Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society
History Quarterly Digital Archives

Source: Fall 2004 Volume 41 Number 4, Page 118

Memories of Elda Farm

William F. Wilson

Page 118

Some of the things that come to mind when I think of Elda Farm are the wide lawns, the apple orchard, the big kitchens, the many rooms each with their own fireplaces, the screened-in porch and croquet on the side lawn.

I can't think of the broad wide lawns without hearing my father tell of when he was a boy and the whole lawn (about 4 acres) was mowed by hand with push mowers.

Elda Farm farmhouse

When the Valley Forge Music Fair was a tent in the middle of a field the owners rented part of the barns at Elda Farm for storage. They had carriages that we used to play on.

I had the opportunity to know all of my grandparent's brothers and sisters. One of the reasons was that Elda Farm was a magnet for family gatherings over the holidays. I can't hear "The Twelve Days of Christmas" without remembering how we would sit and stand around the piano while my father's cousin's husband would play it on my grandmother's grand piano. Everyone would join in - if not in the singing then certainly in the laughter as we mangled the lyrics.

My grandparents were very giving people and I have no doubt that they would be very pleased that their farm is now a public park. My grandmother often expressed her view that the farmhouse should become a retirement home or a hospital so that people could enjoy the picturesque setting.

I think one of the reasons that this is the last undeveloped open space in Tredyffrin Township is that my grandmother just took her determination directly to the Higher Source and became its guardian angel.

This land molded the character of five generations of Wilsons and their friends. Now this land through its open space, athletic fields, historical displays, and other uses will play a significant part in molding the character of future generations of Tredyffrin residents. We will always be grateful to those who made this park a reality.

William F. Wilson is the son of David Wilson and Virginia B. Wilson and the grandson of William West Wilson and Marie C. Wilson.