Highlands, The
Why it's listed
Built between 1794 and 1796 as a 2½-story dressed fieldstone house above the Skippack Valley in Fort Washington, Montgomery County, the Highlands was designed in the late Georgian manner with a two-story engaged marble Ionic order and a pediment with a semicircular fanlight. Its front block rises from a raised basement, and marble belt courses, sills and keystones add detail. The house was built for Anthony Morris, a state legislator who served as the first Speaker of the Pennsylvania House and later as United States Minister to Spain under Madison. Its scale and classical treatment recall London townhouses and the President's House in Philadelphia, and the nomination regards it as the finest dressed-fieldstone house in the countryside beyond Philadelphia apart from Cliveden. George Sheaff, a wine merchant, added a glazed gallery dining room across the rear around 1830. The house passed to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 1920.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the house is perhaps the finest dressed-fieldstone house in the countryside beyond Philadelphia, apart from pre-Revolutionary Cliveden, and is architecturally unique for Pennsylvania. Its London townhouse character and engaged classical order drawn from Palladio are cited as distinctive. It was also built as a residence and a setting for lavish entertaining, and was home to Anthony Morris, an early state legislator, Speaker of the Pennsylvania House, and U.S. Minister to Spain.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 76001653, listed December 12, 1976. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | W of Fort Washington at Skippack Pike and Sheaff Lane, Fort Washington |
|---|---|
| County | Montgomery County |
| Listed | December 12, 1976 |
| Reference number | 76001653 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1794-1830 |
| Architectural style | Late Georgian |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Landscape Architecture, Politics/Government, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The house has been unoccupied for several years and suffers occasional vandalism. |
| Acreage | 7.1 |
| Coordinates | 40.13460, -75.23180 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary: it recognises significance and does not restrict what a private owner may do without federal money or permits. It unlocks the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit for income-producing buildings, state credits in many states, and Section 106 review when federal agencies are involved. See what listing means in practice.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 76001653.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7739653
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.