The Bleakley’s Cannon Ball House, relic of the siege of Fort Mifflin.

Built circa 1715, in the Swedish Vernacular style, this house gained notoriety for its use by the British during the Siege of Fort Mifflin in the Fall of 1777, and its distinctive souvenirs of the siege. The British built an artillery battery behind the house putting it between themselves and Fort Mifflin, and were using it for a redoubt. This fact is proven by a diary entry by chief engineer for the British, John Montresor who also designed Fort Mifflin. The house was hit by a cannon ball during the battle with an entry and exit hole left in the bricks. The holes were bricked in after the Revolution and then painted white, hence the name “Cannon Ball House.”

The city of Philadelphia acquired the house during the 18th century and did nothing with it, in 1937 it was noted to be “unoccupied and is in deplorable condition.” To make room a sewer treatment plant the city moved it in 1975 to the parking lot of Fort Mifflin. In 1996 workers from the city’s L and I department knocked it down. The head of L and I at the time claimed that they had given notice to The Philadelphia Historical Commission, but no notice has been since uncovered. 

Wayne Irby, Director of Operations at Fort Mifflin salvaged some bricks, molding, and hand wrought nails from the house and stored them away at Fort Mifflin, but the rest of this important Historic landmark is somewhere in a landfill.

 Visit and support our historic landmarks so they will be there for future generations.