Historic Sites Open this Weekend!

What is Historic Newtown Square Day? Newtown Township has five sites on the National Register of Historic Places, as well as several others that are eligible for that listing.  Each year we open these sites, and other historic sites, for tours, as we celebrate the history of one of William Penn’s first “new towns” in Pennsylvania.

Saturday, June 7, 2014:  Our 19th annual Historic Newtown Square Day is scheduled for Saturday, June 7, 2014, with our public sites open from 10:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. for tours.  Come out and visit the buildings that have been serving Newtown residents for the last 200 years:  the 1711 Newtown Square Friends Meeting, the 1742 Octagonal School, the 1828 Paper Mill House & Museum, the 1842 Hood Octagonal School, the 1860 Bartram Bridge, and the 1895 Newtown Square Railroad Museum.

Revolutionary War Re-enactors:  The 1st Continental Regiment, a group of Revolutionary War re-enactors, will have their encampment at the Square Tavern again this year, displaying camp life, marching and drills, and firing their muskets.   This is a good event for children – to see history live and in person.  The soldiers drill, march, fire their muskets; and then repair to camp where their wives are cooking meals and doing camp work.  Please feel free to talk to the re-enactors and ask them about the lives they are re-creating.  That is what they enjoy doing – teaching people what they have learned about the 18th century soldier’s life.

Benjamin West, Father of American Painting:   Benjamin West (local artist Terry Jones) will be in residence at the Square Tavern on Saturday, working on his latest painting, “William Penn’s Treaty with the Indians”, and talking about his boyhood spent at the Tavern in Newtown Square, and his development as a painter.  Be sure to stop in and watch the master at work.

“Mad” Anthony Wayne:  New this year – local historian Bennett Hill will be leading a tour of sites connected to local boy and Revolutionary War General “Mad” Anthony Wayne, starting at his grave at St. David’s Church and then at his mother’s grave site at the Baptist church cemetery.  Meet at Old St. David’s Churchyard at 1:00 p.m.  Then travel in your car to the next stop at the Baptist Church.  Wear comfortable walking shoes.  The program will conclude at approximately 2:30.  For you GPS Mavens:

• St. David’s Church:  763 SOUTH Valley Forge Road, Wayne, PA 19087
• First Baptist Church Cemetery:  315 North Newtown Street Road, Newtown Square, PA

1711 Newtown Square Friends Meeting & Cemetery:  Newtown Square was settled by Welsh Quakers.  They built an early meeting house at this site in 1711, and expanded it in 1791.  You can still see the architectural “ghost” of the first building in the second one.  Come visit where Newtown Square residents have been worshipping for over 300 years.

1828 Paper Mill House & Museum:  This area along Darby Creek was the 19th century version of an industrial park.  Various mills powered by the water flowing from the creek ground our flour, sawed our wood, and made textiles and paper for export.  And a whole community of workers lived there.  We have re-created rooms from their homes, and an 1850 general store at the site, and the upstairs rooms have a variety of items of local history on display.  Outside, the mill ruins remain to be explored.

1842 Octagonal School:  A one room schoolhouse with 8 sides still sits on a bluff overlooking West Chester Pike, on the grounds of Dunwoody Village.  Come see what a one room schoolhouse looked like, and show your children the dunce cap they would wear if they misbehaved.  Locla "millworkers' chiildren"will be guiding from 10:00 A.M.-Noon.  

1860 Bartram Bridge:  The last remaining covered bridge in Delaware County, crossing the Crum Creek.  Neglect and vandalism almost did the old bridge in, but history minded residents on each side of the bridge, in Willistown and Newtown, have raised money to keep the bridge in good repair.  Gates keep out the vandals, but the gates open on this day so you can visit and see the inside of the bridge, the Burr Arch, and perhaps sneak a kiss out of sight of prying eyes, as lovers have been doing for over 150 years.

1895 Newtown Square Railroad Museum:  Newtown was served by a passenger and freight railroad line built in the late 1890′s.  The passenger service was discontinued early on, but the “milk run” brought fresh milk from the Pennsylvania Farm to the Pennsylvania Hospital for much of the 20th century.  The original freight house was moved from its site to the Drexel Lodge property to preserve it, and a wonderful railroad museum has been created with engines, rolling stock, and wonderful photos and fixtures that tell about Newtown’s railroad history.

Cost? Free!!!  This year, no tickets are required.  The tours are free, but if you feel the urge to help donate to the Society and all that we do to support education and preservation in the Township, feel free to drop some money in donation boxes at the Tavern and Paper Mill House.  A program book should be available at each site, with more history on each site.  Guides will be available to answer questions.

For more information, go here:  http://www.historicnewtownsquare.org/news-events/historic-newtown-square-day/