Carolyn Roland-Your Delaware and Chester County Historic Homes Specialist

Yes, I was on a busman's holiday last week to my home town of Chicago, and Millenium Park was a must-see place. The last time I was down by the Art Institute, there were RR tracks to cross in order to get to the lakefront. Now, there is glorious Millenium Park.

The Pritzkur Pavillion, designed by Frank Gehry, is a star, and I am sorry I did not get to see a performance there. The Crown Fountain is another highlight, with faces appearing on the glass blocks, and water occasionally spouting from the mouths of the faces.

Another thing that fascinated me was the Cloud Gate Sculpture. Cloud Gate is British artist Anish Kapoor's first public outdoor work installed in the United States. The 110-ton elliptical sculpture is forged of a seamless series of highly polished stainless steel plates, which reflect the city's famous skyline and the clouds above. A 12-foot-high arch provides a "gate" to the concave chamber beneath the sculpture, inviting visitors to touch its mirror-like surface (my shot is from inside) and see their image reflected back from a variety of perspectives

A special presentation and tour of the Courthouse in Old New Castle, Delaware in honor of the 1848 trial of Thomas Garrett, who was a "stationmaster" on the Underground Railroad. There was no train involved, just a chain of compassionate souls who helped shepherd slaves out of the south to freedom in Pennsylvania. Garrett and fellow Quaker John Hunn were convicted and fined, but he vowed to continue his work, eventually helping over 2000 men, women, and children escape to freedom. Below you will see scenes of the present day Old New Castle courthouse, the exhibits about the Garrett trial, and a tour being led through the Underground Railroad related exhibits.

West Grove, Pennsylvania-A Well-Preserved Town

At the intersection of Evergreen and Prospect Streets in historic West Grove, Pennsylvania, you can get an idea of what it must have been like in 1893, when this Borough was incorporated. Named after the West Grove Quaker Meeting House, the town was a center of local trade dating back to 1731, when John, Thomas, and Richard Penn granted 5000 acres to William Penn, grandson of the Founder of Pennsylvania, subject to the rental of 'one red rose on the twenty-fourth day of June if demanded.' This payment has been made almost every year since. Usually a direct descendent of Penn had been present to receive the red rose. This is done in a public ceremony, generally on the Saturday following Labor Day, and attracts a large crowd.

Below: The Historic West Grove Quaker Meeting, Evergreen and Prospect Intersection, and Former Train Station turned Ice Cream Shop

The Penn Township Park is located in Jennersville, next to the Jennersville Regional Hospital, and across the street from the YMCA. There are gazebos and picnic tables for rent in the park by contacting the Township office. The Jennersville YMCA was a beehive of activity around the kiddie and adult pools on a recent summer Sunday.

A more quiet scene (at least on the surface) was across the road at the Jenners Pond retirement community. Residents have full use of the YMCA, plus their own walking trail, health center, dining rooms, a library, activity rooms, and even a pub!

And just down the road, is the 59 bed Jennersville Regional Hospital, with its own emergency center, and 85 licensed physicians. And all you have to do is turn around, and see that you are still in the midst of the peaceful countryside of Chester County. Jennersville's postal address is West Grove, so you can see that West Grove is still a very rural community.

Although a Penn grant for the area dates back to 1706, and native inhabitants were here from the Seventh Century, the Borough of Avondale was not chartered until 1894. Many people pass through the town as they are headed from the Port of Wilmington to Lancaster County, but few stop to look at the historic properties as we did the other day.

Here are just a few, starting out with an old stone mill built in 1906 on the site of an earlier mill. It is being creatively re-used by the Edlon company for an engineering office (1) and one of the engineers (2) explains about a Teflon product is produced in the building next door as an adhesive for products such as HDF (high density fibreboard).

Then we see 2 views of a building dating back to the 18th century, once housing the Bachelor's Club (3), all of whom later changed their marital status and the building became a bank, shops, and now is proudly shown by it's owner, who runs a travel agency there (4), and who says HE is a bachelor!

We will tell you more in a future article.