Barnard House
The Eusebius Barnard House is an early 1800's stone house located opposite the Pocopson Home, and was a stop on the Underground Railroad. Eusebius Barnard was born in July of 1802 and educated in Chester County. He attended neighborhood schools and devoted his energies to the farming interests in his community. He is widely known as a strong abolitionist and an earnest advocate of womens rights and temperance reform. Mr. Barnard was also a strong community leader. Eusebius signed the Petition for the Division of Pennsbury Township on November 3, 1848, which resulted in the creation of Pocopson Township. He was described by Gilbert Cope as “a man of great force of character”. He married Sarah Painter in 1829, who was the daughter of Enos and Hannah Marshall Painter and farmed on this land. Eusebious and Sarah Painter had eight children. After the death of Sarah Painter Barnard in 1849, Eusebious married Sarah Marsh whose parents, Gravner and Hannah Marsh were fellow conductors on the Underground Railroad. This house remained in the Barnard Family for the next 100 years. In 1944, the family sold the property to the Dershimer's. The Dershimers owned the property until 1957, when they sold the land to Chester County. Chester County transferred ownership of this property to Pocopson Township in October 2008.
Farming in Pocopson Township
In the early 1800’s, agriculture was the leading occupation in all of Chester County. The Indians had been cultivating corn, and the early settlers throughout the county continued to raise corn as an important cereal. They also introduced wheat, barley, oats and rye. But this agricultural pattern was undergoing a significant change at about the time that Pocopson was formed. Between 1840 and 1850, the smaller eastern farms, established when methods of agriculture were primitive, found themselves being out-produced by the larger farms in the newly-opened lands to the west which could more effectively use labor-saving machinery. Although wheat and corn continued to be raised, local farmers introduced other cash crops such as mushrooms, fruit and nursery products to the mix. Tobacco also proved a profitable crop, with production growing from 2400 pounds in 1869 to 600,000 pounds in 1889. Pocopson was reported to be one of the principal tobacco-growing townships in the county, with 150 acres devoted to that crop in 1884. But production then tailed off, perhaps because of unfavorable soil and the availability of other products. The advantages that western farms enjoyed also influenced which animals were kept on local farms. The number of sheep raised in the county declined by 93 percent between 1840 and 1850, and hog raising also declined. Oxen had been the chief draft animals prior to 1840, being helpful not only in clearing and plowing rocky land, but also serving as a source of meat. After that time, the tamer and quicker horses took over. Dairy cattle replaced beef cattle on local farms, helped along by a good water supply and land suitable for pasture. Milk production became very important; in 1870, Chester County sold 1,598,000 gallons of milk, and in 1879, produced 4,247,000 pounds of butter. Locals established businesses to support these dairies. In 1881, James H. Baily started a butter-making business. A few years later, it was reported that a creamery on the property of George Darlington, Jr., was being expanded to an expected capacity of 25,000 pounds of butter a week. William Kelly was setting up another creamery at Northbrook. The Supplee Brothers of Philadelphia established a milk-processing plant at Pocopson Station, which shipped 12,000 pounds of butter from 33 dairies in one day. Timber was also a significant crop. In the late 1880’s Pocopson was shipping logs to Germany. In 1912, Will Slawter was reported to have moved his portable engine and sawmill to the property of Pennock Hickman, near Pocopson, to cut a large number of white oak trees. Three years later, about 27 acres of large trees, some probably 100 years old, were cut on the Taylor property by Frank Robinson. Shortly thereafter, notice was taken of a large acreage of timber on the farm of G. Edwin Supplee, between Locust Grove and Northbrook. There were locust trees, young hickories and dogwoods. Even today, there are several active modern farms in the Township.
Log Cabin #1
This log cabin is one of the oldest houses in Chester County. Although no exact date exists, the best guess is that the house dates from approximately 1700. Caleb Harvey lived in the frame and log house and raised vegatables on a large scale. On Saturdays, he would take his Model T truck to a stand at the West Chester market. He died in 1952. At some point, a Victorian house was built over the log cabin house, making it twice the size. Later, the Victorian house was demolished and the log cabin was fully exposed again. However, it has once again been covered over. "There was a pump in the house. The well was inside an addition to that side of the house. There used to be a stream very close to the side of the house. You could go down over the back of the property, there was a stream, and there was a place where water could be gotten to bring up to the pigs. There used to be black snakes up in the strawberry patch up behind"
Locust Grove Schoolhouse
In 1834, the Free Public School Act was passed in Pennsylvania. This called for the formation of county divisions, township school districts and provided for teacher examination and certification. But implementation of this law was up to local voters, so the full effect of this law was not felt for many years. After Pocopson Township was formed and sometime between 1860 amd 1880, three dedicated school buildings were erected - Locust Grove, Baker and Lenape. Each one was a one-room schoolhouse which accomodated between 15 and 30 students, ages ranging between 5 and 16. The Locust Grove School, whose building stone reflects the date 1870, was erected on this corner on land owned by Abram W and Ida Bernard Baily. The school building also served as a township meeting place, a lyceum and Sunday School. Elections were held there for many years. With improved roads, the Locust Grove School closed in 1923 and consolidated with other nearby schools to form the new Unionville School. The Locust Grove Schoolhouse is a typical example of a rural southeastern nineteenth-century Pennsylvania schoolhouse. A date stone above the Locust Grove Schoolhouse portico reads 1870; this date refers to the rebuilding of a preexisting schoolhouse, which expanded the original foundation and extended the front façade, adding two cloakrooms, a belfry, and portico entry to the prior design. In 1938, Delmont and Alta Baily Bittle converted the schoolhouse into a residence. The schoolhouse was vacant for many years until 2004, when purchased by Pocopson Township. Please see www.locustgroveschoolhouse.org.
Windy Hill Farm
Mr. and Mrs. Eaby came to Locust Grove in the early 1900's. They had nine children, and unfortunately one died during the 1918 influenza epidemic while World War 1 was raging. Horace was the youngest child.
Baily Farm
Close to Corinne Road was a creek that was dammed to create a pond. There was a springhouse on the property and a water-powered ram pumped water back from the creek to a big wooden tank up in the house attic. Water flowed by gravity from that tank down to the kitchen and the overflow went to the cement horse though. The property is now home to Baily's Dairy. www.bailysdairy.com
Lenni-Lenape Camp
It is rumored that the Lenni-Lenape camped, hunted and fished on this land and that an Indian burial ground is on the corner of Locust Grove and Corinne Roads. The Brandywine Creek is about 2 miles north and was abundant with fish, nearby was an ever-flowing spring. When the ground was newly plowed during early farming, arrowheads and hatchets were easy to find.
Blacksmith Shop
The original part of the building still stands next to the garage. Robert Brittingham brought his family to the village after his Civil War service and started a blacksmith shop. HIs name is on the Pennsylvania momument at the Gettysburg Battlefield. This building also served as a polling place.
General Store
Pennock Marshall built a "store stand" on the quarter acre lot at the intersection of Locust Grove and Corinne which he then sold in 1841. In 1853, the Locust Grove store was advertising "store goods at public sale" featuring dry goods, groceries, queensware, and hardware. Household and furniture were available there as well as "2 fat shoals, a load of hay, corn fodder, post and rails, farming utensils and a York wagon in good repair". In 1860, the store was sold at Sheriff's sale to Robert W Caldwell. The Caldwell's ran the store from 1860 to 1930. Robert and his wife raised 8 children. They quickly became one of the eminent families in the Village.
Post Office (inside the General Store)
The Village lacked a post office until the late 1800's. With 43 people living here, an application was made for a post office to be named "Locust Grove". However, the Federal post office would not accept the name because of possible confusion with existing Locust Grove post offices in Pennsylvania. The settlers then tried the name "Maple Grove", but that was rejected as well. The issue was settled when resident Harry Caldwell, age 28, went to Philadelphia to see a play whose heroine was named "Corinne". Apparantly stricken by the play (or the actress), he returned to suggest that the new post office be called "Corinne". The Corrine Post Office opened within the General Store on February 21, 1889. Robert Caldwell, the owner of the store, became the postmaster. Robert resigned his Postmaster job at age 93. No one else would accept the job, so the post office was closed in 1915, but the name lingers as Corinne Road.
Log Cabin #2
This log cabin was owned by Samuel Sellers in 1766 and most likely dates back to the early 1700s. It is one of the earliest buildings in Pocopson Township. The owners of this cabin probably saw British troops file past during the Battle of the Brandywine on September 11, 1777.
Pocopson Park
For many years, this property was part of a large farm that encompassed most of the land bounded by Corinne, Locust Grove and Wawaset Roads. From the 1950s to 1971, the farm was owned by AW Browning, a native Virginian married to a member of the DuPont family. AW Jr "Ted" and his sister Alice grew up here. Born in 1938, Armistead Willis Browning, Jr, was a landscape architect, environmentalist, and teacher who dedicated his life to environmental preservation and education, and to his career as a landscape designer. Mr. Browning was the founder of Turtle Creek Designs, a landscape design consulting firm in Pocopson, Pennsylvania. The firm did residential work and large-scale environmental studies. Browning worked extensively with the Brandywine Conservancy in Chadds Ford and Pocopson Township, producing landmark studies of the scenic, historical, and natural features of the Brandywine Valley Region. From 1977 until his death in 1987, Browning taught courses in landscape design and native plant horticulture at the University of Delaware. His weekly column, "Notes from Turtle Creek," appeared in The Kennett Paper. The papers contain lecture notes on landscape architecture and design, Japanese gardens, native plants and meadows, ecological and environmental topics; material relating to his work with the Brandywine Valley Association and Turtle Creek; notebooks and field books. Also included are plans and drawings for many of his landscaping assignments, and approximately 9,700 slides of gardens, flora, and landscapes.
Turtle Creek Farm
Turtle Creek Farm is the former home of environmental and author Ted Browning. Browning published a series of articles in the Kennett Paper in 1986 and 1987. In 1991, these articles were collected and published by the Brandywine Conservancy in the book, Ted Browning: Notes from Turtle Creek. Each chapter describes a natural phenonemon Browning observed on his family farm or around the familar places of Chester County. Amish barn builder Steve Stolfus revived the traditional Chester County bank barn. Many said it was far too gone to save. Ted built the A frame house in 1985 and called it "The Solution". Bank barns get their name from a simple but clever construction technique: the barn is built into the side of a hill, allowing for two levels to be entered from the ground. The lower side housed animals, the upper levels served as a thrashing floor and storage. The hillside entrance gave easy access to wagons bearing wheat or hay.
Longmeadow Farm
This beautifully preserved house has had only 3 owners. In 1735, Benjamin Chambers, Sheriff of Philadelphia, sold 200 acres of what was originally a 2,000 acre tract to Samuel and Jane Sellers. The Sellers constructed a log house here in 1740 and then an adjoining stone house in 1782. The house and outbuildings now sit in 11 and half acres under a conservancy easement; the remaining acreage belongs to the Brandywine Valley Association. The site also features a windmill/cistern water system, a corncrib, a 1700's workshop and former dairy barn.
Springbrook Farm
This property successfully combines the old and the new with a historically inspired "post and beam" Pennsylvania bank barn. Inside the original stone farmhouse is an stone lined hand dug well that can be viewed through a trap door in the kitchen floor. Approximately 6,000 artifacts have been recovered from the well. The site also features a carriage house (built in 1883 and now used as a horse stable) and a springhouse. The property is home to the non-profit The Barn at Springbrook Farm which provides animal assisted activities to children with disabilities. http://www.springbrook-farm.org/
