Secretary of War Henry Knox. The President posed for painter Gilbert Stuart, who kept a studio nearby, and the family attended the German Reformed Church across the square. Four slaves were held by the Washingtons at the Franks house: Oney Judge, Austin (her brother), Moll, and Hercules. Preservation The house is administered by Independence National Historical Park. In 1972, the house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The house is also a contributing property of the Colonial Germantown Historic District. In 2009, the National Park Service changed the official name of the house from the "Deshler-Morris House" to the "Germantown White House." Bringhurst House The Bringhurst House, neighboring the Germantown White House on the northwest, was originally owned by John Bringhurst (February 19, 1725 – March 18, 1795), a carriage builder and inventor of the Germantown Wagon; in 1780 he built a carriage for George Washington. His estate consisted of in Germantown, and was eventually split up by his heirs. Today, near the current historic site, Bringhurst Street is a street named after him which lies on the edge of his former land. Lieutenant Colonel John Bird was lying sick in the Bringhurst House when the American army attacked on the morning of October 4, 1777. Bird arose from bed to lead his men, but was mortally wounded in the battle. Although a surgeon tried to treat him in Melchoir Meng's house situated on what is now a part of Vernon Park, he was carried back to the Bringhurst House, where he died. In 1973, the Bringhurst house was donated to the National Park Service from the Germantown Savings Bank in order to "assure access, light, and air for the historic structure". The Bringhurst property is currently in the process of conversion into an exhibition space and welcome center for the Germantown White House landscape. See also President's House (Philadelphia), Washington's executive mansion, 1790–1797 List of residences of presidents of the United States Oney Judge, enslaved maid of Martha Washington Hercules (chef), enslaved cook for Washington's presidential household Tobias Lear V, Washington's secretary Wyck House References Further reading Minardi, Joseph M. Historic Architecture in Northwest Philadelphia: 1690–1930s. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 2011. Marion, John Francis, Bicentennial City: Walking Tours of Historic Philadelphia. Princeton: The Pyne Press, 1974. Jenkins, Charles F., The Guide Book to Historic Germantown. Germantown Historical Society, 1973. Jenkins, Charles F., Washington in Germantown. Philadelphia: