Concord Township, PA Historical Blog

Historical Posts about our fascinating town.

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Nicholas Newlin – Casper Sharpless House

May 28, 2024

The Newlin-Sharpless House is a large stone mansion built c. 1698 with major additions in 1840 and 1979. It sits high upon a hill that overlooks the Newlin Grist Mill complex and Route 1. Nicholas Newlin was the founder of the Newlin Grist Mill along the west branch of the Chester Creek. He built the original section of this home to live in. The property eventually passed to…

Samuel Trimble – Hillborn Darlington House

May 28, 2024

The Trimble-Darlington House was built c. 1783 for Samuel Trimble as a two story stone field house on 43 acres that once belonged to John Hatton. Samuel Trimble was a hatter by trade. It is alleged that the Marquis de Lafayette visited the Trimble family in 1824 at this house during his farewell tour! The property stayed within the Trimble family until 1836 when it was sold to…

Bayton Hickman – Frederick Mitchell House

May 28, 2024

The Bayton Hickman-Mitchell House is a farmhouse along Schoolhouse Lane built c. 1840. In 1848, the property was described as having the two story stone house with attached kitchen, a stone and frame barn, wagon house, wood house, hog house, ice house, milking shed. An interesting feature of the property was that the barn and house were fed by hydraulic water pumps. Bayton Hickman was a school director…

Robert Pyle House

May 28, 2024

The Robert Pyle House is a stone and brick farmhouse built c. 1820 with several later additions. The land was originally part of a 200 acre land grant to George Lea from William Penn in 1702. After various land owners, Robert Pyle received 18 acres of land and a stone house from his father Daniel Pyle’s will in 1823. There is a date stone on the oldest section…

Dick! The Story of a Civil War Horse

April 27, 2024

This photograph and story was found in an old wooden file cabinet donated to the Concord Township Historical Society by the Willits Family. The cabinet was full of papers and various other objects. This photograph was written by Frederick Cushman Newhall (signed “F.C. Newhall” on the photograph). The Historical Society of Pennsylvania summarized Mr. Newhall’s life in their archive description: “Frederick Cushman Newhall (1840-1898) was born in Philadelphia…

Nicholas Newlin Mill, early 1900's.  The Tenant House along Baltimore Pike is on the right, the Mill House is on the left.

July 17, 2023

The Mills of Concord Township By: Karen Dingle Kendus, Concord Township Historical Society I love to bake. Cookies, cakes, torts, or trifles, I love it all. For my family’s July 4th celebration, I made raspberry brownies, from actual ingredients. The chocolate was melted in a bowl over a pan of boiling water. I mixed the sugar and eggs in, and then I added the flour. I poured it…

Ned Hector & the Battle of the Brandywine

February 1, 2023

Join the Concord Township Historical Society (CTHS) as we celebrate Black History Awareness Month 2023 by enjoying a presentation from Noah Lewis (aka Ned Hector). See the famous teamster and bombardier come to life as Mr. Lewis shares Ned’s story by using audience participation and laughter.  In the Battle of the Brandywine, Ned disregarded his orders to abandon everything and retreat. He is remembered for replying to the…

2022 Member Appreciation Event

January 16, 2023

On December 4, 2022, approximately 50 Concord Township Historical Society members enjoyed a lovely wine & cheese reception at the Willcox Mansion at Ivy Mills. Ivy Mills is a family owned and operated homestead in rural Pennsylvania. Dating back to 1744 and 1729 Ivy Mills was home to the second oldest paper mill built in America. Specifically paper used in the production of the colonial and continental currency.…

Womens Right to Vote – Virginia DeNenno

August 10, 2020

Virginia Merion DeNenno Ginny developed a passion for our local history, and through the years collected books, photos and other artifacts with a vision of a museum where these could be shared with the public. Ginny was born January 18, 1933 as the fourth generation of Merions who farmed in Concord Township and went to the #5 one-room school on Kirk Road where her father had attended.   She…

Womens Right to Vote – Rachel Kohl

August 10, 2020

Rachel Kohl Rachel recognized the need for a community library and set out to make that vision a reality. Born in 1924 in Lewes, Delaware, Rachel graduated from Ocean City High School and Lycoming College where she earned a Library Science degree. In 1950, Rachel and her family moved to Concord Township with a small eight-room elementary school and no library.  A lover of books and a public…