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2024 Member Excursion
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On Saturday, 15 June 2024, all current Society members were invited to join us for
our Annual Member Excursion, which this year took us to
The Finley House in Strafford, the headquarters of the Radnor Historical Society (RHS). We had been looking
forward to this visit for several years, and appreciate the hospitality of our friends at RHS.
Description from the RHS website:
The Finley House became the headquarters of the Radnor Historical Society in 1948 when its owner, Miss Dorothy Finley,
made the basement kitchen available to the newly formed organization. The kitchen, built in 1789, was the core of what was then
the farmhouse of Captain John Pugh, a veteran of the Revolutionary War. The rest of the house, which represents alterations
and additions made about 1840 and again in 1888 was given to the Society by Miss Finley in 1964, shortly before her death.
The Theodore Boreham Brooks Memorial Wagon House, built 1964 by Mr. Brooks, of Wayne, houses a fine collection of wagons, sleighs,
carriages, and other large objects. The principal item in the Wagon House is an original Conestoga Wagon, formerly owned by
Mr. Thornton Oakley, and given to the Society by his will in 1953. There is also a Pittsburgh Wagon, given by Mr. Oakley;
both are equipped with all the items necessary for the maintenance of the wagons, such as the jacks and wagon bells,
displayed on the front wall of the Wagon House. Also on display is a Germantown Carriage, a milk sleigh, a child's wagon,
a second sleigh, and a large hay wagon from Waynesborough. The original (1901) carriage house is still in existence,
but is no longer part of the property. In the garden are a number of fine old trees, two large millstones, and a bridge
cornerstone of 1855, all from Radnor sites.
The RHS staff and volunteers provided us with a guided tour, after which had time to enjoy some light refreshments and an opportunity to converse.
As with other recent excursions, we were joined again this year by members of the King of Prussia Historical Society.
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Upcoming Presentations and Events
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Click on the following links (where available) to view more information on meetings coming up in Winter/Spring 2024:
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| 22 September |
Easttown |
*Presentation topic to be announced. |
| 20 October |
Easttown |
*Presentation topic to be announced. |
| 17 November |
Easttown |
*Presentation topic to be announced. |
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* More information about these upcoming meetings and events will be available soon.
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Please Note: Our regular meetings are held at either Tredyffrin Public Library in Strafford or Easttown Library in Berwyn
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Special Events Sponsored by Other Organizations
We are sharing the following information from other local organizations.
2024 Historic Trappe Free Lecture Series
St. Luke's Church, 200 W. Main Street, Trappe, PA
Tuesday evenings, 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Refreshments following lecture
For more information, please visit the Historic Trappe Facebook Page
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SPEAKER & SUBJECT |
| 17 Sep |
Emily Sneff on Declaration of Independence and its translation into German + preview of our 2026-27 special exhibition plans for the America 250 |
| 22 Oct |
Trevor Brandt on fraktur + Americana Insights book signing |
| 19 Nov |
Chris Malone on paintings by Charles Hofmann + Americana Insights book signing |
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Links to Recent Online Presentation Videos
Society Presentations
Chester County Historic Preservation Network 2021 Spring Workshop (6 March 2021)
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Past Special Events Sponsored by Other Organizations
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Tredyffrin Community Day
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The Society exhibited again at the 2022 Tredyffrin Township Community Day
— on Saturday 8 October 2022 from 2 pm until 6 pm at Wilson Farm Park in Chesterbrook.
We enjoyed talking with the many people who stopped by and visited us.
The 2023 event was cancelled due to adverse weather conditions.
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Mt. Zion AME Church
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Tredyffrin Township Historical Commission
Historical Walking Tour at Mt. Zion AME Church, Berwyn, PA
On Sunday, 28 April 2024, guided walking tours were held between 1 and 3 PM.
For more information, visit the Mt. Zion Historical Walk page.
170th Anniversary — Mt. Zion AME Church celebrated their 170th Anniversary
on Saturday 21 September 2018 from 10 am until 4 pm at 380 North Fairfield Road in Devon.
PA State Senator Andy Dinniman presented a proclamation at 10 am, and members of the 6th Regiment United States Colored Troops (USCT)
Reenactors presented a 21-gun salute and played "Taps," followed by tours of the historic church and cemetery, and a special service and banquet starting at noon.
Historical Marker — A state-sonsored historical marker commemorating the "Berwyn School Fight" of 1932–34 was dedicated
on Saturday 21 November 2020 with a distinguished group of invited speakers in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
A large audience attended and the proceedings were video-recorded.
Graveyard Project — A front page article about the ongoing research and conservation and research project in the historic cemetery
was published in the 29 January 2021 Daily Local.
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Paoli Battlefield Heritage Day
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The Society exhibited again at the again at the 2022 Paoli Battlefield Heritage Day
on Saturday 17 September 2022 from 11 am until 4 pm at Paoli Memorial Grounds in Malvern.
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Historic House Tour
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On Saturday 28 September 2019, the Tredyffrin Historic Preservation Trust
held their 15th Annual Historic House Tour from 12 until 5 pm.
The proceeds support the rebuilding of the historic Jones Log Barn and the proposed Living History Center at Duportail.
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Paoli Blues Fest
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The Society exhibited in past years at the Paoli Blues Fest, but for various reasons, did not exhibit at the 2018 event,
and will not attend the 2019 event to be held on Saturday 28 September 2019 from noon until 6 pm at Paoli Presbyterian Church.
See more about the Society's past involvement here.
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Our Most Recent Meeting
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This Society meeting was held at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday May 19, 2024
in-person at Tredyffrin Public Libary in Strafford, Pa.
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Towers & Turrets: Victorian Mansions on the Main Line, 1870–1905
presented by Jeff Groff
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The former "Rostrevor" in Haverford, Pa., built in 1884
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This talk examined the great Victorian era mansions on Philadelphia's Main Line. It focused on those built for the Baldwin Locomotive Works partners,
Pennsylvania Railroad officers, and leading industrialists and manufacturers. Architects featured include Furness & Evans, T.P. Chandler, Wilson Brothers,
William L. Price, and G.W. & W.D. Hewitt.
Jeff Groff retired in 2021 as Estate Historian at Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library. He also had served as Director of Public Programs,
and then as Director of Interpretation. For sixteen years he was Executive Director of Wyck Historic House and Garden in the Germantown section of Philadelphia.
He directed the Osterville Historical Society on Cape Cod, and early in his career was Registrar/Asst. Curator at the Philadelphia Maritime Museum (now Independence Seaport).
A graduate of Bates College where he majored in history, he holds an MA from the Winterthur Program in Early American Culture of the University of Delaware.
For over forty-five years he has studied and lectured on American country houses and gardens, particularly those of Philadelphia's "Main Line" and surrounding areas,
with an emphasis on country life and sports, and gentleman farming.
He served as co-curator of Winterthur's very successful exhibitions "Costumes of Downton Abbey" and "Costuming The Crown."
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Society Special Events
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"Behind the Doors"
The original Tredyffrin Easttown History Club occasionally held meetings at the various historic Inns in the area,
as noted in this quote from an article about the history of the Club found in the October 1965 issue of the Quarterly
(v.13 no.4, pg. 80):
On March 7, 1939 the first annual Banquet was held at the Windmill Tea Room
(the General Jackson Inn) at Paoli.
Originally the Club had these affairs at some historic inn. To date the following Inns have played host: The King of Prussia (once),
Ye Old Bull Tavern (three times), General Warren (twice), Wayside Inn (General Jackson) (Five times).
Starting in 2013 this tradition was revived. So far we have visited two inns,
both with tours and history presentations followed by a delicious five course food and wine pairing dinner.
Both events were a great success and we look forward to more in the future.
For more information, view the individual invitations for these events:
A portion of the proceeds from these events benefits the Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society.
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TEHS Programs on Tredyffrin Township TV
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A selection of pre-recorded programs featuring presentations from past meetings of the Society are available for viewing on
Tredyffrin Township Television, found on Comcast Channel 15, Verizon Channel 24 and
On-Demand.
We are looking for volunteers who would be willing to assist with the recording of our presentations for later broadcast.
Free training is available to township residents at the Greenwood Studio facility in the Township Building.
Please contact us or Studio Manager Gene Donahue if you are interested.
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Program Schedule:
- 7 am on Sunday and Monday
- 1 pm on Monday
- 7 pm on Thursday and Saturday
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TEHS exhibits at local public libraries
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Did you know? The TEHS maintains a display case of local history materials in the Local History Room at the Tredyffrin Public Library.
The current exhibit highlights Herb Fry's book collection.
C. Herbert Fry was an active contributing member and officer of the Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society for over thirty years.
Herb gave numerous talks and wrote over two dozen local history articles for the Society's History Quarterly periodical.
He and his late wife Barbara amassed a collection of historical photographs, books, articles and other research materials that filled two closets.
Following his death in July 2018, all of his local history materials came to the Society. One of his special interests was Valley Forge,
and his books on the subject numbered over forty. Eight of these are displayed in this case.
Another example is this book by Frank Resavy & Tom McNichol.
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During the month of April 2018, a display case in the main entry hall of the Easttown Library in Berwyn
contained an exhibit featuring nine historic photos of Berwyn with intriguing captions, testing the viewer's knowledge of the area.
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S. Paul Teamer Awards
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As we passed the milestone of our 75th anniversary as an organization in 2012, it seemed fitting to establish a new annual award to recognize
the especially significant contributions made by some of our members over the years. In considering what name this award should have we
decided to reach back to the very beginning of what was then The Tredyffrin Easttown History Club and to founder and first
president S. Paul Teamer. It is certainly worthwhile to look back at those first few volumes of the Quarterly and rediscover
the noteworthy articles written by Teamer and his colleague Franklin L. Burns, among others, who set a high standard for those who followed.
S. Paul Teamer Award Recipients
(† posthumous, * since deceased)
| 2012 | Sue Andrews, Herb Fry*, Joyce Post* |
| 2013 | Bob Goshorn†, Mike Bertram |
| 2014 | Franklin L. Burns†, Roger D. Thorne |
| 2015 | Barbara Fry†, Mary Robertson Ives*, Clarissa F. Dillon |
| 2016 | John O. Senior |
| 2018 | Tim Lander, Cheryl Leibold, Michael Morrison* |
| 2019 | Jim Brazel, Heidi Sproat |
| 2020 | Bart Van Valkenburgh |
| 2021 | Meg Wiederseim |
| 2023 | Marianne Hooper Furman |
| 2024 | Bertha Jackmon |
At the January 2012 Annual Meeting, we were pleased to present the S. Paul Teamer Award
for outstanding contributions to the Society to the first three recipients: Sue Andrews, Herb Fry, and Joyce Post.
At the January 2013 Annual Meeting, we were pleased to announce the names of the next two recipients of the award:
Bob Goshorn (posthumous) and Mike Bertram.
Since Mike was unable to attend this meeting, his award will be presented at a future meeting.
At the January 2014 Annual Meeting, we were pleased to announce the names of the 2014 recipients of the award:
Franklin L. Burns (posthumous) and former president Roger D. Thorne.
At the May 2015 Meeting (rescheduled from the January 2015 Annual Meeting cancelled due to adverse weather conditions),
we were pleased to recognize the 2015 recipients of the award:
Barbara Fry (posthumous), Mary Robertson Ives (emeritus), and Clarissa F. Dillon.
At the January 2016 Annual Meeting, we were pleased to present the award to:
John O. Senior.
(L-R): Roger Thorne and Society President Michael Morrison
with 2016 award recipient Vice-President John O. Senior
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Society President Michael Morrison with 2012 award recipients
(L-R):Joyce Post, Morrison, Herb Fry, Sue Andrews
Society Vice-President John O. Senior with 2014 award recipient Roger Thorne and President Michael Morrison
(L-R): Roger Thorne (on behalf of Mary Roberson Ives), Herb Fry (on behalf of Barbara Fry), President Michael Morrison,
and Clarissa Dillon
receive the 2015 awards
For several reasons, the award was not presented in 2017, but at the January 2018 Annual Meeting,
Michael Morrison, Tim Lander, and Cheryl Leibold were recognized as new recipients.
2018 award recipients Michael Morrison, Tim Lander, and Cheryl Leibold with President John O. Senior
(Note: The Philadelphia Eagles were playing for the NFC championship later that day, so John was wearing the team colors.)
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2019 award recipient Heidi Sproat
with John O. Senior
2019 award recipient Jim Brazel
with Roger Thorne
2020 award recipient Bart Van Valkenburgh with John O. Senior
At the January 2019 Annual Meeting,
Heidi Sproat (unable to attend) and Jim Brazel were recognized as new recipients.
At the January 2020 Annual Meeting,
Bart Van Valkenburgh was recognized as the new recipient.
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2023 award recipient Marianne Hooper with John O. Senior
2024 award recipient Bertha Jackmon
with John O. Senior
At the January 2021 (Online) Annual Meeting,
Meg Wiederseim was recognized as the new recipient.
The January 2022 Annual Meeting was not held.
At the January 2023 Annual Meeting,
Marianne Hooper Furman was recognized as the new recipient.
At the January 2024 Annual Meeting,
Bertha Jackmon was recognized as the new recipient.
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