Call Number:

06

Repository:

Springfield Township Historical Society (Montgomery County, Pa.)

Extent:

1.25 linear feet

Language:

English

Date:

1926-2002 (inclusive)

Creator:

Springfield Township Historical Society.

Abstract:

The Wharton Sinkler Estate (also known as Lane's End, Guildford, or the Rotan Estate) is located in Wyndmoor, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The mansion was built by Samuel P. Rotan and Allethaire Ludlow Crummer in 1925 and used by the University of Pennsylvania as the Wharton Sinkler Conference Center from 1971 to 1999. The Springfield Township Historical Society Wharton Sinkler Estate collection, 1926-2002, consists primarily of records relating to the University of Pennsylvania's subdivision and sale of the property, 1998-2002, with some additional materials relating to the history of the property and its inhabitants. Of special interest is a photograph album of the mansion's construction.

The Wharton Sinkler Estate, also known as the Guildford Estate but originally called Lane's End, is a mansion in Wyndmoor, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. George W. Elkins planned to build a mansion for his wife, Allethaire Ludlow Crummer, when they were married in 1916. He died in 1919 before much was accomplished, but the project was resumed after Crummer remarried to Samuel P. Rotan, then District Attorney of Philadelphia, the following year. Construction of the estate they called "Lane's End," designed by architect Robert Rodes McGoodwin, was completed in 1925.

After Rotan's death in 1930, Crummer spent less time in the house. George W. Elkins' daughter, Louise Elkins Sinkler and her husband Wharton Sinkler purchased the estate in 1945, re-christened it "Guildford," and lived there until his death in 1967. At this point, Sinkler donated the estate to the University of Pennsylvania. The university utilized the property as the Wharton Sinkler Conference Center until 1999, when they subdivided the property into smaller parcels and sold off the land. As of 2012, the mansion stands on 18 acres of land protected by the North American Land Conservancy.

Bibliography:

Essay found in collection. "Guildford."

The bulk of this collection is records created when the University of Pennsylvania was in the process of subdividing and selling parcels from the Wharton Sinkler Conference Center. These records include records of repairs, site plans, appraisals, feasibility studies, correspondence with lawyers, and related documents, circa 1998-2002. The collection also includes: a photograph album of "Lane's End" mansion construction, circa 1925; newspaper clippings, circa 1975-2002; reproduction photographs of family members, construction, and interiors and exteriors of "Lane's End" and other mansions; and narrative histories of the family and property.