Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society
History Quarterly Digital Archives


Source: January 1995 Volume 33 Number 1, Pages 42–44


Notes and Comments

Page 42

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Found: Jim Hadly's Grandfather's House

In late October we received a call, and a visit, from Jim Hadly who lives in Baltimore. Could we help him find the house his grandfather, Charles O. Hadly, lived in?

He brought with him three clues: an obituary of his grandfather, a former vice-president of the Alan Wood Steel Co., dated August 31, 1947, in which it was reported that he "formerly lived in Berwyn and was a trustee of the Wayne Methodist Episcopal Church"; an old photograph of the house; and a recollection that it was near a brick school building with a tennis court. The name "Conestoga Road" also seemed "to ring a bell".

We took the photograph to the Club's annual banquet the next night, and Helen Hayes, a club member, immediately recognized it as "Dr. Bolster's old house on Conestoga Road, across from the old Tredyffrin Easttown High School building".

When Jim Hadly came back for his picture a couple of days later, we showed him the house. The present owners, Erik and Lucy Karlsson, were there and kindly invited us in. "As soon as I went in there," Hadly later commented, "and saw the staircase leading up to the second floor, chills ran up my back. I must have been only about seven years old or so the last time I visited here." The Karlssons also had several of Brog Okie's original architect's drawings of the house -with the same facade as the photograph.

There was no doubt about it, but to clinch the matter, on the 1933 Franklin map, the owner of the house, with two outbuildings and 4.75 acres of land, was shown as "Blanche T. Hadley" -- slightly mis-spelled, but Jim Hadly's grandmother.

In the obituary of Charles O. Hadly, it was also noted that he began his career in his native Pittsburgh "in 1882 as an office boy with a steel producer and remained in the industry until his retirement". "During World War I," it was also noted, "Mr. Hadly served on a subcommittee of the American Iron and Steel Institute in charge of allocating and distributing sheet steel. He was [also] a member of the executive committees of the National Association of Sheet and Tin Plate Manufacturers, and the Sheet Steel Trade Extension Committee."

Page 43

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Improvements Planned for Route 202

It is estimated that as many as 105,000 motor vehicles travel U. S. Route 202 between Paoli and King of Prussia each day. As a result, it is inevitable that traffic on it is frequently "bumper-to- bumper", with traffic tie-ups literally miles long a daily occurrence at rush hours.

In early December a plan to ameliorate this condition was announced by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, a $150 million project to begin this summer and be completed before the end of the century. The proposed project is to be financed jointly by the Federal Highway Administration, PennDOT, and Tredyffrin and Upper Merion townships, and will include not only the widening of Route 202 but also the rebuilding of several bridges, the relocation of some of the off- and on-ramps and the construction of several new ones, and improving the access roads in the area.

Preliminary public hearings on the proposal are already underway.

Under the proposal, Route 202 itself is to be widened from four lanes to six lanes -- three northbound and three southbound � by extending the roadway onto the existing 44-foot-wide grass median strip between the northbound and southbound lanes, and to eight lanes between the Devon and Route 252 interchanges to accommodate the six through-traffic lanes and provide an additional lane in each direction for the traffic between these two interchanges.

The plan also includes the relocation of the ramp carrying northbound traffic from Route 202 onto 1-76, the Schuylkill Expressway, with the ramp to go from Route 202 farther to the south (west), before the Old Eagle School Road underpass. Changes in the ramps connecting Route 202 and Route 422 are also a part of the plan, together with the construction of service roads alongside the southbound lanes of Route 202 to provide direct connections from 1-76 and Route 202 South to Route 422 and Swedesford Road. On the othe side of Route 202, Devon Park Drive, which now runs between West Valley Road and Old Eagle School Road, is to be extended from Old Eagle School Road and South Warner Road, with new ramps built to connect it with Route 422 and Route 202 North.

Two additional interchanges onto Route 202 South, on either side of Old Eagle School Road, are also proposed. The Paoli (Swedesford) Road and Chesterbrook interchanges are also scheduled for improvement, together with changes in Swedesford Road and the extension of Chesterbrook Boulevard to Swedesford Road. It is proposed that Swedesford Road be widened to a minimum of three lanes to provide additional space for cyclists, and that the existing two-lane bridge over Route 202 be replaced with a three-lane structure, with two eastbound and one southbound lanes, Other access roads are also to be improved and several new traffic signals installed.

The principal concern expressed at the initial hearing on the proposal was with regard to sound barriers and noise abatement, not only after the pro- ject is completed but also during the construction work.

Page 44

It was also suggested, however, that the widening of Route 202 and other proposed changes would not provide a long-term solution to the problem and could, in fact, "set us up for a worse mess in the future" as the improved roads could "generate as many as 80,000 additional vehicle trips daily, according to some estimates".

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Tredyffrin Township Seeks New Logo

The Tredyffrin Board of Supervisors has invited township residents to enter a contest for the design of a new logo or seal for the township.

In announcing the contest in its Fall/Winter 1994/1995 Township News it noted, "It may be helpful to know a little history of the township" and included this brief account of Tredyffrin:

"Tredyffrin Township, located in the most easterly area of Chester County, formed the northeast corner of the 40,000 acre Welsh Tract survey in the 1680's by David Powell, Deputy Surveyor for William Penn. Organized as a Township in 1707, the name Tredyffrin is of Welsh derivation. 'Tre' or 'tref is Welsh for 'town' or 'Township.' 'Dyffrin' means 'wide, cultivated valley,' the compound 'Tre yr Dyffryn' or Tredyffrin translates as 'Township in a wide cultivated valley.'

"Part of Valley Forge National Historic Park is located within Township borders. Although no battles were fought here, the Colonial Army under General Washington made its encampment at Valley Forge during the winter of 1777-78, and many of the Township's earlier homes were occupied as quarters by Washington's officers.

"Transportation and agriculture have been important themes through Tredyffrin's history. Three major early roads through the Township [were]: the Swede's Ford (Swedesford) Road extending from a ford over the Schuylkill southwesterly through the Great Valley; the 'Provinical' (Conestoga) Road from Philadelphia to Lancaster; and the Lancaster Turnpike, built in 1793-94. In the 19th century, railroads were built through the Township, beginning with the Columbia (later Pennsylvania) Railroad in 1834, followed by the Chester Valley Railroad in 1850.

"In 1857, the population of the Township was 474 people. After the Civil War, the commuter rail line to the City of Philadelphia led to further development of the villages and construction of estates on what had been farmland. By 1940, the population was 6,250. Post World War II completion of the Schuylkill Expressway led to the development of industrial, research and office complexes and suburban style residential development in the eastern part of the Township. Another wave of development followed the completion of U. S. Route 202, which provides direct access to the Schuylkill Expressway and the Pennsylvania Turnpike. By 1990, the population had grown to over 28,000.

"Strafford, Daylesford and Chesterbrook are communities located entirely in Tredyffrin Township. Devon, Berwyn, Paoli, Wayne and Malvern are divided between Tredyffrin and adjacent municipalities. In 1975 the voters of Tredyffrin Township approved the adoption of a Home Rule Charter which tailored the structure of our local government to meet the Township's current and future needs. The Charter became effective in January, 1976, coincidentally and most appropriately the Bicentennial of American Independence."

 
 

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