WELCOME TO THE NEWTOWN SQUARE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Welcome to the Newtown Square Historical Society. Founded in 1981 by civic-minded residents, the society continues its mission to preserve the rich history of Newtown Township. We offer multiple programs to reach out to our community, volunteer opportunities for residents of all ages, and events throughout the year at our many historic locations. Please browse our website and vast pictorial history of our town and consider becoming a member.
The Square Tavern Ceremonial Signing & Dedication Event
Join us for a Ceremonial Signing Event at the Square Tavern (AKA The John West House). Representatives from Equus Capital Partners, The Newtown Square Historical Society and Newtown Township will be present for the signing and dedication.
John West House | The Square Tavern
Newtown Street Road & Goshen Road, Newtown Square, PA 19073
Event Highlights
For more information www.newtowntownship.org
EVENT DETAILS
- Ceremonial Signing & Dedication of The Square Tavern (AKA The John West House) to Newtown Township
- Activities hosted by The Newtown Square Historical Society include live music, refreshments, tours, and an art exhibit of Carl and Alice Lindborg’s work.
Irish Tour at the Paper Mill House
A wonderful celebration of Irish Culture and History at the Paper Mill and Square Tavern this past Saturday. A great big THANK YOU! to our huge enthusiastic turnout of guests from all over the area. Dancing, drink, tarot, music and food! It was a one of our best events ever! The Irish music by The Time Travelers was perfect and topped off a day filled with magic along with our psychic Najia, a beautiful hike from the Willows Park, great tasting food and drink and wonderful guests and volunteers filled with the spirit of the day! Lá Fhéile Pádraig sona duit!
Travelling Through History…
Pennsylvania Railroad Passenger Trains to Newtown Square
(1895 – 1908)
The picture above shows PRR H9s Engine #1377 leading a special passenger train “fan trip” to Newtown Square in March of 1939. Photo by David H. Cope
Newtown Square was still a quiet farming community in the late 1800’s, but there was change – and whistles – in the air. The Philadelphia and West Chester Turnpike – a toll road built from wood planks in the 1850’s—had helped the local farmers to be connected to the City of Philadelphia, where they could better do business and sell their farm goods.
There was a desire to have passenger and freight services available, and in 1895 the Pennsylvania Railroad completed a branch line to Newtown Square – running from Philadelphia and eventually entering Newtown Square through what is now Brookside Park (by Bryn Mawr Avenue), Greer Park (next to Winding Way) and ending in a yard on the west side of Newtown Street Road (near where the WAWA now sits).
There were ten passenger stops along the line, with Llanerch and Newtown Square having large single-story wooden stations built. The station at Newtown Square also housed the community’s Post Office. Freight service on the line ran into the 1960’s. Passenger service started strong with seven daily trains in each direction during the week (and five on Sundays). However, by 1905 only one passenger train ran each day, and passenger service was discontinued in 1908, as most people rode the trolley car along West Chester Pike. Still, one can imagine riding through the Newtown Square countryside in an ornate passenger car being pulled by a powerful steam engine. It must have been impressive.
In March of 1939, the Pennsylvania Railroad ran a special “fan trip” on the Newtown Square branch. The steam engine and seven passenger cars hearkened back to a time when passenger trains ran regularly to and from our community.
The 1895 PRR Passenger Station was boarded up in the 1930’s, and was subsequently torn down in the 1960’s. The 1895 PRR Freight Station survived as an abandoned building after the railroad stopped running to Newtown Square. It was saved from destruction by the Newtown Square Historical Society and moved to Drexel Lodge Park, where it was restored and a small museum built up around it. It can be visited to this day.
Art Classes at the Paper Mill House Museum and History Center
"Whether you're a beginner or an experienced artist, everyone is welcome to join us at the Paper Mill Art Room on Saturday mornings from 10:00 a.m. to noon. This class focuses on acrylic painting, a versatile water-based medium that becomes waterproof once dry.
For beginners, you'll be guided through a step-by-step process to complete a specific project each week. You'll build your skills progressively, learning key techniques along the way, such as color mixing, form, value, line, and perspective.
For experienced artists, you're free to choose your own project or work on the week's featured painting. This is a space to explore your creativity at your own pace, with plenty of support available if needed.
Above all, our goal is to make art-making enjoyable! Whether you're refining your skills or just starting out, you'll learn in a relaxed and inspiring environment."
For more information, e-mail: kathyagostinelli22@gmail.com
Historic Sites in Newtown Square Did you know that there are over 100 historic sites in Newtown Square? Over the next few months, we will be presenting a thumbnail sketch of a selection of these historic buildings in our community, and feature some of the owners who live in them. David Pratt House (c. 1700) 3319 Spring House Road
This beautiful home is situated at the bend in the road that led down the hill to the sawmill on Darby Creek in Radnor, but set back from the road and surrounded by open wooded land. There are remains from an old stone barn, and Thomas Run crosses the property with a springhouse near the creek. It was owned by several generations of Quaker farmers. This Federal stone farmhouse was built in 3 sections. The original part from the early 18th century is located on the early Philip England tract of 450 acres surveyed in 1684. Prior to 1848, the home was owned by John Lewis and wife Tamar Lewis Sr. They raised three children there. Their daughter, Tamar Lewis Jr., married Quaker farmer, David Garrett Pratt. She may have inherited the house, and then she and David built the addition, the east gable of which has a datestone which reads “D TL Pratt 1852”. David and Tamar raised their family of two boys at the house. Years later, David and Tamer died within a few weeks of each other, she on January 26, 1882, and he on February 20th. The local newspaper noted the curious fact that they each died on their birthdays. The house and 70 acres then passed to the Worrell family. By 1909, Alfred B. Worrell owned the house, outbuildings and 51 acres. An 1899 article noted a fire that destroyed the large barn on the property; the loss of building and contents valued at $5000, and fortunately Alfred had insurance valued at $4000 with which to re-build. Wyola Tenant House (c. 1880) 563 N. Newtown Street Road
This simple clapboard farmhouse was built around 1880, in what was at the time the busting little village of Wyola. The row of buildings along the east side of Wyola, including the fine home at the corner and the wheelwright shop, were all part of the property of Caleb Y. Lewis. This house was likely a tenant house for the people who may have worked in the store, post office, wheelwright shop or blacksmith shop, or one of the dressmakers doing business there. And who was Caleb Lewis? Here is the man as described by contemporaries at the time of his death: “Caleb Y. Lewis, one of the more interesting characters in Delaware County, died last Tuesday from a paralytic stroke at Newtown Square in his 91st year. Mr. Lewis was a bachelor and accumulated considerable property in his lifetime. He was in earlier and later life a farmer, and for many years during middle life a merchant. He was in many respects a recluse, caring nothing for society, and rarely leaving home except to attend to necessary business. He was an excellent type of the old-time Friend, and never cared to keep up with the remarkable growth of the nation. His dress and manners were the same as in the first decades of the century were common in rural districts. He was honest and upright and was known throughout the county as being a man of few words, an unchangeable determination. His four brothers were all prominent men, one of them, James, having sat in both Houses at Harrisburg and refused a nomination to Congress. Mr. Lewis will be buried Monday in the quaint old burying ground at Newtown Square.”
Follow this link to see the full 80-page book "Newtown Square - Preserving Our History" featuring 27 historic homes in Newtown Square along with stories from some of the owners of these homes. A FREE copy of this book is available at the Paper Mill House Museum & History Center on Paper Mill Road. https://online.fliphtml5.com/hplxj/bcod/ | Upcoming events
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ABOUT NSHSIn 1981 several historically minded residents of Newtown (Delaware County, PA) decided to host a celebration for Newtown’s 300th anniversary. A year of activities and a wonderful parade were the impetus to the creation of the Newtown Square Historical Society in 1984. The main purposes of the Society are to protect, preserve and promote the historic resources of the Township, as well as to tell its story. We are an all volunteer, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization funded through member donations, fundraising and grants. All contributions to the Society are tax deductible, and go to support the work and programs of the Society. |
The Founding of Newtown TownshipNewtown Township dates to 1681, when William Penn planned two inland “new towns” (the second one is Newtown, Bucks County) in which buyers who bought plots of farm land would be entitled to a “Townstead” plot in the new town planned for the intersection of Newtown Street Road and Goshen Road. The original settlers were Welsh Quakers, drawn to the new world by relatively cheap land, Penn’s promise of religious tolerance, and the prospects of new beginnings. Newtown remained a farming community from that time until after World War II, when it began growing into a suburban bedroom community outside of Philadelphia, 15 miles due east. |
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