Grumblethorpe is quite interesting as the home of the Wister family and gives a good feel for the family's (and Germantown's) history. The opening hours are rather limited, but it's open as part of Second Saturdays in Germantown. I had a private tour that did a good job explaining the history of the house and area. Especially interesting is the virtually untouched laboratory (for lack of a better word) behind the house. The gardens in the back are surprisingly large as well and worth a stroll.

I spent several days in Philadelphia, and this was the highlight of my trip. Built in 1744, the Wister House was the home of a wealthy wine merchant for whom 'wisteria' is named. One of the four *original* wisterias discovered resides here (the other two are at similar legacy houses in the Philadelphia area, one was lost). The grounds and gardens are a good deal simpler than other legacy gardens I saw whilst there, but much much more comfortable. Germantown is the birthplace of many celebrated persons, including George Washington - and though the neighborhood is a bit sketchy (especially at night), this place is worth seeing.

Grumblethorpe is used as a hands on educational experience so may not have regular open hours but we happened on it during one of Germantown's Second Saturday. We were given a semi-private tour along with another couple of the revolutionary era home with period furnishings. There is still a blood stain on the floor from one of the casualties of the Battle of Germantown who died there. We walked around the garden to see the chickens, flowers, herbs, vegetables and bees. A small gift shop offers tea shirts, books, honey and other souveniers.