ANDALUSIA Photographed for the Historic American Buildings Survey by Jack E. Boucher THE Pennsylvania Magazine OF HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY Andalusia Country seat of the Craig Family and of Nicholas Biddle and His Descendants N THE spring of 1976, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania published in pamphlet form my account of Andalusia. The I format of the pamphlet was such that its contents could be readily reprinted in The "Pennsylvania ^Magazine of History and "Biography, and subsequently the Society's Publications Committee decided that this should be done. The only change of consequence in the reprinting has been the elimination of James Biddle's Pro- logue and my Foreword, both of which were designed for the par- ticular interest of visitors to Andalusia where copies of the pamphlet are available. Andalusia is situated north of Philadelphia on the Delaware River. Originally built by John Craig, the house was greatly en- larged, notably by the addition of its Greek-temple, river front facade, by Craig's son-in-law, Nicholas Biddle. As a young man, 3 4 NICHOLAS B. WAINWRIGHT January Biddle had toured Greece in 1806 and had been tremendously impressed by its antiquities. Their reflection in the Greek Revival style was, he believed, the most suitable for American architecture. Biddle became a foremost advocate of that classical form. There is reason to believe he influenced William Strickland in his design of the Second Bank of the United States, a Parthenon on Chestnut Street majestically set off by massive columns. As President of the Bank, Biddle humorously referred to its building as his "vast marble tomb." He was responsible for Girard College's Greek Revival appearance, and his broader architectural influence is suggested in a statement by the landscape artist Russell Smith: "I did some work for Nicholas and was to have painted for him a comprehensive composition of the architectural beauties of Phila- delphia, for which we are largely indebted to him, but the failure of the U. S. Bank interrupted my work upon it." Some years prior to that disaster, Biddle, then at the pinnacle of his career, had employed architect Thomas U. Walter to transform Andalusia from its then Federal style to its present Greek-temple aspect. Virtually unchanged since that time, Andalusia continues to express Nicholas Biddle's personality. The account which follows seeks to describe the mansion's successive building stages, the owners who occupied it generation after generation, and some of the activities that took place on its grounds. The narrative is based on manuscripts, many of them not previously available, that have been given to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in recent years by descendants of Nicholas Biddle. The Historical Society of 'Pennsylvania NICHOLAS B. WAINWRIGHT CRAIG BIDDLE 1977 ANDALUSIA 5 The Auction At noon on November 7, 1865, an auction was held in Philadel- phia's Merchants' Exchange. Offered for sale was a property de- scribed as "the most beautiful and valuable place on the Delaware River, or, in fact, in the vicinity of Philadelphia." This "splendid country seat" was known as Andalusia. The estate comprised 113K acres fronting on the Delaware, with a wharf immediately adjacent at which steamboats touched several times a day. Through the rear of the property ran the Philadelphia and Trenton Railroad and the Bristol Turnpike. Thus, residents had ready access to Philadelphia, thirteen miles away, as well as to other points. The improvements at Andalusia were impressive. Foremost was a pillared mansion, built of brick and stone, roughcast, fifty-five feet wide and seventy-three feet deep, with two wings extending forty feet on either side. It contained nine rooms on the first floor, fourteen on the second, and six on the third. With its furnace, it was equally suited for winter and summer use. Another handsome mansion nearby, built of brick, had a forty- nine-foot front and was fifty-seven feet deep. It, too, had its furnace, and was spacious with six rooms on each of its three floors. A feature of the place were graperies of great extent, built in the most substantial manner with high walls of pointed stone. Other improvements included a gardener's house, a farmer's house, a laborer's house, a barn and all the necessary outbuildings of a large farm. The coach house was commodious, its stabling for driving horses containing twelve stalls. There was a combination temple- form billiard room and summer house, a children's play house, a romantic grotto of pointed stone, a bathing house at the river, and also a laundry house, a stone milk house, a shad fishery and several ice houses. For convenience in caring for the gardens and graperies, water was forced into a large reservoir on the top of a stone tower by means of a steam engine at the river. From the reservoir the water was conducted by pipes over the fields. Twenty acres were in wood- land of large growth and the grounds were ornamented with forest trees of various varieties. With this auction, the end had evidently 6 NICHOLAS B. WAINWRIGHT January come for Andalusia; plans had been laid for extensive subdivision of the estate. Its owners must have regretted this breakup of their childhood home. Happier days, now past, must have thronged their recollections. John Craig The man responsible for establishing Andalusia was a Philadelphia merchant, John Craig, whose father James Craig was also a mer- chant of the city. A shipowner engaged in exporting American commodities to the far corners of the world in exchange for foreign products, John Craig's interests grew more impressive year by year. Despite a reputation for caution, which probably stemmed from sound judgment, Craig engaged in a multitude of adventures which certainly were not free of risk. Ships in whose cargoes he was concerned were to be found at the River Plate, putting into Leghorn and Trieste, or returning from Oporto with wine, salt, and cork, from Canton with silks, yellow nankeens, and tea, from Vera Cruz with logwood, from Montevideo with tallow, hides, and bullion, sugar from Havana, wine from Madeira, brandy from Bordeaux. Still a comparatively young man, Craig was well on his way to gaining a fortune. He had two unmarried sisters, Jane and Ann, and another, Catherine, married to Don Francisco Caballero Sarmiento, with whom Craig engaged in mercantile ventures. These were high- lighted by trade with Mexico and South America under concessions granted Sarmiento by his native Spain. Sarmiento was agent for the Royal Chest of Consolidation at Madrid. Despite extraordinary profits gained by this connection, Craig terminated it in the early 1800s. Distrustful of Sarmiento, his main partnership was then concentrated with Robert and John Oliver of Baltimore. Shortly after the death of his father in 1793, Craig began looking for a country place near enough to Philadelphia to permit him the enjoyment of farming while being at the same time within easy access of his countinghouse. In 1795 ^e purchased the Delaware River farm that was later to be named Andalusia. Long farmed by generations of "yeomen" owners, its improvements were probably not impressive. 1977 ANDALUSIA J Possibly it boasted a farmhouse which the Craigs renovated. They called their first modest establishment Craig Hall. Evidently such a residence as the place enjoyed required a major overhaul, or JOHN CRAIG perhaps they even built from the ground up. In an undated letter to his wife, Craig inquired "how you & the children make it out at Craig Hall. Let me know how far the building is raised." Mrs. Craig had previously lived in two other Craig Halls, her uncle Caldwell Craig's plantation in Tobago, and, more recently, her father-in-law's summer place in Philadelphia's Northern Liberties. This latter retreat had just been sold, and so it was that its name was available for transfer to the Delaware River farm. From January, 1796, until the end of May, 1797, the John Craigs had a house guest, Mrs. Craig's brother George. He returned to the islands on business, writing to his sister from Martinique on June 25, 1797, "What wou'd I not give for one peep at Craig Hall." Six weeks later George died at Martinique and Mrs. Craig may now have found the name Craig Hall a distressing reminder of him. The property was renamed Willow Bank, a name which, in turn, gave way by 1801 to Andalusia, perhaps in compliment to John Craig's Spanish partner, with whom he was still on good terms, and who summered nearby at Bristol. 8 NICHOLAS B. WAINWRIGHT January The year 1797 found the Craigs either building a new house on their farm or extensively altering the old one; the work went on very slowly. Enough however was done that year for Craig to insure the house with the Insurance Company of North America for $4,000. The Company's records reveal that it was a stone build- ing with a front of fifty feet facing the river and a depth of thirty feet, and that at the time the insurance was placed, November 11, 1797, carpenters were working on it. They were still at work many months later. From Philadelphia on May 14, 1798, John Craig wrote to his wife in Baltimore: "I have returned from Willow Bank. Painters, plaisterers, & carpenters have progressed but slowly in my absence . there is a little chicken about 4 days old will follow any one thro the house. It followed the gardener to the new house garden." Mention of the "new house" suggests that the Craigs' residence, which was to become Andalusia, was basically constructed in 1797-1798.