Ridgeland Mansion, Philadelphia

Ridgeland Mansion, a historic house with a two-and-a-half-story design and a gable roof, is situated in the western part of Fairmount Park. The property was originally acquired by a man named William Couch in 1718, and the existing house was likely built between 1752 and 1762. Initially serving as a farmhouse, it underwent multiple modifications and expansions over the years, courtesy of subsequent owners and the city, which acquired the property in 1869 for the expansion of Fairmount Park. Notably, George Clymer, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, owned the house from 1784 to 1794, though he primarily rented it out and never resided there.

One distinctive feature of the house is its use of circular windows, including two small oval windows on both the first and second floors of the northwestern side and a divided semicircular window on the southeastern gable. While the primary section of the house is constructed from Wissahickon schist, several wooden extensions with stone foundations are attached to the northeastern end. The property includes multiple additions, including a two-story gable-roofed extension with a chimney, a two-story clapboard addition with a dentilled cornice and a semi-octagonal wall, and a one-story clapboard kitchen wing. There are also two barns and an ice house on the property.

Since 1997, Ridgeland Mansion has been leased and managed by the Cancer Support Community Greater Philadelphia (CSCGP) through the Fairmount Park Conservancy's Historic Preservation Trust. The facility hosts events both inside the house and on the surrounding grounds, known as the CSCGP at The Suzanne Morgan Center at Ridgeland. As part of the city's leasing agreements for Fairmount Park properties, lessees are required to allocate financial resources for restoration and ongoing maintenance efforts. They are also prohibited from making alterations to the historical architectural elements of the structures and must allow public access.

Ridgeland Mansion is listed on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places and is included as an inventoried structure within the Fairmount Park Historic District entry on the National Register of Historic Places.