Joseph Eavenson – Samuel Myers – Elwood Hannum – Lawrence Beebe House
The Eavenson-Myers-Hannum-Beebe House is a colonial farmhouse built c. 1740 off of Kirk Road. The center section of the house was built sometime c. 1740. The eastern end built in 1839 under Samuel Myers’ ownership, and the western section built in the late 1800s under the Elwood Hannum ownership. William Hannum was born in the house, and later went on to write the History of St. John’s, Concord Church. The barn was rebuilt in 1930 by Lawrence Beebe after an earlier one burned in a fire. Stone from the William Pierce House was used in the barn reconstruction. Dr. Donald T. Jones was born on the property in 1906. He became a nationally recognized orthopedic surgeon. His brother, Caleb Heyburn Jones, carved his initials into a window pane in the house. Edward Quigley owned the farm from 1934 to 1948. Quigley was the Huntsman for the Rose Tree Hunt. Many subsequent Hunt Meets began on the farm. The property was owned by the DeNenno Family in later years. Under their ownership, the property was an active dairy farm on 150 acres, and had many structures to support the farm such as three cow cribs, a milk house, pens, a silo, stables, a workshed, and a carriage house. Harold DeNenno was a dairy farmer, and at one point owned 45 cows and sold 2,000 gallons of milk a week to Wawa Dairies in the 1970s. His wife, Virginia DeNenno, is the founding president of the Concord Township Historical Society. The farm was subdivided in the 1990s for a housing development. This property is now part of the Woodside Farm Farm Market, where the public can purchase delicious, locally grown produce and food products. Concord Township Historic Resource #50
Joseph Cloud House
The Joseph Cloud House is a c. 1808 stone farmhouse off of Baltimore Pike. Joseph Cloud owned 92 acres of land, and was one of the five original school directors for the Concord Township public school system. Joseph willed the house and property to his son James Cloud in 1838 who lived there through 1850. James farmed 82 acres of the land, and the farm was valued at $10,000 in 1850. The property passed to the Styer family in the 1870s. The Styers are noted for introducing mushroom culture in the U.S., and are renowned for their nursery business. The Styers are also credited with the popularization of peonies in the area. Jacob Styer established a nursery in 1890. His son, Dr. J. Franklin Styer, took over the business in 1924 after the death of his father. J. Franklin Styer received a Ph.D. in Botany from the University of Pennsylvania, specializing in mycology and mushroom culture. He went on to work with Wyeth Laboratories on their penicillin production in the 1940s, served as president of the Pennsylvania Nurserymen’s Association, was a founding member of the American Horticulture Society, the American Association of Botanic Gardens and Arboreta, and the National Landscape Nursery Association. Dr. J. Franklin Styer was also the founder of the Concord Business and Professional Organization and a founding member of the Delaware County Conservation Board. He was a professor at the Pennsylvania State University, and dedicated a scholarship program to peony research. This property is now part of the Terrain nursery and restaurant, and is open to the public. Concord Township Historic Resource #157
Thomas Pierce – John Way House / Concordville Inn
The Thomas Pierce – John Way House was initially built in 1794 by Thomas Pierce along the Baltimore Pike. The original house was a 33 x 24 foot two-story stone house. Samuel Trimble sold 3 acres to Thomas Pierce in 1794. Abraham Sharpless purchased the property in 1799, and the house was likely being used as an inn due to the high selling price. The property passed to William Hewes in 1811 and then to Robert Parry in 1823. John Way acquired the property in 1824 and developed the property into the Concordville Inn. He was granted a license to operate an inn in 1830. The Inn was described in 1860 as a two-and-a-half-story stone building measuring 42 x 33 feet. The Inn also had a two-and-a-half-story stone addition at the back, with guest rooms, a dining area, and a tavern. Also on the property were a saddler shop, two stables, a tenant house, and other outbuildings. The Inn became known as the Concord Hotel in 1861. The most modern iteration of the property was built in 1874 by George Drayton. The building sustained fire damage in 1914. Innkeepers through the years included Joseph Hannum, George W. Taylor, Zadock Speakman, and James Cloud. The property’s final chapter began in 1968 when the Hionis family took ownership. They operated the Concordville Inn as a restaurant, marking a new era in the property’s history. This property was demolished in 2023. Concord Township Historic Resource #163
Nicholas Newlin – Casper Sharpless House
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 Nathaniel Newlin, and then to Thomas Newlin Esq. and Justice of the Peace in 1798. The home at that time was described as being a 60 x 20 foot two story stone structure with attached stone kitchens. The property at that time also contained two barns, a frame carriage house, a frame shop, a stone springhouse, and a stone ice house. Casper Sharpless, also a one time owner of the Newlin Grist Mill, purchased the property in 1848, and built an addition to the home. Casper’s landholdings grew to 351 acres. In addition to owning and operating the grist mill, Casper Sharpless also served as the school director for the public school system in Concord from 1836-1839. The property then passed to the Hill family. John Hill purchased the Newlin Grist Mill in 1870 from the estate of Casper Sharpless, and continued milling operations. The home eventually fell into ruin in the 20th century, but was saved by the Vadaz family in the later half of the 20th century who completed major reconstruction projects. This property is a private residence, and not open to the public. Concord Township Historic Resource #182