Photo courtesy of Woody Johnson (taken 1989)

John Broomall came to Pennsylvania in 1682. In 1700 he purchased 100 acres in Edgmont township, and an adjoining tract of 127 acres in 1717. However, in 1720 he purchased 125 acres in Nether Providence Township upon which sits this house. The land was later surveyed to contain 128 3/4 acres. We know that in 1721 two John Broomalls, father and son, appear on the tax records of Edgmont and Nether Providence townships, so by then a house must have stood on this plot with one of the two Johns in residence. By 1729 a barn also stood on the premises, since John 1's inventory includes "corn in the barn."

John died in 1729, leaving the house and land to his son John 2nd. Somehow John 2 became insolvant and in 1733, he, his wife Anne and his mother Mary sold 100 acres to David Regester, who may have been John 2's brother-in-law. We believe that the 100 acres was not the section on Providence Road containing this house. However, since John 2 was insolvant, apparently the 28 1/2 acres and the house were sold at some time before 1737, and probably by the 1733 insolvancy date, since if you own a house you can sell it to pay your debts. There are gaps in the deeds due to many early deeds going unrecorded. By 1744, the house was owned by James Edwards. Since it was probably sold before the insolvancy papers of 1733, we do not know who owned it between 1733 and 1737, when James Edwards appears in the Tax records of Nether Providence. By 1742 the 100 acre tract was owned by John McMichael who took out a mortgage on it, which was described as not improved, which leads us to believe that the house stood on the 28 3/4 acre plot, and that this plot adjoined Providence Road. The fireplace above is in the dining room, part of the frame section that was built sometime before 1797.

If any of the house which John 1 Broomall built is contained within the house above, it is well hidden under several additions and renovations. Perhaps some of the chimney on the right was part of an original one room dwelling. As the house now stands, the section on the left, is built of a timber frame filled in with masonry. The section on the right was a stone kitchen with cooking fireplace. The 1798 Federal Direct Tax describes the house, then owned by William Edwards, as an 18 x 25 foot frame house of 2 stories with 8 windows, with an 18 x 20 foot stone kitchen of 1 story. There was also a 10 x 12 foot stone springhouse. The picture left shows an early 19th century renovation to what must have been the original cooking fireplace. This is on the footprint of what must have been the original house.

The present owners of the house, Harwood (Woody) and Tracy Johnson, have done a lot of research into the history of the house. They were fortunate to have their house be the subject of a study by graduate students in Historic preservation at the University of Pennsylvania under the guidance of John Milner,a well-known local historical architect and adjunct professor there. John and his students went through the house and cut holes in walls and analyzed plaster samples to find out which part was built first. Originally the frame part of the house had two rooms on each floor, with 2 corner fireplaces downstairs, and one upstairs, along with a winder staircase (no longer there). They found that the stone kitchen of 1798 was built after the frame house, since the stone walls butt up against the frame walls. Woody even showed us a place where you can see the original clapboards in excellent condition in the back of a closet. Then there is an large additon in the rear dating from the 1950's, whichis visible at the right of this photo.

The Penn students also determined that the room over the old stone kitchen (right front in the top photo) and the 2 story addition behind it (in the salt box roofline) were all built at the same time. At that time a new cooking fireplace left) was built in the new back room, while the front room was made into a parlor and its fireplace made smaller. Most of the oldest interior trim in both parts of the house is from a renovation in the early 1800's. "A Little spinning wheel" was in John Broomall's 1729 inventory. You can see all the original layers of paint exposed in this photo.

It is possible that the stone kitchen was originally an old log kitchen, which could have been torn down and replaced by stone once the frame house had been built. But if any of the hearth that once warmed John Broomall and his family still exists, not much remains, and certainly not looking as it did in 1729.

We are very grateful to the Johnson family for showing us around (even into the closets and attic!) and allowing us to take these photos. We wish them the best of luck as they restore this interesting old house.