ABOUT THE MATHER HOMESTEAD

The Mather Homestead was built in 1778 and has been impeccably preserved over three centuries.

The Homestead was built in 1778 during the Revolutionary War as a safe house and raided by Tories in 1781.

The Mather family ancestry traces back to 17th century england

The most notable member of the Mather family, Stephen Tyng Mather, founded the National Park Service and served as its first director.

Bertha Mather McPherson was the only child of Stephen and Jane Mather. She owned the Homestead from 1930, following her father's death, until her death in 1992.

The Mather Homestead property originally consisted of 100 acres in 1778, which is what it took for a family to sustain itself. By 1906, when Stephen Tyng Mather acquired the property, it consisted of 22 acres. Stephen Mather hired Walter Burley Griffin, a renowned architect and landscape architect to create the sunken garden at the Homestead.

The Elizabeth W. Chilton Education Center was completed in 2020 in order to provide a space for public education and enjoyment at the Mather Homestead thanks to the generosity of the Chilton family and many other donors.

Docent Donn Smith has been busy in the attic and has many stories to tell about the Homestead and its inhabitants

... as told by Gordon Hastings