Johnson’s Corner

The Johnson’s Corner area is characterized by three remaining historic buildings ranging from the 1730s through the late 1800s. Johnson’s Corner is historically significant in Concord Township inn and milll industries, as well as the home to the largest commercial farmer within the Beaver Valley area — William Johnson.

Prior to William Johnson’s commercial success, the Newlin family was important to the society and industry in Johnson’s Village from its inception. Nathaniel Newlin III built a stone house on the corner of the Wilmington-West Chester Pike in 1732 that passed to Pennsylvania politician Nathaniel Newlin IV, who served in the Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention, state assembly, and state senate. He converted the building into an inn for the nine tun wagons traveling down the pike. It served as a public inn from 1748-1776 as the Nine Tun Inn, and through the early 1800s as Newlin’s Tavern. William Johnson, the namesake of Johnson’s Corner, purchased the house in 1840, and enlarged the house for his residence. Mr. Johnson owned the largest farm in the larger Beaver Valley area, and represented the top quartile of Concord Township’s wealth distribution. Today, the building is used as Pennsylvania state representative Craig Williams’s office.

Another prominent industry in the area was feldspar mining at the turn of the 20th century. The Brandywine Summit Feldspar Company operated a feldspar mine in the Johnson’s Corner area, which was the largest feldspar mine in the world at the time. Feldspar is a natural mineral used to make false teeth, china, dishes, etc. The mine was worked through, and mining moved to Upper Chichester Township in the 1910s.

Presently, the Johnson’s Corner is characterized by modern retail and commercial businesses along the Wilmington-West Chester Pike, and private historic residential buildings.