The Great Philly Mag Semiquincentennial Quiz: Part 5

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1. What is the name of the Fairmount Park mansion built by Henry Pratt in 1800 as a botanical “showpiece” for 700 different types of plants?

a. Laurel Hill

b. Strawberry Mansion

c. Lemon Hill

d. Cedar Grove

2. What do we call the stew whose recipe was brought here by enslaved West Indians and became Philly-famous in the 1800s?

a. Funchi

b. Joumou

c. Goat water stew

d. Pepper pot

3. Speaking of foodstuffs, which culinary delicacy became famous-famous in the early 1800s thanks to its short shelf life?

a. The soft pretzel

b. Cream cheese

c. Root beer

d. Scrapple

4. Which famous literary figure lived in Philly from 1838 to 1844?

a. Edgar Allan Poe

b. Walt Whitman

c. Thomas Paine

d. Louisa May Alcott

5. By 1845, how many dentists were listed in McElroy’s Philadelphia City Directory (a sort of early Yellow Pages)?

a. About 10

b. About 80

c. About 130

d. About 500

6. In the wake of anti-Black mob violence in Cincinnati, Ohio, Philadelphia preacher Richard Allen, founder of Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church, set up a national meeting of Black leaders here in 1830. What was the purpose of this newly formed American Society for Free Persons of Color?

a. To encourage emigration back to Africa

b. To protest a proposed new Pennsylvania Constitution that limited suffrage to “white freemen”

c. To establish a settlement for Black Americans in Canada

d. To establish skilled trade schools for Black students

7. Which cultural organization was founded in Philly in 1820?

a. The Musical Fund Society

b. The Opera Company of Philadelphia

c. The Philadelphia Orchestra

d. The Philadelphia Ballet

8. From the early 1800s through the end of the century, which of the following became a focus of intense Philadelphia fascination, with public exhibitions and shows?

a. Egyptian mummies

b. Miniature/toy poodles

c. Chinese pottery

d. Orchids

9. What was the name of the club team in Philly that as early as 1831 was already playing “town ball,” which was a predecessor to baseball?

a. The Athletics

b. The Olympics

c. The Atlantics

d. The Knickerbockers

10. What is the Carstairs Row?

a. A notorious 1822 duel fought on the Philly waterfront between Admiral John C. Carstairs and a pirate captain known as Two-Tooth Taylor

b. A bitter ecumenical argument in 1838 between local Episcopal bishop Richard Carstairs and Roman Catholic bishop William Higgins over a passage in the Book of Genesis

c. The first planned set of identical Philly rowhomes, designed by architect Thomas Carstairs and built beginning in 1799 by developer William Sansom

d. The first-ever U.S. collegiate regatta, named for the then-president of the University of Pennsylvania, Reginald Carstairs, and held on the Schuylkill River in 1827 near what’s now the Girard Point Bridge

The Great Philly Mag Semiquincentennial Quiz: Part 5

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