A historic mansion is for sale in Philadelphia, with a requirement that the new owners allow possible reenactments of a Revolutionary War battle on the property.
The Upsala mansion, located in Philadelphia’s Germantown neighborhood, dates to the late 18th century and was built on the site of the 1777 Battle of Germantown, according to documents from the National Register of Historic Places, on which the mansion was listed in 1972.
The house is being listed for $995,000, but carries the stipulation that the new owners “provide access on one day a year in October to specified areas of the front lawn of Upsala for activities related to the annual re-enactment of the Battle of Germantown,” according to a document listed on the mansion’s website.
The requirement, listed in the easement for the house, was in place when current owner Alex Aberle bought the property, he told the Philadelphia Inquirer.
In 2019, Mr. Aberle told Preservation, the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s magazine, that he and previous co-owner Violette Levy “have been throwing our own viewing parties [of the reenactment], because we have a great view from inside the house.”
Since 2020, however, actual mock battles have not been held; Cliveden Incorporated, which operates another historic mansion across the street and which organized the battles, opted for other alternatives.
“We found it was a mixed bag so we shifted more towards living history. We still have military personnel (reenactors), but we have not done tactical demonstrations in a number of years, though I can’t say we won’t do them again,” Carolyn Wallace, the educational director at Cliveden, told the Philadelphia Inquirer.
The Battle of Germantown resulted in a British victory, but Gen. George Washington’s surprise attack to start the battle was credited with showing improved tactics.
