Belmont was the product of gradual growth. In the stone cottage Judge Richard Peters, the most famous owner of the estate, was born on June 22, 1744. The adjoining brick structure, ultimately forming a south wing of the mansion house, comes next in order of time, 1745. The present main house, of brick and rubble, followed, probably about 1755, and, somewhat later, the great stair tower. The style of their ornaments indicates these were finished about 1760, and we know that by 1762 they stood essentially complete, surrounded by well-developed gardens and plantations. William Peters, the father of Richard, had come to America in 1739, married Mary Breitnall, and acquired the property by deed of July 21, 1742. It had been from the beginning of the war in the tenancy of Richard Peters, to whom it was finally conveyed in 1786, and was occupied by him until his death in 1828. In 1927 it was restored by Fritz Pflug, restaurateur, with the advice of the Museum. It represents the early Georgian style of the middle of the eighteenth century, a precursor of the rocaille ornament of the Chippendale period. The massiveness of the carving and plaster ceiling ornaments harks back to motifs common to the late seventeenth century of the Louis XIV style. The contents of the older part of the house are copies of mid-eighteenth century Philadelphia furniture. In the parlour opposite the fireplace stands a replica of the sofa owned by Washington during his residence in Philadelphia. Above it is to be seen a portrait of William Peters, the builder of Belmont. The ceiling is considered the earliest ornamental plaster work in an American house. [Illustration: STRAWBERRY, 1798 Shown on map as No. 4] STRAWBERRY Strawberry’s first owner, in 1798, was Judge Lewis, a notable lawyer and a member of the Pennsylvania Assembly. The original house was of the then new American style with certain light touches reminiscent of the Adam period, the entrance hall having four niches and gouged mouldings. The wings in the taste of the Greek Revival were added about 1825 by the second owner Judge Joseph Hemphill, a close friend of Jefferson and an ardent democrat. Lafayette was among the many distinguished guests entertained at Strawberry during the second period of the house. Strawberry has been restored by the Committee of 1926, a group of women who were instrumental in building High Street at the Sesquicentennial Celebration. The furniture at Strawberry is of the late eighteenth and first quarter of the nineteenth centuries. In the parlour a fine Sheraton sofa and four chairs are noteworthy, as is the piano made in Philadelphia by Charles Albrecht in 1785. Across the hall, the library is consistently furnished in the Empire style. A fine writing desk with rounded ends, a Regency suite of black settee and armchairs with X-shaped supports and four gilt chairs are noteworthy pieces.