Chester County PA, East (10/14/2020)

Wednesday, October 14, 2020

First stop: White Horse Historic District in Willistown Township.

Former White Horse Store (1798)

Abraham Hall House (c 1848)

Blacksmith Shop (c 1812 and 1848) where
Caleb Yarnall and William West worked

Horse country

Mary Yarnall House (c 1818) (KSS)

Charles Mendenhall House (c 1850)

Caleb Yarnall House (c 1812, and Barn (c 1874)

Former White Horse Inn (c 1798) with stone wall (c 1930)

Stone wall gate (KSS)

White Horse Inn Barn (c 1835)

White Horse Inn Stable/Garage (c 1940)

Second stop: Sugartown Historic District in Willistown Township.

Sugartown Historic District sign (KSS)

Worrall Barn Ruin (c 1880)

Tenodera sinensis/Chinese Praying Mantis perhaps (KSS)

Water source in the barn (KSS)

Coxefield (c 1790 with additions) and small shop (c 1790)
to the rear belonged to the village shoemaker, John Garrett

Blacksmith's House (c 1830)

Rebuild of 1930s shop (KSS)

Saddler's House & Shop (c 1805); the shop was converted
to a General Store in the 1820s (additions in 1830, 1860, 1890)

Worrall's House (c 1860) belonged to Sharpless Worrall
who bought the General Store in 1847

Antique cart (KSS)

Sign of the Spread Eagle Tavern (c 1790)
was first owned by Samuel Cheever, and was
located across the street from the Friends School

Sign of the Spread Eagle Barn (c 1860) (KSS)

Unique wire sculpture of a horse's head (KSS)

Houses (c 1850 and 1820) on the property
of Levi Hoopes, a cabinetmaker

Former Schoolmaster's House (1785)

Former Friends School or Sugartown Select School (1783)

Rest Harrow/Hannah Cheever House (1835) was built
for the widow of Samuel Cheever,
owner of the Sign of the Spread Eagle Tavern

Hannah Cheever Bank Barn (c 1850)

Former Sugartown School (1866) was a public school

William Garrett House (1805, was moved here from
Providence Road in 2001) is an example of a Quaker Plan
with a large central room flanked by two smaller rooms

Willistown Township Building (1909, in the
American Foursquare style)

Trellises behind the General Store

Third and final stop: Paoli Battlefield Historical Park.

Overlooking the Paoli Parade Grounds where
volunteers trained for the War of  1812,  
and the Mexican and Civil Wars

The Malvern Memorial Parade, started in 1868, is the oldest, continuously-held Memorial Parade in America.

World War I Memorial (1928)

World War II Memorial (1946)

World War II Urn (1946)

Paoli Veterans Memorial (1958)

Post-World War II Wars and Conflicts Memorial

Paoli Battlefield Monument (1877)

Cannons flank the entrance to the burial site of 53 Continental
soldiers killed in the Battle of Paoli or Paoli Massacre in 1777

The burial mound is topped by a stone monument (1817),
the second oldest war memorial in the United States

The site of the Battle of Paoli, considered to be the most
pristine Revolutionary War battlefield

After the defeat at the Battle of Brandywine, General George Washington headed to Philadelphia, but left a force of 1,500 men under Brigadier General Anthony Wayne to harass and delay the British. However, the British immediately became aware of Wayne's presence and on the night of September 20, 1777,  about 1,200 troops under British commander Major General Charles Grey launched a surprise attack. They approached through the woods and were ordered to keep their muskets unloaded (so that no one accidently got off a shot to alert the Americans) and to attack with bayonets. It was a rout and the British chased the fleeing colonials for at least a mile.

When fleeing, one of the cannons lost a wheel and  ended
up blocking the escape route of the American troops

The split rail fences of the local farmers
also slowed down the fleeing soldiers

Split rail fence detail (KSS)

A trail through the woods led around the battlefield site,
with stops at several information boards

British casualties were 4 killed and 7 wounded, while the Continental Army had 53 killed, 113 wounded and 71 missing. General Anthony Wayne would get his payback later when he stormed the ramparts of Stony Point, New York, exhorting his men to “Remember Paoli!”