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National Register Sites

Originally from Destination Delco/ Visit Delco PA website
Created by George Rothacker, Rothacker Advertising & Design

The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation's historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America's historic and archaeological resources.


Currently 94 buildings, bridges, parks and places in all parts of Delaware County are listed in the National Historic Register. Some you may be familiar with, others you may not know. You may also be surprised that after visiting a local landmark that it is not currently listed. The National Park Services provides a step-by-step process for nominations at nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/how-to-list-a-property.htm.

Delaware County is remarkable area with fine examples of architecture and places of cultural and historical significance throughout its urban and rural landscapes. Listings on this site are in alphabetical order by municipality and will provide links for you to discover more about the places listed.

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National Register forms are available on the PA SHARE website- https://share.phmc.pa.gov/pashare/landing

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Page 1: Bethel- Concord                                            Page 2: Darby- Prospect Park                                     Page 3: Radnor- Upper Providence

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Bethel Township

Booth Farm

Located near Boothwyn, in Bethel Township, the farmhouse was built in the Federal style in 1819 and a barn was also built about the same time. The roughly 77 acre farm was bought by Thomas Booth in the 1790s and has been used as a tenant farm throughout much of its history. He built the farmhouse for his son James.

Four following generations, all named Thomas Booth, have owned the farm into the 21st century.

Privately owned and not open to the public

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Chadds Ford Township

William Brinton 1704 House

The William Brinton 1704 House is a historic house museum located 21 Oakland Road in Delaware County, Pennsylvania about five miles south of West Chester, Pennsylvania. Built in 1704, it is well-preserved example of an early Delaware Valley stone house, which served as a residence of one family for over 150 years.

 

It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1967. 

It is open for tours on weekends between May and October, or by appointment.

Read more about Brinton 1704 House

Brinton 1704 House website

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Chadds Ford Township

Chadds Ford Historic District

The Chadds Ford Historic District includes 17 contributing buildings in Chadds Ford village. Notable buildings include the Chads Ford Inn (1807-1810), Merchant Mill (1864), a row of houses built between 1840 and 1850, the bridge across Brandywine Creek, and the Christian C. Sanderson Museum. Located in the district are the separately listed Chad House and N. C. Wyeth House and Studio.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

Many buildings open to the public

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Chadds Ford Township

Gilpin Homestead

The Gilpin Homestead, also known as General Howe Headquarters, was built in 1754, and consisted of a brick building with two basement rooms, two first-floor rooms, two bedrooms, and the attic. About 1811, a stone addition was built that is now the middle of the house, and a second stone addition was completed by 1859. A porch was added between 1870 and 1897, and the garage was attached in 1949. Also on the property are a carriage house-barn, small barn, spring house, a creamery-cheese house, and the stone remains of a barn built in 1860. William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe used the Gilpin house as his headquarters from late afternoon of September 11, until the morning of September 16, 1777, after the Battle of Brandywine.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

Privately owned and not open to the public

Read more

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Chadds Ford Township

William Painter Farm

William Painter Farm is a historic home located in Chadds Ford. It was built in 1808, and is a two-story painted brick building with a late 19th- and an early 20th-century addition. The home was used as a station on the Underground Railroad.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

Privately owned and not open to the public

Twin Bridges

Chadds Ford Township

Twin Bridges Rural Historic District

Twin Bridges Rural Historic District is a historic district in  Chadds Ford Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania  and Pennsbury Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania  which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.

Its nomination asserted that the district "exhibits a cohesive collection of distinctive architectural resources and landscape features that identify it as an important enclave in the Lower Brandywine Creek Valley of the two types of country estates that were being created within the time frame of the American Country Estate Movement. The Period of Significance for the proposed Twin Bridges Rural Historic District begins in 1914 with the acquisition of the first farm that became part of the Bissell Estate and ends in 1947 when Beverly Farm was broken up and sold, and falls within the period of time (the mid-Nineteenth through the mid-Twentieth Centuries) when wealthy Americans were emulating the English aristocratic life style of refined country living. It includes the years when its three prominent families -- the Bissells (1914-1929), the Haskells (1916-1930), and the Holladays (1916-1930) -- acquired a number of farms to create their respective country estates."

Large district. Bridge pictured is Rte 100/ Creek Road over Brandywine Creek

Most buildings privately owned and not open to the public.

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Chester City

1724 Chester Courthouse

The old Chester Courthouse was built in 1724 in Chester, to serve as the courthouse for Chester County, Pennsylvania. Chester County was one of the first three counties in the Province of Pennsylvania set up by William Penn. About 1786 the county seat was moved to West Chester, Pennsylvania and the Chester Courthouse no longer served as the county courthouse. In 1789, the area around Chester was separated from Chester County and formed into Delaware County, Pennsylvania and the Chester Courthouse became the courthouse for Delaware County.

Occasionally open by appointment and special events

Currently owned by PHMC, leased by County of Delaware

Friends of the 1724 Chester Courthouse Facebook

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Chester City

Delaware County National Bank

Delaware County National Bank is an historic bank building located on Market Square in Chester. It was built between 1882 and 1884, and is a 2 1/2-story masonry building in the Renaissance Revival style. It is constructed of brick and brownstone and has a low hipped slate-covered roof. The roof features metal cresting, five projecting decorated chimneys, and four Corinthian order pilasters supporting the front pediment dormer. It was headquarters for the Delaware County National Bank from 1884 to 1930.

 

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

Privately owned and not open to the public.

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Chester City

Old Main & Chemistry Building

Old Main and Chemistry Building are two, connected historic buildings located on the campus of Widener University at Chester, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. "Old Main" was built in 1867, and is a four-story, stucco and stone building with a two-pitched roof. It has a central grand pediment, with two minor flanking pediments. Atop the grand pediment is a "dome" structure and atop both minor pediments is a cupola. It measures 243 feet long and between 55 and 65 feet deep. Old Main was expanded in 1883, with the addition of an auditorium, and dormitory and classroom space. The Chemistry Building was built in 1883, and is a three-story building measuring 37 feet by 51 feet.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

Part of Widener University

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Chester Heights Borough

Chamberlain-Pennell House

The Chamberlain-Pennell House, also known as Hill of Skye, is a historic home located in Chester Heights. The building was built about 1722 and "modernized" in the mid-19th century. The 2-1/2-story, brick house in configured in a "hall, passage, parlor" plan. A 1-1/2-story kitchen wing was added to the west side sometime before 1798.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 27, 1977.

Privately owned and not open to the public

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Chester Heights Borough

Forge Hill

Forge Hill is a historic home located at Wawa. It was built between 1798 and 1800, and is a 2 1/2-story, fieldstone dwelling with a 1 1/2-story ell added in 1936, during a complete restoration.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 7, 1973.

Privately owned and not open to the public

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Collingdale Borough

Eden Cemetery

Eden Cemetery is the oldest African-American-owned cemetery in the United States, and was established on June 20, 1902. When other black cemeteries in Philadelphia were condemned by the city in the early 20th century, including the Olive Graveyard, Lebanon Graveyard, and Stephen Smith Home Burial Ground, the bodies were re-interred at Eden. The cemetery is still in operation.

The cemetery has several famous residents including that of Octavius Valentine Catto, a prominent black educator and activist of the nineteenth century.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010.

Grounds are open to the public.

Eden Cemetery Website

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Concord Township

Brandywine Summit Camp Meeting

Brandywine Summit Camp Meeting is an historic camp meeting and national historic district located in Concord Township. The district includes 76 contributing buildings near Chadds Ford village. The buildings are in a vernacular camp meeting style of architecture. The centerpiece of the community are the Tabernacle, built about 1884, and Pavilion, also dated to the 1880s. Most of the contributing buildings are cottages, built after the turn of the 20th century.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.

All privately owned and not open to the public, but some cottages and facilities are available to rent and there are public footpaths nearby. Occasional public events.

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Concord Township

Concordville Historic District

Concordville Historic District is a national historic district includes six contributing buildings in Concordville. Four of the buildings are the Newlin Tenant House, Concord Orthodox Meeting, Samuel Trimble House, and 1856 Brick House. The two remaining buildings are separately listed on the National Register; the Concord Friends Meetinghouse and Nicholas Newlin House.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

Most privately owned and not open to the public.

Read more about Concord Township​

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Concord Township

High Hill Farm

High Hill Farm, also known as Connemara Farm, is a historic farm complex located in Concordville.

The complex includes the great double barn and farmhouse, both dated principally to the early 20th century; a carriage house and stable, dated to the 1880s; a creamery, and various sheds. The great double barn is a "T"-shaped, bank barn wood building. It features a pair of great sliding doors on the uphill side. The farmhouse is a 2 1/2-story, modified center hall Georgian style house. It features a broad shed roof dormer.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

Privately owned and not open to the public.

Read more about Concord Township​

Learn more

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Concord Township

Newlin Mills Complex

The Newlin Mill Complex, a water powered gristmill on the west branch of Chester Creek near Concordville, was built in 1704 by Nathaniel and Mary Newlin and operated commercially until 1941. During its three centuries of operation, the mill has been known as the Lower Mill, the Markham Mill, the Seventeen-O-Four Mill and the Concord Flour Mill. In 1958 the mill property was bought by E. Mortimer Newlin, restored and given to the Nicholas Newlin Foundation to use as a historical park. Water power is still used to grind corn meal which is sold on site.

The park includes 5 historical buildings, which were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, and 150 acres of natural woodland.

Open to the public. Grounds open 7 am-dusk daily, Visitor's Center open 9-4 daily.

Tours of grist mill available daily.

Read more about Concord Township​

Newlin Grist Mill Website

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Concord Township

Thompson Cottage

The Thompson Cottage, also called the James Marshall Cottage, was a tenant farmer's house built by James Marshall about the time of the American Revolution. 

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A free black, Thomas Thompson, bought the house and 2 acres in 1847. He and his descendants lived there until 1971. It is an excellent example of an unaltered eighteenth century tenant farmer's homestead. The building was built sometime after 1774.

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It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 13, 1977.

Privately owned and not open to the public.

Read more about Concord Township​

Learn more

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Chadds Ford Township

Brandywine Battlefield

Brandywine Battlefield Historic Site is a historical park that was operated by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, on 50 acres near Chadds Ford. It is part of the site of the Battle of Brandywine fought on September 11, 1777, during the American Revolution. The battle was a major victory for the British and enabled them to capture the city of Philadelphia.

Brandywine Battlefield Park became a Pennsylvania State Park in 1949 and a National Historic Landmark in 1961.

Open to the public

Read more about Brandywine Battlefield

For more information: brandywinebattlefield.org

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Chadds Ford Township

John Chad House

The Chad House, which was built by John Wyeth, Jr. for John Chads, is located in Chadds Ford.  The house was built after 1712 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 11, 1971. During the Battle of Brandywine General Wilhelm von Knyphausen's division feigned a direct attack across the Brandywine near the ferry built by Chad, and exchanged cannon fire with George Washington's forces in fortified positions above the house. Chads' widow Elizabeth remained in the house throughout the battle, watching troop movements from her attic windows. She survived until 1791.

Open to the public and managed by Chadds Ford Historical Society

Learn More about Chadds Ford Historical Society here

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Chadds Ford Township

Dilworthtown Historic District

Dilworthtown Historic District is a national historic district located in Birmingham Township, Chester County, and in Chadds Ford Township, Delaware County. It encompasses eight contributing buildings in the crossroads community of Dilworthtown. They include the Dilworth House (1758, 1770, c. 1800), stone house (1820), Dilworthtown Lyceum or meeting hall (c. 1850), Dilworthtown Store (1858), two tenant houses (c. 1850), and a two-story log cabin dated to 1686 or the early-18th century. The focal point of the district is the Dilworth House, also known as the Dilworthtown Inn, which has operated as an inn and tavern since the late 18th century. The town was at the center of the fighting during the Battle of Brandywine in September 1777.

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It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

Some buildings open to the public

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Chadds Ford Township

Kuerner Farm

Kuerner Farm, also known as Ring Farm, is a historic farm in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, notable for its association with artist Andrew Wyeth, who created about one-third of his work, over 1,000 paintings and drawings, on subjects he found there over a span of 77 years.  The property abuts the Brandywine Battlefield, another National Historic Landmark. The farm is open to public tours, operated by the Brandywine River Museum.

The Battle of Brandywine, fought nearby on September 11, 1777, left a cannon ball and grapeshot in the farm's fields. Continental troops and militia units marched past on Ring road, but no actual fighting on the property can be documented. Brandywine Battlefield State Park is about a half-mile north of the farm.

Illustrator Howard Pyle taught art students at the farmhouse, including N. C. Wyeth, at Turner's Mill on US 1, just north of the farm, during the summers from 1898 to 1903.

Andrew Wyeth's first painting of the farm was completed in 1932, at age 15.

In 1945, Andrew's father, N. C. Wyeth, and his nephew were killed when their car, stalled at the railroad crossing near the northwest corner of the farm, was struck by a train.

Andrew Wyeth met Helga Testorf in 1971 while she was nursing Karl Kuerner at the farm. A German immigrant, she lived across Ring Road from the farm with her husband. She soon began secretly modeling for Wyeth in a famous series of paintings and drawings. That year the first nude painting in the series was painted in the sewing room in the farm house. The works, numbering more than 240, remained secret until 1987, when they were exhibited at the National Gallery of Art.

The farm was listed in the National Register of Historic Places and declared a National Historic Landmark in 2011.

Tours of the grounds available through Brandywine Conservancy

Twaddell House

Chadds Ford Township

Twaddell's Mill & House

Twaddell's Mill and House, also known as Great Bend of the Brandywine and Big Bend, is a historic home and mill complex located at Chadds Ford Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The property includes the main house, the foundation and part of the walls of a sawmill,  root cellar, ice house, and spring house. Also on the property is a tenant house dated to the mid-18th century.

 

The main house is a 2 1/2 to 3 1/2-story bank house built of stone. The house is unique because was built between 1810 and 1820, using mid-18th century building techniques.

Before occupation by Quaker settlers began, the land of the Great Bend was the location of the Lenape village known as Queonemysing (place of the long fish).

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It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

Privately owned and not open to the public

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Chadds Ford Township

N.C. Wyeth House and Studio

The N. C. Wyeth House and Studio is a historic house museum and artist's studio on Murphy Road in Chadds Ford Township, Pennsylvania, United States. Beginning with its construction in 1911, it served as the principal home and studio of artist N.C. Wyeth (1882-1945). It was restored to its original appearance around the time of his death. The property is managed by the Brandywine River Museum, which offers tours.

 

It was designated a National Historic Landmark District in 1997.

Tours of the studio available through Brandywine Conservancy

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Chester City

Chester Waterside Station

Chester Waterside Station of the Philadelphia Electric Company is a historic power station located at Chester, Delaware County. The original section of the Station building was built in 1916, and consists of the Boiler House with attached Coal Towers, Turbine Hall, and the Switch House. It is in the Beaux-Arts style. The Turbine Hall Annex addition was built in 1939-1942. Also located on the property is the two-story, red brick Machine Shop building.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.

Currently owned by PECO and not open to the public

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Chester City

William Penn's Landing Site

The monument at the William Penn Landing Site marks the spot of the first landing of William Penn on the territory of Pennsylvania, on October 28 or 29, 1682. Penn, the founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, landed in the only town in the province, then known as Upland. Immediately after arriving in Upland, Penn asked a companion from Chester in England to rename the town, and he promptly renamed it Chester.

The monument at the site was designed by John Struthers, erected on November 8 and dedicated November 9, 1882. The landing site was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

Public Park at 2nd and Penn Streets in Chester

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Chester City

Third Presbyterian Church

The Third Presbyterian Church is a historic Presbyterian Church founded in 1872 in Chester, Pennsylvania. It is located at 9th and Potter Streets. The church was the location of the first summer bible school in 1912. The congregation closed in 1986 and the building is currently owned by the Chester Historical Preservation Committee. It is a stone Gothic Revival building designed by the noted Philadelphia architect Isaac Pursell.

 

The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2019 and is the only church in Pennsylvania on the list.

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It was burned by arson in 2020.

Under renovations and not open to the public currently

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Chester Heights Borough

Chester Heights Camp Meeting Historic District

Chester Heights Camp Meeting Historic District is a historic Methodist camp meeting located in Chester Heights. The district includes 101 contributing buildings. The buildings are in a vernacular camp meeting style of architecture, with notable examples of the Gothic Revival and Queen Anne styles. Public buildings include the contributing Tabernacle (1878), Dining Hall (1900), Youth Tabernacle (1909), and dormitory. Most of the contributing buildings are cottages, built starting in 1876 and until about 1920.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.

Most cottages privately owned. Some available for rental. Some public events. 

Learn more about Chester Heights Camp Meeting here

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Chester Heights Borough

Stonehaven

"Stonehaven", also known as the John and Sarah Lundgren House, is a historic home located at Chester Heights, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The original section was built in 1799, and is a 2 1/2-story, five-bay by two-bay stone building. It is a vernacular Federal-era dwelling with a Georgian plan. A two-bay, stone kitchen addition was built in 1811, and a wood frame addition was added to that after 1910.

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It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.

Privately owned and not open to the public

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Collingdale Borough

St. Joseph's Parish Complex

The Parish Complex includes 6 buildings including the church, school, school annex, convent, rectory and garage dating from 1916- 1955.  The complex is in the Colonial Revival style and the school and rectory/convent were designed by architect Paul Monaghan. 

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It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2018.

Some buildings open to the public (church). School is now housing.

St. Joseph Church website

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Concord Township

Concord Friends Meetinghouse

Concord Friends Meetinghouse is a historic meeting house on Old Concord Road in Concordville, Delaware County. The meeting was first organized sometime before 1697, as the sixth Quaker meeting in what was then Chester County. In 1697 the meeting leased its current location for "one peppercorn yearly forever" from John Mendenhall. A log structure was built in 1710. The current structure was built in 1728. After a fire which completely destroyed the interior, the meetinghouse was rebuilt and enlarged in 1788. During the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777, which was fought a few miles to the west, wounded American soldiers took refuge in the meetinghouse.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. It is located in the Concordville Historic District.

Quaker Meeting- open Sundays

Read more about Concord Township

Learn more about Concord Friends Meeting here

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Concord Township

Handwrought

Handwrought, also known as Thomas Marshall House, is a historic home located at Concordville. It was built in 1805, and is a two- to three-story Eastern Pennsylvania Bank House. It is built of random fieldstone and has two entrances. Heat, electronic, and water were installed in the house after 1947.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

Privately owned and not open to the public.

Read more about Concord Township​

Learn more

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Concord Township

Ivy Mills Historic District

Ivy Mills Historic District is a national historic district located in Concord Township. The district includes two contributing buildings and one contributing structure. They are the ruins of a paper mill, erected in 1829 and abandoned after 1866; the clerk's house, dated to about 1830; and the Ivy Mills Mansion House, built in 1837. The mansion house is a 2 1/2-story, five bay wide, stuccoed masonry building. It has a saltbox wing and a wide verandah. The original paper mill was erected in 1729, and the original mansion house in 1744. Both of the original buildings were replaced in the early-19th century by the present buildings.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.

Most privately owned and not open to the public.

Read more about Concord Township​

Learn more

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Concord Township

Nicholas Newlin House

The Nicholas Newlin House was built in 1742 by Nicholas Newlin, about a mile west of the Newlin Mill Complex.

It was built in 1742 by Nicholas Newlin, and is one of the best preserved eighteenth-century houses in Concord Township. It was built with Flemish bond brickwork and a high stone foundation. Its asymmetrical windows divide the house into two sections, but they appear to have been built at the same time. The windows are unusually large for a house of its period. The interior has retained much of its original appearance and includes fine Georgian paneling.

The Newlin family arrived in Pennsylvania in 1683 and purchased 500 acres in what was then Chester County. Nicholas Newlin sold the house in 1751 to Micajah Speakman, who lived there until 1805.

The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 and is located in the Concordville Historic District.

Privately owned and not open to the public.

Read more about Concord Township​

Learn more

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Multi-municipality

Delaware Boundary Markers

Delaware Boundary Markers is a national historic district located on the State boundary lines between Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. The district includes 94 contributing sites along the Mason–Dixon line and includes the Transpeninsular Line, "Post Marked West" site, Mason–Dixon line, Tangent Line, The Arc, and The 12-Mile Circle.

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It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.

Some markers on private land and/or in wooded areas- use caution

Location of markers here

Learn more

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