Image: Hampton Hill

Description: Hampton Hill, (2nd Street Pike) also known as the Bennett-Search House, illustrates the accommodation of a Colonial and post-Colonial structure into a unified dwelling. The houses were built by the Bennett family (Abraham Bennett - head of the family) which moved from Long Island, New York, in the early to mid-eighteenth century. The complex of related buildings is indicative of an early farm community centered around the family. Legends say that 1) the Delaware Indians (Lenni Lenape) assembled between the wood shed and the wagon shed in the eighteenth century for the purpose of trading with the family and other traders, 2) that a slave burial ground is located approximately two hundred yards north of the house and that 3) the house with a stone arched way to one of the cellars was found while excavations were being done, this supports the legend that the house may have been used as a hiding place for slaves on the Underground Railway. Architecturally, the house contains fine woodwork throughout. The winding stairway with landing is exceptionally fine and is a feature that rarely survives in rural architecture. Preservation of the house has been carefully executed with care taken not to disrupt the original floor plans or modify woodwork. Hampton Hill stands as a monument to careful and correct utilization of restoration procedure being graced with repointed stone work and new roofing on the exterior and original rafters, wall boards, doors, mantels and fireplaces on the inside. This property was visited and documented by Henry Mercer in 1919. Documentation at the Spruance Library, Mercer Museum, Doylestown, PA
Title: Hampton Hill
Credit: Own work
Author: Dsc3507
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Zero, Public Domain Dedication
License: CC0
License Link: http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en
Attribution Required?: No