History Unlocked-Feb 2017, Society Founding
Polecat Road House – The Historic Landmark that Started It All – Part II By: Karen Kendus In the last installment of History Unlocked, I discussed an important landmark found within the borders of Concord Township called the Polecat Road House. The preserved building standing there today looked rather different than the building donated to Concord Township by Arters Brothers Realty Company. The house in question was in grave disrepair and according to one Daily Local reporter of the day, in a condition where “winter’s savagery” could do it in. As a result, a group of dedicated volunteers with a desire to preserve this 18th century structure established Concord Township Historical Society, which has lasted 50 years, without any sign of slowing down. In November 1965, Arters Brothers Realty Company acquired the Polecat Road House and surrounding pr operty. Arters Brothers planned to build a housing development named Fox Valley, which you can find today along Polecat Road. In July 1967, Arters Brothers transferred the Polecat Road House and the one acre upon which it sat to Concord Township for $1. Concord Township supervisor, Sam Upperman, saw a need for a separate group dedicated to preservation of the house. Through his contacts and friendships with fellow township residents, Mr. Upperman gathered a group at his home on the evening of January 30, 1967 to “discuss the organizing of an Historical Society.” Sixteen Concord Township residents formed the original Concord Township Historical Society. They chose office positions that night with Mr. Upperman as their president. The first order of business for the newly formed Concord Township Historical Society was to review the property and raise funds for the preservation of Polecat Road House. Concord Township Historical Society had several arc hitects look at the structure first. They dated it no later than 1750, which was crucial information. The records from the time are incomplete, and the actual date is still unknown. Unfortunately, even though the house had occupants only two years before the Township received it, the house itself was crumbling. The roof needed to be replaced. As with many old houses, the floor needed replacing in some areas, but reinforcing and leveling in others. The double fireplaces were plastered shut. The winding staircases on either end were missing pieces in places and would also need to be replaced. A portion of these funds was collected at the annual St. John’s Concord Episcopal Church house and garden tour, sponsored in 1967 by the Historical Society. The estimate for renovation at the time was $5,000. By 1978, the Historical Society had spent more than $16,000 on the restoration, all donated in the name of historic preservation, by way of selling funnel cakes, holding pig roasts and colonial suppers, selling prints of the house, and of course collecting membership dues. Renovations on the Polecat Road House were completed over the course of several years. Based on tax information for William Trimble at his death, the Polecat Road House was renovated according to how we believe it looked when it was first built. The doors were placed back at the ends of the house. The dormers were also removed. The fireplaces were restored to their previous glory, and the wall separating each half of the first floor was removed. Due to their hard work and continued maintenance of this property, Concord Township Historical Society has cared for Polecat Road House for the past 50 years. Note wooden insert at the edge of the two fireplaces in the photo at right – this is what remains of the wooden partition that separated the two families that lived in this building. In the years since 1967, Concord Township Historical Society has grown. Today, the Historical Society continues to offer tours of the museum located in the first floor of the Pierce-Willits House, at 659 Smithbridge Road, and sponsors a number of additional events throughout the year. This year marks their 50th anniversary. It takes an incredible group of people to realize the need to preserve our history, and turn it into a thriving group of volunteers, fueled by donations. I am proud to be part of this incredible organization, with its own rich history. In the coming months, History Unlocked will include a plethora of topics relating to the history of Concord Township to help celebrate Concord Township Historical Society’s 50th anniversary. Each article was researched using the materials collected and categorized by Concord Township Historical Society members since their inception. Please check back next month for our next History Unlocked article and stay tuned for upcoming events. Note: CTHS has replicas of the Polecat Road House for sale for $35.00. Contact them for how to purchase. References Brice, George. 1967. “Concord Township Historians Begin Restoration Project.” Daily Local News, 11 October: 16. Concord Township Historical Society. 1967. Meeting Minutes. Taken by G. DeNenno, unpublished. Indenture. 1967 July 3. Delaware County Recorder of Deeds. Media, PA.
History Unlocked – January 2017, Polecat Road House History
Polecat Road House – The Historic Landmark that Started It All – Part I By: Karen Dingle Kendus, Concord Township Historical Society As one of the first townships created in William Penn’s Pennsylvania colony, only two years after Penn acquired the land, Concord Township takes great pride in its history. While there are many historic properties in Concord Township, one of the most prized is that of the Polecat Road House, part of the old Trimble Mill Estate. William Trimble (1705-1795) purchased these 50 acres of land between U.S. Route 1 and Cheyney Road from Thomas West in 1737, and constructed a two-story stone house. The two-story stone house is now part of the Newlin Grist Mill, which had an operating mill by 1704. By the time of his death, William had also built a stone kitchen, a stone smokehouse, a springhouse, a frame barn, a saw mill, and a 1.5 story tenant house, now known as the Polecat Road House. William died in 1795 and passed his estate onto his grandson, also named William. William Jr. (1766-1842) immediately built a paper mill and ran both mills until 1813. Trimble Mill was leased in 1813 by John D. Carter, who transformed the paper and saw mills into a cotton factory. Carter ran the Trimble cotton factory until 1826, spinning 750 pounds of cotton yarn weekly. The factory was leased to Jacob Taylor and later to Joseph Trimble, and “many others” who are unnamed in records. In March of 1873, the factory was destroyed by fire and the property was sold to General Robert Patterson. General Patterson died, and his estate sold the factory and land to George Rush in 1884. Rush already owned a number of properties in the Village of Concord, where he lived and worked as a merchant. He planned to rebuild the mills with the intention of building a roller skate factory. Rush’s son, George C. Rush, did in fact have a patent for Rush Roller Skates that he acquired in 1879. It is unclear if the Rushes ever manufactured roller skates on this site, though the 1880 census lists George C. Rush as “skate manufacturer.” In 1914, James Getty acquired this property, demolished the factory, and used the land for farming. Rush Roller Skates Patent Throughout all owners of this property, the Polecat Road House survived. Based on the understanding that the Polecat Road house was built between 1737 and 1795, it is amazing this gem remained. The Polecat Road house is a beautiful example of how working class tenant families lived. It has a simple rectangular shape with a partition in the center to accommodate two families (partition since removed during renovations). There are stairways at either end of the house extending from the basement to the second floor loft and two corner fireplaces built in the Swedish style, where the fireplace rests on logs instead of stones. The house remained occupied for the better part of the 20th century before the surrounding acreage was developed. Today, the Polecat Road House is surrounded by private homes, part of the Fox Valley housing development. How was an historic home saved from demolition by developers? And what did this historic landmark start? Stay tuned for our next installment of History Unlocked in February 2017. References Case, Robert P. and Virginia M. DeNenno. 1998. Concord Township: Progress and Prosperity in the Nineteenth Century. Kutztown, Pennsylvania: The Kutztown Publishing Co. pp. 111-112 East Coast Geneaology. 2016. Trimble Mills (aka Felton Mills). Accessed: 12/1/16. http://eastcoastgenealogy.com/delaware-county/trimble-mills-aka-felton-mills ** Note on this: This site cites Ashmead’s history, but it is actually almost word for word from John W. Jordan’s A History of Delaware County and its People, Vol I., page 343. Jordan, John W. 1914. A History of Delaware County and its People, Vol I. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, pp. 343. Unknown Author. 1991. The Polecat Road House. Pamphlet. U.S. Government. 1880. 10th Census of the United States of America: Pennsylvania Vol. 32 Delaware (cont.), pp. 715