Tredyffrin Tricentennial
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
 
Tredyffrin Tricentennial -- by Mike Pillagalli
(Article written for County Lines Magazine, September 2007)

Here's your chance to get involved in a good, old-fashioned barn raising. And not for just any barn. This barn, the historic Jones Log Barn, was originally built in the 1730s by early Welsh settlers in Chester County as a rare two-crib, English Lake District style barn, one of the oldest in the mid-Atlantic.
Plus the best part of this barn raising is that you won't even have to lift a hammer or an old log to help put the barn back into use. All you need to do is attend one of the many activities planned for the Tredyffrin Tricentennial in mid-September as a way of helping resurrect and preserve this piece of our local history.

Some History
Tredyffrin Township is located in the easternmost section of Chester County and contains the fertile Great Valley, which starts there and stretches as far west as Coatesville.

Early Welsh settlers paid William Penn ten cents an acre in 1682 for forty thousand acres, which encompassed nine subsequent townships in four different counties. Quite a bargain! Penn told the Welsh Quakers there was enough land there for them to enjoy their culture and languages and to live peacefully.

By 1707, there was a population large enough to incorporate the area into one of those nine townships. Since the Welsh word for township is Tre and a wide cultivated valley translates to Dyffrin, the township name was chosen and has endured for 300 years.

Early Structures
In the developing townships, barns were usually built before houses so there would be shelter for the farm animals that provided a self-sustaining lifestyle. After the farms were established, a mill was needed to grind the grain the Quakers grew in the rich soil of the Great Valley. A marketplace would also have been established to sell the produce and grain, and of course, a meeting house would have been built for the community's spiritual needs.

As early as 1710 there was a mill operated by Valley Creek and owned by Thomas Jarman, a noted preacher as well as a miller. The Church of England’s first structure, a log building, was built in 1700, the Baptist Church of Great Valley followed in 1711. The Great Valley Presbyterian's original structure was completed in 1714, and the Valley Friend’s Meeting House was added to this group in 1781.

Tranquility of Quaker life in this area was thwarted, however, with the approaching Revolutionary War. The American Army arrived in Tredyffrin for the famous winter encampment at Valley Forge from December 1777 to June 1778. It's well known that many of Washington’s generals used farmhouses in Tredyffrin for their winter stay, while their soldiers occupied the log huts at Valley Forge.

What is less well known is that the Jones Log Barn and its farm were occupied by both the British (General Sir William Howe of Paoli Massacre infamy) and Continental Armies (General Charles Scott for our side). And it's this historically important barn that’s the center of much of Tredyffrin’s celebration and the structure that needs your help to re-raise it.

Build the Jones Log Barn
The Jones Log Barn faced the possibility of demolition in 2002, when the Tredyffrin Historic Preservation Trust was established to save it. The Trust's more general mission is to preserve and protect historic and cultural resources in the township for the benefit of present and future generations and to educate the public about the preservation and protection of historic and cultural settings. The Log Barn is a special initiative.

The Trust had the barn dismantled and stored the logs for the eventual reconstruction, now planned for the 90-acre Wilson Farm Park in Chesterbrook. Proceeds from the Tricentennial will help pay the over $400,000 projected cost to resurrect this historic structure. And here’s how you can be a part of this important project.

The Tricentennial Celebration

The Tredyffrin 300 Committee has put together a lively schedule of events to celebrate the tricentennial, running from September 14 through the 23rd. You may have noticed one of the many green and white banners decorating area poles and advertising the festivities. Or, if you regularly check out YouTube, perhaps you've come across the trailer for the historic documentary that's being produced. (Log on to YouTube.com and search Tredyffrin. Who knew?)

The Committee has come up with other creative ways to mark the tricentennial. If you’re yearning for a Tredyffrin 300 coffee mug, tee shirt or environmentally correct tote bag, log on to CafePress.com to see the commemorative merchandise.

Don't need trinkets, but want to contribute? The Committee welcomes volunteers to help out with the festivities and, of course, invites you to attend the many events planned. This is a great way to celebrate our local cultural heritage while raising funds to raise the historic Jones Log Barn and preserve other aspects of Tredyffrin.

On to the line-up of special events.
Soiree. The kick-off event is "Tredyffrin at Twilight," a black-tie-optional soiree and auction on September 14 at the St. David Golf Club, which will also provide food for the event. Both silent and live auctions are planned, highlighted by a Sotheby's auctioneer bringing down the gavel on such prizes as a 3-series BMW and a ladies' Rolex. Advance tickets required ($85).

Birthday Party. The centerpiece for the community birthday party for Tredyffrin 300 begins Saturday, September 15, with an assortment of activities in Wilson Farm Park. There will be a parade and the premier of a historical documentary "Tredyffrin -- First 300 Years" (the one with the YouTube trailer) highlighting the township and its 300 years of history from its Welsh-settlement beginning to the present day.

The 55-minute documentary includes vintage photographs (think Ken Burns) and a movie clip dating from the 1920s showing Valley Forge as seen during a family outing captured by an early home movie camera. The debut of the documentary will be in the outdoor theater set up in the park at dusk, followed by fireworks to light up the celebration.

Song. The next day, Sunday the 16th, will mark a celebration of “United in Song” as area musicians, groups, and church choirs make beautiful music together at Conestoga High School at 2 p.m.

Friends' Talks. Also on September 16th and on the following Sunday, the 23rd, will be talks about the history and contributions of the Society of Friends in Tredyffrin Township. On the 16th, the Valley Friends Meeting in Wayne will host a lecture on "Friends, Foes and Tolerance." On the 23rd, the topic will be "The Holy Experiment: The Founding of Philadelphia." Following both free talks will be an Open House and opportunity to explore the adjacent burial grounds. Because the meeting house served as a hospital during the Revolutionary War, the grounds contain soldiers' remains. Visitors are also invited to attend the meeting for worship at 10 a.m.

Fashion Show. "Crossroads of Fashion . . . Style and Function of 3 Centuries" will take place on Thursday evening, September 20th, at the historic Duportail House in Chesterbrook. This event starts with cocktails and dinner provided by Yellow Springs Catering. Then Bella Veksler, from Drexel University’s design school, will emcee a presentation of fashions from the colonial period to the present day illustrated by a runway fashion show featuring vintage fashions drawn from local private collections and modeled by those small enough to fit into period clothing. The finale will be contemporary fashions from Van Cleve of Paoli. Expect fashion-forward ideas from casual to evening ware.
Diverse sources are being culled to provide unique vintage clothing representing fashions from the last 300 years in Tredyffrin and suggesting what the future of fashion may hold. This event requires advance tickets ($75).

House Tour. In its third year is the much-anticipated Historic House Tour sponsored by the Tredyffrin Historic Preservation Trust. This year promises many historic homes new to the tour. The tour takes place on September 22, from 1 to 5 p.m. and encompasses all four corners of the township.

Knowledgeable guides will explain the history of each property and the interesting items in each residence. Plus light refreshments will be served at the home of Senator Philander Knox, a stop on the tour. This event also requires advance tickets ($35).

Dining. To help round out the festivities and include something for every taste, the "Taste of Tredyffrin" will showcase local restaurants in the township and neighboring communities. Participating restaurants will donate a portion of their proceeds to the event. Check the web site for a complete list of participants.

More Music. The last event of the celebration, "Vox Renaissance Consort in the Garden," is a performance sponsored by the Jenkins Arboretum in Devon. The Vox Renaissance Consort was founded in 1987 and serves up a lively performance using period costumes and instruments to showcase vocal music and examples of court dancing. This group has performed around the world. The performance, which will feature American music from the 1700s, will be held at 4 p.m., September 23, at the Arboretum and, in case of rain, at the Great Valley Baptist Church, the one established in 1711.

Tredyffrin Today
In 1857, the census listed the population of the township at 474 people showing some growth since the Welsh arrivals in the 17th century. Less than one hundred years later, in 1940, there were 6,250 inhabitants there. Now more than 30,000 people live in the township. Where once farms and mills abounded in the countryside, today the township is part of the high technology corridor of this area.

Clearly this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to celebrate this slice of our local cultural history. So join the residents to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the Tredyffrin Township. And join the barn raising, too.

To volunteer or for information about these events check www.tredyffrin300.org or contact President of Tredyffrin Historic Preservation Trust & Co-Chair of Tredyffrin 300 Pattye Benson, 610-644-6759, pattye@greatvalleyhouse.com.
 
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