William Bird, c. 1706-1761, a pioneer ironmaster, built this stone mansion in 1751. Facing the Schuylkill River, it stood across from his iron forge and near the mouth of Hay Creek where it enters the river, and over the years it served as the ironmaster's residence and office, a hotel, and a company store. His son Mark Bird, 1739-1812, built Hopewell Furnace circa 1770 on the North Fork of French Creek in Union Township to supply additional pig iron for the three forges he operated. During the American Revolution, after being appointed Assistant Deputy Quartermaster, Colonel Mark Bird produced cannon, shot, shell, and other armaments for the Pennsylvania and Continental governments, and in 1778 he sent 1,000 barrels of flour from his mill down the Schuylkill River to feed George Washington's troops at Valley Forge. In 1771, Rachel Bird, Mark's sister, married James Wilson, an attorney, patriot, and statesman, at St. Gabriel's Episcopal Church in Douglassville, with the reception held at the mansion. Wilson later became a signer of the Declaration of Independence and an early Supreme Court Justice appointed by President Washington.