USA > Pennsylvania > Delaware County > Chester > Historical sketch of Chester, on Delaware > Part 21
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33
In 1869, H. Y. Arnold and Wilmer W. James began the publica- tion of a weekly advertising sheet, THE INDEPENDENT. .Mr. Arnold soon after withdrew and it was continued by Messrs. James & Shields until 1874, when it was discontinued.
THE DELAWARE COUNTY MAIL was established November 27, 1872, by Joseph T. DeSilver & Co. November 27, 1876, it was sold to the proprietors of the Delaware County Paper, and merged into the latter publication.
The PUBLIC PRESS was issued May 3, 1876, by Thomas Higgins and Robert Simpson, but its publication was suspended during the same year.
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Educational Institutions.
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS.
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THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF CHESTER.
I T is impossible in our space to give any extended notice of the Public Schools of Chester. The first movement in the direc- tion of free public institutions we notice about the middle of the last Century, when a lot on the east side of Edgmont Avenue, south of Fourth street, was conveyed to certain persons to erect thereon a free school for Friends' children, which was never done. In 1769, Joseph Hoskins gave a lot of ground, at the southeast corner of Fifth and Welsh streets, for a free school, aud contributed large- ly of his means, in 1770, toward the building itself. This was the starting point of our present system of free public instruction, and it was a most praiseworthy act in the present Board of School Di- rectors of this city that in the year 1882, when putting up a new building, at Fifth and Welsh streets, for the use of the Superinten- dent, with school-rooms on the second floor, they recognized the noble act of Joseph Hoskins, who, almost forgotten, had slumbered for more than a century in Friends' Graveyard, by designating the new structure, " Joseph Hoskins School."
The registration of scholars in the Public Schools of Chester, at the date of this publication, is 2,239, and the number of school houses are as follows. North Ward-Eleventh and Madison streets, 1; Morton Avenue, 2. Middle Ward-Fifth and Welsh streets, 3. South Ward-Second street, 1; Franklin street, 1; Patterson street, 1; Howell street, 1. Total, 10. The corps of teachers are ex- cellent, the examination of applicants for position as instructors is very thorough, and the general average of education imparted to
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Historical Sketch of Chester.
the pupil will compare favorably with that of any city in the coun- try. The graduates of the Chester High School are as carefully taught as in most Academies in the land-the Universities excepted- and the system of opening the higher branches of education to both the sexes has resulted most advantageously. The present faculty of the High School is :- Principal, Emma J. Hahn; Assistant Jennie McLaren and Frederica E. Gladwin. The whole system and working of the Public Schools of our city is under the intelli- gent care and supervision of Prof. Charles F. Foster, who is advo- cating constantly needed improvements to enlarge the usefulness of our public schools, thus yearly adding to the opportunities of the rising generation to become scholarly at little or no personal ex- pense to themselves or families.
THE PENNSYLVANIA MILITARY ACADEMY.
By Act of Assembly, April 8, 1862, the Pennsylvania Military Academy was incorporated as a university under the title "Chester County Military Academy," and was located at West Chester, with Col. Theodore Hyatt, as its President, where it soon became noted as an institution of learning. Founded during the Rebellion it made a special feature of military instruction, and to the forces of the United States, in the Civil War, it contributed many officers from its roll of students. When Lee's army invaded the State, the battery of the Academy, manned by cadets of the institution and citizens of West Chester was in service for two months and was commended by the authorities. After the close of the war, the Crozer Normal School, which had been used by the government as a hospital, was vacated by the United States, and as the accommo- dations were superior to those of the building occupied by the in- stitution at West Chester, Col Hyatt leased the premises and moved here in December, 1865. The Pennsylvania Military Academy at its new location grew rapidly in public favor and so largely did the num- ber of students become that it was necessary to erect a building especially calculated for the accommodation of the cadets. In 1867
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the institution conferred its first degrees on its graduates, and in September, 1868, the building having been completed in the mean- while, the Academy occupied its new quarters, to the northeast of the city, a land mark, presenting a prominent appearance when viewed from the north or east in approaching Chester, and especial- ly from the Delaware river. In its new building the Academy, in September, 1868, accommodated 150 cadets and officers.
On the afternoon of February 16, 1882, the main edifice was entirely destroyed by fire, the origin of which is unknown, although the flames were first discovered in the laboratory, then located in the upper story. All attempts to arrest the confligra- tion proved fruitless, but amid the utmost excitement of the popu- lace the military discipline of the cadets showed conspicuously. As soon as it was recognized that every effort to subdue the flames was useless, the latter promptly and without confusion, rendered most efficient aid in removing personal property from the burning building, and after it was taken out, guarded it in a heavy rain fall, until the police authorities relieved them from that duty. The good services of the cadets, on that occasion, kept the way clear for the firemen, to whom no praise is too flattering, and permitted them to do, as they did, most efficient work. After the destruc- tion of the Academy, in twenty days subsequently the term was re- sumed temporarily at Ridley Park. The stockholders, as soon as the losses were adjusted by the Insurance Companies, began the erec- tion of a new building. The main structure is 270 feet long, 50 feet in depth, four stories in height, surmounted with a dome which towers many feet above all, presenting a view therefrom unequalled in the county. The building, which was completed ready for oc- cupancy, September 13, 1882, is divided by fire walls, and is be- lieved to be as nearly fireproof as it is possible to render it, while in a sanitary point, as well as in respect to the accommodation to secure the comfort and convenience of its inmates, the new Acade- my structure is most admirably planned. A laboratory, at some distance from the main edifice, is an ornate and well arranged build- ing, sufficiently removed to render it improbable that any fire which might occur therein could seriously endanger the Military Acade- my proper. The present Academic staff is composed as follows:
Col. Theodore Hyatt, President and Professor of Greek; Capt.
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Charles E. Hyatt, Vice President, Professor of Rhetoric and Elo- cution; Capt. R. Kelso Carter, Professor of Mathematics and Civil Engineering: Lieut. William P. Duvail, U. S. A., Professor of Military Science and Mathematics: Lieut. Emile L. Feffer, Pro- fessor of French, German, Spanish, Latin and Greek; Capt. Ben- jamin F. Morely, Professor of Chemistry, Physics and Tactics; Ed- mund Morris Hyde, Professor of Latin, Greek and English Litera- ture; John R. Sweney, Professor of Music; C. S. Fahnestock, Pro- fessor of Penmanship, Drawing and English Branches; William B. Ulrich, M. D., Lecturer on Ilygienics: Frederick E Powell, Pro- fessor of Mathematics and English Branches; Edgar P. Hershey, Instructor of English Branches.
CHESTER ACADEMY.
This institution of learning, locatel at the southwest corner of Broad and Potter streets, was founded, in 1862, by Charles W. Deans, who had just previous to that date been Superintendent of the Public Schools of Delaware county. It was then known as the Chester Academy and Normal School. In 1865. Professor George Gilbert, then of Philadelphia, purchased Mr. Deans' interest in the Academy, including the school furniture, and at once reorganized the institution, enlarged the accommodations, thoroughly revised and advanced the course of study, and employed additional teachers. The reputation of the Academy steadily advanced, and in 1871, six years after he became Principal of the institution, Prof. Gilbert purchased both the school building and the residence to the east. The aim of the school is to afford facilities for students preparing for college, teaching or for general business, to acquire practical education and to direct them in the course of study necessary to successfully qualify them for the occupations in life which they may select. The present faculty of the Academy comprises George Gilbert, Principal, Instructor in Latin, Greek and the Higher Mathematics; M. Louisa Clancy, Music, French and Literature; Mrs. T. M. Gilbert, Writing, Drawing and History; S. Alice Lees,
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PUSKY HOUSE, BUILT 1683, STILL STANDING AT UPLAND.
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Primary Department; Addie H. Pyle and Sallie E. Beale, English Branches. The pupilage is about one hundred.
CROZER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY.
Just beyond the incorporated limits of the city of Chester, to the northwest, is located the institution of learning which was es- tablished by the Crozer family, of Upland, in 1868, as a memorial of their father the late John P. Crozer. In 1857, Mr. Crozer had begun the erection of the present main building, at a cost of $45,000, with the intention of locating there a normal school, and in Sep- tember of the following year it was formally opened as an academy of the higher grades of intellectual training, and as such was con- tinued for several years.
The war storm having burst with fury on the country, early in June, 1862, Mr. Crozer tendered, without charge, to the United States, the building as a hospital, conditioned only that it should be returned to him after it was no longer required, in as good con- dition as when he placed it at the disposal of the government. The offer was accepted, the necessary changes in the building made, and on June 18, 1862, Dr. George K. Wood, formerly an Assistant Surgeon in the Regular Army, was appointed Surgeon-in-Charge of the hospital. As soon as it was ascertained that a hospital would be established there, on the date last mentioned, a number of ladies organized a society known as "The Soldiers' Relief Association," of which Mrs. Samuel A. Crozer was First Directress; Mrs. Abby Kerlin, Assistant Directress; Mrs. Samuel Arthur, Secretary; Mrs. J. Lewis Crozer, Assistant Secretary; Mrs. John P. Crozer, Treasu- rer, with a Directress in every township in the county. For some time the sick, disabled and dying soldiers in this hospital were sup- plied with all the delicacies and luxuries so necessary to tempt the appetite and assuage the anguish of the inmates of that house of bodily suffering. One patient was admitted July 17, 1862, and on the 29th of the same month the steamer "State of Maine" arrived here with two hundred and twenty-three sick and wounded Union
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Historical Sketch of Chester.
soldiers on board, who had been captured in the Seven Days' Fight before Richmond, and had just been exchanged. The building con- tained nearly a thousand beds, but so great was the demand made upon the hospital that thirteen hun.lred persons, including patients, surgeons, attendants and guards, were gathered within its walls. Until the 14th of July, 1863, the hospital was usel almost exclusi- vely for wounded Union soldiers, but after the Battle of Gettys- burg, the Confederate wounded, left on the field by Gen. Lee, in his retreat, were so many that the Government was compelled to designate a certain hospital for the reception of the Rebels, and the one at Chester was selected for that purpose.
In July, 1862, Rev. John Pinckney Hammond, a brother of Sur- geon General Hammond, and at the time rector of St. Paul's Church, Chester, was appointed Chaplain of the hospital. A most unfortunate selection which was accepted with disapprobation by almost all the then residents of Chester, where he was extremely unpopular with his parishoners and the public generally, and ulti- mately caused much difficulty in the working of the auxiliary bodies connected with the hospital. In addition to this, July 14, 1862, Dr. J. L. Le Conte, the noted entomogloist, was appointed to suc- ceed Dr. Wood, and if any thing, a more disastrous selection than Mr. Hammond's, but combined with the latter, was prodigal of evil. The most absurd rules were adopted and enforced respecting vis- itations to the Hospital, which largely obstructed the unselfishi and earnest work of the ladies of "The Soldiers Relief Association," while returning nothing in exchange for the hindrance offered. Petitions for the removal of these obnoxious officers were presented to the appointing power, and at last they were removed in the fall of 1862, but not until Hon. John M. Broomall, the then member of Congress, had repetedly demanded such action. Dr. Eben Smith succeeded Dr. Le Conte.
After the Hospital was set apart for the reception of Confede- rate wounded, a picket fence, twelve feet in height was built sur- rounding the grounds, and guards were stationed to prevent the escape of convalesent prisoners of war. Notwithstanding the vigi- lance of the authorities, one dark stormy night in August, 1863, Captain Edward Shay, of the 16th Mississippi Regiment, and Lieu- tenant Davis, of Gen. Trimble's Staff, evaded the guard and escaped.
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Educational Institutions.
The Hospital furnished accommodation for more than six thousand wounded soldiers, and many men to-day, North and South, remem- . ber with grateful hearts the kindness they received while inmates of the Hospital at Chester. While located here Dr. Elwood Harvey was Assistant Surgeon from July, 1862, to September of the same year ; Dr. F. Ridgely Graham from October, 1862, to June, 1863, and Dr J. L. Forwood from July 21, 1863. Dr. Charles J. Morton was also Assistant Surgeon.
At the conclusion of the war, in 1865, the building was returned to its owner, and in December of the same year, Col. Theodore Hyatt leased the property until the summer vacation of 1868. John P. Crozer, having diedl March 11, 1866, as soon as the Pennsylvania Military Academy had vacated the building, the Crozer family, as a memorial of their father, as before stated, determined to set it apart as a Theological Seminary, ( Baptist.)
The Seminary has, beside the land and buildings, an Endowment Fund of $250,000, so judiciously invested that the interest there- front meets fully the ordinary expenses of the Institution. There is also a lecture fund of $10,000, the interest of which is applied to defraying the cost of lectures on subjects not directly appertain- ing to the e lucation il course. The Crozer family recently gave $50,000 to endlow a professorship, as a memorial of their mother, the late Mrs. Sallie K. Crozer. Connected with the Seminary is "Pearl Hall," founded by William Bucknell, in memory of his late wife, Margaret, daughter of John P. Crozer, and the name it bears -Pearl-is the signification of Margaret in the Latin tongue. Mr. Bucknell's gift, including the sum expended in the structure and books, amounted to $50,000. The building, a Greek cross, is of serpentine stone; the floor of the main appartment laid in tiles, and is admirably arranged for the purposes of the library, which compri- ses about ten thousand volumes, a large number being works of re- ference, but in the collection are many early printed and scarce books. In a few instances the only known copies of several theo- logical treatises extant are to be found in this library.
The Seminary building is of brick stuccoed, two hundred feet in length, forty in width and three stories in height, with basement. From the rear of the building is an addition, forty feet wide and fifty feet in length, at right angles to the main structure. The
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Historical Sketch of Chester.
present faculty consist of Rev. Henry G. Weston, D. D., President and Professor of Preaching and Pastoral Duties; Rev. George R. Bliss, D. D., LL. D., Professor of Biblical Interpretation; Rev. John C. Long, D. D., Professor of Church History; Rev. Elias H. Johnson, D. D., Professor of Christian Theology; Rev. James M. Stiffler, D. D., Professor of New Testament Exegesis, and Rev. Barnard C. Taylor, A. M., Assistant Professor of Biblical In- terpretation.
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The Pusey House.
THE PUSEY HOUSE AT UPLAND.
THE OLDEST BUILDING STANDING IN THE COMMON- WEALTH.
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T' THE oldest building standing intact in the State of Pennsylvania is the Pusey house, at Upland, which is preserved by the Crozer fanily as a sacred relic connecting the olden times of the province with the active progressive present. The structure, which is on the north side of the mill race, to the west of the road leading to the bridge spanning Chester creek, faces to the south and is about thirty feet in length, fifteen feet in breadth, and one story in height, crowned with a hipped roof, which gives to it the appear- ance of being a story and a half building. The walls, which are noticeable in their thickness, are of stone and brick, while the floor is of broad solid oak planking. The brick part of the old wall was evidently put there to take the place of stones which be- came loose and fell out of position, a fact strongly supported by an inspection of the inner side, which shows no bricks at all. The bricks in the eastern gable were placed there, it is said, after Ches- ter Mills had become the property of Samuel Shaw, when he re- paired the structure. The idea which prevails among many of our people that bricks in old dwellings in this Borough were of Eng- lish make, is entirely erroneous, for not two years after Penn's first coming, in a lease made by Robert Wade, of the Essex House, to Robert Goforth, dated March 12, 1684, part of the property leased is described as abutting on the old brick kiln, near Chester creek. In 1879, J. C. & W. G. Price, while having clay dug on the lot at the northeast corner of Concord Avenue and Sixth street, uncover-
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Historical Sketch of Chester.
ed the bottom of an oldl kiln, respecting which the oldest resident could give no information. The lease mentioned, however, effec- tually designates the locality where the ancient remains of former days was unearthed as the site of the old brick yard.
The house has two doors and two windows in the front, while a dormer window is in the roof, and the roof itself has been several times renewed. A dwarfed doorway gives admission to the room, with low ceilings and the heavy beams supporting the floor above, still disclosing the marks of the broad axe which, two centuries ago, hewed the felled timber into form, and to the left of the room is a step-ladder, enclosedl in a rude gangway, giving access to the apartments overhead. There is the old wide-mouthed fire-place (now enclosed), before whose hearth-whereon the ruddy flames flared and flickered two centuries ago-the founder of a great Com- monwealth and his trusty friend an l agent, Pusey, sat discussing the prospects of their business enterprise, or laying plans for the future welfare of the colony. If it be correct that Caleb Pusey made the noted visit to the Indian town in 1688 (see page 25), when the Province was startled from its propriety by the rumor that the aborigines were about to begin hostilities and massacre the whites, then, indeed, it is true, that "Caleb Pusey, going out unarmed into the forest to meet a threatened attack of the sav- ages, is a more heroic figure than blustering Miles Standish, gurt with the sword he fought with in Flanders." To the left of the fire-place, within easy reach, still remains the deep square hole in the wall which the early settlers frequently made in their dwel- lings, as a sort of tobacco pouch, so that the consolation which comes with smoke should be always close at hand and accessible to their guests and to themselves.
It is hardly necessary, at this day, to correct the impression con- veyed by Richard Townsend, in "Proud's History," or the direct statement of Stephen Day in his "Historical Collections of Penn- sylvania," that Richard Townsend "erected the dwelling for the accommodation of his family while he was tending the first mill erected in the Province." The first mill was not erected on Ches- ter creek, but, nevertheless, it may not be inappropriate to tell the story of the old Chester Mills, and, so far as I can, correct the er- roneous impression which has gone abroad as to the Pusey house.
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The Pusey House.
Previous to the departure of William Penn from England, in 1682, he entered into a verbal co-partnership with Philip Ford, John Bellars, Daniel Worley, Daniel Quire, John Birker, Richard Townsend, John Bickley, Thomas Burberry and Caleb Pusey, all at that time in England, and it was agreel among them to erect one or more water mills, to the cost of which they were to contri- bute in proportionate shares, for the agreement among themselves partook of the nature of a stock company, andl eich party received the interest in the venture in proportion to the amount contributed. Caleb Pusey was appointed agent and manager of the "said joint concern." The land on which the house stands was never owned by Townsend, but was patented to Caleb Pusey, 4th mo. 7th, 1684. The tract on which the mill was erected was patented to Pusey, "for the use of the mill," 2d mo. 5th, 1690. Many of the partners in the enterprise never came to the Province. The mill itself, ready framed, was brought over in the "Welcome," and Penn, we are told by Hon. Joseph J. Lewis, in his sketches ot Chester coun- ty, was present when the first dam was made. It is documentary evidence, in an old deed, dated December 19, 1705, now owned by the Crozer family, that in 1683, Caleb Pusey, "with the advice of the sd Proprietary and such others of the said partners as there were in the Province," erected a "corn mill on Chester creek, near his new dwelling house," which mill, with the dam belonging to it, were soon carried away by the flood. Caleb Pusey afterwards, by advice of Penn and "ye other partner that was here," (doubt- less Richard Townsend) erected a little above where the first mill stood, another grist and saw mill upon part of the twenty acres patented for the use of the mill at the cost of the firm. The se- cond dam was in turn swept away by flood, and he erected a third dam at the distance of a mile beyond where the others were located, and constructed a race to convey the water to the mill. The expenses attending these constant repairs were so great that the outlay far exceeded the earnings of the mill, and Pusey bor- rowed money from time to time from Robert Turner to pay for the improvements. The partners refusing, with the exception of Penn and Pusey-Richard Townsend had sold his interest to Pusey se- veral years before-to pay their proportions of the costs, suit was brought by Turner for £390, 8s, 7d half-penny. Judgment was
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entered in his favor, June 14, 1692, and the Coroner, Jacob Sim- cock-Pusey was at the time Sheriff of the county and interested in the case- was required to sell the estate in payment of the judgment. The property was assessed at £550. It was offered at Sheriff's sale, but found no buyers, and on September 13, 1692, the Coroner sold the interest of the delinquent parties to Robert Tur- ner at the appraisement, and the latter sold his interest to Samuel Carpenter, who, for thirteen years, until December 19, 1705, was a partner with Penn and Pusey, in the milling business. Doubtless when repairs were made to the mill, in 1699, the rude iron vane bearing the initials W. P., (William Penn,) S. C., (Samuel Carpen- ter,) C. P., (Caleb Pusey,) and the date, 1699, was placed on the building. When Richard Flower owned the property, the old vane surmounted the dwelling house of the owner, but on gusty nights turning in the wind it squeaked and groaned so noisily that it was taken down. In 1870, Reese W. Flower presented it to the His- torical Society of Pennsylvania, and it now points the wind on that building, although so added to and gilded that those who remem- ber it as it was in Uplan I would hardly recognize it now.
In 1705, Carpenter sold his interest to Pusey, and the property subsequently had several owners, while the interest of Penn seems to have become a charge on the land, which was recognized until the War of the Revolution extinguished the title of the "Chief Lords of the Fee " About 1745, the old mill having been almost destroyed by an accidental fire, a new stone mill was built by Jo- seph Pennell, the then owner of the property and the grandfather of John P. Crozer, who was a builder, worked on the structure, which stood, I think, until 1858, when it in turn was destroyed by an accidental fire. The dam breast was built in 1752, by Samuel Shaw while he was owner of the property.
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