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Philadelphia Mansion Owned by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’s Family Seeks $1.8M

It was bought in 1850s by Michel Bouvier, the late first lady’s great-great-grandfather

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A Philadelphia townhouse that was once home to Michel Bouvier, great-great-grandfather to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, hit the market Wednesday for $1.8 million.

It was one of three townhomes in a row owned by Bouvier, who left France for the U.S. after the defeat of Napoleon in 1815. He made a fortune in the cabinet and furniture business and bought the three townhouses on 3rd Street in the 1850s, according to the listing with Fox & Roach, part of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices. (Bouvier was Onassis’s maiden name.)

The townhouse is located in Society Hill, a historic neighborhood that’s associated with the birth of the country, said Frank DeFazio, listing agent and head of the Center City Team at the brokerage.

"There is a lot of history to the townhouse and its surroundings," Mr. DeFazio said. "It’s steps away from Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, Museum of the American Revolution and the Declaration (Graff) House, where Thomas Jefferson wrote the monumental Declaration of Independence."

The three-story townhouse has 5,900 square feet of above-ground living space, plus a 1,200-square-foot basement, seven bedrooms, four-and-a-half bathrooms and multiple entertaining spaces. There are seven fireplaces, one of which has an overhanging eight-foot golden-leaf mirror, Mr. DeFazio said.

While the townhouse currently serves as a single-family residence, it has the potential for a condo conversion, which was done to another Bouvier mansion on the street, according to Mr. DeFazio.

"It’s like a blank canvas, the buyer can renovate it and bring the historic mansion to be consistent with modern living standards," he said.

The property has been owned by a local family for the last 40 years, public records show.

Curbed first reported the listing.