 stone mansion was once commissioned and owned by the Honorable George Castor, a merchant tailor and granite quarry owner from Hol…

2. The King's Highway Bridge

   This bridge was built in 1697 at the request of William Penn so that he could travel from his house at Pennsbury Manor to the city without …

3. Emmanuel Episcopal Church

   Established by All Saints’ Torresdale in 1858. The church has a beautiful campus and is absolutely stunning inside, some of the stained gla…

4. Holmesburg Methodist Church

   Built in 1874, in 1905, the boiler exploded and destroyed most of the church. Miraculously, it was rebuilt within six months.

5. Lewis-Pattison House & Wesley House

   These attached houses were built circa 1805 by Frances Lewis. The Wesley House side was originally a general store with a connecting doorwa…

6. The Peale House

   Dr. James Burd Peale, grandson of artist Charles Wilson Peale, lived here from 1873 to 1881. The house stayed in the Peale family until the…

7. Insectarium Museum & Butterfly Pavilion

   Built in 1929 when the Penypack / Holme Theater replaced the Washington House across the street, the Charles P McMenamy American Legion Pos…

8. Greentree Hotel

   Built in 1799, the Greentree Hotel was one of the earliest hotels in Holmesburg. It was owned by Humphrey Waterman who was an early proprie…

9. Holmesburg’s Athenaeum

   Holmesburg’s Athenaeum was built in 1850 and used as a meeting place and as the 1st library of Holmesburg set up by the trustees of Lower D…

10. The Washington House

    Circa 1773, the founder of Holmesburg, John Holme built his residence here. It became a tavern soon after. General Washington is thought to…

11. Box Grove Mansion

    Thomas and Rebecca had one child, George Washington Holme, who was born May 8th, 1789 at Box Grove. Although Thomas was primarily a farmer,…