Physick House

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The building was once the home of Philip Syng Physick, who is known as the father of American surgery. From his home medical office, he treated many well-known patients including Dolly Madison, President Andrew Jackson and Chief Justice John Marshall.

The house was built on the site of the Old City Alms House.

John Nixon, who gave the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence, lived on the site, in a modest home, before Henry Hill built this mansion.

Importer Henry Hill made enough money as a Madeira merchant to build this elegant free-standing mansion in 1786.

The square, four-story brick Physick House is the only free-standing Federal townhouse remaining in Philadelphia's Society Hill neighborhood.