Notable features include the stone coursing of the facade, front and rear balconies and the double front entrances. Intended as a summer retreat, the house provided a refuge for the family from the humid Philadelphia summers, and in , the family stayed in Germantown to avoid the yellow fever epidemic.
In the early 19th century, Charles Jones Wister Sr. He modified the front and back facades to Federal era architectural trends, created additions, and even had an observatory built. It was Charles Sr. Since acquiring the building in , PhilaLandmarks has restored and furnished the house and cultivated the gardens to reflect the interests and tastes of various generations of Wisters.
Coming up in the later half of and , we will be embarking on further restoration projects at this unique historic property. For almost years, Grumblethorpe was the home of the Wister family. Growing up, PhilaLandmarks founder Frances Anne Wister made many visits to Grumblethorpe and to other Wister family homes including Belfield, the home of her paternal grandparents, Wakefield, Stenton, and Vernon. At age 19, John Wister - emigrated from the village of Hilsbach outside of Heidelberg, Germany to Philadelphia in His brother, Casper Wistar had come to Philadelphia in Casper quickly became established as a glass manufacturer and accumulated land in the colonial city.
We now distinguish between John Wister and Casper Wistar, but the eventual Anglicizing of their names were interchangeable by the brothers and their families. John Wister owned multiple properties in and around Philadelphia.
He and his family spent most of the year in their house on Market Street in Philadelphia, and then spent their summers in Germantown. John owned farmland in both Germantown and in Lancaster. After his first wife died, John married Anna Catherina Rubincam and built this house in Germantown in as a family country home. John and his brother were also among the original contributors to the Pennsylvania Hospital. John Wister was also a great benefactor to all sorts of local Germantown characters.
