Stanley
Also known as: Wistar, Thomas, Jr. Farm; Fox Chase Farm; Butler Farm; Mount Stanley
Why it's listed
Stanley is a historic farm of 112 acres in Abington Township, Montgomery County, with a small part in Philadelphia, that is now called Fox Chase Farm. Its farmstead includes a three-story stone bank barn attributed to about 1780-1800, an 1822 Federal Style stone manor house, an 1849 stuccoed stone farmhouse and a dairy complex built around 1902 to 1906. The land passed through the McVeagh family and then to Thomas Wistar, a Quaker merchant who gave the estate house to his son in 1822. From 1901 to 1917 the Friends Asylum for the Insane ran the farm as a dairy supplying its patients, and later it was a gentleman's farm owned by George Horace Lorimer. The city bought part of the land in 1975 and the Philadelphia School District now uses the farm for agricultural education. The farm is regarded as a rare survival of an early Pennsylvania farmstead with its buildings, fields and grazing land largely intact.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the farm is significant for agriculture, from a Quaker subsistence farm to an institutional dairy farm run for the Friends Asylum for the Insane, and then as a gentleman's farm. Its architecture is significant for a range of farm buildings and residences, including a bank barn with English antecedents and Federal Style stone farmhouses. The farm is described as an agricultural rarity partly within Philadelphia's city limits.
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 05000415, listed May 10, 2005. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 8500 Pine Rd., Rocklege, Abington Township |
|---|---|
| County | Montgomery County |
| Listed | May 10, 2005 |
| Reference number | 05000415 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | ca. 1780-1954 |
| Architectural style | Federal; Stick/Eastlake; Bungalow/Craftsman |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Agriculture, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Barn reconstructed after a 1997 fire; the farm is an active working farm used for agricultural education and public programs. |
| Acreage | 112.3 |
| Coordinates | 40.09111, -75.07480 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
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 05000415.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5476637
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.