Stouton

McPherson Square, 601 East Indiana Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Built from 1784, for Brigadier-General William Macpherson (1756-1813), and his wife, Margaret Stout (1764-1797). The 212-acre property that covered all of Poor Island had been developed from 1727 by Mrs Macpherson's grandfather, Peter Keen, when it was known as "Keen's Place". In 1784, the General bought out the interest held by his wife's uncle, Reynold Keen, and built the house seen today at Indiana and Kensington Avenues, where the Library now stands. The General was eldest surviving son of the swashbuckling Captain John Macpherson of Mount Pleasant. He died here in 1813 and his family returned to Philadelphia leaving Stouton to be run by their tenants, Stephen and Mary (Thorp) Webster. The Webster had been employed at Stouton since 1806 to develop Stouton as a dairy farm. Stephen retired in 1850 and his son took over....

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This house is best associated with...

William Macpherson

Brigadier-General William Macpherson, of Philadelphia & "Stouton" Pennsylvania

1756-1813

Margaret Stout

Mrs Margaret (Stout) Macpherson

1764-1797

John Webster (the son) lived here with his wife and six children and from the 1870s into the 1880s he expanded the farm's operations to include brick manufacturing, making the most of the building boom. Stouton itself remained the property of the Macpherson family and when John retired in 1891 it was in the ownership of the General's grand-daughter, Mrs Julia M. (Washington) Horner. Two years later (1893) she sold the house to the City of Philadelphia for $74,546. What land hadn't already been sold off was gradually disposed of by the Horner family over a period of 20-years. The city converted the house into the Library that stands in its place today and as the area was predominantly populated by Irish-Catholics, "Macpherson" Square became today's "McPherson" Square.