Sweetbriar Mansion (Philadelphia, Pa.). Garden restoration. Supplies for terrace, circa April 1929

During Kimball's directorship, the museum took an active role in the restoration of many of the historic homes in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. Erling H. Pedersen, Kimball's assistant during the early 1930s, oversaw most of the work. The most extensively documented house is Mount Pleasant, also known as the Benedict Arnold house. Its restoration and furnishing was planned to coincide with the 1926 Sesquicentennial. There are numerous revised lists of the objects loaned or gifted for the special exhibition, as well as related correspondence, including the form letters acknowledging receipt of objects. Correspondence regarding the restoration of the garden is also included. Women, individually and in groups, assumed a prominent role in these restoration projects. Those most frequently represented in these files include Mrs. Harold E. Gillingham, Lydia Thompson Morris, the Junior League of Philadelphia, and the Associate Committee of Women, which offered special tours of the park homes on behalf of the museum, calling the event "Colonial Days."