Historic Hope Lodge

Historic Hope Lodge is an 18th century intact colonial mansion in the heart of Fort Washington, PA

Originally named "Whitemarsh Estate," Hope Lodge is a Georgian country mansion built between 1743 and 1748 by Quaker businessman Samuel Morris and designed in part by Philadelphia architect Edmund Woolley. Upon Morris's death in 1770, his brother Joshua sold the property to William West, another Philadelphia merchant. During the autumn of 1777, Washington's Continental Army spent six weeks camped at nearby Whitemarsh. During the encampment, Hope Lodge was used as the headquarters for John Cochran, George Washington's surgeon general. When West died in 1784, the house was purchased by the English banker Henry Hope (to whom Adam Smith dedicated The Wealth of Nations and whose family would later own and lend their name to the Hope Diamond) and it was presented as a wedding gift to his ward, James Watmough. In 1832, the Watmough family sold the property to Jacob Wentz, their tenant farmer, and the Wentz family remained in residence at Hope Lodge for ninety years. In 1921, the property was sold to Keasbey and Mattison Company, who intended to demolish the home to expand a nearby limestone quarry. Hope Lodge was saved from destruction by William and Alice Degn, who purchased the property from Keasbey and Mattison in 1922. In 1957, ownership of the lodge was transferred to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Our community events include: seasonal guided tours, summer concerts,with the Ambler Symphony orchestra, movie nights, the Whitemarsh Encampment, and Holidays at Hope Lodge.

Hope Lodge is listed on the Pennsylvania Register and National Register of Historic Places.

The Friends of Hope Lodge, a non-profit community-based organization, supports and assists the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission by conducting the daily operations of the site. They educate the public about this well-preserved 1740s Georgian mansion and its Colonial and Colonial Revival furnishings.