It’s an 18th century farmhouse. There is at least one barn to go with it, but in order to see the barns, you have to be on the property, and that would be trespassing.
This farmhouse is on the Clews & Strawbridge/Clews Boats property. Here is the current property ownership information on the three parcels that comprise this property:
So this property came up as a topic of conversation locally within the past couple of years because the developer wanted to put a giant apartment building right there. The developer at that time said they would restore the farmhouse, and even back then I questioned it because it was like the building envelope was compromised or pierced.
In the end East Whiteland said no they didn’t want apartments right there, so there was no zoning change and it’s still the boat dealership. I looked on Google and the boat place has rather mixed reviews, so I don’t really have a feel for the business there.
Truthfully, I don’t care about the business there, but I really wish they cared about the farmhouse on their property. It’s a historic asset.
It’s total demolition by neglect and it’s horrible. And it’s NOT East Whiteland Township’s fault. They can’t control this. But they could check on the house to make sure it’s secure, given all of the broken windowpanes, etc.
985 Mount Pleasant Ave in Tredyffrin Township, Chester County is far away from Tredyffrin’s Township administration building that Township Manager Bill Martin needs reminding that Tredyffrin has a responsibility to not only the 24/7/365 residents but in fact also to the college students living there, right?
So answer me this Tredyffrin: when is the last time this house now known as Villa Blue Tarp was inspected?
Why do I ask about this? Simple, once upon a time there was a big old yellow Victorian house on the corner of Booth Lane and Old Lancaster Road in Haverford in Lower Merion Township that was an off campus house even when I was in high school.
Originally the house was an off-campus house for rugby players. Then flash forward to late 90s/early 2000s and it became a duplex. We were never really sure if the duplex was done legally but it was done and it was two living units and still student slumlord housing.
It was a really tough party house to live in a neighborhood with. You would wake up and they would have 20 cars on their lawn plus additional cars on surrounding lawns. Trash, beer bottles and cans, etc. and they would keep you up until all hours, and they would sleep it off the next day. We all had to get up and go to work, get the kids to school, etc.
The police would come often enough, and truthfully, Lower Merion Township did not ignore calls from neighbors when the parties were too loud. But it was still a grandfathered off campus student rental.
Then, one day in November, right before Thanksgiving, the then slumlord landlord of that house at 20 Booth Lane called in an inexpensive roofer for some sort of repairs. It was a breezy/windy day and the roof caught fire. In a very short amount of time the upper floors of the house were completely engulfed.
I still remember the photo that was front and center in Main Line Media News. It is an amazing photo and was taken by Pete Bannan. A firefighter in the middle of the flames. Neighbors were so scared that day as firefighters battled flames because we were afraid embers would jump to neighboring roofs.
All of the college students from Villanova who lived in both halves of the duplex were absolutely obnoxious to residents but they lost everything that day. They were mostly seniors and they lost all of their belongings and college memories.
So it makes you wonder about the condition of off campus college rentals, doesn’t it?
If you have ever had a kid in college and you have had to pay for off-campus student housing, you know how these landlords gouge. For what they charge in rent it should be the Taj Mahal but it’s not. Maybe to a college student it’s the Taj Mahal because it’s their place, but usually pretty much overpriced dumps.
Bill Martin who is the manager of Tredyffrin, came from Radnor Township where he was an assistant manager, right? So he was familiar with how municipalities should keep an eye on off-campus student housing, right? But Mr. Martin came to this area from New York via Villanova University correct? So does he have a soft spot for Villanova off-campus student housing? It’s a valid concern, isn’t it?
Now Mr. Martin loves Tredyffrin and apparently lives in Tredyffrin, so I would find it hard to believe that he is not aware of the problems, faced by the residents of Mount Pleasant when it comes to off-campus student housing. and that includes when he was at Radnor Township, which tightened up the student housing ordinance around 2010, and he didn’t go to Bridgeport Borough until 2011, and then to Tredyffrin in 2012.
Tredyffrin didn’t have a student housing ordinance until 2010. I remember because I had friends in more than one area of that township plagued by off campus student houses. It wasn’t just Mount Pleasant. I remember a couple of neighborhoods off of Old Eagle School Road, for example.
There were a lot of meetings packed to the gills about this issue, because true different was initially so reticent to add a student housing ordinance. One of the people affected by an off-campus student house, popping up with someone I’ve known since I was a kid. And pretty much after the student housing ordinance was passed they sold their house and moved out of Tredyffrin. Upscale neighborhood with lovely gardens and backyard pools, but they wanted to be someplace on the Main Line where their investment in their home mattered.
Bill Martin and the Supervisors in Tredyffrin? It’s well past time to wake up and stop pretending there’s not a problem with this house and other off-campus student rentals. If you were elected or hired, it doesn’t really matter, Tredyffrin owes her residents more.
Do residents need to start packing meetings again? Probably. Especially from Mount Pleasant which although incredibly historic an area, has been utterly disenfranchised by Tredyffrin for more years than not.
So perhaps Faunbrook has a new owner? Apparently the winning bid was around $903,000. And it seems the bid accepted is the lady who owns The Bookhouse Hotel in Kennett Square which is a beautiful and cool place. If this is true, then sign me not just cautiously optimistic, but optimistic.
When Faunbrook went up for Sheriff Sale we all who love that place and Chester County History felt a pit in the bottom of our stomachs. I know people who were interested in the property who told me the sale had gotten too rich for their blood. I still don’t understand how it all happened and I was so sad for the deceased former owner who was beloved in the community.
I looked at Faunbrook for a wedding a bunch of years ago. It’s a magical place. So let us all think positive thoughts that the sale goes through. I would had to see an unscrupulous developer get their paws on this beauty.
Some other stuff I found on Faunbrook is linked below and have a good weekend.
The other day I wrote a post about Harriton House in Bryn Mawr, PA and the executive disaster, err director and essentially was the Harriton Association board awake and breathing? I wrote my post because I was appalled by the rando reenactors, not necessarily museum professionals (the two are hardly mutually exclusive, are they?) playing dress up and house a few days ago, and well were all over the antique furnishings that umm used to have ribbons down the middle and/or little signs on them that said things like “DO NOT SIT.”
I have been around and volunteering at Harriton House most of my life. From the time I was 12. I choose not to go back now except a drive up once in a blue moon because I believe current leadership of the board needs to retire and because I am of the opinion that the current executive director is wrong for this site. I am according to the United States Constitution of which Harriton’s most famous inhabitant Charles Thomson was intimately acquainted with, well within my rights to criticize.
I love the place, and it’s headed down a slippery slope. I think they need changes to survive and that includes a different executive director and a change in board leadership and probably some of the board as well. Many of the original board members I once knew or were familiar with are gone, some deceased. And that is a shame because THOSE were the people who helped make Harriton what it eventually became.
I received one comment from a regular reader about how they were confused by my post because I am generally speaking a huge advocate of historic preservation. To them I explained as I have to the rest of my readers, I get getting creative, but you have to be SMART about it. Reenactors lounging on the furniture isn’t smart. YES have reenactors in the house acting a part, or even giving tours but stay off the furniture. Do living history demonstrations in the education center. That is WHY there is one! And I was around when the money was raised to rejoin the parcels that were all oddly carved out of the Harriton property. I was among those who helped clear out the old stables building that became the education center. It had been inhabited by a very elderly lady who was a hoarder.
Then I received this other comment. From a woman in Troy, New York. Which was rather odd, so did someone send her? Here is what she said:
Here is what she said verbatim:
Museum professionals create education program collections that contain reproductions or common historical objects that are intended for hands on use in education programs. This is different than formally accessioned artifacts used for exhibition and research. The ED of Harrington House is a respected Museum professional. Laypeople like this blogger have not been trained in Museum practices and professional standards. Hands on programs like this one consistently are among the most popular types of Museum programs. This is well documented in numerous museum industry marketing studies. The blogger seems to have some kind of grudge going on
I replied to her:
Dear Starlyn,
I realize that you feel that I would have no concept of good practices. But not only do you not know who I might know nationally and internationally, you also do not know that I am actually fairly bright. And I researched this.
To have a grudge, I would have to know her, and she is not someone I choose to know. But I am very familiar with this property and have been since I was 12 years old.
Other things that have gone on here are people who are regular people like myself just being able to handle historical maps and documents without proper gloves on. That’s a fact not fiction.
Hands-on living history programs are fabulous. But that doesn’t include random reenactors lounging on antiques that in some cases could not be replaced, and they certainly can’t afford to repair them.
Common historical objects are fine to show demonstrations with. That is WHY Harriton House has an education center.
Now fly away back to whomever sent you. I mean you work in Troy, New York as a Director of Corporate, Government, and Foundation Relations for a small college, correct? And resigned your job at Hart Cluett Museum after a rather short duration?
TROY — The Hart Cluett Museum is looking for a new executive director after Starlyn D’Angelo resigned after leading the cultural institutional for 14 months, the museum board announced.
“We thank Star for stepping in during a difficult time for the museum during the pandemic, and for her many contributions leading the museum through reopening to the public,” Mark Shipley, president of the museum’s board of directors, said in a statement.
D’Angelo said she decided to leave the museum after her expectations for the executive director’s job and those of the board did not match. The position is considered to be a high-stress role with the executive director taking on the responsibilities for day-to-day management and fundraising to keep money flowing into the museum coffers. D’Angelo described the workload as untenable in the way the position is structured.
“This is an old story in the nonprofit world. I don’t believe nonprofits as a whole get a lot of support,” D’Angelo said Saturday….The Hart Cluett Museum received a boost when some of HBO’s “The Gilded Age” was filmed here. Troy served as the stand-in for late 19th century New York City where the series is set. The museum provided information and guidance to production designers who were seeking locations in Troy. The series returns to Troy in August to film for a second season.
It is indeed so difficult for smaller non-profits to survive. Especially after COVID. That is totally true. Just look at Van Cortlandt House where Harriton’s current Executive Director came from. It appears to have very limited hours now and they no longer have even a website. I checked today. They also have not done anything on their social media accounts since October, 2023. That’s sad. This place has been under the stewardship of The National Society of Colonial Dames in the State of New York through a license agreement with the City of New York since like 1896 or 1897. But the Colonial Dames are devoted to their sites, so hopefully this is just a setback?
Anyway, back to Harriton House. I won’t apologize for being curious and FYI the The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America takes care of some amazing historic properties, including in our region. They are caretakers of Stenton in Philadelphia which is truly magnificent. Stenton is truly worth visiting if you never have. As Stenton’s website will tell you, “Stenton is one of the earliest, best-preserved, and most authentic historic houses in Philadelphia.”
Here:
Stenton is one of the earliest, best-preserved, and most authentic historic houses in Philadelphia. Completed in 1730 as a country-seat, plantation house for James Logan – Secretary to William Penn; merchant, politician, justice, scientist, and scholar – Stenton was home to six generations of the Logan family, as well as a diverse community of servants and enslaved Africans, including Dinah, who lived and labored at Stenton for over 50 years. Furnished with 18th- and 19th-century Logan family objects, and remaining in little-altered condition, a visit to Stenton offers an unparalleled experience of early Pennsylvania.
The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania have worked to “preserve and maintain Stenton as an historic object lesson” since 1899. Today, Stenton administers the award winning History Hunters Youth Reporter Program, which serves over 3,500 underserved Philadelphia schoolchildren each year. Additionally, Stenton’s Colonial Revival Garden was the founding site for the Garden Club of America in 1913, and the site was honored as the winner of the Garden Club of America’s Founders Fund Award in June, 2015. Through tours, educational programs and special events, Stenton continues to transport visitors to the 18th Century.
Stenton has a rather famous landscape. It was as stated above, the founding site for the Garden Club of America in 1913. I am a gardener and garden lover so that is particularly cool for me. Stenton, like Harriton House was once a plantation. Stenton had like 300 acres or better originally. It was lesser acreage than Harriton which originally was something crazy close to 700 acres when William Penn bequeathed the estate to Rowland Ellis in the 1680’s. That is of course when it was called Bryn Mawr (“High Hill” in Welsh.) Then, Ellis sold the property in the early 18th century to Richard Harrison. Upon the transfer of the property and the land under new stewardship, it became Harriton. Just THINK about how far the land for the original land spread and how far into areas we know today, probably not all what we know today as Bryn Mawr either, maybe?
Harriton today, as in the property, is 13 acres according to Lower Merion Township. I think it is actually a little larger. The Harriton Association is responsible for caring for the house and I believe owns the tenant properties BUT Lower Merion Township owns the historic house and Harriton’s parkland.
I was around and volunteering as the old Harriton Association and mainly the former executive director, Bruce Cooper Gill, raised money and worked tirelessly to assemble the Harriton property we know today because although Lower Merion owned the historic house and park, it was the Bruce Cooper Gill and the then Harriton Association who acquired the three now tenant properties which was crucially important because it preserved Harriton and kept developers OUT. And even back a bunch of years THAT was a concern. (One would have thought they would have fêted Bruce properly before they shoved him out the door, right?)
So yeah, I was around for all of those properties being acquired, cleaned up, and so on and so forth. I even donated an old blanket chest that may have been in the 2007 acquisition at one time. Have no clue what happened to it, probably it was later sold at a fair because it has a tenant now.
I love Harriton. I don’t love what is happening and it is my right to say so. I think two years is long enough to see that the current executive director is not the right person although she has the educational background. Running a site like Harriton is more than doing historical costumes and reenactor dress up. The place used to be open with an executive director on site pretty much all of the time (the animals were under his care as well as the site.) Now it seems open Wednesday through Saturday and how many days is this woman actually there physically? The reviews on their Facebook page only have two recent reviews one in 2023 from LMTV which is Lower Merion’s TV station and they probably filmed there and the one in 2024 is a spammer advertising Bitcoin that I just reported as spam.
Obviously I hit a nerve somewhere given the uppity comment of Ms. I-Know-Better-Than-You-Ordinary-Person from Troy, New York. Good. Maybe it wakes some people up. Harriton House is quite literally a national treasure. Educational programs based on history are a great idea. So are historical reenactors…but USE THE EDUCATION CENTER for things, not the antiques in the house. For F’s sake that is WHY the education center was conceived of in the first place.
Harriton needs help. The obviously need money, and they need better direction. I will not say sorry that I think they need a different head of the board of the Harriton Association as well as a better executive director for this site. Harriton has looked sad the last few times I have done a drive by. It’s like even the garden clubs are gone. Lower Merion Township needs to wake up.
Thanks for stopping by on a snowy day.
Harriton House circa 2005 from Montgomery County’s property records listing.
First of all, I will observe that I do not think Historic Harriton House had a large visitor turnout for their “Harriton History Open House”. Mostly the only photos you see are adults playing dress up.
And about that dress up and ummm the fact that Harriton House is categorized as a Historic House Museum. One would HOPE that meant not playing house with precious antiques? Apparently not.
Look at the two photos immediately above. I do not even remember when I took above left. Please note photo on right which is a screenshot from a PUBLIC social media posted Sunday. If you zoom in on my photo (left), it says “DO NOT SIT”, nor are you supposed to monkey about with the petite antique side table. But photo on right, shows adults at the direction of Mrs. Puddle Duck the current executive disaster, err I mean director, frolicking on the antiques??? Are they even allowed to do that as far as their insurers are concerned?
But wait, there is more….
Below on left this time is a screenshot of a publicly posted social media photo posted Sunday as in yesterday. On the right is another one of years ago (I have taken hundreds of photos of Harriton and the fair, and notice the RED RIBBONS on the chairs? That means what class? Oh yes, DON’T SIT ON THE ANTIQUES IN THE HOUSE MUSEUM, correct? I mean can’t that person play their recorder or fife or whatever standing up?
Now then there is the kitchen. I was allowed to play with some dressed up kiddos circa 1976 or so, which although after 1973 when it went national, was an utterly different era. But today? Walter Staib uses the kitchen as a focal point in his PBS television A Taste of History series , but I bet he has some ultra bullet proof insurance to do so? But yesterday? It was dress up shlubs in the kitchen, so was there even special event insurance? Was Lower Merion Township ok with this after the executive disaster, err director’s first jam après the palace coup at Harriton replacing the man who literally made Harriton House what it became through 46 plus years of devotion, knowledge, and brutally hard work at times? As I heard it told there may have been a little fire in the colonial beehive oven because someone didn’t know how to use it and lumpy baking disasters? Below is a screenshot from January 2023 that shows the singed spot rather well doesn’t it? I mean I know that beehive door cover thingy had been rebuilt and was quite lovely before, right?
So yes, I did look up the National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form from 1973. This house is locally, state, and federally recognized. It’s also in a category of a historic house museum which mean randos playing reenactment dress up kind of should not be lounging on the furniture, nor should the furniture be moved around a great deal. That is only preservation common sense, isn’t it? And doesn’t the 2022 IRS Form 990 value the antiques at over $500K? Also they probably kind of like shouldn’t touch historical documents up in the office area on the second floor unless you are wearing those museum grade cotton protective gloves either, right?
I would send you to the Harriton House website, but it has been pending a make over as per their words since 2023. I mean how hard is it to launch a website these days? Not very, but hey what do I know, right? I mean if you can’t launch a new website in colonial garb, Benjamin Franklin might be rolling in his grave or something, perhaps? Gosh am I being sarcastic? Sorry…but not really. It’s just how I feel about WHY they still don’t seem to have an updated website that functions well.
So what does the executive disaster, err director actually do all day? Does she come to Harriton every day? Look, I get as the now not so new girl (well it has been two years) she wants to make her own mark “storming the castle”, and I have no problem with living history days but Harriton House is like a giant ball of antiques, some probably close to irreplaceable, so if she only used her brain for more than dress up opportunities?
I have been struggling with how I now feel about Harriton House since they shoved the former executive director out not so long after his wife died. He was planning on retiring, but it’s always felt like some on that Harriton Association board just knee capped him and we can have that opinion, right? I mean how many days was he given to clear out 46+ years?
Part of the issues Harriton House faces is it’s definitely hard to be a small non-profit in the current environment. But it also means that the board of the Harriton Association has to be more hands on, and they need a change in leadership. The person at the helm should step down. I am also allowed that opinion. They have created the air of insular. With the former executive director there was more interaction and co-mingling with other non-profits. That is necessary for survival. The financials at the end of 2022 according to the IRS Form 990 don’t paint a pretty picture. What will 2023 say? I saw losses from beginning of year to end of year, increased expenses and salaries and for what? Also not to be petty, but 2020 was COVID right? They had HIGHER contributions than 2022 and line item 22 wasn’t showing a loss at end of year, either….so let’s see that means what exactly? That they can’t blame COVID or the former executive director?
I think Harriton House is continuing to slide down. And that is truly heart breaking and a goddamn waste of so many decades of honest hard work. And playing dress up and play acting on the literal antiques of a historic house museum is just bullshit. Also have they found a suitable tenant for the rental property attached to the historic house yet? That has been empty since when? September, 2023? That’s a significant amount of time to lose rent on the best rental property they have isn’t it?
At the very bottom, I will show you photos of the Harriton House I love. Hopefully it finds it’s way back there. But it won’t happen with the current executive disaster, err director and it won’t happen if the current chair of the Harriton Association doesn’t have the grace to step aside for other leadership.
Have a great week ahead. Avoid historic preservation disasters like randos playing dress up and frolicking among the antiques etc.
I stumbled across this again doing some research and it is truly a wonderful history of the township. It is on West Whiteland’s website and you can download it to read. I have uploaded it here as well because I really think it’s good.
So I wrote about this yesterday, right? I didn’t originate the news about the National Park Service and William Penn in his Philadelphia pocket park at 2nd and Walnut off of Samson Walk. It was international news after a few hours yesterday which made me notice. William Penn being discussed by British newspapers will do that.
Well about half an hour ago I noticed an update on the NBC10 app and apparently the hair brained stupid idea, plan, or proposal is now revoked and of course the I-95 Superman known as Governor Josh Shapiro is taking credit for swooping in to save the day?
Groan….politics….
IMHO the people did this with instant public outrage, not the Governor who is using this as political capital to feather his own political nest. I mean Governor you are everywhere these days so what is it you are interested in? A US Senate Seat? A Presidential bid? Sorry not sorry something has to be cooking, right? So while he’s at it, how about those pipeline issues, Governor darling?
The National Park Service (NPS) has withdrawn the review of a renovation plan that included the removal of the statue of William Penn from the site of his former Philadelphia home.
The NPS asked for input on the future for the park, located near the intersection of 2nd and Walnut Streets off Sansom Walk in Philadelphia’s Old City neighborhood, and they certainly received it — at least online.
By 6:30 p.m. Monday night, the NPS said the public comment period was closed.
“The preliminary draft proposal, which was released prematurely and had not been subject to a complete internal agency review, is being retracted. No changes to the William Penn statue are planned,” the NPS said in a statement.
…In a statement on the plan, the NPS said the goal of the proposed renovations were intended to create “a more welcoming, accurate, and inclusive experience for visitors.”
After the proposal was withdrawn the NPS said:
“The National Park Service (NPS) remains committed to rehabilitating Welcome Park as the nation prepares to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026. Upon completion of all the necessary internal reviews, the park looks forward to engaging in a robust public process to consider options for refurbishing the park in the coming years.”
The park is located on the site of Penn’s former home, it is also named for the ship, Welcome, which transported Penn to Philadelphia.
The design and construction of Welcome Park was funded by the Independence Historical Trust and was completed in 1982, notes the NPS in the statement….The withdrawn proposal called for the William Penn statue and Slate Roof house model at the park to be removed and not reinstalled.
Yeah, Super Josh did all of this, right? Public outrage at the National Park Service’s latest bit of stupidity and political pandering and a complete disregard of the actual history of William Penn had nothing to do with it? The fact that it is a Presidential election year has nothing to do with it either ? (Somewhere Dana Carvey is reviving Church Lady and isn’t that special.)
PHILADELPHIA — Independence National Historical Park has withdrawn the review of a draft proposal to rehabilitate Welcome Park and closed the public comment period. The preliminary draft proposal, which was released prematurely and had not been subject to a complete internal agency review, is being retracted. No changes to the William Penn statue are planned.
The National Park Service (NPS) remains committed to rehabilitating Welcome Park as the nation prepares to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026. Upon completion of all the necessary internal reviews, the park looks forward to engaging in a robust public process to consider options for refurbishing the park in the coming years.
The park is located on the site of William Penn’s home, the Slate Roof House, and is named for the ship, Welcome, which transported Penn to Philadelphia. The design and construction of Welcome Park was funded by the Independence Historical Trust and was completed in 1982.
Updates on the project may be found on the park’s website at www.nps.gov/INDE.
Now let’s do remember that this park is barely a park and more of a rather dated 1980s concrete jungle masquerading as a park and has been since it was created . So making it more of a green space and honoring nature which is so part of Native American culture and history is not a bad plan, but William Penn and his slate house replica and his legacy should remain on the site that was his home in Philadelphia.
Also and once again people are in an uproar over William Penn because he owned slaves. At Pennsbury Manor. Quaker Charles Thomson, the most famous inhabitant of historic Harriton House in Bryn Mawr , Irish-born patriot leader in Philadelphia during the American Revolution and the secretary of the Continental Congress throughout its existence owned slaves before he freed them. Thomson prepared the Journals of the Continental Congress, and his and John Hancock’s names were the only two to appear on the first printing of the United States Declaration of Independence. He designed the Great Seal of the US too. So should he be removed from history too?
My point is some Philadelphia Quakers did own slaves and some known as “fighting Quakers” also fought in the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and even WWI and WWII. Those are historical facts.
Slavery is wrong in today’s world, it wasn’t wrong quite yet in that world many centuries ago. It is an inconvenient truth yet part of the history that made this country. You can’t cancel all of our founding fathers and US history, nor should you. It was a different time. People and culture was different. Society was different. I say that as someone who has the genealogy of discriminated against people in my DNA. And there are plenty of people also descended from indentured servants as well as slaves.
Again, our history is our history. Covering it up and/or removing it means we could be doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past. Being open to all segments of history gives us the opportunity to learn so yes that should include Native American and history of other indigenous peoples (like the Inuit tribes) and slavery and black history along with everything else. They are all pieces of the crazy quilt of American history.
We can’t pretend bad things didn’t happen and we shouldn’t. But history doesn’t exist for the convenient bits, it exists for ALL of it, including William Penn.
Face it before there was George Washington, or Thomas Jefferson, or John Adams or Paul Revere or Betsy Ross or Prince Hall or Louis Glapion or George Middleton or Absalom Jones or Richard Allen, there was William Penn.
History has a place in our lives. We live in Pennsylvania. We fight to see pieces of land that were William Penn land grants saved, we need to save him too. There would be no Pennsylvania without William Penn.
Our history and our identity as a country, and as a region, is tied directly to William Penn. He came here with people to settle in Pennsylvania the state that was named for him to escape religious and other persecution.
So here we are a few centuries later and it’s like we’re right back where we started.
To remove him from anything is egregious. And YES I get that the Daily Mail and other sources are perhaps being alarmist, but this is my opinion on the matter because I truly believe that this could indeed happen.
Why can’t different parts of history co-exist? Why does some history have to be suppressed in favor of other pieces of history?
And before some of you jump all over me for daring to have an opinion on this, my thought process is simple: if we deny or repress history (which is not always pretty), we are doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past.
And to remove William Penn when he had historically good relationships with Native Americans makes no sense. To me it runs contrary to the history of William Penn completely. If he could co-exist peacefully with Native Americans hundreds of years ago why does he have to not as a part of history not be able to co-exist with Native American history on this historic site?
History is good, history is bad, history is history. We can’t just keep replacing history. It all needs to be there for us. It’s how we grow as human beings and Americans. Oh and I am saying this as a woman, a Democrat, a Pennsylvanian, a Philadelphian.
By Stephen M. Lepore For Dailymail.Com00:11 08 Jan 2024, updated 00:44 08 Jan 2024
The Biden administration’s National Park Service is starting a ‘rehabilitation’ process for a Pennsylvania park that incudes the removal of a statue of founder William Penn and inclusion of representation of Native American tribes.
The Deb Haaland-led parks service sent out the request for input on the changes to Welcome Park Friday on their website and in a post on X.
Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania in 1681, was notorious for his amicable relations with the Native tribes of the region. The park was established 300 years later.
The park itself is named after the ship Penn sailed to America and includes a museum dedicated to celebrating the life and contributions of William Penn.
However, the parks service says it wants to ‘provide a more welcoming, accurate, and inclusive experience for visitors.’
The National Park Service (NPS) has announced it will be rehabilitating (via reduction) Pennsylvania founder William Penn’s Welcome Park to “provide a more welcoming, accurate, and inclusive experience.” Named after the ship that bore Penn to that city of fraternal affection, the park is the site of his former Philadelphia home and the Slate Roof House. As part of this reimagining of Welcome Park, the park service has confirmed that “the Penn statue and Slate Roof house model will be removed and not installed.”
Needless to say, this is all very stupid.
Two things:
One, it’s true that Welcome Park is monumentally ugly — if no one said it, I will. It’s a slab of stonework (composing a street plan for Philadelphia) with the approximate footprint of a Division III high-school gymnasium in the middle of a city block. The spot could use a rethink to maximize the importance of a location that held the Slate Roof House, an abode in which the Quaker William Penn wrote his charter, a document that would see many of its tenets replicated in the U.S. Constitution. The location also hosted members of the Continental Congress, including John Hancock and John Adams.
Two, just because something might be in need of reinterpretation does not mean that progressive revisionists get carte blanche to “inclusify” benches and fire hydrants with Howard Zinnian signage while deleting the only two items of note — the Penn statue and the model house. Why not rebuild the Slate Roof House and keep the statue in its front entry? Or make a model ship and house, something interactive for kids to mess while maybe even learning something?
You remember for years if you’ve been following my blog that I was concerned about what we know as Indian Run Farm or Ashbridge house in Exton. It literally sat shrink, wrapped in plastic for years.
I was honestly afraid it’s not so long that it would never be restored. I’m pleased to say it has been. It’s more of a modern interpretation than the old farmhouse at once was inside but it’s still has its pieces of the past and I think it works. I still do not like the new development that was built around it because that’s not my jam and there’s too much of that Cran plant stuff everywhere but I think the old gal doesn’t look bad now and here are some interior pictures a friend of mine took:
Below, this are the posts I wrote over the years about this place, because I really was afraid it was going to either rot or get torn down. I will admit, I am beyond pleasantly surprised, and I’m very happy I just wish they were less townhouse apartment things around it.
She’s almost ready for prime time. The Jenny Lind in Historic Yellow Springs has been reborn. And she is magnificent.
The Jenny Lind is now the Life’s Patina Merchantile & Cafe located at 1657 Art School Road in Chester Springs, PA. Meg Veno has outdone herself.
The Jenny Lind is restored and transformed. It’s one of the most beautiful adaptive reuses I have seen in years. My other favorite as you all probably know is Loch Aerie mansion in Frazer. And I think it’s marvelous to have both of these lovely places in Chester County!
This was such an amazing experience yesterday that I am still super happy about it the next day!
The attention to detail is something you don’t see every day, and it makes this all the more special. This is quite literally everything you want to see in a restoration and an adaptive reuse, and I sure hope that Historic Yellow Springs Village and West Pikeland Township have deep appreciation of the fact that Meg Veno stuck with this, and is now bringing everyone this gem to enjoy.
This has been a very long and winding road because this was a very intense restoration. And Meg and her team are perfectionists. This is one of those places that you walk into and just stop and marvel. No corners have been cut. The materials and the skill of the craftsman who put the Jenny Lind back together are undeniable.
This is an amazing restoration, and I hope someone gives them an award like Chester County for example. Chester County should be counting their lucky stars that there are people out there that still want to do restorations instead of demolitions. I will go further and challenge every township official in the region and developers who want to tear down historic things and build plastic mushroom housing developments and apartment buildings to go visit this place once it’s open full-time and see the possibilities of just doing the right thing.
You walk in and you feel at home. The beauty of the place envelops you softly and then you get to the café. The chef of the café has an incredibly deft hand with pastry and everything she touches. I have not met her. I look forward to meeting her because the food is terrific. My husband said the mushroom soup was one of the top three best he’s ever had. Because we were there for brunch I had this little bacon, egg and cheese sandwich on a biscuit which was so light and flaky, it melted in your mouth. there are also these salads that are off the hook good and don’t get me started on the actual pastries and sweets. Wonderful tea and coffee. The café is a place where you don’t want to rush. You want to savor your meal and linger.
And then you wander into the Mercantile. The Mercantile is full of all sorts of wonderful things, old and new. The best thing it’s not only the way it looks, but the fact that everything for sale has been chosen with care and it flows together. You don’t walk into this store and wonder why something is there, you walk into the Mercantile and wonder how you can use that in your own home.
One of the other best things about this restoration is it fits. When it was the Yellow Springs Inn, the food was great but the gorgeous interior of this building was hidden by too much Victorian everything. And I am saying that as someone who did really enjoy that restaurant at one time. But this metamorphosis is so remarkable and beautiful and just stunning. This restoration has made me love this building even more. And this restoration will show everyone the possibilities of what you can do with the gorgeous old buildings that are scattered throughout Chester County that need love.
It was a few years ago now that I was at one of Meg Veno’s barn sales at Life’s Patina in Malvern and she said she was looking for another project. I was standing there with my friend and I turned to her and I asked if she had ever thought of Yellow Springs Village because the Jenny Lind house was at that time in foreclosure. And now look at the Jenny Lind. I believe the Merchantile and Café will be open soon for visitors full time, but if you’re going near the village, I hope you at least drive past until she is open full-time to see what a beautiful restoration it is.
This whole project is not only a testament to historic preservation, it is a testament to loving what you do. And above all else, you know why this place will be a success? Because it has a heart.
Brava, Meg Veno, brava.
I also want to note because I think it’s important, that those of us who attended yesterday paid for our meals, we were not given anything in exchange for our thoughts on the soft opening. I would like to say we are the right kind of “influencers” as we are the kind who are actual customers and will returngladly with friends and family.
