News Flash

Many of you have likely driven past the large stone house at the corner of Leopard and on Sugartown Road that suffered several devastating fires in 2024.  You may not have known that the Sharp family who built the house and nearby Hawthorne estate played an important role in the history of Berwyn.  The now burned house was called Breeze Hill, named for its location and the presence of a refreshing breeze, an attribute worth noting before the advent of indoor air conditioning. 

This corner property was subdivided out of the original 200+ acre estate owned by Joseph Sharp and his wife Hannah (Lindsey) Sharp.  He emigrated to America in 1816, married Hannah in 1822, and built a successful wool and cloth import business in Philadelphia. In 1838, he purchased approximately 250 acres in Easttown.  After his death in 1848, the Easttown property was split equally among his four children.  His oldest son, Joseph W. Sharp, also inherited his father’s business interests.  Over time, he purchased the other three portions of his father’s estate from his siblings.  According to historical records, he paid them fair market value for their acreage.

Joseph W. Sharp (1828-1909) had built a successful business supplying materials to the emerging indoor plumbing trend in Philadelphia. By 1857 he had replaced the original farmhouse with Hawthorne, the Victorian country estate house that still stands nearby at 521 Leopard Road.  As both Joseph W. and his sister Rachel were unmarried at this time, Rachel stayed at the estate house and served as the mistress of his household and social hostess.

Joseph W. Sharp was part of a group of prominent Berwyn residents who founded the Berwyn National Bank in 1888.  He was the first president of the bank and served as Eastttown auditor during the Civil War.  By the time of his death in 1909, many people in Berwyn considered Sharp to be the “father” of the town given his numerous roles in community affairs during this period of extensive growth along the railroad line.  The Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society collections contain the Joseph W. Sharp family diaries, 1818-1838, 1859-1907, records from his parents time as well as his own. The collection, which includes several volumes, provides a glimpse into the daily activities of 19^th century in life in eastern Pennsylvania.

In 1865, Joseph W. married Sidney Serrill Bunting.  Before the wedding, he began building the Tudor Vernacular style Breeze Hill home on a prominent corner of Sugartown and Leopard Road for his sister Rachel.  As the home was on the Sharp family property, it didn’t receive its own separate deed when built but was shown on Pennsylvania Railroad maps dating to 1873.

The Breeze Hill acreage already had a circa 1837 two-story spring house that housed tenant farmers and a circa 1865 barn/stable.  Both are still standing at the property; the stable is currently a garage.  Careful examination of the inside garage walls showed evidence of stalls and a ladder to the full, second floor which was surely originally used as a hayloft.  Local historical records also indicate that Leopard Road was a well-travelled path on the Underground Railroad.  The spring house and barn were rumored to be a stop for slaves to escape to freedom.

Rachel Sharp lived with other family members at Breeze Hill until 1888, when Joseph Sharp’s eldest daughter, Mary Bunting Sharp, married William Morris of Villanova.  The young couple moved into Breeze Hill, where they lived until 1942.  Joseph W. Sharp and his wife subdivided Breeze Hill from their larger property and deeded it to their daughter for “$1 and her natural love and affection” in 1901, when it became legal for a married woman to own property in her own name in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Since the departure of the Sharp family and descendants from the property, numerous owners made changes and improvements to Breeze Hill.  The current owners had recently finished extensive interior and exterior renovations that retained the 18-inch-thick stone walls and extensive interior woodwork to create a beautiful modern family home. The spring house and barn remained and were not damaged in the fire.

Sources:TE History Quarterly 31:4 (October 1993) pp142-144Historical Society of Philadelphia blog: Tredyffrin and Easttown, Good Neighbors. 2014-02-19 Chestercountyramblings.com Blog : 400 leopard road berwyn: ashes to ashes, dust to dust/requiem for a historic house.  July 25, 2024

Waterloo Mills in Easttown Township appeared around the time when the British in 1815 won their greatest victory over Napoleon at Waterloo, Belgium.  It is anecdotal, but logical, that when this village appeared it should be named Waterloo Mills after the epic battle.  Waterloo is also the name of the hamlet that grew up around the grist mill on Darby Creek in the 19th century.

Waterloo Road is named after Waterloo Mills, which was located on Darby Creek.  Now there are two well-traveled roads called Waterloo, one Waterloo Avenue out of Berwyn, and the other Waterloo Road out of Devon.  This attests the former importance of the only grist mill in Easttown Township.

The mill and hamlet are situated in a valley where the Waterloo Road crosses Darby Creek.  Locally this hamlet is known as Cabbage Town, which originates around 1830.  Some of the old-timers still insist on calling the place Cabbage Town (from cabbage, "to purloin or steal").

There is an earlier account of a sawmill operated from 1768–1774 by John Morris, whose father emigrated from Merionethshire, Wales, in 1708.  Jonathan T. Morris, probably of this line, operated the gristmill as late as 1843.  Then Mordecai Davis, great-great-grandson of Joseph Davis of Willistown Township, occupied the mill, bequeathed to his wife.  He was followed by his son John W. Davis.

Through the influence of the Davis family, a post office was established there in January 1853, under the name of Waterloo Mills; it was discontinued in 1867.  The post office was in the mill.  William Steel was the tenant miller and was named the first Postmaster.  Stephen Stout carried the mail from Spread Eagle in his hat.  On occasion the carrier was found up the woods chopping trees and the day's mail of four to six letters deposited on a stump.

Allison Alexander took over the gristmill and ice business (no date), ice being delivered in wagons drawn by mules.  After the Alexanders moved to Berwyn, the Murphys, Hauses, and Wilkinsons lived there.  This business was across the road from the blacksmith shop.

The hamlet in its most prosperous time consisted only of the grist mill, two farmhouses, the tenements, and the blacksmith and wheelwright shop.

Various residents lived in Waterloo Mills.  John Haas, a co-founder of the Rohm and Haas Chemical Co., owned much of the property in the area after the middle of the 20^th century.  An alumnus of Episcopal Academy, he donated some of the land and structures in Waterloo Mills to his alma mater, which housed its lower school there from the 1970s through the 2000s until the school moved to Newtown Township.

The Waterloo Mills Preserve Historic District, also known as Cabbage Town, was listed the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.  This District encompasses eleven contributing buildings, one contributing site, and three contributing structures that are in the crossroads village of Waterloo Mills.  Most date to the 19th century and were primarily built using rubble fieldstone.  They include the Davis/Gallagher farmhouse (c. 1800), the Waterloo Mill (1796-1798), the wheelwright/blacksmith shop (1891), three residences (1804, c. 1820, and c. 1830), a dairy barn (c. 1890), and several outbuildings.  The blacksmith shop across the street from the mill is now a garage for an adjacent tenant house.  Other smaller structures, also referred to as "tenant houses" border Darby creek to the south.

The application packet for National Register listing contains an inventory of properties, the business and agricultural history of the area from the Revolutionary War to date, and information on the cultural place of this community in Easttown Township over the years.  See “Sources” for the link to access this document.

In 1998, a permanent land trust of about 167 acres known as the Waterloo Mills Preserve was created under the auspices of the Brandywine Conservancy and Museum of Art.  The impetus for this effort was the historic site designation for the village of Waterloo Mills obtained from the National Park Service in 1995.

The objectives of the Brandywine Conservancy include monitoring Conservancy easements, public relations for the Environmental Management Center, outreach to surrounding municipalities, and open space use for walking and enjoying.

A pleasant walk on the right day can be had by strolling through the Preserve along the creek as far as the site of the former Paper Mill on St. David’s Road in Newtown Township one mile away.

If you would like to visit Waterloo Mills but are not currently a member, or to request a group visit, please contact the Conservancy at 610/388-2700 or conservancy@brandywine.org.

The neighborhood shown on this map - the parcel bounded by Berkley Road, Chester Road, S. Waterloo Road and Dorset Road - as an interesting history.  Today it is a pleasant suburban neighborhood occupied by modest pre-war houses, but for almost 50 years before 1929, it was occupied by the Devon Inn.

The Inn was one of the grand hotels of the Victorian period where the well-to-do could spend the summer away from the noise, heat, and smells of the city.  In 1881, Lemuel Coffinand Joseph Altemus, Philadelphia merchants, bought almost 500 acres along the railroad east of Berwyn and announced they would build a large hotel in a village to be developed and known as Devon.  The Devon Inn is why there is a Devon; it's why the railroad station is where it is and is as large as it is.  Early horse shows where on the lawn of the Inn.  This was the birthplace of Devon.

The Inn operated from 1883 to 1914.  For the next 15 years, unsuccessful attempts were made to bring it back as a hotel.  It also was home to a short-lived girls' school.  In 1928, the newly-formed Valley Forge Military academy moved in, but the building burned to the ground in early 1929.  The land stood vacant until 1939 plans were announced for a development of 52 colonial-style residences.  This development accounts for the majority of the houses there now.  Many appear little changed when viewed from the street.

Sources:

The full story of the Devon Inn can be found in the Winter 2021 issue of the Tredyffrin Easttown History Quarterly, published by the Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society.

Map from Google Maps, February 2023.Postcard view of the Devon Inn courtesy of the Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society.Real estate advertisement:  Philadelphia Inquirer, May 12, 1940.News photo:  Philadelphia Inquirer, Dec. 15, 1940.All color photographs courtesy of Larry DeYoung, 2022.

Easttown Township is home to a National Historic Landmark - Major General "Mad" Anthony Wayne's home, Historic Waynesborough, owned by Easttown Township and administered by the Philadelphia Society for the Preservation of Landmarks.  The property was purchased by Captain Anthony Wayne, the grandfather of the famous general, in 1724, and was home to seven generations of the Wayne family until 1965.  Batman or "Bruce Wayne" in real 'comic book' life is descended from Anthony Wayne, and while other mansions are depicted in the movies, Waynesborough is the "Stately Wayne Manor" of Batman lore.

The central block was built around 1765 by Isaac Wayne, Anthony Wayne's father.  Around 1810, the general's son, Isaac, added a kitchen on the East side of the house.  Around 1866, the East wing was raised to two stories by the general's great grandson.  In 1902, that wing was further extended by the general's great-great grandson, William Wayne, II.

In 1965, the last Wayne descendant living at Waynesborough sold the estate to a man whose wife was a collateral Wayne descendant.  In 1980, after extensive restoration, they sought a buyer to ensure its preservation and history.  Local residents and businesses, along with Easttown Township, raised funds to purchase Waynesborough to open it to the public as an historic house museum.  It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Historic Waynesborough is located at 2049 Waynesborough Road in Paoli, and is open for tours Thursday-Sunday 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM.

Protecting the history of the Township and special properties in our community has been a passion of Anna Sicalides and Peter Stevens, long term residents of Easttown. Peter lived in old houses growing up, and became a contractor/builder.  Anna is a member of the Historical Commission (HC) in Easttown Township, the group that serves to protect the history of the Township.  Peter and Anna purchased their historic home in 2003 and had a vision of restoring/expanding the house while maintaining its historic exterior appearance and materials.

The house was built between 1800 and 1820 by Joseph Potter, a local farmer. As a Pennsylvania stone farmhouse with many German influences, it was built from stone quarried nearby. 200 years later, the house remained true to its original design and construction, foundation and exterior.

In 2015, Anna and Peter started planning the renovation and expansion. Their goals were to keep the historic character of the house, remedy aging issues and expand the living space. They sought a more contemporary interior, more natural light, and an updated larger kitchen for family gatherings. The challenge was to preserve the exterior appearance of the house so Joseph Potter would recognize his original design today.

They selected an architect, Mary Kaplan and contractor, Steve Ostien, local professionals who had extensive experience in historic home renovations.

Easttown Township technical staff reviewed the preliminary design plans and were extremely helpful in preparing documents, getting approvals, and obtaining zoning variances. Since the house was built prior to any modern ordinances, this was difficult but was a cooperative endeavor between architect, builder, Township, and owners. Once the project got underway, “normal stuff” happened: material shortages, typical construction delays and price escalation of materials and labor during COVID.

The result was a modern interior, expanded footprint, and an exterior consistent with the historical appearance of an 1800’s stone farmhouse. Peter and Anna were happy to commit to a project that made their house comfortable by contemporary standards while preserving the history of Easttown.

If you have an interest in preserving the character of Berwyn Village vernacular Victorian architecture or other neighborhoods, contact the Township and staff will connect you to the Historical Commission.

Often overlooked in local golf history was the Devon Golf Course or also known as the Devon Golf Club. Incorporated in 1894, the same year as the United States Golf Association was organized, the Devon Golf Club earned the notoriety of becoming the first golf club in Pennsylvania and quite possibly in the country—its clubhouse was a part of the Devon Inn. This course was not only the very first golf course in Pennsylvania but also where the first game of golf was introduced and played in 1894 on its links in Devon.

The 1900 Harper’s Official Golf Guide listed every golf course in every US state at the time of publication and the Devon Golf Club was included. Although the course hasn’t been around for some time to enjoy the early notoriety, the golf club organizers from the Devon Inn can claim fame that they not only introduced golf to Philadelphia and the Main Line but also to the state of Pennsylvania. 

Devon’s 9-hole course was similar to other early courses along the Main Line that followed. The course was an easy 3-minute walk from the Devon Train Station. It was locally known that the guests staying at the Devon Inn played a round of golf at least once every day and twice on Sundays and paid an annual fee of $5.

The 1903 Golfer’s Record noted the club had no stand-alone clubhouse, yet it was housed in one of the most extensive and costly buildings in the country—The Devon Inn; Its 9-hole course was the first mapped out in the neighborhood (suburbs) of Philadelphia and the first team match ever played around the Quaker City was contested over its well laid out links extending some 40 acres; Some bunkers were artificial others were natural; The course was flanked on all sides by tall lush grass, the presence of which has caused the downfall of many an excellent player from courses not so difficult and soul trying; The Golf Club’s colors were red and green.

 To have a better idea of the early course location as illustrated by the layout map image, the six closest roads were; Lancaster Avenue (Rt.30) then called Arlington Avenue; Devon Boulevard; Valley Forge Road; Dorset Road then called Dorset Avenue; Sugartown Road then called Devon Avenue; and Waterloo Road then called Waterloo Avenue. Holes one and two closest to Lancaster Avenue were situated across from the Devon Train Station. 

It was common at that time to identify the course holes by a particular name. Hole1 was called Station; Hole2-Polo; Hole3-Warnertown; Hole4-Bowling Alley; Hole5-Great Valley; Hole6-Hurricane Hill; Hole7-Paoli; Hole8-Cherry Trees; Hole9-Waterloo…

The popularity of the course waned around 1915 however, records show the Devon Manor School for Girls advertised the school had access to golf links at the time the school was located in Devon (in the old Devon Inn building) in the early 1920s. 

At the time of the Golfer’s Record article in 1903 there was some talk of the links being abandoned owning to the building encroachments in the neighborhood—yes, there was some truth to the encroachment statement; In 1903 Elizabeth J. Shreve (Sreev) wife of Benjamin Shreve purchased one of the first parcels of land offered for sale on the golf course. The Streves built their country home around 1905 on Devon Avenue (aka Sugartown Road) The 1910 census records indicated Benjamin was an attorney and his source of income was recorded as his “own income.”

Credits: Golfer Images and Course Layout Peter C. Trenham, PGA Professional and Golf Historian; 1903 Golfer’s Record, Historical Society of PA; The Devon book, Margaret DePiano