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1907	May: the Elkins Building, the first building erected by the BCHS for its meetings and collections, was dedicated. HCM’s second “Tools of the Nation Maker” address was read for Mercer at the dedication, since he was too ill to attend. In the preceding months, the “Tools of the Nation Maker” collection had been moved into the Elkins Building.
Summer: travelled extensively in Massachusetts and New York. On this trip, he acquired many “specimens” for the BCHS, including a whaleboat from New Bedford, Mass. Some of the towns visited were: Boston, Woburn, Northampton, Fall River, Gloucester, Salem, and Bigelow, Mass.; and Peekskill, Kingston, and Albany, N.Y.
During this time, enriched by his inheritance from Aunt Lela, he began planning Fonthill.
July 31 - September 30: purchased nine tracts, a total of nearly 70 acres, on which to build Fonthill. He paid $12,200 for all. The 30 acres of the Thierolf farm at the center of the new estate contained a house and barn, which formed the nuclei for Fonthill and its garage, respectively. The two Bestler tracts — of over 19 acres, bordered by East and North Streets — also included a house and barn. The
The Elkins Building, soon after construction. William L. Elkins donated $10,000 to the BCHS to cover the cost of a permanent home for Ihe Society. Horace Trumbauer, the architect, copied the building’s design from Homewood, a vintage 1801 Federal-style gem built near Baltimore, Mil. for Charles Carroll. Jr.
Fonthill under construction. The former Thierolf farmhouse can be seen on the left - it was eventually incorporated into HCM’s new house.
Bestler barn no longer exists; the house became “the little house in the woods” (see 1916).
1908	January: “Where Concrete Stands for Concrete,” by HCM, published in The Cement Age. This article, HCM’s defense of concrete as an artistic medium, appeared with editor Lesley’s endorsement, as HCM was beginning to build Fonthill. (Fonthill would serve as proof of Mercer’s claims for the attractiveness of concrete.)
Published Guide Book to the Tiled Pavement in the Capitol of Pennsylvania.
1908-1912 Fonthill constructed. Mercer designed and oversaw construction, working from plans, models, and on~the-spot revelations. He oversimplified later when he described his work force as “unskilled” and the time required for construction as “three summers.” The house’s basic systems — plumbing, heating, wiring and elevator — were all installed by contractors; and skilled masons, carpenters, blacksmiths, and tile setters were employed. The inexperience of the laborers (Mercer admitted elsewhere) was in concrete work, not in construction. They learned — with Mercer — on the job, and soon became a crack crew. A horse named Lucy provided the lifting power to hoist the freshly-mixed concrete to the upper stories for pouring; she was paid a daily wage, just like the other members of the work force.
HENRY CHAPMAN MERCER: AN ANNOTATED CHRONOLOGY