Glen Foerd Conservation Corporation.

The Glen Foerd estate was built circa 1850 by Charles Macalester, founder of Torresdale and Financial Adviser to eight United States Presidents. The estate, which Macalester called "Glengarry," was renamed by Robert H. Foerderer (1860-1903) when he purchased it in 1893.

Upon her death in 1972 Florence Tonner, daughter of Robert and Caroline Foerderer, bequeathed the Glen Foerd estate to the Lutheran Church of America. She included the caveat, however, that if the Lutheran Church was unable to care for the estate, it would revert to public ownership. The Lutheran Center at Glen Foerd operated the estate as a retreat center and meeting space until 1988, when ownership of the estate was awarded to the City of Philadelphia in a lawsuit. Since then, the Glen Foerd Conservation Corporation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and restoration of Glen Foerd, has administered the property in cooperation with Philadelphia Parks and Recreation.

Bibliography :

"Glen Foerd History." Accessed September 28, 2011. http://www.glenfoerd.org.

From the guide to the Glen Foerd Conservation Corporation records, Bulk, 1985-2004, 1963-2006, (Glen Foerd on the Delaware)

"Torresdale is roughly bordered by Linden Ave (once known as Eleven Mile Lane, being 11 miles from the center of Philadelphia) to Poquessing Creek (the border of Bucks and Philadelphia Counties) and Frankford Ave to the Delaware. The area was settled by Swede's in the mid 1600's. A bake house located on the Delaware where Baker's Bay is today supplied Washington's troops with bread during the Revolution. The name Torresdale comes from Torrisdale, the ancestral Scottish home of Charles Macalester, the man who originally owned the land now in use by Glen Foerd Mansion. In 1850, Macalaster bought this land and had a small summer home built on it. The estate of Captain Barry was located at Grant Ave and the RR Station. In 1847 the Sisters of the Sacred Heart, based at Logan Circle, purchased this 40 acres and called it Eden Hall. Torresdale saw many fine mansions built in the latter half of the 19th century. An amusement park was located at Frankford Ave and the Poquessing in the late 1800's and the area along the Delaware south of Grant Ave was known as Resort Town with casinos and fancy boarding houses. Pleasant Hill Park at Linden Ave and the river was a popular recreation spot in the early 20th century."

Bibliography :

"Torresdale." Center for Northeast Philadelphia History, sponsored by the Historical Society of Frankford. Accessed September 29, 2011. http://frankfordhistoricalsociety.org/cneph/torresdale/trdhood.htm.

From the guide to the Glen Foerd Conservation Corporation local history collection, Bulk, 1964-2010, 1880-2010, (Glen Foerd on the Delaware)

The Glen Foerd estate was built circa 1850 by Charles Macalester, founder of Torresdale and Financial Adviser to eight United States Presidents. The estate, which Macalester called "Glengarry," was renamed by Robert H. Foerderer (1860-1903) when he purchased it in 1893.

Upon her death in 1972 Florence Tonner, daughter of Robert H. Foerderer, bequeathed the Glen Foerd estate to the Lutheran Church of America. She included the caveat, however, that if the Lutheran Church was unable to care for the estate, it would revert to public ownership. The Lutheran Center at Glen Foerd operated the estate as a retreat center and meeting space until 1988, when ownership of the estate was awarded to the City of Philadelphia in a lawsuit. The Glen Foerd Conservation Corporation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and restoration of Glen Foerd, now administers the property in cooperation with Philadelphia Parks and Recreation.

Bibliography :

"Glen Foerd History." Accessed September 28, 2011. http://www.glenfoerd.org.

From the guide to the Glen Foerd Conservation Corporation blueprints collection, 1890-2007, (Glen Foerd on the Delaware)