Exhibiting the Naomi Wood Collection
Built in 1756 by Benjamin Franklin’s best friend William Coleman, Woodford Mansion today houses the Naomi Wood Collection of early American antiques.
Woodford’s many owners both before and after the Revolution added to the existing house, transforming it from a one-story cottage to a large country mansion with outbuildings.
Heiress and historian Naomi Wood inherited Woodford around 1920. She established a trust so that her collection of “colonial household gear” and Woodford mansion would be on display to the public in perpetuity.
Since 2008, Woodford has maintained an “eco-orchard” with a diversity of hearty semi-dwarf trees, bushes and perennial herbs and flowers, recalling its eighteenth century orchards and gardens.
History
Woodford Mansion is one of the most elegant survivors of the group of early “country seats” which were built in the countryside along the Schuylkill River outside of colonial Philadelphia. Named after the wooded area behind the house and nearby ford in the Schuylkill River, Woodford has had five significant owners who contributed to its story.
William Coleman (1704-1769) built a one and one-half story Georgian-style summer home, servant’s house and stable from 1756-58 on the twelve acre property. Coleman was a highly educated and successful merchant who ended his career as a justice of the provincial Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Coleman and his wife Hannah raised their orphaned nephew George Clymer, who became a distinguished Patriot during the American Revolution and signed both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Benjamin Franklin, a close and long-standing friend, said of Coleman, “He has the coolest, clearest head, the best heart, and the exactest morals of almost any man I ever met.”
In 1771, Woodford was purchased by David Franks, a crown agent for Philadelphia from a prominent English Jewish family. To make room for his four children, Franks added Woodford’s second floor and a rear two-story addition. Franks was a Loyalist, and during the British occupation of Philadelphia the British commander General William Howe courted the Franks’ youngest daughter Rebecca at Woodford (even while her cousin David Salisbury Franks fought for the Revolution). In 1778, Congress directed Benedict Arnold to arrest David Franks for treason and confiscate his properties. The family was ordered to leave and eventually was relocated to England where they went from great wealth and power to abject poverty.
Sold in 1781 to Thomas Paschall, Woodford was then sold again to Isaac Wharton in 1793. Woodford entered a long period of ownership by the Wharton family, who used Woodford as their summer home until after the Civil War. In 1868, the Wharton family sold Woodford to the City of Philadelphia to become part of Fairmount Park. The mansion served a variety of uses, including as headquarters for the Fairmount Park Guard who employed it as a police station and lock-up until 1927.
The Naomi Wood Collection
Naomi Wood (1871-1926), the founder of the Naomi Wood Collection at Woodford, was born to a wealthy Philadelphia family and highly educated. An amateur historian, Wood started collecting colonial antiques in 1905 while living in Ardmore, PA. By 1910, she and her friend Daniel Huntoon had developed a plan whereby both of their collections would be on display in an important historic house that would be open to the public. In 1927, after Naomi Wood’s death, Huntoon selected Woodford as a suitable home for the display of her “colonial household gear.” Huntoon, the first Trustee of the Naomi Wood Trust, entered into a long-term lease with the Fairmount Park Commission, and under his watchful eye Woodford was restored and the collection installed. Woodford was opened to the public in 1930 and continues to be operated by the Trust to this day.
In July 2003, Woodford suffered a serious fire. A portion of the attic was burned. Very little of the collection was lost, but all of its contents were damaged by smoke and water. After two years of construction, Woodford re-opened in 2005 completely restored. Furnishings and paintings have been cleaned and historically correct fabrics, paint and floor finishes have been installed.
Visit
REGULAR SEASON (January-November) ADMISSION INFO:
Hours:
Wednesday - Sunday from 10 am - 4 pm
Last tour begins at 3:30 PM
Address:
2300 N 33rd Street
Philadelphia, PA 19132
Contact:
Phone: 215.229.6115
Admission (regular season):
Adults: $8
Seniors | Students: $5
Children under 12 free.
COVID-19 PROTOCOL:
Face masks are encouraged, but not required
If you or anyone in your household are exhibiting COVID-19 systems, please stay home.
Please maintain social distancing
Tours last about 45 minutes. If there is a booking in the next hour, the tour cannot exceed 45 minutes in order to provide time to clean and prepare the space
If you wish to schedule a visit for a group of 15 or more or tour the house outside scheduled tour times with a smaller group, please see our group page here.
We welcome K–12 and college school groups to visit Woodford Mansion. To schedule your visit, please call the house at 215.229.6115 or sign up here. School tour reservations should be made at least two weeks before your visit.
Website:
https://woodfordmansion.org