"Happy Creek Farm" |
The development and shaping of Philadelphia and the
surrounding area was largely driven by the incredible industrial expansion of
the city in the 19th and early 20th centuries. This was a period of great commercial success
that generated wealth for the companies and their owners of that time. Philadelphia was a great manufacturing
center, producing everything from Baldwin locomotives to Stetson hats. Factories were ubiquitous in the city, and the
mansions and estates of those who grew rich during this period were found
within and outside the city. Today, the
industrial landscape of the city is greatly changed. Many of the old factories are gone, replaced
by parking lots, vacant tracts or other utilitarian construction. Other factories still stand as abandoned and
decaying relics of a long ago past. The
great estates of the city’s industrial giants that once dominated the Main Line
and other areas around the city have also continued to largely fade from the
landscape, replaced by shopping centers or housing developments that retain
none of the charm and character of their great predecessors.
One of the most important architects of Philadelphia’s
Gilded Age was Frank Furness (1839-1912), who designed many beautiful and
historic buildings in and around his hometown city.
"Frank Furness" |
The relationship between Furness and Penn started with Charles
Custis Harrison (b. 1844) who served as Provost there from 1894 to 1910. Harrison has long ancestral roots in this
area. His family had established successful
businesses in Pennsylvania dating back into the 18th century. He was a successful owner of the Franklin
Sugar Refining Company, which he sold before becoming Provost at Penn. In the early, 1890’s Harrison engaged Furness
to design a country home for him and his family in Newtown Township, which he
named Happy Creek Farm. This estate was
located on present day Darby-Paoli Rd where it intersects with Valley Forge Rd near
Old St. David’s Church in Radnor Township.
Harrison and his wife, Ellen Waln Harrison (b. 1846) and
their six children spent a great deal of time at their country home. The family also had a city residence on
Locust St near Rittenhouse Square. In
addition to the Furness House, Harrison’s son Harry also built a home on the
grounds of the estate in 1913. But as
the family aged and moved on, interest in maintaining Happy Creek Farm seemed
to wane. Followed by the death of Ellen
Harrison in 1922 and Charles Harrison in 1929, their mansion went largely unoccupied
and joined the growing list of lost Furness homes when it was demolished in
1937. Eventually, Harry Harrison moved
from their mansion at Happy Creek Farm to New Jersey and this house sat empty
until it was demolished in 1968, shortly after his death.
Fortunately, all was not lost at Happy Creek Farm. There was a stone house on the grounds that
dated back to 1776, predating other construction on the estate by more than 100
years. This structure was extended at
least twice over its history, and was the home of Harry Harrison’s son, Roberts
(now deceased). This house survives
today as a private residence. The larger
Harrison land holdings also
"Rock Rose Estate" |
"Dorothy Lieb Harrison" |
Perhaps even more impressive than the historic architectural
legacy that remains from the Harrison family is the surviving legacy of Charles
and Ellen’s youngest child, Dorothy.
Dorothy Lieb Harrison was born May 30, 1886 in Philadelphia. She attended the Agnes Irwin School for Girls
in Radnor, and later attended school in England. In 1906, she married Walter A. Wood at Old St
David’s Church, just across the road from the entry to Happy Creek Farm. She lived with her husband and two children
in upstate New York where they developed breeding programs for cattle. Tragically, her husband died of typhoid fever
in 1915. At the time, her sons were only
8 and 1 years of age. Dorothy would eventually
marry again, in 1923, to a younger polo player name George Eustis. After their marriage, they lived in
Switzerland and began breeding German Shepherds and training them to serve as
police dogs.
In 1927, Dorothy wrote an article that was published in the
Saturday Evening Post that told the story of her of her time in Germany at a
school that trained dogs to assist soldiers who had been blinded during the
first World War. At the time, this was a
very novel and innovative idea, and there was a massive response to her article
back in America. Eventually, Dorothy
received a particularly passionate and moving letter from a young blind man in
Tennessee named Morris Frank. Apparently this letter served in the
inspiration to establish The Seeing Eye, an institute for the training of dogs
to assist in the lives of the blind.
After divorcing her second husband, she launched this effort in New
Jersey, where the organization still exists today, having placed more than
16,000 dogs with those in need over the course of its history. Dorothy Harrison Eustis remained active in
the organization up to the time of her death in 1946.
Dorothy, Morris Frank and his seeing eye dog. |
Today, Happy Creek Farm is no more, lost to history. The original stone entry to the Harrison
estate still stands, serving as an entry to a housing development unfortunately
named “Harrison,” which is populated with several dozen very large homes with
repetitive, soulless designs. The Seeing
Eye continues its work to partner trained dogs with the visually impaired, true
to its original purpose of enhancing the lives of the visually disabled. Dorothy Harrison was born into a life of
wealth and privilege, which she took as an opportunity to improve the lives of
others. Today, Seeing Eye dogs are known
the world over and the concept of guide dogs and other assistance pets has
gained global recognition. Most of her
money went into The Seeing Eye, and thanks to careful management the
organization has been financially sound since its founding. However, the story of Dorothy Harrison and
her contributions to the world are largely unknown, lost to the world along
with the memory of her childhood home at Happy Creek Farm.
Information for this article was obtained from The Newtown
Township Historical Society, The Radnor Historical Society, The Seeing Eye, The
Saturday Evening Post, Wikipedia, and other internet sources.