Historic Pottstown Walking Tour

The St. Clair Mansion was built by John Potts, Jr., the third son of the founder of Pottstown. A judge of the Common Pleas Court, he elected to remain loyal to England during the American Revolution and had to flee the country when his properties were confiscated. In 1782, Gen. Arthur St. Clair purchased the property for ?6,700 in Continental currency.

The Scottish born soldier had a long if somewhat controversial career during the war, rising from colonel to major-general. He was also deeply involved in the political affairs of our newly liberated country. In 1785, he was elected to the Continental Congress, our country's first governing body; and in 1787, became President of the Congress, in essence the first President of the United States.

The property changed hands a number of times over the next hundred years serving as a tavern, a dry goods store, Fegely's Hardware Store, and the Victor Movie Theater and Grant Koon's cigar factory and store. In June 1924, George Bros. Confectioners purchased the corner portion and William and Charles Mills the "L-shaped" 204 High Street. By 1926 two new, similarly constructed buildings stood in their place. The opening of the St. Clair Spa was marked "by the playing of music by O'Dell's Orchestra and every adult visitor received a box of candy." A bronze tablet marking St. Clair's house was removed from the mansion and installed on the new building.
— David R. Kerns

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Show me all markers in:  Pottstown, PA  |  Montgomery County  |  19464  |  Pennsylvania  |  United States of America

The Security Trust Building
Weitzenkorn's Clothiers
The Pottstown News
The Shuler House
Reading Passenger Station
Freight Station - AAA East Penn
First Iron Bridge
Bahr Arcade
The Potts Family Burial Ground
The Elks Home

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