Old roads out of Philadelphia

Foreword

HOW many of those who speed along the roads out of Philadelphia in their motorcars, who ride in trolleys, or take refreshing walks, know of the roads on which they travel or of the things that they see by the way? This volume has been prepared for the purpose of adding to the enjoyment of outdoor life, entertainment, knowledge of fascinating bits of local history, and pleasing adventure.

For the vicinity of Philadelphia is rich in historical interest. Boston alone, among American cities, can compare with it in this respect, but Philadelphia has the advantage of Boston in that so many of the historic buildings and their surroundings are still practically in the state in which they were a century or more ago.

Some one has compared the old roads out of Philadelphia to the sticks of a lady's fan. If an opened fan is laid on the map of Philadelphia and its surroimding country westward, the boundary sticks may be made to conform to the Delaware. The city itself will be covered by the open portion of the fan, while the radiating sticks will correspond after a fashion to the ten great old roads, several of which date from the later years of the seventeenth century.

It is quite possible for the automobilist, in a single half day, starting from the first of these roads to the

FOREWORD

south, the Wilmington Turnpike — say at a point fifteen miles from the City Hall — to go across country on a line roughly parallel with the boundaries of the city, crossing in turn the Baltimore, the West Chester, the Lancaster, the Gulph, the Ridge, the Germantown, the Bethlehem, the York and the Bristol roads.

After such a trip, the roads might with great profit and pleasure be traversed one after another, to a distance of thirty, forty or fifty miles from the city, or even farther, though thirty or thirty-five miles will include the most of the historic portion of any of these roads, at least so far as the history is boimd up with Philadelphia.

Most of the roads are well surfaced, and the automobile owner may take all of the trips outlined in the chapters of this volume. Moreover, car lines are so well placed that one can cover much of the territory indicated by trolley. Thus there is a trolley on the Wilmington road as far as Wilmington; the Baltimore road has a trolley from Angora to Media; the West Chester road has a car line its entire length; the Ridge road may be seen from the car window; the traveler along the Germantown road can go quite a distance by car; much of the Bethlehem Turnpike may be seen on the cars of the Liberty Bell route; there is a trolley to Willow Grove on the York Road, from Willow Grove to Doylestown on what, by some early writers, was spoken of as a branch of the York Road, and from Willow Grove to Hatboro on the main stem of the York Road, while the trolley line keeps on or close to the Bristol road all the way to Morrisville. Only the

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Lancaster and the Gulph roads are entirely without trolley service, though much of the Lancaster Pike may be reached from stations on the Philadelphia and Western to Strafford, while a convenient point on the Gulph road may be reached over the main line of the same line.

The roads can be seen best by those who will go over them in a leisurely manner, stopping to look for all houses and churches and for other spots with associations that take one far back into the past, and going down the side roads where many of the places most worth seeing are foimd.

It has not been the purpose of the author to tell of all the historic points on any road. To do this would make the book unreadable. Then it would not be right to deprive the traveler of the fun of making discoveries in unexpected places. One who begins the search in earnest will find spots that are not mentioned in any book. He may stumble on a building of which even those best informed in the history of Philadelphia and its surroundings are ignorant. WThen such a place is found, the next thing is to learn its story. Concerning many of the old places no story can be told; but it is surprising how much can be learned when the inquirer persists, exhausting every avenue of discovery. And it will be found that there are few pleasures greater than that of those who roam the country about Philadelphia and piece together the story of the pioneers in connection with their houses and their favorite haunts.

The writer is glad to acknowledge his indebtedness

FOREWORD

to Frank H. Shelton for the use of many of the photographs reproduced in the chapters on the Baltimore and the West Chester roads; to Frank H. Taylor, for the use of historical data; to E. R. Longstreth, for suggestions of great value; to Lincoln Cartledge and Fred P, Powers, for the use of photographs taken by them; to A. O. H. Grier, for Wilmington photographs; to Ernest SpofiFord, Assistant Librarian of the Library of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania; to H. G. Blatchley, Rev. Irving R. Wagner and Dr. Collin Foulkrod, for companionship on a number of the roads; and to Ph. B. Wallace and Henry C. Howland, architectural and landscape photographers, who accompanied him on his trips to many of the points mentioned in the volume, and took most of the photographs reproduced.

The chapter on the Lancaster Turnpike was already printed when action was taken by the Pennsylvania Legislature that made free to all users the last toll sections of this pioneer turnpike.

J. T. F.

Philadelphia, 1917

Contents

PAGE

I. IN OLD PHILADELPHIA 15

II THE KINGS HIGHWAY TO WILMINGTON 27