Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society
History Quarterly Digital Archives


Source: October 1990 Volume 28 Number 4, Pages 143–148


County Certification and the National Register of Historic Places

Jane L. S. Davidson

Page 143

The Chester County Historic Preservation Office was started eight years ago, in 1982, by the Chester County Commissioners as a department of the Chester County Redevelopment Authority.

At that time the Commissioners saw that development was coming, and they knew that we had in Chester County approximately 17,000 structures that were 50 years old or older and that might be of value to the heritage of the county. They also realized that the real attractiveness of Chester County lay not only its open space, but also in its historic resources; and that if we were to lose too many of them our county would also lose some of its attractiveness and the values which we have worked so hard to obtain. Therefore, our office was started.

Over these last eight years I've seen changes within the office as it reflects changes in citizen's concerns. Initially, the principal concern seemed to be to identify the historic sites in the county -- and to be sure that we had them all identified. Then a change came, and the major concern was how to take advantage of investment tax credits for rehabilitation, restoration, and adaptive reuse of historic properties. More recently, the concern has been to get large historic districts, rather than individual properties, recognized and placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

If you come into our office at 117 West Gay Street in West Chester, you will find that our files are growing by leaps and bounds. Over the years

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we have been obtaining back-up data for every property in the county that is on the National Register. (And, incidentally, our office has processed and placed over 2000 properties on the Register.) We are now also computer-coding everything so that, hopefully within another year or so, we will have every site in the county that is a historic resource in the computer. We have a lot of information in that small office.

We also maintain a small historic preservation technical library for the use of the public to help with restoration and preservation questions. If some one has a home that was constructed in 1860 or 1870, for example, and wants to know what color it should be, we can show him colors that are not Williamsburg colors but are the colors that were used here locally in Chester County or southeastern Pennsylvania at that time.

Now the winds have shifted again. The important concern today seems to be preservation planning -- working with municipal historic commissions and municipal planning commissions to develop guidelines on what can be done when historic resources become "endangered".

I remember the very first historical commission established in Chester County; it was in West Whiteland Township. I'll never forget the day: I was teaching Bible School at St. James Episcopal Church in Downingtown when a Mrs. Thomas, who lived in Exton, came by. She was very upset that under a new zoning plan that was being introduced, her property was being zoned as commercial -- and "we" had to do something about it. I didn't even live in West Whiteland! Well, that was twenty years ago -- when a group worked together and finally got a Historical Commission started there.

Now, twenty-one years later, by the end of this year we will have about fifty local historic commissions or local historical societies or history clubs like yours in Chester County. It reflects an incredible appreciation of our heritage, and shows that you, as citizens, do care. Continue to care. It means a lot.

With regard to the National Register of Historic Places, as you probably know, it is getting more and more difficult to get a property listed on the Register. Yet we have a number of properties that are important to our local heritage, and something should be done to preserve them. What could we do?

My first call about this came, I would say, about seven years ago -- not long after our office was established. A gentleman called about the Westtown train station. He wanted to do something with it and had to go "before the Zoning Hearing Board: could I give him a letter of support to at the hearing?

Then other calls started to come in -- this one, then that one -- and it became obvious that we had to do something better, something on a broader basis.

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But in Pennsylvania, counties cannot make laws. We cannot create laws; we only carry through what the state laws provide, or assist municipalities within the county. So I came up with the idea of a County Historic Certification program to provide information for the various municipalities, and assist them in the preparation of Zoning Ordinances and Municipal Comprehensive Plans.

Certification is not issued carte blanche, but only after an analysis of primary resource evidence and the application of criteria standards. The procedure begins with an inquiry as to whether the property has already been determined to be historic. (In most cases it is found to have been tallied as part of the Chester County Historic Sites Survey conducted between 1979 and 1982.) A certification worksheet is then completed by the owner, or a person of his or her choosing, or by our office under a contract: Is the property associated with events that have made a contribution to the broad patterns of our history? Is it associated with prominent people who have contributed to the local community and/or Chester County's heritage? Does it embody distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction; or that represent the work of a master; or that possess artistic values; or that represent a significant and distinctive Chester County interpretation of function or style? Does it contain potential archaelogical knowledge, or has it already yielded information important in pre-history or history?

Only if it meets this criteria evaluation is County Historic Certification granted. Although this designation does not provide tax credits for the property, it can be used in appearances before a municipal Zoning Board, and for age-justification for the I. R. S., real estate appraisals, and financial support from banks.

How have the municipalities reacted? A number of them have incorporated this designation or certification into their zoning ordinances.

Right now, in East Bradford Township, we are in the second stage of a three-year plan. By the end of three years we will have evaluated all 176 of their properties and will have issued County Certification for all those that qualify. They are not necessarily eligible for the National Register -- how many times have I heard them say, "Oh, Jane, do you want to put another Chester County farmhouse on the Register; how many hundreds do you have?" -- but they are important to East Bradford Township. And they're important to Chester County, and to Tredyffrin Township, and to Easttown Township. We would not be getting the calls we do if the people didn't care -- and we are getting calls, some days 35 to 40, with all three lines busy. (Arthur Godfrey used to say, "Keep those letters coming"; we say, "Keep those calls coming!")

This doesn't mean that you shouldn't try to get a property on the National Register. The National Register of Historic Places is a component in the conservation of our historic resources. Designation on it instigates a federal review, known as Section 106, when a federal government agency becomes involved with any proposed undertaking. This can be as simple as issuing a federal permit or as complex as supplying financial assistance.

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Our office also works with PennDot's environmental office. When there is a proposed roadway change, the Environmental Engineer checks our files to ascertain the level of registration each resource in the area of the proposed activity has. Any designation, from the County Historic Sites Survey to the National Register, is taken into consideration. This amicable dialogue has been taking place for the past six years, and it's wonderful!

For instance, a little while ago PennDot sent us a set of plans to widen a section of Route 202. We told them exactly which of the properties were on the National Register, which had already received some kind of federal assistance, and which were included in the Chester County Historic Sites Survey of 1979-1982. Even when it was listed on only the Historic Sites Survey, they took notice and listened!

There are between 225 and 230 properties - I believe it's 227 -- in Tredyffrin that are included in this Historic Sites Survey. And we have received authorization from Harrisburg to amend the list and add more if we uncover others that should be on the list. So even this is not iron-clad.

You also have seventeen properties in your two townships on the National Register of Historic Places. (By the way, we have in our office a list of all the places on the Register for the entire country, and also the Directory of the American Association for State and Local History. Again, the office may be small, but we have a lot of information.)

Here are the places in Tredyffrin and Easttown townships that are on the Register. It may surprise you that two of them, the first two in alphabetical order, are bridges.

The first is a bridge in Tredyffrin, owned by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, on Gulph Road across Trout Run, in the eastern section of the township near Port Kennedy. It was placed on the Register on June 22, 1988. The date of construction of the bridge is unknown. It is built of quartz rubble, with roughly squared arch frames and segmental arches. It also has a concrete parapet on the top, and is one of eleven bridges in Chester County in the Historic Highway Bridges book for Pennsylvania.

(Throughout the county there are hundreds of bridges that were initially constructed by the county. One part of my job is to work with the County Engineering Office to decide which ones should be restored -- and to have them restored so that when the restoration is finished it still looks like a historic bridge. A good example was the restoration of the Kennedy bridge over the French Creek in East and West Vincent townships, which burned on May 18, 1986. It was made of a very dense wood from Africa; no saw mill in the United States could cut it and it had to be sawed in Germany. You can hold a match to it for an hour and it will not burn. It was a hard job, but we had fun and it was an exciting project. If you haven't seen it, you should go take a look at it.)

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The other bridge in Tredyffrin that's on the Register is County Bridge No. 117, though it is actually now owned by the Commonwealth too. It was originally built by the county, but since 1965 has been owned by PennDOT. It is on Cedar Hollow Road north of Paoli, over Valley Creek, and was put on the Register on June 22, 1988. Originally, there was a wooden bridge here, but it was replaced in 1907 by the present bridge, a stone-arch bridge 55 feet long built by P. J. McCormick & Sons. I believe the cost of construction was around $4,435 - a lot less than today!

Another property on the National Register is Cramond, on Crestline Road in Strafford, put on the Register on June 30, 1983. It was built in the late 19th century, and is right across from the Strafford train station. (It's not just the Washington's headquarters or the Liberty Bell that make the Register; it's places like this that are important to you and me and Chester County too.)

Cressbrook Farm, in Tredyffrin near Valley Forge, was put on the Register back on October 26, 1972. You may know it better as DuPortail 's quarters.

Even though buildings are supposed to be at least 50 years old or older to be listed, the next one was so unusual that it was listed even though it wasn't that old. It is the Wharton Esherick studio, on the Horse-Shoe Trail just off Country Club road on Diamond Rock Hill, accepted on the National Register on April 26, 1973.

Next is the Federal Barn, adjacent to DuPortail's quarters in Chesterbrook, which was also put on the Register on February 8, 1980, almost seven and a half years after the house. It has several unique architectural features for a barn, and is dated "1792".

Great Valley Mill, on North Valley Road in Tredyffrin, has been on the Register since September 1, 1983. It is also known as Jarman's Mill.

Then there's the David Havard house in Chesterbrook, better known as the Lee-Bradford quarters during the Valley Forge encampment. It was put on the list on October 26, 1972. Lafayette's quarters, on Wilson Road, was entered on the Register on June 20, 1974.

Next is Roughwood, at one time the old Lamb's Tavern, on Old Lancaster Road in Devon, placed on the Register on November 23, 1984. (This is a good example of the importance of being on the National Register. You may recall that a couple of years ago there was a proposal to demolish the carriage house behind the house. Even though the carriage house itself was not on the Register, it is an integral part of the complex. The owners of Roughwood, interested citizens, and preservationists from the local to national levels all became involved. Fortunately, a compromise was reached, and the structure was saved.

Stirling's Quarters, the quarters of Major General Lord Stirling during the Valley Forge encampment, on Yellow Springs Road, was put on the Register on February 15, 1974.

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Next is one with which you are all familiar: the Strafford railroad station on Old Eagle School Road. Bob Goshorn and Anne Cook spent numerous hours researching, analyzing, writing and rewriting the National Register application. They are to be commended for their dedication and persistence, because the station was accepted for the Register on June 26, 1984.

And of course Valley Forge National Park is on the Register, and has been since October 15, 1966, the year the National Register of Historic Places was started.

The next two places are connected with General Anthony Wayne. The first is the Joseph Walker house on Anthony Wayne Drive, Wayne's quarters while the army was at Valley Forge, placed on the Register on January 6, 1987. The other is Waynesborough, in Easttown Township, Wayne's birthplace, put on the Register on March 7, 1973. (This is the type of historic resource you think about being on the National Register; you don't usually think of the corner grocery or more commonplace type of historic resource.)

And, finally, there's the Wetherby-Hampton-Snyder-Wilson-Erdman log house on Irish Road in Berwyn, placed on the list on April 2, 1973.

That's a very good representation. When you look at the directory of the National Register of Historic Places, you'll find that Chester County has one of the highest number of listings in Pennsylvania. (I believe it has the most places entered in the state other than Philadelphia.) Incidentally, the County Historic Preservation Office now has a Preservation Specialist whose responsibility is to expedite the numerous components in applications for the National Register or County Historic Certification.

There's one other thing I must tell you about our office: we have just been qualified by Columbia University for graduate research and are approved to have a graduate student work with us this [1990] summer.

As I've said before, the County Historic Preservation Office is small -- but it is heavily used by Chester County's citizens and a lot goes on!

 
 

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