QUesters Headquarters

The History of THE QUESTERS Headquarters

 At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Philadelphia was a thriving city located along the banks of the Delaware River. Out in the country, a short distance from the river, a lawyer by the name of Henry C. Freeman owned a parcel of land fronting on a narrow lane known as Quince. On his property, a ground rent was levied, which meant that anyone leasing this land must erect a building.

In 1802, Thomas Caldwell, a blacksmith, leased the land and built two small houses. It is presumed that one was used for his residence and the other for his shop. The area surrounding these houses was heavily wooded, thus servicing as a fine source of fuel. About this same time, Mr. Freeman laid out the court on the southern line of the property which still bears his name. A garden was planted at the rear of Mr. Caldwell’s buildings and extended to what is now Twelfth Street. Later, this ground was sold for the construction of a church which stood for one hundred years.

We are told that the brick wall behind both houses was erected by the members of the Church. Apparently, Mr. Caldwell’s vocabulary was a bit on the “pithy” side, which caused some consternation among the congregation. The wall was intended to eliminate some of those offensive expressions.

 The exteriors of the building were just as they appear today. Inside each were two small rooms on the first floor, two on the second floor, and one on the third floor.

Let us consider just one of the pair of houses that is the one to the south. As in all old buildings, the various occupants have added color and interest to their history. We can find very little information since Mr. Caldwell’s occupancy until the early 1920s when the second room on the first floor was extended to the “church wall” and skylights were installed on each floor creating studios. A prominent young artist occupied the third floor, a well-known antique dealer of today once was a tenant, and we know an artist who worked with stained glass who also lived and worked in the house. At one time, the house was a charming, intimate restaurant, a coffee house, and a residence-studio for a sculptress and her husband, a painter. The next occupants were a very interesting group, a National Organization (later to become an International Organization), which has as its motto, “It’s fun to search and a joy to find.” THE QUESTERS. The year was 1967.

The front had been restored by the previous owners in 1963 requiring the removal of the exterior stucco and the easement windows, thereby earning the building its Historic Certification. The plaque indicating this distinction is affixed to the front of the structure. A member of the Philadelphia Historical Society stated that the Quester National Headquarters and its neighbor could be “likened to a pair of jewels” as no other old houses are located so close to Walnut Street.

THE QUESTERS restored their National Headquarters, not as Mr. Caldwell knew it but for their own purposes.

All work has been done in the period; this, after thorough research. An unattractive niche in the reception hall was transformed into a lovely cupboard with a shell top. All doors on the first floor were replaced with authentic colonial ones. Corrugated plywood walls were substituted with plaster as a decorative molding was applied to the ceiling. In the parlor, walls were replastered, a chair rail installed, and an appropriate mantel designed for the fireplace. Walls were painted off-white with green woodwork.

On the second floor, the skylight was removed and the stairway opened creating a larger room. The second-floor room presently houses the Jesse Elizabeth Bardens Memorial Library, honoring the Founder.

Bookshelves were installed on three walls, and the fireplace, an original, was enhanced by a hanging mantel presented by our neighbor.

The office is located on the third floor. Here, too, the skylight was removed, the room painted, the floor refinished (only original floor in the house), and an adjustment made to the fireplace, which is also original.

All old properties suffer structural abuse, but, in the case of 210 South Quince Street, THE QUESTERS have given beauty and dignity to one of them.

 History Compiled by Pennsylvania Questers