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
Joseph Walters House
The Joseph Walter House sits on present-day Tory Hill Farm in the Ivy Mills Historic Village, and was constructed c.1840 for Quaker farmer Joseph Walter (1813-1894). The house was built on a land grant of 300 acres that was deeded to George Stroud in 1683, after which Godwin Walter purchased 100 acres in 1686 and built a small home on the western portion of the land. Joseph Walter was Godwin’s great-grandson, and purchased 50 acres of land from his father, Nathaniel, on the eastern side of the tract in 1822. A frame wing rear addition to the farm house was added in 1860. Mr. Walter lived in the farmhouse with his wife, Jane Hannum Walter (1817-1884), after their marriage in 1839. They had four children: Emma Jane, Anna Ellen, William, and Henry Clay (who married Mary Trimble Sharpless in 1869 in a ceremony performed by the Philadelphia mayor!). The Walter House also housed Joseph’s mother, Susanna Walter, and two boarders: Thomas Broomall and Rachel Cotton, who were both 17 year-old indentured laborers. The property was an active farm known as “Idro Farm,” and had 35 out of 50 acres under cultivation in 1850. Crops such as hay, corn oats, wheat, and potatoes were grown, with livestock such as horses, oxen , swine, cattle, and dairy cows raised. The property remained in the Walter family until 1979, when it was purchased by the Mark Willcox Family. Today, Dugan Equine operates a riding school on the farm. Historic Resource #138
James Marshall House
The James Marshall House was built c. 1740-1775 as an early 3 story Pennsylvania farm bank house built along the mill race of Concord Mill. The house is comprised of stone and logs. James Marshall sold the property to Nathan Sharpless in 1804. The Sharpless Family then sold the property to Thomas Thompson, a free Black man, in 1847. The James Marshall House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. It is described in its registration as “an excellent example of 18th century homestead and is one of very few completely unaltered 18th century log cabins extant in Southeastern Pennsylvania.” The property sat vacant for a decade in the 1970s, but was saved by the Harry family. Much of the house was dilapidated, but was painstakingly restored by the Harrys. They also added a period-appropriate addition copied from the 1722 Mendehnall-Peeling house. This property is a private residence and not open to the public. Concord Township Historic Resource #194