Reynolds-Morris House

Luke Wistar Morris was the first of a long line of Morris owners of the Reynolds-Morris House; he bought the home in 1817. Luke was the son of Captain Samuel Morris, the founder of Philadelphia's First City Troop. Luke was a brewer by occupation and loved to entertain. In 1820, his household, in the city's Locust Ward, included eight White people and two free Black people. The Whites were: one male over 45 years, one male 26-45, one female over 45, two females 16-25, 1 female 10-15, and 1 female under 10. The free Blacks were a female 26-44 and a male under 14. Only one resident - Luke Morris - was engaged in commerce.

By 1890, the mansion was the home of Effingham B. Morris [Sr.]. Morris was a lawyer and the President of Girard Life Insurance, Annuity & Trust Company. Over the decades, the Morris family built onto the rear of the house. The family also had homes built for other family members on the adjacent lots, but tore them down in 1914. The Morris family then had the mansion's north and south facades restored to the original appearance; they also built a two-car garage and a chauffeur's room on the cleared lots. The house's interior was renovated by Effingham B. Morris, Jr., the last Morris owner. In 1921, Effingham Jr., a lawyer, resided in the mansion, at 225 S. 8th Street.

Effingham Jr. was the vice president of a bank but lived elsewhere in 1935 and 1940 - in Plymouth Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania - in a home worth $40,000 on Township Road. The 49-year-old widower resided with his 18-year-old daughter, Julia P. Morris, and three servants. Effingham Jr. was listed in a Philadelphia city directory in 1950 as living in the mansion at 225 S. 8th Street; he died in 1955.

A. W. Ayer and Company owned the house in the early 1960s and used the property as a guest house. They sold the house in 1968 and it returned to use as a private residence. The Reynolds-Morris House was the home of Dr. and Mrs. Frank A. Elliott in 1974 when it was nominated to the National Register.

When the house was documented for the National Register, dormer windows pierced the roof and prominent stone lintels scored to resemble keystones topped all of the windows. The pedimented central entrance led to a narrow center hall which led to a garden.

Bell Telephone Company of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia City Telephone Directory. Philadelphia, PA. Printed in USA. 1950.

Boyd's. Boyd's Philadelphia Combined City and Business Directory. Philadelphia, PA. C.E. Howe Addressing and Printing Company, 1921.

Bromley, G.W. Philadelphia Atlas. Digitized and geo-rectified by Greater Philadelphia GeoHistory Network. 1895.

Hexamer & Locher. Philadelphia Atlas. Digitized and geo-rectified by Greater Philadelphia GeoHistory Network. 1858-1860.

Heintzelman, Patricia. Snell, Charles. NRHP Nomination of Reynolds-Morris House. Edition update of 1967 NHL nomination. Washington, DC. National Park Service, 1974.

James Gopsill's Sons. Gopsill's Philadelphia City Directory, for 1890. Philadelphia, PA. James Gopsill's Sons, 1890.

Morris House Hotel. The Morris House circa 1787, About. January 1st 2020. Accessed December 14th 2020. https://www.morrishousehotel.com/about.

US Census. Household of Luke Morris in Locust Ward, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, p. 9. Washington, DC. US Government, 1820.

US Census. Household of Effingham Morris on R.D. 4 in Plymouth Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Dwelling 7. Washington, DC. US Government, 1940.