Concord Township (PA) Historical Sites (8/15/2019)

Thursday, August 15, 2019
The object was to see historic properties without too much walking on a hot and muggy day. Some of the properties were large, so we did do some walking.

Seems to be the season of woven nests of Hyphantria cunea/Fall Webworms

The Concord Township (PA) Historical Society (1967) maintains several locations.

The historical society's first acquisition was the Polecat Road House (before
1750) at 194 Polecat Rd, built to house two families, likely of mill workers 

Although restored without central partitions, there are two inner corner fireplaces that share a common chimney and two outer stairways for reaching the loft.

Concord Township was founded in 1683

Concord Township Hero  Memorial (2004) at 675 Smithbridge Rd
honors all branches of the armed forces, law enforcement,
fire, rescue, and emergency medical services

Pierce-Willits House (1744 log cabin, west addition 1764, log cabin
replaced 1810) at 659 Smithbridge Rd, was purchased by
by Francis P Willits in 1885 and remained in his family
until 1975; Willits acquired mushroom spores from England and
began developing his mushroom business in 1892

The Pierce-Willits House is home to the Virginia Marion DeNenno History and Educational Center.

Carriage House (c 1890) and connecting kitchen (c 1900); the second
floor of the carriage house was initially used to cultivate mushroom spores

Garage (by 1910, or c 1920) with a mounting block
at L front, used for mounting horses

Double-seater outhouse (c 1930s or 1940s at the Cloud-Vernon House
on Concord Rd; moved here in 2001); in the distance to the R is an icehouse
(originally from the Speakman property SE of Baltimore Pike and US-202)

Fagus sylvatica purpurea/Copper Beech Tree (likely
planted in 1810) is a Pennsylvania Champion Tree

The tree is in its senior years, and
is being treated for a canker disease (KSS)

Remains of a barn (1920) after a 1980 windstorm took down half of it

Vague directions for Bush Hill: Palmer-Poole and Wilson Palmer at 40 Bethel Rd, where we found a Dog Park at Bush Hill Farm.

Nearby was a burial plot for pets who died in a house fire
at the farmhouse of the former Bush Hill Farm

Pet grave marker (KSS)

Barn (late 1830s) of Wilson Palmer

Springhouse (late 1830s) of Wilson Palmer

Springhouse that belonged to the property
across Bethel Rd (KSS)

Formerly a horse farm with stalls and fenced corrals;
one was made into a dog park for small dogs and one for large

Dog water fountain

Palmer-Poole Barn (1791 by Joseph Palmer, 1870s rebuilt by
George Poole using the original foundation and joists) (8/18/2019)

African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church (1880)
at 270 Spring Valley Rd, suffered a fire in 1997, but
there are plans to move it to the Pierce-Willits property

Bell tower (1964) in memory of vestryman
Robert F Deese of St Johns Episcopal Church;
it was refurbished by an Eagle Scout in 2015

In St Johns cemetery was a three-war veteran;
WWI, WWII and Korea

Franklinia alatamaha/Franklin Tree (KSS)

Franklinia alatamaha/Franklin Tree fruit?

St Johns Episcopal Church (founded 1702,
1844 in Greek Revival style) at 576 Concord Rd

Concordville Friends Meeting House (1710, 1788 rebuilt and enlarged
after fire) at 827 Concord Rd; served as sanctuary for soldiers
wounded at the Battle of Brandywine (1777)

Overgrown Concordville Friends Cemetery

Grave marker for Thomas Marshall
who died in 1740 (KSS)

Giant Ginkgo Biloba Tree (but not a Champion!)

Garage at the Concordville Friends Meeting House

Former Maplewood Gymnasium (1898) at 43 Thornton Rd,
was later used by a church, and is now the Concord Community Center

The newer Brandywine Youth Club (BYC) Field House!

Former Dante Orphanage (1920) was run by the
Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) order of nuns until 1968;
now office of Concord Township, also at 43 Thornton Rd

Former gateway to the orphanage on Baltimore Pike

Former Orthodox Friends Meeting House (1837 for a faction that
split with the Concord Friends, but later rejoined them) was also
used by the Concord Grange #1141 from 1920-1978; now
it is the Concord Township Senior Center (8/18/2019)