Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society
History Quarterly Digital Archives

Source: October 1998 Volume 36 Number 4, Pages 130–131

Notes and Comments

• Timothy School Locates Here
• Berwyn Village Shops Open
• Moore Hall Protected

Page 130

Timothy School Locates Here

Timothy School, which serves elementary and middle school children ages five to 14 who are autistic or have other developmental disabilities, opened on September 9, 1998 in Berwyn. Earlier this year the school purchased the former Tredyffrin Township building on Old Lancaster Road which had been vacant since 1995, when the municipal offices were moved to Chesterbrook.

The approximately 17,000 square-foot brick building has been renovated to include 11 classrooms, a cafeteria, a gymnasium and special purpose rooms, including those for testing and music. Fifty-three students from the six county area are enrolled. The school will be staffed with 38 full time teachers and administrators and some part-time helpers. Dr. Judy D'Angelo is executive director.

The school started as a church mission of Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church over 30 years ago, and before the move had shared space on the church campus and elsewhere in Bryn Mawr.

Berwyn Village Shops Open

Nick's Appliances, the first unit of the new Village Shops located on the site of the former Industrial Valley Plumbing outlet across Lancaster Avenue from the Berwyn Shopping Center, opened on September 15, 1 998. The oldest part of the renovated building has been demolished and Ernest Eadeh, owner of the development, plans construction of a small office building there in the near future.

Page 131

Moore Hall Protected

Moore Hall, a manor house built around 1740 by William Moore, a long­time justice of the peace and county judge, has been saved from encroachment by a housing subdivision. It is one of the best and oldest examples of Georgian architecture in the county. An agreement finalized on August 21,1998 between Rouse/Chamberlin Homes, the builder; and French and Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust and other preservation groups, provides assurance that the house, placed on the National Register in 1974, will be protected from future development.

The house is located on the west bank of the Pickering Creek along Route 23 about two miles west of Valley Forge National Historical Park. While the army was at Valley Forge, Col. Clement Biddle, Forage Master General, and other officers were quartered at Moore Hall. A committee of the Continental Congress met there in the early part of 1778 to work with Gen. Washington in planning the most efficient organization of the Conti­nental battalions.

Moore, a controversial figure and noted Tory, was an old man of seventy­six years at the time of the Revolution, and received both sides with equal courtesy. He died in 1783 and is buried at Old St. David's Church directly in front of the church door.