October 2017 - Parks & Recreation - 27

Actor James Whitfield portrays a worker
who belonged to the Chew family.

Telling New Stories, Inside and Out
Cliveden's tours and programs aim to
tell the many stories of the people who
lived and worked at Cliveden, and how
they used the physical environment from
the 1760s to the 1970s. Recent research
and architectural archeology in the 1767
kitchen dependency led to a deeper understanding of the work yard that is now
included on the guided tour. Directly behind the main house and between two
service buildings, the kitchen dependency and the wash house, the work yard
served as a space for cooking, laundry,
livestock and the everyday work of 18thand 19th-century life. The last owners of
Cliveden installed a terrace in this space
in the 1960s. Standing in the work yard to
discuss the changes to landscape and built
environment helps visitors see themselves
in the many stories of Cliveden.
Many people experience the grounds
during one of the two community festivals - Mt. Airy Day and the Revolutionary Germantown Festival - that include
reenactments of the Battle of Germantown. Both events open the gates and
property to thousands of visitors, many
for the first time. In addition to tours of
the museum, activities for children and
adults provide opportunities to engage
the history in an outdoor space. These
activities feature diverse narratives of
African-Americans, women and stories
from the 20th century. Enjoying these
activities in a space where these things
happened brings a sense of relevance to
the content.
The landscape is also a backdrop for
Liberty to Go to See, the award-winning
dramatic event that explores the lives of
three generations of the Chew family and

Justus Henry

taking a tour. Preserved as a shrine to
the founding of America, Cliveden has
become a forum for the nation's need to
understand what " Life, Liberty and the
Pursuit of Happiness " mean today.

its staff, enslaved and free. The first scene
takes place on the front steps of the main
house where visitors are asked to imagine Cliveden as it was in the 18th century
with Benjamin Chew (1722-1810):
He does not see what we see now. He sees a
rich and prosperous country estate. A real gentleman's residence. Far away from the summer filth and disease of Philadelphia.
Actors walk through the wooded
grounds, illustrating the work done by enslaved workers on the estate and provoking audiences to consider the difficult history of the site from their first encounter
of the landscape. During the final scene,
the narrator, James Smith, a freed African
coachman and production narrator, walks
off toward the tree-lined rear of the property, alluding to his death. In both the introduction and conclusion, the landscape
sets the stage for the production.
A Welcoming Environment
The wider interpretation makes the community feel welcome. Since 2010, more
people use the grounds as a park where
they walk their dogs, play with children
and picnic. The number of people engaging with the site increased from 10,000 in
2007 to 24,000 last year. Meanwhile, new
partnerships with community institutions
help neighbors engage with the physical
environment. Project Learn School, a
private K-8 institution located one block

from Cliveden, activates the space as students use the front yard as a playground
and the kindergarten classes use the space
every Wednesday morning as part of their
curriculum. Local Boy Scout Troop 358
completed Eagle Scout projects to help
repaint the exterior fence, clean out the
kitchen dependency and clean up the
perimeter landscape. The variety of uses
takes Cliveden beyond the sacred battlefield to an open community space.
Future Goals
The current programming only scratches the surface for ways to use history to
activate Cliveden's 5.5 acres. Feedback
from program evaluations and focus
groups helps structure research as Cliveden continues to contemplate new ways
to share the history of the site. Self-guided tours and exterior signage, both inside
the property and on the fence, will create
opportunities for visitors to explore the
property on their own, using site maps
that share a broader view of the former
battlefield landscape. Cliveden plans to
undertake a cultural landscape study to
inform further interpretation and preservation of the site. Activating the green
space helps more people see themselves
in the diverse history of the place.
Carolyn G. Wallace is the Education Director for
Cliveden of the National Trust (cwallace@
cliveden.org).

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October 2017 - Parks & Recreation

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