| Few Buildings in the United States can match the historic significance of Summerseat, a stately Georgian mansion built in the late 1760's about a half-mile from the falls of the Delaware in what is now the Borough of Morrisville Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Historic Morrisville Society is a 501 C-3 non-profit organization. Our mandate is to preserve Summerseat, a National Historic Landmark for future generation. We receive no local, state, or Federal funding. We are an all-volunteer organization formed in 1976 when Summerseat was no longer needed as office space for the Morrisville School District. At the turn of the last century there was talk about tearing Summerseat down. Its history had been forgotten by most. But a paper was written for the Bucks County Historic Society unearthing Summerseat’s role in the history of American and the world. Summerseat was built in 1764 by Adam Hoops who was born on the Pennsylvanian frontier about 1707. He wore buckskins and carried a musket and both traded with and fought with Native American Indians. Hoops lead a group who protected settlers and in one battle he was almost scalped. Hoops was a can do guy. When the British wanted to try to take back Fort Duquesne from the French and Indians, Benjamin Franklin contacted Adam Hoops to help make it happen. Hoops made his fortune here supplying the troops with food while they built a road to western Pennsylvania. With his newly earned wealth he moved his family to Philadelphia and started to grow a business empire of mills, ships, and other successful business ventures. While traveling through Colvin’s ferry, today’s Morrisville, Hoops noticed that there was a perfect place for a mill. And here he decided to build his summerhouse here along the Delaware, Summerseat. Adam Hoops died and Thomas Barclay, his son-in-law, bought Summerseat, from his estate. In the last months of 1776 desperately short of men and supplies, Washington almost despaired. He had lost New York City to the British, enlistment was almost up for most of the troops and many were deserting, civilian morale was falling rapidly, and Congress faced with the possibility of a British attack on Philadelphia, had left the city. Barclay as a well-known patriot also left Philadelphia with his young family and came to Summerseat to be safe. Little did Barclay know that George Washington would be coming to Summerseat. And on December 7-8 George Washington crossed the Delaware with the British literally minutes behind them and arrived at Thomas Barclay’s home, Summerseat. While at Summerseat the weight of the world was literally on George Washington’s shoulders. If he lost this war, many would be executed. All the American Congress members would be hunted down and possibly be hung, Washington’s family would be ruined, and many others would be destroyed. On January 1st almost all the enlistments of his troops were up. Without a victory, they were all looking forward to going home. That would have been the end of the American country’s story. In this Summerseat, we believe the future of the world began to change. Summerseat is on a hill overlooking Trenton. Washington surely received reports of the British movements across the river in Trenton. While staying at Summerseat, we believe was born the idea of the attack against the Hessian troops in Trenton. This attack on Christmas night Dec 26, 1776 changed the history of the peoples of the world. Summerseat was used by the Continental troops Headquarters throughout the Revolutionary War. In Summerseat’s dining room a trial of two British spies was held by General “Mad” Anthony Wayne, Sullivan, Mifflin, and Cadwallader. The accused spies were found guilty and taken to Summerseat’s basement to await their hanging in the morning. Thomas Barclay gave them his bible to read and in the morning they were marched down to the river about by today’s Route # 1 Bridge and were hanged. Their bodies were left for two weeks as a warning to others. Thomas Barclay was asked to go to Europe by George Washington during the war to negotiate for goods badly needed by the American troops. After the war, President Washington again asked Thomas Barclay to go to Europe to work for the new nation. Barclay signed America’s first Treaty with a foreign country, Morocco. |