Take A Tour of Tourison:  An Architectural History of East Mt. Airy 

Ashton Tourison, Sr. was born in Mt. Airy in 1851 to a former captain in the Civil War. Beginning in the 1870s, he had a grand vision for and confidence in the future of Mt. Airy. In approximately 1904, he purchased 125 acres between Chew and Stenton Avenues, from E. Durham Street to Meehan Avenue, and advertised his plan for Sedgwick Farms as “stone-built homes, planned on an architectural idea that makes each different from the other, yet in perfect harmony with all.” Along with creating timeless beauty, he provided “practical houses incorporating core values of space, air, light, comfort and good taste.” Join us for the pleasure of viewing this pictorial history, which tells the story of Ye Sedgwick Farms Company comprised of Tourison, together with his four sons, and reminds us to ask ourselves how we feel about the importance of incorporating these values in our built environment today.  This singular family’s vision provided us with a legacy of beautiful, enduring architecture, comprised of a variety of designs mostly in the form of Tudor Revival, Colonial Revival, Neo-Georgian and Victorian.

This talk was created and researched by Elise Rivers, Esq., with the support of Historic Germantown and the Chestnut Hill Conservancy’s Alex Bartlett and Liz Jarvis, Archivists. Prior to becoming an acupuncturist and owner of Chestnut Hill’s Compassionate Alternative Medicine Associates, Elise worked in the field of historic preservation in the 1990’s as Assistant Director of Preservation Worcester in Massachusetts and Executive Director of Landmark West, an historic preservation non-profit advocating for the upper west side of Manhattan. Her passion for beauty in architecture has never waned, and she was inspired to put together this talk, after living in, and loving her own Tourison home.  She is grateful for the extensive archives of Historic Germantown, without which this fascinating story could not have been reconstructed.

Presented by Elise Rivers, Esq., M.Ac.,