Marshallton Village, PA (8/31/2023)

Thursday, August 31, 2023

Quick jaunt to Marshallton, PA, for the historic Marshallton Village. Settled by 1713-1716 Penn land grants in the area between the east and west branches of Brandywine River, the original inhabitants, the Delaware nation, provided information on local farming and hunting. Located on the Strasburg Road from Philadelphia to Lancaster, a free market road, Marshallton became a commercial center for traffic including farmers on the way to market.

1280 W Strasburg Road (c 1810) was the physician's
home and office, a Penn Plan house

Marshallton United Methodist Church (est 1812,
building 1891) at 1282 W Strasburg Road (KSS)

Marshallton United Methodist Church

1292 W Strasburg Road (1850) was the residence
of the town plumber who made wooden pumps

On the right is 1301 W Strasburg Road (1890)
that served as the General Dry Goods Shop

Four Dogs Tavern (c 1814 as a barn housing the livery and
stables for the Marshallton Inn) at 1312 W Strasburg Road

Marshallton Village Heritage Center (2018)

Marshallton Inn (1793 in Federal style, converted in 1804
as an inn and tavern) at 1314 W Strasburg Road

1313 W Strasburg Road (1820) was the home of the
manufacturer of grain cradle and scythe poles,
then later was a cigar store, known as Congress Hall
where citizens gathered to "chew the fat"

Blacksmith and Wheelwright Shop (c 1720)
at 1340 W Strasburg Road

Grange (1912) has also been a theater, town hall,
school, warehouse, dance hall, and museum;
at 1351 W Strasburg Road

1361 W Strasburg Road in Pennsylvania vernacular style

Harry Cann House in Georgian Revival
style at 1360 W Strasburg Road

Serpentine Stone House (1805 with an addition) used to
have the post office on the left and a general store
on the right, at 563 & 565 Northbrook Road

Humphry Marshall Historical Marker; we cannot see the
Humphry Marshall Homestead (1773) at 1407 W Strasburg Rd

Humphry Marshall, the namesake of the village, was a colonial "Renaissance Man" who was a farmer, miller, stonemason, and astronomer. His greatest acclaim was in the field of botany, where he was the first person to categorize and describe the different species of trees and shrubs in North America. He is considered the Father of American Dendrology (science of woody plants). Marshall was a younger cousin of John Bartram, and a member of the American Philosophical Society.

Ruins of Martin's Tavern/Center House (1750, became a
tavern in 1764) at 550 Northbrook Rd

Martin's Tavern

Martin's Tavern

A few miles farther to Stargazer's Stone at 0.2 miles on
Stargazers Road on the right

The Stargazer's Stone marks the site of a temporary
observatory established in 1764 by Charles Mason and
Jeremiah Dixon to determine the exact latitude of the
southernmost house in Pennsylvania; from this point it
was determined to be 15 miles/24.1 km to the border
with Maryland, resolving a dispute between the two states