A Random Road Trip in Chester County, PA ~ A Photoessay

Early this week hubby and I had a few hours to go explore the nearby countryside.  We drove north from Delaware into Pennsylvania on Route 896.  We had lunch at a quiet little shop called 'Country Cricket' and then turned down Good Hope Road.  We had no idea if it went anywhere, but hubby likes to do this when we go driving.  We never seem to get lost and always manage to find nifty things rather unexpectedly.  Such was the case when we stumbled upon the White Clay Creek Preserve and the London Tract Meetinghouse.

The London Tract Meetinghouse (Chester Co., PA) was built in 1729.

White Clay Creek is part of a larger tract of land sold to William Penn by the Lenni Lenape Indian Chief Kekelappen.  It is believed that Chief Kekelappen lived in Opasiskunk, an Indian "town" shown on a survey map completed in 1699.  The area in which he resided now sits in the area known as the White Clay Preserve.  Opasiskunk covered a large area of several acres and archeological evidence shows that the area was inhabited from the early Archaic Period up through the early 18th century.  Unfortunately, frequent flooding of this area over the past two centuries has washed away all surface evidence of the settlement.

The inscription found on the stone in front of the London Tract Meetinghouse

Built in 1729, the London Tract Baptist Meetinghouse is at the intersection of Sharpless and London Tract Roads.  In its stone-walled cemetery rests many of the area's earliest settlers including Dr. David Eaton.  Nearby you can find the tri-state and Arc Corner monuments that mark important points along the Mason-Dixon line.

In 1984, the DuPont Company donated land to Pennsylvania and Delaware for the purpose of preservation of plant and animal life as well as for the rich cultural heritage of the area.  Today these lands form the bi-state White Clay Creek Preserve, the only land designated as a preserve in the Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks.  In fact, due to its outstanding scenic, wildlife, recreational, and cultural value, the White Clay Creek has been designated by Congress as a National Wild and Scenic River that shall be preserved in its free-flowing condition for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations.  You can learn more about the White Clay Creek Watershed HERE.  You can learn more about Delaware's White Clay Creek State Park HERE. 

A section of the White Clay Creek near the London Tract Meetinghouse in Chester Co., PA

One picture I failed to take that day was of the Sexton's House (ca 1829) which sits directly across the street from the London Tract Meetinghouse.  At one time it housed the caretaker of the meetinghouse but now it is falling apart and badly in need of help.  It serves as an example of Penn Plan architecture.  Penn Plan houses were simple, inexpensive dwellings made from local materials.  You can see it and learn more about it by visiting the Pennsylvania State Parks White Clay Creek Preserve page about the Sexton's House HERE. 

Ruins of a barn and stone farmhouse lay a football field's distance away from the Meetinghouse.

We've lived in Delaware for over ten years now.  We've been to Delaware's White Clay Creek Park to hike, bicycle, and participate in interpretive programs, but we'd never ventured up into Pennsylvania's side of the Preserve.  It was a gorgeous day and we got to see a new area in which we'd never been before.  There's SO much local history here that it's overwhelming.  I'm starting to think that we'll never get to see and learn about it all, even though we're so very close!