Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society
History Quarterly Digital Archives

Source: Winter 2004 Volume 41 Number 1, Page 38

NOTES AND COMMENTS

Page 38 - Continued

Easttown Township Tricentennial

The year 2004 marks 300 years of Easttown Township history. The first official mention of the township appeared in records of the County Court in 1704 when William Thomas was appointed Constable for Easttown and charged with responsibility to collect the "three pence per 73 pound three shillings per head as laid by the last Court."

Land records show few transactions here before 1700. Easttown was on the edge of the Quaker Welsh Tract but, interestingly, was first inhabited by Church of England Welsh who established a church, St. David's, shortly after 1700.

Karl Klingelhoeffer is the Chairman of the Easttown Tricentennial celebration, heading a committee appointed by the Board of Supervisors to organize the activities. The theme or slogan adopted for the observance is "Easttown Township: Old in History - Young in Spirit." Events are planned throughout the year, and began with an inaugural gala dinner dance at Aronimink Country Club on January 17, 2004. (Easttown's own Waynesborough Country Club was closed for construction of a new clubhouse and was not available for the affair.)

Paoli Landmark Vanishes

In early November 2003, a structure was demolished which had graced the Lancaster Avenue roadside in Paoli for nearly ninety years. Robert Finley Matthews, native of Kentucky, age 53, bought the lot on the Lancaster Turnpike at the southwest corner of Spring Street in 1894. He opened a grocery store there. The reproduction of a bill head dated November 19, 1896, appeared on the cover of the January 1997 Quarterly. It reads: "R. F. Matthews, Dealer in Groceries, Meats & Provisions, Paoli, Chester Co., Pa." Matthews was one of the movers and shakers of the early growth of Paoli.

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Berwyn Business Marks 140 Years

William H. Fritz Lumber Company, located on Lancaster Avenue in Berwyn next to the railroad station, hung out a "140th Anniversary 1863-2003" banner the past year. By all measures, it is an enviable record. Henry Fritz started the lumber and hardware business in 1863 in what was then called Reeseville. He met an early death in an accident, but his descendent, William H. Fritz IV ("Howard"), operates the business today.

Artwork Depicts History

Valley Forge Middle School dedicated a 60-foot-long mural on the back wall of its cafeteria on November 25, 2003 to celebrate "Freedom and Friendships in Tredyffrin and Easttown Townships" and to signal the onset of a trio of historic celebrations—Easttown Township's in 2004, Paoli's in 2005, and Tredyffrin Township's in 2007. The Tredyffrin Easttown History Club supplied photographs which were used by designer and painter Abdul Ahmad of Philadelphia in laying out the large artwork. Included in the mural is a likeness of Dr. A. Wayne Baugh of Paoli, a charter member of the History Club in 1936.

Local Author

Berwyn resident, William Krasner, a writer, editor, and television producer who was the author of ten novels, died of a heart attack on October 29, 2003 at Bryn Mawr Hospital. He was 86. His best known work, Death of a Minor Poet, is the last of three mysteries featuring Sam Birge, an aging, world-weary detective.

Fall 2003 Architectural History Lectures

Two recent lectures sponsored by the Tredyffrin Historic Preservation Trust addressed architectural styles used in southeastern Pennsylvania during the colonial period.

On November 13, at the Cathcart Home Chapel, noted restoration architect Dale Frens of West Chester described the basic house plan types used here by English settlers. From the earliest periods to the second quarter of the nineteenth century, a limited number of such plan types were used and reused locally in both rural and town settings.

A second lecture followed on December 3 at Valley Friends Meeting House, where Seth Hinshaw, senior planner with Wise Preservation Planning in Paoli, examined interesting aspects of colonial religious architecture. It has been found that all four of the most prominent colonial denominations—the Anglicans/Episcopalians, the Congregationalists/Puritans, the Presbyterians, and the Quakers/Friends—used a common building model that had its antecedents in England.

New Officers Elected

When the club met on November 23, 2003, members voted to adopt a change from biennial to annual election of officers and discontinued the office of 2nd vice president. The names of those elected to leadership positions for the year 2004 are shown on the first page of this issue. To the retiring officers, Mildred Kirkner, Peggy Egertson, and Betty Ripka, who served twenty, eight, and six years, respectively, we extend a heart-felt thank you for the many contributions they made on behalf of the club during their aggregate of 34 years of service.