No. 5 Schoolhouse
The former No. 5 Public Schoolhouse, sometimes called the McCartney School, was a one-roomed, brick school built c. 1875 along Kirk Road. The Concord Township School Board paid $530 for 1 acre of land from Samuel Myers and $2,160.50 to build the schoolhouse, according to the Concord Township School Board Minutes from 1836-1883. Lewis W. Kitzelman received the contract to build the school, and Benjamin Green built the fence along two sides of the property for $19.20. Mary Bates was the first teacher and was paid $40 a month. A local newspaper article from the 1930s detailed how the Concord Township one-roomed public schoolhouses typically served 25-40 pupils across eight grades and that the classrooms were “bright and cheerful” and had an “air of informality and hominess.” The general layout of the schools were described as having small cloakrooms upon entrance through double doors, various sizes of desks, a central stove, and a brightly painted interior. Mrs. Beaulah Newlin Pennington, a direct descendant of Nicholas Newlin and prominent member of Concord Township, was the last teacher to instruct students at the No. 5 School. She taught for close to 20 years at the No. 5 School. Mrs. Pennington noted that during the Great Depression, many of her students couldn’t afford lunches, so she made a school lunch menu for the week. She often made soup on a pot-bellied stove with donated spare goods such as potatoes, beans, and garden vegetables. The school closed in 1948, along with the other numbered schoolhouses, after the Concord School opened on Bethel Road. Mrs. Pennington was a lifelong educator and went on to teach 5th grade at the Concord School after No. 5 School’s closure, closing out 45 years as a teacher in Concord Township. The schoolhouse was converted to a private home in the 1970s. This property is a private residence, and not open to the public. Concord Township Historic Resource #51
Isaac Cornog House
The Isaac Cornog House was built c. 1850 in Concordville near the intersection of Route 1 and Concord Road. It is a distinctive stone house with a wrap around porch. The Cornogs were a prominent historic family within Concord Township. The Cornog Family originally came to Pennsylvania in the 1730s from Wales. Isaac Cornog (1816-1880) was born in Haverford in 1816, but moved to Concordville around 1850 as a young adult and lived here for the rest of his life. He had 8 children with his wife Matilda Sharpless, all of which (with an exception of a daughter who died in infancy) were born and raised in Concordville. He was a carriage builder by trade, and known as one of the best builders in Delaware County. He was a lifelong Quaker, and is buried at the Concord Friends Meeting Graveyard in Concordville. His children and grandchildren were very active within Concord Township. His son Isaac Cornog (1861-1944) ran a grocery store in Concordville and served as the Concordville Postmaster. His son Albert Cornog owned a wheelwright shop in Concordville. His son Ulysses Grant Cornog was a local farmer, and also served as a Concord Township Supervisor for multiple terms. Through the years, the house passed to the Hibberd Family beginning in the 1930s then to the Aiello Family in the 1950s. The property was used from 1953-1997 as a dog kennel known as King Kennels. The Clinger Family owned the property from the 1990s until recently when the house was sold. This house is a private residence, and not open to the public. Historic Resource #176
Joseph Trimble — Jesse Palmer House aka Scotland Farm
Joseph Trimble originally purchased the land in 1782 from William Trimble, and was living in a 40 x 20 foot two-story stone house by 1798. The present house was built c. 1848 for Jesse Palmer. Palmer purchased 126 acres and the original stone house in 1843. Palmer likely tore down the original 40 x 20-foot house and used the stone to make the current home. It is also believed that he incorporated the original stone kitchen into the south side of the present house. Jesse Palmer was a farmer and owned over 100 acres of cultivated land. The property also consisted of a two-story barn with a wagon house and stabling for 40 heads of cattle, a smokehouse, a hog house, a stone springhouse, and various sheds. Jesse Palmer hired an apprentice farmer, Daniel Green, who ran away from the farm in 1848 at age 16 and advertised a six cents reward for his return. Alexander Scott purchased the home in 1856 and stayed with the Scott Family well into the 20th century. Alexander Scott owned and operated the thriving Alexander Scott & Son lumber and coal yard in Ward Village with his son Norris J. Scott. The Scotts were Quakers and staunch advocates against slavery. Norris J. Scott operated a haven out of his home for the Underground Railroad. Scotland Farm is an example of a typical mid-19th century farmhouse in Southeastern Pennsylvania. The earliest known picture of Scotland Farm appears in Ashmead’s History of Delaware County, published in 1884. An illustration of the Alexander Scott & Son mill complex can also be seen in Ashmead’s History of Delaware County. The property backs up to the Newlin Grist Mill park, overlooking Ward Creek and Valley. The house received extensive restoration in the 20th century by E. Mortimer Newlin and his wife, who founded the Newlin Foundation, which oversees the Newlin Grist Mill property. This house is a private residence and is not open to the public. Concord Township Historic Resource #148
John Larkin House
The John Larkin House is a stone farmhouse built in two sections: the earliest portion was built between 1790 and 1798, and the second was built in 1830. The house also has a 1980s kitchen addition and a 2003 family room addition. John Larkin was a farmer and Quaker. His son, John Larkin Jr., was born in this house in 1804. John Larkin Jr. became the first mayor of Chester in 1866 and served until 1872. The property remained with the Larkin family from 1785 until 1849, when it was sold to Job Hoopes. It then passed to Penrose Talley in 1866 and later to the Forwood family. In recent times, the John Larkin House was home to Dr. Leah Jordan, a longtime Chester High English teacher and professor at Kutztown and West Chester Universities. She affectionally referred to the house as “The Ruin.” The current owners are the brilliant gardeners and artists behind the beloved Renegade Flower Farm! An interesting early feature of the home, which has since been removed, was a wood panel that separated the stairs and doorways from the rooms. The panel, which could be drawn up or down, was attached to the ceiling. The houses’s inhabitants could move the panel to expand the size of the room or allow the summer breeze to circulate through the home. The barn on the property was also restored. The indentation of an early cartway can still be seen along the West side of the house. It leads from Kirk Road to Naaman’s Creek Road. This house is a private residence and is not open to the public. Concord Township Historic Resource #2