HIGHLANDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Description

In 1796, Anthony Morris, a prominent Quaker politician who served as the Speaker of the Pennsylvania Senate built "The Highlands" as a refuge for his family to escape the aftermath of the yellow fever epidemic that swept through Philadelphia. The estate consists of a mansion, nine outbuildings and a formal garden situated on a lush forty-four acre property in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania approximately 15 miles outside of Philadelphia. For the past four decades, HHS has focused on the preservation of the site and offered public programming to engage and educate visitors about the significant history of the estate. Volunteers are critical to the mission of The Highlands Historical Society. We depend on their great contributions to help our staff carry out the legacy of this important historical estate.

The Highlands' late Georgian mansion, unusual outbuildings, formal gardens, and open space are remarkable and important. The survival of the estate's buildings inform an unusually vivid and compelling representation of the daily lives of earlier residents, especially when combined with the wonderfully detailed records and documents kept by each of the three families who owned and operated the estate from the 1790s to the 1970s.