Tag Archives: history at risk

east whiteland have you been over to flat road lately?

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Reader submitted photo

3:30 PM UPDATE: From the chair of the East Whiteland Supervisors Scott Lambert (who like many others is having a hard time posting to Facebook today):

📌The original requirement of the builder was to renovate portions of the wall that had fallen in disrepair and remove a few trees that could endanger the wall in the future. However,with the wall now
leaning badly and in danger of collapse, the builder agreed to rework the wall and replace broken sections to return it to original condition. As with the initial work review the descendants of people buried in the cemetery were consulted as was our engineer and historical commission representation. An agreement with the contractor concerning the scope of the work was also executed.📌

EARLIER:

There is a historic cemetery on Flat Road. It seems to be in peril. East Whiteland Township approved a development plan there and wasn’t one of the things supposed to be that this cemetery (which I believe is Amish) would be protected?

Social Media post that appeared with photos

I don’t have the answers. And someone said well maybe they’re doing work on it. And this doesn’t look like work to me this looks like a wall collapse. A lot of these walls do collapse and I saw one not that long ago at a church in Upper Uwchlan and then they rebuilt the wall. When they rebuilt the wall then you could see they were telling people to stay away from it and using caution tape until it was set.

Reader submitted photo

The other thing to consider is a development is being built next door and vibrations from heavy equipment can affect old structures and that includes walls and headstones etc. doesn’t it?

Reader submitted photo

I don’t have the answers, but I do know that East Whiteland needs to go look at this. This is literally a historic site, and it matters. #thisplacematters

Reader submitted photo

Walls fall down. But this is a historic site. So again, something needs to be done sooner rather than later. This is a sacred place. And our historic sites should be as respected as much by municipalities as the developments they constantly approve.

Stay cool it’s so darn hot out there.

Reader submitted photo

PS: I am adding more photos here at the bottom that were just sent to me by concerned residents!

Reader submitted photos

history at risk? west whiteland?

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This came into my blog’s Facebook page a little while ago.  I thought I should share:

West Whiteland has NO agenda posted , but the meeting is at 7 PM (website says it starts at 6:30 PM )  at the Township Building Main Meeting Room 101 Commerce Drive Exton PA.

I would love to know WHY this is being considered, and I will definitely think less of Malvern Federal Savings Bank if this is true….

OH and I forgot to mention that…. it’s historic! Stone addition to the log house was built in 1771 then enlarged in 1810. For more information: http://history.kivlin.net/items/show/1219

Malvern Federal Savings and Loan PA Historic Resource Survey Form

As per West Whiteland:

This is a prominent township landmark which used to be on a small tenant farm of 23 acres. The core was built c. 1810. It was the office and residence of Dr. Andrew Wills (c. 1829) and Dr. David D. King (c. 1842). It housed the headquarters of West Whiteland Silica Company (1905-1910). It was adapted for commercial use as a bank in 1964 and renovated in 2000.

In other words, this structure is a historic asset?

I have been asked how to contact Malvern Federal Savings:

Exton PA office:  (610) 363-1700

Malvern PA office: (610) 647-7944

Here is their Investor Relations PAGE

(Please note how they toot their own community horn HERE)

As per their website, here are the big fish should you wish to contact any of them (please be polite):

Board / Senior Management / Officers

Board of Directors Malvern Federal Savings Bank

  • Howard Kent – Chairman
  • Therese H. Woodman – Vice Chairman
  • George E. Steinmetz
  • Stephen Scartozzi
  • Anthony C. Weagley
  • Cynthia Felzer Leitzell
  • Norman Feinstein
  • Andrew Fish

Officers of Malvern Federal Savings Bank

  • Anthony C. Weagley – President & Chief Executive Officer

  • Joseph Gangemi – SVP and Chief Financial Officer

  • William Boylan – EVP and Chief Lending Officer

  • Alex Opiela – SVP and Chief Operations Officer

  • William Woolworth – SVP and Chief Risk Officer

  • Stacy Valent – SVP and Chief Credit Officer

  • Rose Emrick – Chief of Staff & Director of HR

  • Contact Form

UPDATE from meeting messaged to me:

the federal government is letting the kennedy-supplee mansion ROT

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In case you’ve ever wondered why we can’t trust local government to protect historic assets or structures that should be historically protected  (like Loch Aerie and Linden Hall in East Whiteland Township, Chester County) look no further than the glorious example set by the Federal Government.

Witness demolition by neglect of the Kennedy-Supplee Mansion on the edge of Valley Forge Park as seen from Route 422.

  Yes, our government at work. This mansion is owned by the National Park Service. Apparently they are looking for a tenant:

National Park Service (NPS) at Valley Forge National Historical Park is accepting responses to the Kennedy Supplee Mansion Request for Proposals (RFP) until a responsive proposal is received or the RFP is cancelled. Please refer to the RFP for more information.
Site tours are now available. Please contact Patrick (Pat) Madden at pat_madden@nps.gov for more information.

How about that? Have they taken a good look at the mansion lately?

It is simply shocking.

The Daily Local had an article about the renting out of historic properties in Valley Forge in 2015.

  This mansion was once in the tiny town of Port Kennedy which was pretty much swallowed by Route 422. It has Route 23 on the other side. 

The Italianate style 19th century mansion was last used as a restaurant until they went belly up. Since then it has sat and rotted. It has it’s own Wikipedia page.

It is part of that same HABS study it seems that also wrote up Loch Aerie.

Summary from the Historic American Buildings Survey is found on the Wikepedia Page. It is very interesting.

But the moral of this story remains if our own Federal Government doesn’t maintain the historic structures or assets they own, how on earth can we ever be confident in historic preservation on a local and state level?

It’s just so damn pathetic.

#thisplacematters too.

Thanks for stopping by on spring snow Saturday.