Someone sent me these photos and I am told that this property is near Ship Road SS Philip and James. The location is 755 Livingston Lane Exton.

There are two different structures on the same property it looks like. I haven’t been there so I can’t tell you anything more than that.

This is Lochiel Farm, right? The site the developer Bentley is developing?

I was also told this might be on some kind of American Revolutionary War list?

Lochiel Farm is a listed historic home and was built about 1800. It consists of a large, two-story, double pile stone central section with two flanking wings in the Georgian / Federal style. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. I don’t know the precise history of the frame house which is the first photo in this post.

I have been told that these properties are NOT being razed they are being preserved.

Information sent to me:

FRAME HOUSE:

This 2 1⁄2-story frame structure served as a tenant house for Lochiel Farm. The site includes the mansion house and carriage shed (341), a tenant house (339) and a tenant house and harness shop (340). It was acquired by Church Farm School and used as dormitories. The property was once owned by Max Livingston, Master of the Whitelands Hunt. It was a proposed site for the Whiteland Village development and now stands empty.

MAIN HOUSE:

Class 1 – Listed on National Register

Built c. 1814 by Griffith Lewis, a descendant of one of Township’s earliest Welsh Quaker families. Example of Great Valley Gentleman’s farmhouse. Remodeled and added to in early 1900’s. Acqured by Church Farm School, now a dormitory.

I will note that I am not sure if the harness shop or a carriage house still exist on the property. Apparently this has been vacant for many many years.

That’s the thing about living in Chester County —you turn a corner on the road and there’s a land parcel. Only you don’t really know how big or how small the land parcel is. Or exactly necessarily what is on it until some developer gets their paws on it and it shows up at some township meeting as a proposal for development

I do mourn the fact that this site means more development literally in a Township (West Whiteland) that is turning into development Ground Zero, a distinction that it seems to go back-and-forth with its neighbor, East Whiteland. Everything is approved there’s nothing to fight this is just commentary and some of the history that we know of.

For these things already approved, we have to remember the history.

But I fear I will we will have soon in Chester County are photos, some haphazard oral and written histories, and so much MORE development that our heads will explode.

I have also said before that I think it’s a giant mistake all this development is going to occur in and around Ship Road. Add that to the pipeline nonsense and as time progresses it will just be more and more a recipe for disaster.

This Lochiel Farm site will be about 140 townhouses and the historic structures single family.

While I am glad the two beautiful historic structures supposedly will get a second chance at life, I just still wish for the future less development in Chester County.