tone, the front being of dressed
rectangular blocks considerably smaller, somewhat rougher and hence less
formal than the surfaced blocks of Cliveden, for example. It is a single
gable-roofed structure two and a half stories high with ranging windows
throughout, a large chimney at each end and two dormers in the front
between them. Like many others of the time it had a small penthouse roof
at the second-floor level which, with the overhanging eaves of the roof
above, afforded protection from rainy weather for the joints of the
stonework which was at first laid up in clay. Lime for making more
permanent mortar was far from plentiful for many years after America was
first settled, and numerous makeshifts had to be resorted to unless the
builder could afford to import lime from England at great expense. Over
the doorway, with its simple flanking seats, there is the familiar
pedimental and slightly projecting hood, while the door itself is of the
quaint divided type, permitting the upper half to be opened while the
lower half is closed. On the first floor the windows have nine-paned
sashes, both upper and lower, together with nicely paneled shutters,
while on the second floor the upper sashes are foreshortened to six
panes, and there are neither shutters nor blinds.

This excellent example of the Pennsylvania farmhouse type was built by
Dirck Jansen, one of the original settlers of Germantown, for his son
John Johnson at the time of his marriage to Rachael Livezey. The work
was begun in 1765 and completed in 1768, as indicated by a date stone in
the peak of one of the gables. It was one of the largest and most
substantial residences in the town and for that reason gave much concern
to the Society of Friends of which the Johnsons were members. During
the Battle of Germantown it was in the thick of the fight, and following
the warning of an officer John Johnson and his entire family took refuge
in the cellar. Bullet holes through three doors are still visible, also
the damage done to the northwest wall by a cannon ball. The backyard
fence, riddled with bullets, was removed in 1906 to the Museum of the
Site and Relic Society at Vernon.

Since the death of John Johnson in 1805, the house has passed through
many hands, all descendants of the builder, however. During the Civil
War it became a station of the "underground railway" for conducting
fugitive slaves to Canada, and Mrs. Josiah Reeve, a
great-great-granddaughter of the b