RIDLEY CREEK STATE PARK

Located approximately 16 miles from center city Philadelphia, Ridley Creek State Park is comprised of over 2600 acres of Delaware County woodlands and meadows; the magnificent terrain is bisected by Ridley Creek. The bulk of the acreage (about 2000) was once the estate of Walter M. Jeffords, Sr. and his wife Sarah (a niece of local millionaire Samuel D. Riddle). The Ridley Creek Mansion aka Hunting Hill Mansion was acquired by the Jeffords’ in the early 1910’s. It was a modest stone farmhouse but quickly transformed c. 1914 into a magnificent Old World mansion containing thirty eight rooms, thirteen fireplaces and nine bathrooms. The formal grounds surrounding the property were designed by the landscape architects Olmstead Associates; notable designers of NYC’s Central Park.