Dawesfield, also known as Camp Morris, is a historic country house estate located at Ambler. The sprawling property was made up of 11 building, including stone main dwelling (c. 1736-1870), stone barn (1795, 1937), stone tenant house (1845), frame farm manager’s house (1884), and eight stone-and-frame outbuildings (1736-1952). The property features landscaped grounds, a stone wall, and terraced lawns.
Dawesfield, which belonged to James Morris, served as General George Washington’s headquarters after the Battle of Germantown from October 20 to November 2, 1777.
After the Civil War, Union Gen. George Meade’s son, George Gordon Meade, lived at Dawesfield, Cheston said. Also on Cheston’s property is a historic, 18th-century barn.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.
The land is one of the few remaining “mature woodlands” in the area and has been undisturbed since the presence of American troops in 1777, according to David Froehlich, the association’s director.
It can be seen on the west side of Morris Road between Butler Pike and Penllyn-Blue Bell Pike.
The property, referred to as Camp Woods, was donated by its co-owners, Whitpain residents James Cheston 4th and Phoebe Wetzel. It had been owned by Wetzel’s family since 1728.
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