Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society
History Quarterly Digital Archives

Source: July 1981 Volume 19 Number 3, Pages 98–100

Notes and Comments

• More on Skelp Level
• General Stirling's Weapons
• Population Changes in Tredyffrin and Easttown Townships
• New Superintendent at Valley Forge Park

Page 98

More on Skelp Level

In the Notes and Comments section of the April 1980 issue of the Quarterly, it was noted that the old name of "Skelp Level" for Daylesford was perhaps a variant of "Scalp Level", by which name the area was also sometimes known. It appears that, in fact, the opposite is probably the case, and that "Scalp Level" is the real variant.

This conclusion is prompted by information in an old letter, dated March 2, 1902, written by Miss Hannah Epright, for many years the local "schoolmarm", first at the Glassley School and later at the Easttown School that replaced Glassley in 1888. The letter was written to John P. Croasdale, not long after he had purchased the old Blue Ball Inn property.

In answer to Mr. Croasdale's inquiry about the origin of the name "Skelp Level", Miss Epright wrote:

"My dear Sir:- Feb. 15 I rec'd a letter from you containing a query in regard to the name 'Skelp Level' as applied to your home.

"The very bad walking ever since, has hindered me, until to-day, from seeing the only person who, I thought, could give me any information about it. This friend lives 3/4"`of a mile away, so I trust you will pardon what under more favorable circumstances would be a great breach of courtesy. She knew no more than I did.

Page 99

"Skelp is a Scottish word meaning a smart stroke. Burns, in his Poem 'The Holy Fair' says:
'Three Huzzies, early at the road,
Cam skelpin' up the way;'
which would mean to walk with a smart stroke; now in the days of wagoning and foot travel that place was a nice, long level where foot travelers could easily 'skelp' along snd as much of this ridge was settled by the Scotch Irish, I have no doubt that it received its name in this way, although it was seldom called that.

"There are three or four Skelp Levels in Chester County, one about two miles from West Chester, and they are all just such level places as Daylesford and I presume they rec'd their names in the same way, ... .

"I think that I have given you just about what it means, and I can assure you that you are entirely welcome to any little pains that I have taken in the matter. ..."

General Stirling's Weapons

After reading General William Alexander Lord Stirling's account of his losses during the Revolutionary War in the previous issue of the Quarterly, Rick Menapace, a free lance writer with an interest in maritime history and arms of the Revolutionary War period, called to give additional information on General Stirling's side-arms.

The fusee which General Stirling reported he had lost was more commonly known as a "fusil", Menapace reported. It was a light musket, with a shorter barrel, normally carried by officers who were mounted. The transcription of "screw Barreled" for the pistol, he confirmed, is also correct, as by the time of the Revolutionary War pistols of this type were being manufactured, though they were quite expensive and probably could be purchased only by officers of Lord Stirlimg's means. The pistol was breech loaded, without the need for a ramrod, and was considerably more accurate than its muzzle- loaded counterpart.

We would also like belatedly to thank Stephen MacNeill for his permission to reproduce the drawing of Stirling's Quarters which appeared with the article.

Population Changes in Tredyffrin and Easttown Townships

Information from the 1980 Census, recently released by the United States Census Bureau, shows population losses in both Tredyffrin and Easttown townships between 1970 and. 1980. It was the first cen"`sus to show a decrease in population in Tredyffrin in eleven de"`cades, or since the 1870 Census, and the first decline in popula"`tion in Easttown Township since the 1940 Census.

Tredyffrin Township's total population of 23,019 in the 1980 Census was 1.6 per cent lower than the 23,404 total of the 1970 Census, while in Easttown Township the 1980 total of 9,064 was down 5.2 per cent from the 9,565 total in the census ten years earlier.

Page 100

At the same time, the Census data on housing units showed a sharp increase in each township, from 7,047 in 1970 to 8,845 in 1980 (a 25.5 per cent increase) in Tredyffrin, and from 2,523 in 1970 to 1,937 in 1980 (a 16.4 per cent increase) in Easttown Township.

Overall, Chester County showed a 14.0 per cent gain in population between 1970 and 1980, and a 36.9 per cent gain in housing units.

By census, the population of Tredyffrin and Easttown townships since 1860 has been

Census of Tredyffrin Easttown
Year	Tredyffrin	Easttown
1860	1,938	728
1870	1,897	736
1880	1,975	845
1890	2,549	1,682
1900	2,926	1,910
1910	4,017	2,178
1920	4,470	2,397
1930	5,491	2,559
1940	6,260	2,552
1950	7,830	3,784
1960	16,004	6,907
1970	23,404	9,565
1980	23,019	9,064

New Superintendent at Valley Forge Park

On June 15 Wallace B. Elms became the new superintendent at Valley Forge National Historical Park, replacing Gilbert Lusk, who earlier in the year had been named superintendent at Big Bend National Park in Texas.

Before his assignment to Valley Forge, Elms had been superintendent at Petersburg National Battlefield in Virginia, a position he had held for the past six years. A veteran of 25 years with the National Park Service, his other assignments have included Hopewell Village, his first superintendency; and service at the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site in Iowa; Mount Rushmore and the Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota; Fort Jefferson National Park in the Dry Tortugas off the Florida coast; the Lake Mead National Recreational Area in Arizona and Nevada; and at Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico.