Chess at Laurel Hill Mansion

Laurel Hill Mansion is an historic summer estate on the Schuylkill River across from Edgley Field on Edgley Drive in Fairmount Park.  It was once the residence of distinguished nineteenth century Chess Master Philip Physick Randolph.  Today Women for Greater Philadelphia, the stewards of Laurel Hill Mansion invite players of all skill levels and ages to come play chess. Those under age 12 must be accompanied by an adult.

 When the weather is pleasant we will play outside where there are lots of cool, breezy locations on the old property for outdoor chess, including the back porch, a gazebo and dozens of shade trees.  Should the weather be inclement, to hot or to cold play is moved inside.  Laurel Hill Mansion is heated during cold weather and air conditioned during hot weather.

Please bring a chess board and pieces as we have non to provide, bring a friend and bring your lunch and enjoy a picnic too!
Arrive at 12:30 P.M. to play.
Free Event and Free parking.
Restrooms are available.
email events@laurelhillmansion.org
for more information or make arrangements for your group.

Enjoy playing chess at historic Laurel Hill Mansion, once the home of distinguished nineteenth century Chess Master Philip Physick Randolph.  Dates for the 2024 season.

Dates are rain or shine, hot or cold. If the weather is inclement play will take place inside Laurel Hill Mansion which is air conditioned in the summer and heated in the winter.

Laurel Hill Mansion 3487 Edgley Drive, Philadelphia PA 19121 in East Fairmount Park.
Get directions to Laurel Hill Mansion from your location.

PHILIP PHYSICK RANDOLPH, distinguished Chess Master, last resident of Laurel Hill Mansion
October 28, 1824-May 05, 1869

“So Philip Randolph is gone! That man had the sweetest moral nature I ever knew. There never was a man so lacking in self-consciousness. The other day I saw in the London Times that the American, Randolph one of the three greatest chess players in the world was dead. I knew Philip intimately since he was a boy and I never heard him mention the game. I did not even know he played it. How fine that was!” expressed American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson upon hearing the sad news, “how fine that was!” 1

Philip Physick Randolph became a well regarded member of Philadelphia society and a renowned chess master; recognized for his intelligence, gentle manner and modest character. Philip was the grandson of the “father of American surgery” Dr. Philip Syng Physick, and son of Dr. Physick’s daughter Sally and her husband Dr. Jacob Randolph. Dr. Philip Syng Physick purchased Laurel Hill Mansion from William Rawle in 1828 to use as a summer retreat and later bequeathed the house to his daughter Sally Randolph in 1837, when it became known as the Randolph Mansion. 2 Philip Randolph remained the last resident of the mansion before it was purchased by the City of Philadelphia in 1869.

The historic Philadelphia Athenaeum, a member’s library located on Sixth Street across from Washington Square, was a hub for chess and other social activities during Randolph’s day. There, after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in 1846, Philip joined with other chess enthusiasts known as “the Men of Athenaeum,” under the direction of founder and mentor Charles Vezin. The Philadelphia team competed in correspondence matches with Boston and New York chess clubs. In 1858, Philip, a steady, patient, analytic player, took part in a famous telegraphic chess contest against New York, and with his teammate H. P. Montgomery, soundly defeated their New York rivals 2-0. Philip stopped competing in chess tournaments after 1858, probably for health reasons, but continued to follow the game, say chess historians.

Philip Physick Randolph died in Randolph Mansion in 1869 at the age of forty-five. Philip never married and was buried at Christ Church Burial Ground, 5th and Arch, Philadelphia, PA. The mortuary notice in the newspaper dated Saturday, May 8, 1869 follows: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania RANDOLPH—On the 5th inst., At 6 A.M., PHILIP PHYSICK RANDOLPH, son of late Jacob Randolph M.D. The relatives and male friends are respectfully invited to attend the funeral, from the residence of his mother, No. 321 S. Fourth Street, Saturday, 8th inst, at 4 PM, without further notice. 3

That same year, 1869, Sally Randolph, Philip’s widowed mother who was predeceased by both of her sons, sold Randolph Mansion to the city of Philadelphia. In 1870, the city demolished its barn, outbuildings, and farmhouse, yet the mansion now known as Laurel Hill Mansion still stands to this day.

Notes:
1. Some years after his death, Philip was eulogized by Ralph Waldo Emerson in Rebecca Harding Davis’s autobiography, “Bits of Gossip.”
2. Randolph Mansion was renamed Laurel Hill Mansion in 1976 and is maintained by Women for Greater Philadelphia.
3. The Hill-Physick-House, a historical landmark and home to the Dr. Philip Syng Physick family, is still located at 321 S. Fourth Street and is open for tours and special events.

By Nancy S. Cohen with research assistance from Anita McKelvey, site historian and tour guide at Lemon and Laurel Hill Mansions.