Thomas Speakman House
The Thomas Speakman House was built c. 1795 in the area of Ward Village, and is a wonderful example of example of Southeastern Pennsylvania farmhouse architecture. Thomas Speakman purchased 43 acres from his uncle Micajah Speakman in the late 1700s. The original deed to the property was buried underground by Micajah in 1777 in an attempt for document safety due to the British invasion of Pennsylvania, and thus, many pieces of information on the deed are illegible. Thomas Speakman married Abigail Newlin, and had 6 children. By 1795, Thomas Speakman built a log and stone house on the northeast corner of his 43-acres property. According to the 1798 Federal Tax record, the house measured 30 x 20 feet, was 1.5 stories, and had 3 single pane windows and 1 six-over-six window. In 1806, Thomas Marshall IV purchased the Speakman home, and began extensive updates. The first floor of the home consisted of a kitchen and eating area, parlor, and family room. The kitchen boasted a stove and “queensware,” or porcelain chinaware issued in honor of Queen Charlotte. The second story was divided into 4 bedrooms, set with various furniture including beds, bureaus, carpets, chairs, a spyglass, curtains, and trunks. The attic was dedicated to a field bed, a boy bed, a clothes chest, and a spinning wheel. The basement was home to barrels, candles, tubs, potatoes, a vinegar cask, salt meat, and hams. Thomas IV farmed the land and cultivated an apple orchard and other fruit trees, as well as kept a heard of cows. He died suddenly in 1828, and left no will. The house was then sold to Dr. Rolph Marsh in 1829. Dr. Rolph, a local physician, combined this parcel to his adjacent parcel to own a combined 63 acre property. The farm was valued at $6,500 in 1850. The Speakman House fell into various ownership throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, including John and R.W. Hill (John Hill owned and operated the Newlin Grist Mill beginning in 1860), the Ward Mushroom Company, and Frank and Eva Osmund. The house was converted to a commercial space in 2013. Today, this property is a commercial space owned and operated by Zizza Highway Services. Concord Township Historic Resource #109
Dr. Benjamin F. Leggett House aka Ward Academy
The Dr. Benjamin Leggett House, also known as Ward Academy, is a frame Victorian Farmhouse built in 1882 for Dr. Benjamin F. Leggett, A.M., and his wife, Sarah Leggett. Dr. Leggett was hired by Prof. Joseph Shortlidge of the Maplewood Institute (also known as Concordville Seminary) to become the school’s Vice President in 1867. Previously, Dr. Leggett was the principal of the Collegiate Institute in Charlottesville, New York. He worked at Maplewood Institute with his wife until the 1882. Dr. Leggett then opened Ward Academy out of his home, which was a high school program for further education. It operated until 1912. Aside from being a successful educator, Dr. Leggett was also known for his published poetry. He wrote such poems as “Cruise of the Half Moon,” “Idyll of Lake George,” “City of Doom,” “Outdoor Poems,” and many others. Dr. Leggett returned to him home state of New York in 1919, and died in 1924. This house is a private residence and not open to the public. Concord Township Historic Resource #113
Samuel Trimble — Norris J. Scott House
The Samuel Trimble — Norris J. Scott House is a large mansion that sits along Concord Road next to the Concord Friends Meeting House. It was originally built in 1767 for Samuel Trimble on 8 acres purchased from Thomas West. Samuel Trimble built a small stone house that was used as a hatter’s shop. Norris J. Scott purchased the property in 1873 from Mary Trimble Palmer. Norris J. Scott owned and operated a coal and lumber yard with his father, Alexander Scott, in Ward Village along Concord Creek, where the present-day Il Granaio restaurant sits. Norris Scott then sold the property to Professor Joseph Shortlidge, the headmaster of the Maplewood Institute, in 1892. After Professor Joseph Shortlidge’s death in 1912, the property was sold to Dr. Joseph H. Horner, who operated a “rest home,” or rehabilitation retreat for the elderly and sick. The house is a stucco over rough stone with several frame additions built in 1820 and 1875. This is a wonderful example of 19th century architecture and the impact Victorianism had on rural communities. This house is a private residence, and not open to the public. Concord Township Historic Inventory Resource #115
Ward
Ward Village is one of several historic villages (or neighborhoods) within Concord Township. Geographically, it covers the Concord Creek Bridge (also known as Ward Run) at Concord Road, near the intersection of Station and Concord Roads. Ward extends to the intersection of Concord and Smithbridge Roads to the South-East, and to the intersection of Concord and Spring Valley Roads to the North-West. Ward Village rose to prominence in the late 19th century as an industrial center of Concord Township, featuring some of the earliest Pennsylvania mushroom farms, a mill complex at Station Road that included the Alexander Scott & Son saw and grist mills, the Richards & Schrader lumber yard and feed store, the John Hart blacksmith shop, the Barclay Thomas wheelwright shop, telegraph office, Ward Post Office, general grocery and drygoods store, and a branch of the PE Sharpless Company’s creameries. The development of the Pennsylvania, Baltimore, and Washington Railroad in the late 19th century brought a train station to Ward known as Concord Station, which transported goods in and out of Concord Township to surrounding towns in Pennsylvania and neighboring states beginning in the 1870s and continuing into the early 1970s. The railroad station in Ward was key in the transportation of fertilizer for the local mushroom farms, as well as the dairy products produced at the creamery. The creamery was known as the Sharpless Creamery, and manufactured Philadelphia Cream Cheese and butter, among various other dairy products, beginning in the late 19th century. The Sharpless Creamery was one of only 5 commercial creameries in the United States at this time to manufacture cream cheese, and it was purchased by the Kraft Company in 1924 for the purposes of owning the trademark on the Sharpless cream cheese production and acquiring their vast distribution networks. The area Is characterized by historic buildings erected from c.1690s-1900s, and features Folk Victorian homes, Colonial Farmhouses, Victorian-era industrial buildings, and a creek that runs through the village known as Ward Creek or Concord Creek. Some of the first Episcopal church services were also held out of the John Hannum home until St. John’s Episcopal Church was built in 1844. During the development of Ward Village’s commercial boom, many homeowners in Ward were also Ward business owners and employees or PB&W railroad employees. Pennock E. Sharpless, owner of the Sharpless Creamery, built a large Victorian mansion in 1890 across Concord Road from his creamery. Lewis E. Buckley, general store owner and Ward post master in the 1880s, built a Folk Victorian house in 1886 across Concord Road from the mill complex. John Hart, a Ward blacksmith, built his Victorian home in the 1890s as well. Ward Village is also home to the Thomas Marshall House, also known as “Handwrought,” which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its significant example of 19th century architecture. Ward Village is a prime example of how villages within Concord Township were centered around mills and other major nodes of industry. Today, Ward Village is composed of both private residences and commercial and retail businesses. Il Granaio, the beloved Italian restaurant housed in the former Richards & Schrader feed store, has been adaptively re-used. The Thomas Speakman house is currently used for the commercial office space of Zizza Highway Services. The train station no longer exists, but there are remains of train tracks in the vicinity. Approx. 14 Remaining Historic Inventory Resources Ward, 1924 St. John’s Church P.E. Sharpless Company creamery in Ward, c. 1910s Concord Road and downtown Ward, 1940s Concordville Train Station in Ward