Maplewood Gymnasium and Dante Orphanage
43 Thornton Road Joseph Shortlidge founded the Maplewood Institute in 1862, an early coed boarding school, perhaps the one of the first in the area. The student list in 1877 included many local names: Darlington, Hannum, Hoopes, Phipps. By 1909, it had become a school for young men and boys only. The Gymnasium was built in 1898 and featured one large room with upper windows. The lower windows were added during the time of the church who owned this property until the township purchased the 20 acres in 2005. The portico in this photo, most likely added by the church, was removed in 2009. The Dante Orphanage was begun in 1920 by the Sons of Italy to care for World War I orphans from Italy. It later became home to children from one-parent families and Sundays found relatives and children picnicking under the huge maple trees that adorned this property, likely giving it its name. It was run by The Sisters of the Catholic Apostolate (also known as Pallottine), and closed in 1968. It was temporarily used by Garnet Valley School District and Delaware County Community College before being purchased by Church of Our Savior. Today the Gymnasium is the Concord Community Center and the Orphanage is the home of the Concord Township Offices. This property is Historic Resource #197.
Concord Friends Meeting
Concord and Thornton Road Concord Friends Meeting was erected in 1728, replacing a log structure built in 1710 on a site leased from John Mendenhall in 1697 for‚ “one peppercorn yearly forever.” It was rebuilt and enlarged after a serious fire in 1788. The meeting itself (the congregation) was organized prior to 1697, and was the sixth such organized in what is now Delaware County. The meeting seems to have been a social and educational as well as religious center of Concord from the earliest days. The first classes for children were held in 1717, a schoolhouse was built on the site in 1779, and classes were held until 1836 when local government assumed responsibility for secular education. Accounts of the Battle of the Brandywine state that the Meetinghouse served as a sanctuary for wounded soldiers fleeing the battleground. Among the memorable moments in the history of the Concord Quarterly Meeting, on February 20, 1800, it declared itself ‚ “Clear of importing, disposing of, or holding mankind as slaves.” This property is listed as Historic Resource #118.
Bush Hill – Palmer-Poole and Wilson Palmer
Bush Hill Palmer-Poole and Wilson Palmer Garnet Mine Road and 40 Bethel Road Bush Hill was named by the Rose Tree Hunt Club, because of the low growth foliage, called “bush”, that provided cover for the fox. Concord Township was prime hunt country from as early as 1715 until well into the 1960’s. Moses Palmer bought a large parcel from an original 1681 tract, in 1787. His son Joseph built a log barn in 1791, which was rebuilt in the 1870’s by George Poole, using the original foundation and log joists. This red barn is located on Garnet Mine Road, near the intersection with Bethel Road and is Historic Resource #1. Wilson Palmer, Joseph’s son, built a home in 1834 on a parcel next to his father’s, and then later a barn and springhouse in the late 1830’s. A second springhouse on this property, along Bethel Road, originally belonged to the property across the street and was given to Concord Township by Delaware County in 2004. This property is Historic Resource #72. Today both of these properties are owned by Concord Township, purchased in 1999 and total 34 acres. Bush Hill is the site of many Park & Rec activities and the townships Dog Park.