Title: American Classical and Military Academy at Mount Airy, Germantown, 8 Miles from Philadelphia

Description

This lithograph shows the American Classical and Military Academy in the Mount Airy section of Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, located some eight miles (13 kilometers) from the center of Philadelphia. The right wing was built in 1750 as “Mount Airy,” the country seat of Pennsylvania Chief Justice William Allen, and early in the 19th century the area took the building’s name. Founded as Mount Airy Seminary (later Mount Airy College or Collegiate Institute) in 1807, the school served as a military academy in 1826–35 under the superintendence of Augustus L. Roumfort. The building was demolished in 1848 or 1849. The lithograph is by George Lehman (circa 1800–70), a Swiss-born landscape artist and lithographer who was raised in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The print was produced by the lithographers Cephas G. Childs and George Inman, who were partners in 1831–33.