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Dave Thomas | profile | all galleries >> North Central PA >> Lewisburg Trip 2007 >> Northumberland, PA >> Dr. Joseph Priestly House tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

Dr. Joseph Priestly House

The most famous Northumberland resident was Dr. Joseph Priestly, the English scientist most widely known for isolating oxygen. Priestly was a man considered by Thomas Jefferson to be one of the most brilliant minds of the late 1700s. While he was one of the foremost experimental scientists of his day, Priestly considered himself a minister and a teacher, he saw his experiments as a hobby to better understand God's universe. He was a Unitarian, rejecting the divinity of Christ and also supported the American and French revolutions. He believed strongly in separation of church and state and was not shy about expressing his opinions. He wote many articles and books about his somewhat controversial ideas both political and theological. Consequently, in 1790 or so, a mob in Birmingham, England, burned down his church and his home. As a son and a friend were already in the US pursuing real estate investments, Priestly left England and settled in Northumberland. He built this house with a well-equipped laboratory and continued to do experimental work.

This house had been through a number of reuses and cleaned out of all original furnishings. Some of the original furnishings have been returned and some materials have been replicated. Other items are appropriate to the period (1794 - 1804) but only speculation. They do help to convey the sense of what the house may have been like.

Official Marker
Official Marker
North End
North End
House Front
House Front
House Back
House Back
View from Front Today
View from Front Today
Memorial Building
Memorial Building
Interior
Interior
Library
Library
Interior
Interior
Dining Room
Dining Room
Kitchen
Kitchen
Laboratory & Drawing
Laboratory & Drawing
Burning Glass
Burning Glass
Pneumatic Trough
Pneumatic Trough
Archaeological Dig
Archaeological Dig
40 Foot Well
40 Foot Well
Labware Fragments
Labware Fragments
Mantel Clock
Mantel Clock