Historic Markers and National Register sites in Delaware County

A consulting company has been working with historical societies and house museums in Delaware County to develop recommendations in a Public History Study and Feasibility Plan for the 80 public history organizations in Delaware County.  Their recommendations are going to be presented in a public meeting next week (May 24, 2010 at the County Council Meeting Room, First Floor, Court House/Government Center, 201 W. Front Street, Media, PA, beginning at 6:30 PM).  The public is invited.

Among their findings:

• There are 56 Pennsylvania State Historic Markers, 76 National Register Historic Sites, and 9 National Register Historic Districts in Delaware County.
  
  
• Public history organizations control and manage 138 buildings on 31 historic sites.

That's a lot of history within a half hour's drive from your home in Delaware County.  How to find it all to be able to plan a visit?  

Pennsylvania State Historic Markers:  The State Historic Markers are the familiar keystone shaped blue markers with gold lettering that  are intended to "to capture the memory of people, places, and events that have affected the lives of Pennsylvanians over the centuries since William Penn founded his Commonwealth."  To find the markers located in Delaware County, go to the home page for the program, at http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/pennsylvania_historical_marker_program/ , and then "Search for Historical Markers", selecting Delaware County as the only criteria in the drop-down menu.  The search result identifies each site by location, along with the date it was first dedicated, the marker type, the categories of history involved, and the actual marker text.  You can print your search result, and the head off some weekend to find each one of them, and learn about the variety of history in Delaware County, ranging from the early Swedish settlements in 1638, to William Penn's arrival, early churches and cemeteries, the American Revolution, Civil War and Underground Railroad sites, and several sites related to Martin Luther King, among others.  

National Register Historic Sites:  The process is similar - go to the searchable data base at http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreghome.do?searchtype=natreghome .  Plug in the state and the county, and off you go:  89 records containing the basic information on all Historic Sites and Historic Districts in Delaware County.  The record on each site generally has a photograph of the site, the location and some background on the importance of the site.  It looks like they are moving the records from an older system to a newer one - and so it is a bit clunky today as I try it.  Your mileage will vary!  If you get frustrated by the "new" system, try the "old" one at http://www.nr.nps.gov/.  The search result there has less detail, but it is a listing that you can print out and take with you if you wish to visit the sites.  If you want that result, then "export" the search results to a spreadsheet or word processing document that you can then print and use as your tour guide.  

Public history organizations in Delco:  One of the purposes of the Public History Study is to tie our organizations together, share resources, and produce helpful items such as this - a list and link to each such organization and their historic sites in Delaware County.  We have started that process by creating a website, calendar of events, list of organizations and sites, and mailing list, at www.dchpn.org.  Over the next few years as we help to get the word out, we hope to be able to add to the site, and see more joint events with other organizations in the county.  Delaware County is a living history museum, and much of the old has been preserved ... so far.  The preservation challenge is ongoing.  

You could spend a week or two exploring just the Delaware County historic sites that exist.  In a down economy, consider doing just that - explore Delaware County history.  It's close by, you support our local heritage, keep the tourist dollars in the area, and learn about the diversity of history that is all around you here in Delaware County.  

May 2010 Letter from the President

The hectic season has arrived at the Newtown Square Historical Preservation Society.  Last Saturday (after much planning), a group of 25+ Boy Scouts and willing parents descended on the Mill House property, to do trail clearing, build a footbridge, plant ornamental grasses and plants at various locations, and do general cleanup at the property.  A few days before that, a local contractor had come out to power wash and then paint the footbridge over Darby Creek.  On Sunday I returned to the Mill House - a pile of mulch remained and I spent some time trying to fill up the nearby planting bed with the mulch.  Still more to do there for future weekends-finish moving the mulch pile, mark the plants to keep them safe from the lawn mowers, water the new plants if we have don't get regular rain.  On Tuesday, the Delaware County Heritage Commission held its award ceremony in Media and gave out preservation awards; the Saw Mill road tenant house that was saved from demolition some years ago is now a gorgeous renovated and expanded single family home.  We had nominated the builder, Jim Nappi, for a preservation award, and were very proud to see his efforts recognized.  Tuesday night there was a meeting of the committee organizing Colonial Heritage Day this year.  A smaller committee than in years past - around eight of us - but this year promises to be our best event ever.  On Wednesday, our regular board meeting - dominated by the Colonial Day discussions, but many other projects are in various stages.  On Thursday, I attended a meeting with the Bartram Bridge Commission on coordinating the events at the bridge for Colonial Heritage Day.  Our 4th grade school tours are coming next week at the Paper Mill House; organized with the help of Lisa and Bronwyn Livezey and a large band of home school parents and children, and Andrea Povey who helps arrange for additional guides.  All of the board members are actively trying to sell ads for our Colonial Heritage Day program book - the main fundraiser of the Society.  We are also selling tickets for the event, and raffle tickets for the prize of a dinner at Massey House.  We have a joint program with the Library on Amelia Earhart in two weeks - and so must plan and advertise that event.  Our Bartram Bridge book should arrive from the publisher in the next ten days - and we then have to sign the first 100 copies as promised - and begin filling the orders that have arrived so far, and increase the marketing effort to sell the run of 500 books.  We are again having the Sandy Flash Dash, a 5K run on Colonial Heritage Day, which involves coordination with the township, PennDOT, the police, and the neighborhoods impacted by the road closure.  The race has to have t shirts, food and drink, race results, and a photographer, among other things.  Looking ahead past Colonial Heritage Day, we open the Paper Mill House on weekends in the summer, and so have to plan and staff for those dates.  On hold until the dust settles are plans for an annual scholarship; revision of our long term plan, continued reorganization of the displays in the Museum, writing manuals with background information for guides, having a maintenance manual for taking care of the Mill House, and planning the Phase 2 improvements at the Mill House, involving uncovering the mill ruins, signs interpreting those ruins, trail improvements, benches and perhaps a picnic area, and parking lot improvements.   We need to develop a grant writing committee to help us to continue to fund our work.  We took a big bite out of organizing the various materials that have been donated to us over the years and stored at the Mill House, but more needs to be done there - reviewing each item, deciding what needs conservation attention, scanning what we can, itemizing and indexing the materials so that they can be searched and found, and then organizing them in folders and storing them. 

In all of this effort, is there any area that appeals to you, the reader?  We all have particular skills and interests, and there is something in this Society for all of us to contribute.  Can you give us one hour a year, or a month, or a week, to help out?  We could use your help in continuing to move these projects forward and continuing to have a vital Society that is involved in the community.  Please, call me, or your favorite Society member, to ask "what you can do for your country".  You can find me at 610-724-7222, or by e mail at doughumes@psualum.com.   

March 2010 Message from the President

There are times when being the President of our Society seems like a full time job.  Now is one of those times.  We are gearing up for the work weekend, then school tours, then Colonial Heritage Day and its activities, and then the summer long weekend tours that follow.  We are working with the township officials, with private home owners, planning parking and traffic controls for the events, researching, writing and editing a book on the Bartram Covered Bridge, and worrying about publicity, following up on items discussed at the previous board meeting and preparing for the next one, finding candidates to nominate for board positions, attending to property management issues for a large commercial property, planning capital projects, working with a Boy Scout troop on an upcoming Eagle Scout project, and contributing to the newsletter.  We also meet periodically with representatives of historical societies in neighboring communities to share ideas on attracting and retaining members, program ideas, and learning more about other Delaware County historic sites and resources, which we have in abundance.  We are also considering starting a school scholarship or annual award, we are wrapping up one grant and considering seeking others, and we have no shortage of ideas for future projects.  There are times when we stop and say “why?”  Wouldn’t it be easier to sit at home and watch TV or read a book and let other people do this?  

For me, the answer is that I want to give back to life what I get out of it.  Life is a joyful experience for me, because no matter where I go in my travels, I meet interesting people doing interesting things and making their communities a worthwhile place to live and to visit.  I want people with a passion for their history and their town to tell me about their local sights, the special places to eat, the unique and unusual things that have been preserved in their town.  I like quirky museums like the Stoogeum (Three Stooges Museum in Ambler), a testament to one person’s irrational love for slapstick and silliness.  I am thrilled when the gates are opened at the Newlin Grist Mill, and right before your eyes, the slow trickle of water begins to turn the huge water wheel that then puts in motion the roomful of 18^th century devices that can grind, saw, sharpen, or do every task that a mill could do, while using as fuel the water from the nearby stream.   I want the same and more for our town – a wonderful parade, an annual day of community celebration, educating our children to the wonders of history in our area, providing a museum of local history, celebrating an old covered bridge, preserving the many good things about our community and its heritage, and like a good steward, passing them on to those who come next.  For me, none of this happens in front of my TV.  It happens when I turn off the set, and get out into the stream of life.  Yes, life is busier that way, but more interesting, more challenging, more exciting as well.  And more rewarding.