Mellon Homestead

Lower Castletown, Cappagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland

Built circa 1810, for Andrew Mellon (1785-1856) who grew flax and barley and kept a small number of poultry and cattle on the 23-acres he farmed here. The homestead began as a two-room house with two detached outhouses....

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This house is best associated with...

Andrew Mellon

Andrew Mellon, Farmer, of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania

1785-1856

Thomas Mellon

Judge Thomas Mellon, of Pittsburgh; Founder of the Mellon Bank

1813-1908

Andrew's son, Thomas, was born here shortly before they emigrated to the States. Selling the lease and their possessions, Andrew raised £200 before joining his father and brothers in western Pennsylvania. In Pittsburgh, Thomas founded the Mellon Bank and today the Mellons are among the 20 richest families in the United States with a fortune of some $12 billion, more than the Rockefeller and Kennedy families combined. The Mellon house in Ireland is one of several cottages that makes up the Ulster American Folk Park.