Henry Chapman Mercer: Archaeologist and Tile Maker

Henry Chapman Mercer was born in Doylestown in eighteen fifty-six and spent his life redefining what one person could do with concrete, clay, and curiosity. Between nineteen oh eight and nineteen sixteen, he designed and built three remarkable poured concrete structures in Doylestown: Fonthill, his castle-like home; the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works, where he hand-crafted distinctive decorative tiles; and the Mercer Museum, which houses his vast collection of early American tools and artifacts. His tile mosaics still grace the floors and walls of the Pennsylvania State Capitol.

Archaeologist, scholar, collector, and craftsman all at once, Mercer left a legacy that is deeply physical. You can walk through it today in the buildings he poured with his own hands.