Chadds Ford, PA is actually Delaware County, PA but to me has always felt more Chesco than Delco. Chadds Ford has beautiful twisty roads, some gems of homes and estates, and used to be quite understated. I say used to be, because like every other slice of heaven between Devon and Wilmington….there is development.
Anyway in April, 2024 an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer by a reporter whom I respect and follow caught my eye:
So it looks like Smithbridge Partners (or maybe their lawyers since do we think the owners will go to court?) has put off their court date until after their zoning hearing board hearing event which looks like October 22? Now zoning hearing was put off from September, correct? When I last looked they were supposed to go to court this week on the fine stuff, and now the dockets read November?
And what is it to be at zoning October 22nd? If it reads like September 4th which was postponed it will be “1465 Smithbridge Road – Appeal of Zoning Code Enforcement/Variance to operate B & B”?
So are the owners going to be ON PREMISES to run a B&B AKA Bed and Breakfast Inn? It’s kind of 24/7/365 as I have known people who have operated B&Bs and one who still does? As a matter of fact, one person I know operates a B&B in PA and has a separate Air BnB in another state which is professionally run by a real estate company with strict rules.
So how come that Air BnB became such a mess? Did the property owners think neighbors would just give up their personal reasonable expectations of quiet enjoyment for the profit of others? I mean if there is the money to do things right, why not do just that?
So would you want to be known as the people who purchased part of a former Du Pont property and then was all over media for this? Supposedly, these folks own about 400 acres of land in Chadds Ford between Smithbridge and Ridge Roads? Below is what I found on various properties under or affiliated with this entity:
Now with regard to the Air BnB at 1465 Smithbridge Road I have to ask, what is currently going on? Is it now empty or is it still being rented out as an Air BnB? Another wrinkle is a conservation easement on the property perhaps? It is (and already was when they bought it) under conservation easement with Brandywine Conservancy, correct? The easement states, “No industrial or commercial activities shall be conducted or permitted on the Property, with the exception of agricultural and livestock activities.” The conservation easement is copied below.
How is either an Air BnB or a B&B not a commercial activity? What does the esteemed Brandywine Conservancy say about this? And if there is an easement, can you use the easement as in is there a trail? if so, is it maintained and by whom? I ask not because I know anything suspect, I ask because we have all heard of properties out here with conservation easements and I am guessing someone does maintenance so they can be used the way they are supposed to be used, right?
So the Air BnB of it all got a cease and desist letter in 2023:
So what is the end game with the thing going to zoning later this month about being a Bed and Breakfast? Is this just to wiggle a door back to Air BnB? And given the other properties they own are any of them regular rentals? If so why can’t 1465 Smithbridge just be that? Or don’t they have any relatives who could live there and just let it be a normal property in a beautiful area with a conservation easement? And again where is the Brandywine Conservancy on this?
Now I asked around to those who know more than I and they came back with a famous court case that seems similar. There’s is interesting and relevant legal precedent for this case. The “Slice of Life” case was heard by the PA Supreme Court in December of 2018.
In its opinion, the Court concluded that even though the applicable zoning ordinance did not specifically prohibit the short-term rental of residential homes, such use was nonetheless prohibited. The Court stated that prohibited uses of real property do not have to be expressly excluded on a zoning ordinance.
The critical inquiry for the PA Supreme Court was the interpretation of the term “single housekeeping unit.” Past court decisions in PA have consistently applied this functional standard in its analysis to cases with similar facts. For example, courts have allowed the use of a residential home by a homeowner to provide lodging, meals, and care to physically and mentally disabled persons in their home. Conversely, courts have determined, under the same standard, that a residential home is not allowed to be used as a half-way house or a group home for foster children. These decisions turned on the fact that the average stay at a halfway house (2-6 months) and at a group home was too short to be compatible with the single-family concept.
Now the Slice of Life of it all came up again in a New York Times article this past spring about a community in the Poconos. I have been to one of the fancier of the cabins/lake of it all communities up there years ago now. It was beautiful and closely held to keep out short term rental issues. It was so beautiful and natural. It was a delight. And tiny Medford Lakes, NJ has legislated against Air BnB type short term rentals in their community to preserve it’s character.
Air BnB rentals have created controversy in all sorts of communities in Southeastern PA, and in Chester County I can think of West Vincent and Willistown and West Chester Borough. I still do not know who is on first where.
Now one of the other properties these Smithbridge People own is of interest to me. And octagonal house.
Has anyone been by this lately? What’s the current condition? Now that could make a great long term cottage rental couldn’t it?
I don’t really have much else to say on the topic. I definitely don’t have a horse in the race, except I have to say while I would not mind a traditional actual owner operated Bed and Breakfast Inn in my neighborhood, I can say the big old no to the Air BnB of it all.
This is still a situation to watch. I will be curious what happens to 1465 Smithbridge and the cool little octagonal house.
So when the Philadelphia Business Journal articles came out about Scott and Lynne Mason and Rubicon Wealth Management and Orchard Park Real Estate Holding LLC, one of the first things I did was go to the Rubicon website to see what they were about. https://www.rubiconwealth.com/ was the website and when I plunked it into Google I came up empty:
So I think the Rubicon phone number is the same from when they were in Bala Cynwyd, before Blue Bell, and it is just ported as a VoIP number. Who knows if there is still an actual office? 980 Jolly Road in Blue Bell is an office complex- think this is the website: https://www.980jollyroad.com/
Anyway, I was getting stuck trying to figure out where the cache of the Rubicon Wealth Management website was. I figured it had to be somewhere, it’s the Internet, right? So I asked a techie friend what the name of the website was that captures these old things if they are entered. They texted me back “Internet Archive : Wayback Machine.”
So where to begin? Before I get to the website, allow me to start with one of their little website video snippets, geared towards women. As a woman, considering the accusations, this is particularly despicable. A lot of women of a certain age, are not necessarily investment savvy, and can be too trusting.
And that led me to the info on the former Chief Compliance Officer who left a while back I guess. He was the Compliance Officer before Scott Jeffrey Mason donned the cape of regulation, which is truthfully kind of dumb because where is the separation of church and state?
So people were asking who was on the Rubicon website. Well here are your screenshots:
So Malvern Capital Management who was in the Inquirer article is literally right in Malvern. Here is a link to their website. They are also potential victims, aren’t they? Like what about the people related to Scott and Lynne Mason? You know when you have “family” in the financial business, it’s common that they manage their family members’ assets as well, isn’t it? Or you do business with neighbors, friends, the folks you met at a civic association meeting, it’s all good over a round or two of golf, a cocktail party, etc? What will the fallout be exactly? This is actually a tragedy that will possibly have several acts, right?
This whole thing takes your breath away. I can still find nothing at all on the Orchard Park Real Estate Holdings LLC except the LLC basics on the Commonwealth of PA website.
Well that’s all I’ve got but I hear the 19035 is all abuzz. Also, so we are clear: I am not following this for the salaciousness alone, I think this is wrong. People entrust their life savings to people and they expect honesty and a moral compass, right? I realize the cases here are just beginning but remember, the Philadelphia Business Journal articles and the Philadelphia Inquirer article both mentioned that “clients have been in contact with FBI and SEC investigators who are seeking information about Rubicon”, he said” to directly quote Joseph DiStefano’s Inquirer article.
I will be honest and say out loud that this is so sad what the Main Line has become. And the Nouveau Main Line is ripe for these issues because these people move there now because it’s an exclusive-ish suburbia in Lower Merion Township and no one knows the history at all. And a perennial problem? People from one side of the river quite literally in Montgomery County never pay attention to the other side of the river. It’s like when I was growing up, the Main Line crowd and the Chestnut Hill crowd didn’t mingle, and neither of them mingled much with Ambler, Abington, Dresher, Jenkintown, Huntingdon Valley, Bucks County, etc.
The First Amendment as always allows me my opinions.
So I used to hit up Autograph Brasserie once in a while with my friends to have lunch in Wayne. It’s a pretty place, and if you’re visiting the shops where the restaurant is located, it’s one of the local options. I really liked this place for lunch, I have always been less enthusiastic about it for dinner. Mostly it’s the bored poseur factor and at lunch all customers seem treated more equally than dinner. I also don’t care about specialty cocktails, I am the occasional glass of wine. They did have decent mocktails last time I was there for lunch, however.
But it’s not a bad restaurant. I don’t want anyone to think that.
However, after seeing this on Instagram, I have to tell you they sound a little desperate.
I mean, honestly, why does this restaurant need a legend in his own mind to promote them? Is business that off?
No one much has commented on it save you know who and people who wonder WHY they are doing this (screenshots all below,)
Like I said, I don’t get it and what do they get out of this? This guy is not a native Main Liner from a known family with history, right? This guy isn’t actually famous, right? And is he actually an “influencer?” He’s a dude who self-brands as a public figure on social media but heck a house plant or pet could be one too, right?
So Autograph how is he compensated? Sorry not sorry but normal patrons, even occasional patrons like myself, are turned off by this. Ick factor and all. Now it actually doesn’t matter if I patronize them or not, but they should care enough that people question this whole set up, right?
I can spend $45 better than this. So dumb. Sign me not interested in buying the emperor new clothes.
This post is bought to you by the First Amendment and public social media posts.
Well it really and truly IS a bring the popcorn week in Chester County, PA. Yesterday a friend texted me and said they just saw a teaser on 6 ABC about am interior design firm in East Whiteland. I though to myself, “could it be?” and sure enough it was! M. Kaplan Interiors right on Lancaster Ave in Frazer. They call it Malvern, but it’s Frazer.
MALVERN, Pennsylvania (WPVI) — Criminal charges have been filed against the owner of an interior design and furniture company on the Main Line.
This comes after an Action News Troubleshooters investigation led by our Nydia Han who talked to consumers and East Whiteland Township police.
The Troubleshooters began investigating after multiple consumers reached out to us about M. Kaplan Interiors, a husband and wife team with a storefront on Lancaster Avenue in Malvern, Chester County.
On Thursday, Matt Kaplan was charged with crimes that include theft by deception as well as fraudulent business practices, and a warrant was issued for his arrest….The criminal complaint filed Thursday is on behalf of Kerr and three other customers whose allegations are very similar.
The East Whiteland Township police detective wrote in the arrest warrant, “Matthew Kaplan knew he was unable to honor the sales agreements he entered into with the above four victims yet he took their money.”
Remember it is best to pay for big purchases with a credit card and not to pay in full, upfront.
I went in there ONCE. It was to look for a sofa for our then new house. The woman inside was rude. I left. I found an antique sofa at then Resellers which I liked better and they were nice enough to do a local delivery. I found out later that was wife of husband and wife who run the joint. I reupholstered the sofa and it sits in my living room today.
I am not an interior designer or interior design showroom person by nature. Occasionally I have visited these places over the years, but except for Sheffield right in Malvern Borough, I have never found the people who work in these places well particularly friendly. Friendly at furniture stores, but showrooms? Meh.
A couple of years ago, a friend had a bad experience. She had to persist and persist and finally visit with her spouse to get a refund. Other friends had similar tales of no credit cards, only cash or check and husband was pleasant, wife who is the “designer” not so much.
I had actually wondered if they were actually still open recently. Every time I drove by there were no cars except for the occasional car parked crookedly that I figured belonged to an employee or owner.
I went and perused reviews today:
I also perused court dockets. It makes you wonder how they have stayed open so long? Here is the current docket mentioned on the news:
Thursday was also a bad day for Matt Kaplan, owner of M. Kaplan Interiors, a furniture store and interior design company in Malvern. The 15-second version is that the store took thousands of dollars from customers for pricey furniture that never materialized. According to 6ABC investigative reporter Nydia Han, Kaplan claims he didn’t do anything wrong and blamed the whole thing on supply chain issues. The Chester County District Attorney’s office would seem to disagree, since the office charged Kaplan on Thursday with 16 felony counts of theft, receiving stolen property, and deceptive business practices.
Oh, I also think they go by a second business name or it is related somehow? See screen shots below.
If you are someone who had unpleasant dealings with this company and they owe you goods/services/money, please contact East Whiteland Township Police Department. Email is pdoyle@eastwhitelandpd.org or call 610-897-4262. This is an active criminal investigation.
Happy Days Farm was once home to the Supplee Family in modern times (I think from some point in the 1940s.) Mildred and Warren Supplee were well-loved by their community and were married for 75 years.
Happy Days Farm is STILL actively farmed by tenant farmers who are WONDERFUL people.
Just now I learned Happy Days Farms is under contract to a developer? And that means that if they don’t buy it for some reason there are undoubtedly other developers right behind them, correct?
The property near the Downingtown Interchange of the Pennsylvania Turnpike was put up for sale by Vanguard in March after the investment giant kept it for two decades as a possible expansion site.
Thanks to its excellent location that can attract traffic from a large demographic area, the property was expected to receive significant interest from developers.
For the love of all that’s holy, IT IS STILL A WORKING FARM!
Audubon Land Development Corporation is a family owned and operated business with over 50 years of development, building and management experience. Audubon Land affiliates have built over 3,000 homes in eastern Pennsylvania, as well as many commercial facilities including apartment complexes, the Audubon Square Shopping Center, The Hilton Homewood Suites in Audubon, the 422 Business Center, The Hilton Garden Inn at Oaks, the Marketplace at Oaks, including Target, Lowe’s and Regal Cinemas and the Greater Philadelphia Expo in Oaks. Audubon also has under development, the 2,500 unit Shannondell Retirement Community, with 1,000 units completed.
Oaks. That hideous complex that always seems dirty? The Philadelphia Expo Center? Have you been there? It’s part of the long stretch of 422 development hell, isn’t it?
I have no issue with Shannondell as their rehab center does a lot of good but don’t we already have a lot of warehouses for seniors out here? And let’s be honest, is a place like Shannondell affordable for your average senior citizen?
Maybe a lot of you aren’t familiar with the whole other side of Montgomery County that is Audubon and Oaks and up Egypt Road and 422? I actually am because our son went to a charter school that pulls from these areas and a lot of friends lived over in this direction.
If you think King of Prussia is bad you have not seen anything until you’ve experienced this area. When you travel along places like Egypt Road and other areas back here in Audubon and Oaks you see strip mall after strip mall and development after development and in between you have these tiny pockets of humanity trying to survive in the midst of it.
This area actually reminds me of King of Prussia as the mall grew. And I say that because I am just old enough to remember when you were along 202 near the King of Prussia Mall years ago, there were still these cute little houses along 202 that people lived in.…until they gave up.
Also a few months ago, it took some digging but I did indeed find a 1998 PA Historic Resouces Survey Form. You canclick HEREand I am uploading it here: H067961_67867_D. It’s fascinating and what did this survey lead me to? Oh yes, another Penn Land Grant and possibly part of Native American Hunting Grounds:
The origins of Happy Days Farm can be traced to two early land grants from William Penn, Proprietor of the Province of Pennsylvania. One tract of 1,000 acres was granted to James Claypoole in 1682. James Claypoole was an English investor who purchased several land grants in Pennsylvania, but never lived there. The other tract of 1,666 2/3 acres was granted to David Lloyd in 1703. David Lloyd was a land investor who owned a considerable portion of what became Uwchlan Township in 1712. In 1713, the heirs of James Claypoole sold 800 acres in Uwchlan to David Lloyd. In 1714, Lloyd sold to Joseph Phipps an 800 acre plantation that included parts of the two Penn grants.
The description on the 1714 deed of a “messuage, tenement plantation tract” indicates that there was already an established farm and dwelling house. Joseph Phipps was among the early Quaker settlers who requested the formation of their own meeting in Uwchlan Township in 1712. At the time, most of these Quakers were living on land owned by David Lloyd, so Joseph Phipps was probably living on the land he later purchased. Between 1712 and 1715, most of David Lloyd’s holdings in Uwchlan Township were deeded to early residents such as Phipps. The first tax records for Uwchlan Township occurred in 1715. Joseph Phipps was one of eighteen names recorded on that list and one of the greatest landowners. 280 years later, descendants of Joseph continue to live in Uwchlan Township.….For much of the eighteenth century, the Phipps family prospered. As Joseph’s children grew and married several houses were built on the family lands. Some farmland was divided, but the “home farm” and approximately 400 acres remained intact through the nineteenth century. The nineteenth century witnessed the growth of a new agricultural industry – the dairy farm. Chester County became known for its dairy farms. By the 1880’s, 85 individually owned dairy farms prospered in Uwchlan Township. The Phipps families owned several.
Happy Days Farm is the only farm property that remained in the Phipps family for more than two centuries. Members of the Phipps family were active in several area churches including Uwchlan Society of Friends and Windsor Baptist Church. Phipps participated in the organizing and prosperity of the Uwchlan Grange. Residents of this early farm accomplished their goals. They may not have been famous, but they were excellent examples of nineteenth century Pennsylvania farmers.

This is Uwchlan Township for Happy Days Farm, I believe. But what happens here doesn’t just affect the tenant farmers and the residents of Uwchlan Township, it affects all of us in Chester County.
It’s like we don’t matter anymore. Existing residents don’t matter anymore. It’s just all about the crazy race for development.
Like Lloyd Farm in Caln, Happy Days is part of an original Penn Land Grant, correct?
Why doesn’t that mean something anymore?
Chester County wasn’t founded for fields of Tyvek boxes and strip malls and apartment buildings.
And look at the stresses on our infrastructure now. And someone else said to me recently that people talk about the stresses on the roads and the first responders and the school districts but they don’t talk about things like the stress on the hospitals. They said:
….the strain is here and growing. I work in an ER and this week we have gone on pre-divert and divert status 3x. The hospital is full and people are being admitted but have to stay in the ER since we have no beds upstairs….several patients ask …why the wait is so long and I discuss with them the issue of the exponential population growth due to poor planning of high density housing all around the area. When I start listing the neighborhoods then they suddenly understand why we are facing a crisis.
Again, also look at the school districts. Isn’t Great Valley looking to expand and build more schools? And what of Downingtown School District? Isn’t there a whisper of eminent domain floating around as they also need land to expand and build more schools? And hasn’t the West Chester Area School District got plans in place for yet another elementary school over near or in that Greystone development? And what about Tredyffrin? How long before they need more schools or need to expand?
Chester County, now more than ever, the agricultural and equine heritage and open space HAS to matter! Residents have to matter! The future has to matter!
We are literally in the midst of a development glut, right? So what happens when this developmental gold rush is over?
No one ever talks about that. I do not believe it is everyone will settle in and get along nicely. I think we are setting ourselves up as communities for decades of problems going forward because there is no balance or sane pace to development.
And this is why I don’t like development. And why I am not a fan of organizations like the Chester County Planning Commission and their Landscapes plans. In my humble opinion, which I am allowed, this “build it and they will come” attitude is problematic. What happens when all of “they” come? It looks pretty on schematics and diagrams and plans to be shown at municipal meetings, but what is the reality? My opinion is in reality we’re not going to be able to handle it because we can’t handle it now and how is that progress?
I don’t know what else to say other than if we can’t stop the madness, we need to stem the tide. This is getting crazy. And happy days farm just makes me sad. Especially because it is still a working farm and farmers matter.
I’m getting off my soapbox now. I really didn’t intend for this to be such a long post and there’s nothing I can do personally to stop this from happening but I can express how I feel about it. At least the First Amendment still gives me that right.
To Happy Days Farm and the generations and families who have farmed you, including the current family, I say my heart broke a little more over this news. I am so terribly sorry that as human beings we can’t do better to preserve what our founding fathers fought and bled for out here.
You know me, I love my old farms. I am obsessed with old barns. For years, I have passed by this farm sitting all marooned by modern times with Route 100 to the front and the Pennsylvania Turnpike to its left side when you are looking from Route 100. I found out today this property is Happy Days Farm and it is in Uwchlan Township.
At present this farm is STILL being farmedby tenants which is why I had no idea until yesterday that Vanguard even owned the land because I did not live in Chester County back when this all started.
I feel I need to mention that I know 100% for a fact that active farming is still going on because I fear as soon as I post this ifI DO NOTmention Happy Days Farm is still actively farmed, they will get trespassers.DO NOT JUST VISIT THIS FARM RANDOMLY, OK? TRESPASSING HERE MEANS A VISIT FROM THE POLICE, CAPISCE?
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The Philadelphia Business Journal and Vista Todaydid not mention there was still active farming going on, so I kind of feel I have to, that I must point out THE FARM IS STILL IN USE. And it is because of these publications I am writing this post because I was alarmed at the news they imparted to all of us recently about Happy Days Farm potentially literally coming to an end.
THIS IS A FARM! A STILL WORKING FARM EVEN WITH TENANT FARMERS! WE NEED OUR FARMS IN CHESTER COUNTY NOT MORE BLOODY DEVELOPMENT AND DEVELOPERS, RIGHT?!
Happy Days Farm was once home to the Supplee Family in modern times (I think from some point in the 1940s.) Mildred and Warren Supplee were well-loved by their community and were married for 75 years:
Mildred M. Supplee of Freedom Village Mildred M. Supplee, presently of Freedom Village, West Brandywine and formerly of Lionville and Upper Uwchlan Township, passed away in the presence of her children and loved ones on Saturday, July 27, 2013.
She was 100, having celebrated her birthday on April 15. Born in Chester Springs, she was the daughter and oldest child of H. Raymond and Mary Vail McBride. She lived her entire life in central Chester County, having lived in Chester Springs until the age of five when she moved with her family to Byers and lived there until her marriage. She attended the one-room Windsor School in Upper Uwchlan Township for eight years and then West Chester High School, graduating in 1931. She studied nursing at Chester County Hospital, and after her family was raised she was charge nurse at the former Huffman Nursing Home in Whitford.
After a five-year courtship she married her beloved late husband, S. Warren Supplee, and the couple celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary in 2008, prior to Warren’s passing. Upon her marriage she moved with Warren to his family farm where they farmed the two farm properties collectively known today as Happy Days Farm.
In 1994 they moved with son Walter from the farm property in Lionville to a home in Upper Uwchlan Township where they lived until moving to Freedom Village.
Mildred was very active in church work, being a member of Windsor Baptist Church in Eagle for 85 years. She presently was the oldest living member. She served as church clerk for 50 years, served as a trustee, was active and held positions in the mission society, taught Sunday School, sang in the choir, and helped organize and advise the Christian Endeavor youth program at the church. She helped serve church suppers and weddings. She was also involved in the Central Union Association of the American Baptist convention and held positions there.
Mildred was christened a Lutheran and attended St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Chester Springs, attending there with her family prior to joining Windsor. She presently was an associate member there and attended services there as well as Windsor through her hundred years.
Besides helping on the family farm and raising her family, she made the family’s clothes, bedding, and enjoyed doing handwork. She was an excellent cook and people loved to come for a meal. She entertained many family, church and school groups. She enjoyed reading until her eyesight failed. She was a devoted daughter and provided care for her parents as well as her husband’s parents and brother. She was a member of many farm organizations with her husband….
S. Warren Supplee, 98, of Freedom Village, West Brandywine, and formerly of Lionville, passed away on Friday evening, May 16, 2008, at Brandywine Hospital, surrounded by his wife and children.Born in Westtown, he was the son of the late Samuel W. and Myrtle Broadbelt Supplee.
A lifelong farmer, Mr. Supplee lived his entire life in the central Chester County area.
He grew up on a farm on Johnny’s Way, Westtown. At the age of 13, he moved to Lionville with his parents and brother and farmed there on the two farm properties collectively known today as the Happy Days Farm.
He loved to tell of the family’s move to Lionville from Westtown. He and his father moved machinery and some farm crops every other day using horses and wagons. On moving day, the men drove the dairy cattle from Westtown to Lionville.
He started to milk by hand at the age of 5 and milked till he was 80. He lived to see milking parlors and a robot milker.
He married Mildred McBride, and the couple recently celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary.
In 1994, he moved from the farm in Lionville to Upper Uwchlan, where he lived until his move to Freedom Village.
He attended Goshen Baptist Church as a child until his move to Lionville, where he attended Windsor Baptist Church in Eagle. He joined there in 1928 and was the oldest living member. He also attended St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Chester Springs.
An avid Chester County foxhunter, he hunted with several hunts and had his own foxhounds. He also enjoyed hunting rabbits with his beagles.
He attended schools in Westtown and graduated from Lionville High School. He also attended West Chester High School.
Mr. Supplee served on the Uwchlan Township board and later the Downingtown Area School Board.
He was a member of the former Uwchlan Grange, Lionville Fire Company, P.O.S. of A, Odd Fellows, West Chester Home Clusters and several farm organizations…..
Before I found these obituaries, it was just a farm, just a big swath of land. Now I know how much this land, this farm was loved.
And I am told there are historically listed structures on this farm? Buildings that are registered with the historical society that any buyer can not remove?
Also, it took some digging but I did indeed find a 1998 PA Historic Resouces Survey Form. You can click HERE and I am uploading it here: H067961_67867_D. It’s fascinating and what did this survey lead me to? Oh yes, another Penn Land Grant and possibly part of Native American Hunting Grounds:
The origins of Happy Days Farm can be traced to two early land grants from William Penn, Proprietor of the Province of Pennsylvania. One tract of 1,000 acres was granted to James Claypoole in 1682. James Claypoole was an English investor who purchased several land grants in Pennsylvania, but never lived there. The other tract of 1,666 2/3 acres was granted to David Lloyd in 1703. David Lloyd was a land investor who owned a considerable portion of what became Uwchlan Township in 1712. In 1713, the heirs of James Claypoole sold 800 acres in Uwchlan to David Lloyd. In 1714, Lloyd sold to Joseph Phipps an 800 acre plantation that included parts of the two Penn grants.
The description on the 1714 deed of a “messuage, tenement plantation tract” indicates that there was already an established farm and dwelling house. Joseph Phipps was among the early Quaker settlers who requested the formation of their own meeting in Uwchlan Township in 1712. At the time, most of these Quakers were living on land owned by David Lloyd, so Joseph Phipps was probably living on the land he later purchased. Between 1712 and 1715, most of David Lloyd’s holdings in Uwchlan Township were deeded to early residents such as Phipps. The first tax records for Uwchlan Township occurred in 1715. Joseph Phipps was one of eighteen names recorded on that list and one of the greatest landowners. 280 years later, descendants of Joseph continue to live in Uwchlan Township.
Joseph Phipps married twice and had seven children with Mary Woodyear and one son with Mary Helsby. His children included Sarah, Samuel, Joseph, Nathan, George (died young), John, Aaron (died young) and by second wife a son also named George born in 1743.
Genealogical records at the Chester County Historical Society suggest that Joseph was born in 1661, but that seems unlikely. If that were correct, Joseph had a son when he was 82 years old and died at the age of 1011 The Phipps family belonged to the Society of Friends, but records indicate that Joseph’s sons did not always live up to the Quaker high moral standards. One of Joseph Phipps Jr. was one of the few slaveowners in Uwchlan Township. In 1764, Joseph Phipps Jr. was taxed eight shillings for one negro man. At that time only five landowners in the Township owned slaves. Nathan and Joseph Jr. were both condemned for marrying out the society. George was complained of in 1727 for excessive drinking and quarreling. Samuel was condemned for having indecent familiarity with his neighbor’s wife. John was charged in 1735 with fathering a bastard child and in 1739 for assaulting a neighbor. The consequence of too much privilege and too little discipline that some complain of in today’s society seems similar to the difficulties Joseph Phipps had with his sons nearly 300years ago!
For much of the eighteenth century, the Phipps family prospered. As Joseph’s children grew and married several houses were built on the family lands. Some farmland was divided, but the “home farm” and approximately 400 acres remained intact through the nineteenth century. The nineteenth century witnessed the growth of a new agricultural industry – the dairy farm. Chester County became known for its dairy farms. By the 1880’s, 85 individually owned dairy farms prospered in Uwchlan Township. The Phipps families owned several.
Happy Days Farm is the only farm property that remained in the Phipps family for more than two centuries. Members of the Phipps family were active in several area churches including Uwchlan Society of Friends and Windsor Baptist Church. Phipps participated in the organizing and prosperity of the Uwchlan Grange. Residents of this early farm accomplished their goals. They may not have been famous, but they were excellent examples of nineteenth century Pennsylvania farmers.
The “Home” farm finally left the Phipps family in 1923, when sold to settle the estate of Phillena Phipps, widow of William Phipps, great, great, great grandson of the original settler, Joseph Phipps.
The farm property was granted to Harrison Durant in 1923, who owned it for twenty six years, but had lived there as early as 1914. The farm under Durant’s ownership continued to be a dairy farm. Durant remodeled the farmhouse by opening the two original first floor rooms to create one large living room. He eliminated one fireplace and altered the large fireplace. When central heating was installed some other fireplaces were closed off. It appears that Harrison Durant was eccentric. In 1946, he purchased some old fire equipment and advertised private fire protection services for such times as burning brush to clear fields, or to assist the volunteer fire companies. This enterprise was short-lived, he put the equipment up for sale in April, 1947.
Colonial tax records provide little information on land holdings and buildings, but by 1796 descriptions of taxpayers holdings were entered every few years. Jonathan Phipps was taxed in that year for 361 acres, with “two stone houses, 2 stories high and 1 stone kitchen, 1 log house 2 stories high, 1 barn part stone and part frame, 2 good log barns, 2 stone spring houses, 1 shed waggon house, 1 shed stable, 1 lime kiln and two log tenements. The 1799 tax records indicate that the main dwelling house was part stone and part log and was assessed at $280, a sizable sum at that time. Also included in the 1799 tax records for this 360 acre property were two small stone houses, two log houses, three stone springhouses, one log barn and two log and stone barns. This list supports the theory that several Phipps families lived on the “home” farm.
Several buildings remain, including: the original farmhouse, two stone springhouses, one barn, the old foundation of another barn (the barn has been rebuilt.) a carriage house and some modern buildings. Of particular note is a tenant house built in 1925 with some architectural features unique to Uwchlan Township.
Note: The Supplees also own a strip of land on the other side of Route 100 and a house and lot that lie within the Lionville National Historic District. It is unknown at this time if these parcels will be included in future development. The early twentieth century house is a one story frame bungalow.
In the past, arrowheads have been found in the area of Happy Days Farm. Uwchlan residents have long supported the premise that the farm was once part of Native American Hunting grounds. Most of the roads forming a wheel design in Lionville were originally Indian paths, but other evidence of Native American activity in the area has never been thoroughly investigated or documented.
As a resident of Uwchlan Township for the past 12 years, I am typical of the many residents who moved here because of its rural charm. However, unlike many of our neighbors who are moving out because of the major changes in Uwchlan’s character in recent years, my family wants to stay. We love the community and its schools; we work and volunteer in the community and hope that the encroaching development won’t destroy all that Uwchlan is.
Of particular concern to us is the development in the high density sector of the township. According to the county’s Landscapes plan, the area surrounding Route 113 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike is targeted for the densest development in the township….The development of the Happy Days Farm by Vanguard will bring new meaning to the word density. Along with all the tax incentives Vanguard will contribute to the community, it will turn Uwchlan Township into a small metropolis…..
As tax-paying citizens who will bear the burden of the traffic and noise pollution that the Vanguard complex will bring, we should not be expected to compromise the beauty of our community as well just because we happen to be in the high density sector of the county. Uwchlan Township deserves its share of the open space proposed for purchase by the county.
That is key: “concerns citizens and politicians alike.” So I challenge these officials still around like State Senator Andy Dinniman to look at the Happy Days Farm situation again. Why? Because as years passed, residents obviously grew complacent as in maybe this wasn’t happening. Now residents have to pick up the cause of saving our countryside once again and FAST.
People have already said to me the following about this situation:
“What are you going to start bitching about? This tract has been talked about for years as a mall, a big pharma company…even heard of it as possibly an amusement park. A casino wouldn’t be unlikely either. Hey maybe Amazon will think about it in lieu of their NYC site. Too bad we couldn’t convince Vanguard to develop it. I think some ecological issues slowed down the Vanguard start up years ago. Something about turtles, but not sure how true that was. Who knows what we will get now.”
To my armchair quarterbacks I say it is still a working farm. THAT is what I am bitching about it. What was proposed in the past does not have to be this farm’s future. It could have a preservation-minded future.
Agriculture as noted above was once Chester County’s largest industry, right? Why not invest in THAT Vanguard? You guys do socially responsible investing, correct? What is more socially responsible that agricultural preservation in the county Vanguard calls home? Seems win-win to me and face it Vanguard, you can AFFORD to do this, can’t you?
Really and truly I cannot stand this anymore. Every week it seems it’s another farm. Another historically important piece of architecture. Where has all of the preservation gone?
Someone else said to me today:
“Happy Days Farm represents a lynchpin development opportunity connecting the turnpike Eagleview development to the 113 corridor – once it falls contiguous open space to the east will diminish rapidly.”
Skip ahead to 2014 and an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer. We should have paid more attention because now I ask, was this a warning of the future a/k/a our present?
That article by Joseph Di Stefano tells us RIGHT THERE what some media is reporting to us this week. This 2014 article was laying out the groundwork for dumping Happy Days Farm out of their real estate portfolio, wasn’t it? Of course this article also spells out what happened to that grant money – it just seems like it evaporated as an offer as time passed, didn’t it?
To me that also says that Vanguard is also now in part perhaps just paying lip service to calling Chester County “it’s home” and I subject to you the following for consideration: if someplace else offered them a sweeter plum for the picking than all the municipalities which have bent over and kissed the corporate rear end of Vanguard all these years in Chester County would they stay? I wonder.
Heck we should have paid closer attention in 2012 when this article on Vanguard and their real estate hopscotching came out:
That’s the question that has plagued pensions and individual investors alike as they consider financial products dedicated to environmental, social and governance criteria. In two recent polls, a majority of institutions and high-net-worth investors concluded fees were too high to justify an allocation….Just this month, Vanguard, arguably the czar of low-fee fund offerings, jumped into the ESG fray with the Vanguard ESG US Stock ETF ESGV, +0.54% and the Vanguard ESG International Stock ETF VSGX, +0.14% offerings. The funds will track the holdings of the FTSE US All Cap Choice and FTSE Global All Cap ex US Choice indexes — two ESG indexes — and fees are slated at 0.12% and 0.15%, respectively. The funds will incorporate elements some elements from more traditional Socially Responsible Investing (“SRI”) by excluding certain “sin stocks” such as those in adult entertainment, alcohol, tobacco, and weapons, and the funds will also exclude fossil-fuel firms from its investment portfolios. From there, the funds will apply an ESG overlay to the stock portfolios. The fund will also attempt to maximize the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in its investment decisions.
Look at that: sustainable cities and communities and climate action and life on land and zero hunger just to pull out a few points. A great working farm surviving would play a role in that, right? So many of these goals could be applied to saving a working farm they own, can’t you agree?
So Vanguard? I realize that although Jack Bogle founded you some would argue if you were really still the firm of Jack Bogle, yes? But can you still be enough of Jack Bogle’s firm that maybe you would consider putting your socially responsible money where your corporate mouth is?
A company with TRILLIONS in assets could indeed work something out with a nature conservancy and donate the land into preservation. The land could be preserved and still have tenant farmers.
Vanguard, you bring a lot of people to Chester County. But if you sell this land to developers you put another nail in the coffin of Chester County’s industry of agriculture and the agricultural history and traditions. Vanguard, if you sell to developers a parcel this big will not be open space it will be developed up as quickly as developed plans can get through, correct?
Vanguard, if you want to pay homage to where you call home, save this parcel and BE socially responsible by doing so. We don’t grow our food on the roof of Whole Foods and Wegman’s do we? We still need agrarian values and landscapes, don’t we?
Chester County, this farm land is not sold yet. As a county can we at least try to change the conversation here? Save our countryside?
Poor Easttown Township residents. More history at risk?
Easttown is another area with a LOT of history and lovely neighborhoods…seemingly under siege. And it’s not more to do with the Devon Horse Show or the whole new retail development on the old Waterloo site.
Locals are saying that in Easttown Township there are issues between zoning ordinance and I think their comprehensive plan? I don’t quite get all of it, but apparently it is something the township needs to iron this all out but it won’t happen until 2019? Locals are also saying the lovely and quaint village of Berwyn is once again under siege. (Now this news is nothing new, I remember another time around the time of eminent domain in Ardmore.) What is happening currently I am told is the beautiful old Victorian and other frame houses (i.e. wooden) that Berwyn is locally famous for are being snatched up and taken down in favor of new construction.
Downtown Berwyn won’t look especially different under the new zoning ordinance amendments approved in a 3-2 vote by Easttown’s Board of Supervisors Monday night. At least not right away.
But assurances by its creators that the new rules won’t mean major change didn’t seem to mollify the 45 property owners who attended the meeting, most to question the plan.
Instead of five zones, the new plan puts all Berwyn properties into one of three districts: Village Business, Village Residential and Village Transition.
Poor Berwyn. Maybe Protect Berwyn had the right idea circa 2007?
Here is some suggested reading from Main Line Media News over the coolness of Berwyn before I get to the rest of the post:
Just LAST year, the news spread nationally when Main Line stylist Jude Plum restored a 300 year old log cabin in Bryn Mawr. He had bought the home once owned by dog groomer and English Springer Spaniel breeder, Ann Elder. Now I knew Ann for years, was in and out of her little house from the time I was a kid, knew her house was old, but never knew it was 300 years old until Jude bought the place some time after she had passed away.
This historic log home, log cabin in Bryn Mawr dates to 1704! Read about it in Country Living Magazine, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Main Line Media News. So don’t tell me restoring them is out of the question. After all there are entire T.V. shows devoted to restoring and rebuilding log cabins and log homes.
So anyway, I was told today that folks can do a right to know on Easttown and get the demolition permit application? And that the demolition permit has been issued?
I figure it’s a good bet since the realtor seems very excited and it’s on her listing:
I understand the property owner wants to sell this property, but if ever there was a need for a preservation-minded buyer this is it. Heck if I lived in Easttown I would contact the DIY and HGTV shows that feature log homes and log cabins. Maybe they know someone to buy and save this.
Easttown Township is yet another Chester County municipality that sadly can’t see its history (or open space) for the ratables of development aren’t they? It’s like ratables from development are the drug and the municipalities are like addicts, aren’t they?
Easttown residents it is up to you. I am only pointing this out….if they could save a cabin OLDER than this in far worse condition in Bryn Mawr, they can save one in Devon. And if they don’t wake up soon, the village of Berwyn will really disappear too, won’t it?
I shared a link from the Daily Local about Congressman Ryan Costello and a “pop-up” town hall meeting. I said I thought Costello was a nice guy.
Basically I have taken a lot of crap for that ever since.
Congressman Costello, I do think you are a nice guy, but these folks are right: nice isn’t going to get you re-elected next time. We are. Or we aren’t. How it happens is up to you.
Your constituency feels abandoned by you. You can’t just dance to the tune of party bosses and donors and PACs with deep pockets. Not trying to be offensive, it’s how the game goes.
See below, Congressman Costello. Do the right thing. And by right thing I do not mean robo-calls that lead to on the phone town hall meetings. They aren’t town hall meetings they are conference calls where you don’t have to look your constituents in the eye.
Do the right thing. I might think you are a nice guy, but it’s not my job to take crap because of what you aren’t doing- I sure as hell do not work for any politicians.
But I am a blogger and I do feel it is my responsibility to pass along these comments, even highlight them.
Good hardworking Americans from coast to coast feel completely disenfranchised by the current state of affairs in Washington DC. Truly we are terrified at what the land of the free is becoming. It’s like a cancer is spreading across this country. The only question is what will YOU do to stop it?
Today, my friend author and East Whiteland native, Thom Nickels and I went to Loch Aerie. The new owner graciously allowed us to come in a photograph and shoot a little video tour.
It made me so happy to visit the grande dame of Frazer!
I will have photos soon, and I have to thank this old house for inspiring my photography today. I had not felt so inspired of late, so it felt good.
Loch Aerie has a future and new owners who care about her and are not scared of her. They love the old gal.
