|
There
are many historical homes in Chester
County. One of them is The Stone Barn. It
has undergone many changes and passed
through many owners since it was first
established.
The saga
began when William Penn gave a grant of
1,000 acres to Thomas and Richard Parsons
in 1682. The brothers split the property
down the middle, each receiving 500 acres.
In 1685 Richard pulled out and gave his
land to Thomas. Later that year, Thomas
died, and the land was passed on to his
son, Thomas Parsons Jr. Parsons decided
that 1,000 acres was to much to handle, so
he sold 500 acres back to Penn. In 1723,
Tom sold the remaining 500 acres to
William Pyle for 8,112 pounds and ten
shillings. Pyle bequeathed the property to
his sons Job and Isaac in 1733.
The
brothers built their houses, farmed the
land, and lived peacefully until Isaac
died on November 8, 1794. His land was
passed on to his two sons, Tom and John
Pyle. Tom got 100 acres, and John received
138 acres. Tom built his house near the
spring. John lived with his mother while
building his house and barn.
A
dispute broke out in 1796. It was over who
would have access to the water from the
creek to irrigate their fields. The took
the issue to the overseers of London Grove
Monthly Meeting. The overseers decided
that Tom would get the water on
Monday,Tuesday, and Wednesday, and John
would get access on Thursday,Friday,and
Saturday. On Saturday it would be
alternated weekly.
In 1799,
John died. His land was passed on to his
sons Issac and Charles. Charles married
Magdalen Speckman in 1820. They built a
house and planted many fruit trees.
Charles died on February 11, 1829.
Magdalen died on September 11, 1862, after
taking care of the farm for thirty-three
years. None of the four children had
survived long enough to take care of the
property, so it was sold to Francis C.
Thomas. When he died, the property was
passed on to his son Benjamin, who sold it
to Davis Horne. When Davis died, his
daughter inherited it in 1854 . At this
point in time we don't have records of who
owned it past this point. However, on
January nineteenth, 1922, Charles Fredrick
Bartholdi Thomforde bought sixty-eight
acres for 5,000 dollars. Charles was named
after Fredrick Bartholdi, the French
artist who designed the Statue Of Liberty,
because he was born on the same day the
Statue of Liberty was commissioned. He
named the farm Marwood, and built a
chicken hatchery and barn.
He
decided to make apples and cider as the
main crop. While waiting for the apple
trees to mature, he switched to raising
poultry as economic purposes. After the
trees matured, poultry was such a major
money maker, the family kept the chickens
for a fall back economic profit. The
chicken hatchery, which was nearby the
barn, was a cold room method. This means
that the hatchery was separated from the
rest of the barn. This allows the chicken
hose to be moved around and possibly used
for laying hens at one point. The chicken
house was unheated except for the
floor-model electric brooders. There was
also very good insulation in the hatchery.
Continuously operated fans made
ventilation very easy and kept the smells
from getting backed up and allowing the
chickens to breathe. The hatchery produced
approximately 416,000 chickens a year from
1948 until 1960.
The
barn, which was used to store food and
hay, is now converted into a restaurant.
It was converted to a restaurant in 1914.
Since then, the barn has burnt down, been
rebuilt and even survived a tornado
ripping through the theater room. The barn
burnt down in 1928, and was rebuilt in
1929 and is open to the public. It is
located near the intersection of Newark
Road and 842. The barn is now known as The
Stone Barn. The orchard, which was
recently torn down for a second time, had
approximately 800 Winesap and Delicious
apple trees. The family also had
approximately 1,000 Rhode Island Reds in
the chicken hatchery before it shut down
in 1960. The barn is open to the public on
Sundays. It is used to be open every day
to the public, but because of economic
loss, they decided that the barn should
only be open on Sundays.
Today
the stone barn has many points of
interest. The property has 4 apartment
buildings with a total of 32 apartments.
The recreational facilities include 2
tennis courts, an Olympic size pool, 2
basketball courts, a soccer field, and a
volley ball court. The Stone Barn is now
open to the public on Sundays from
1pm-7pm. Weddings and parties can be held
at any time.
Today
the Stone Barn is in the hands of the
Thomfordes. They own 68 acres of the
original 1,000 given to Parsons by William
Penn in 1682. The Thomfordes have held
this property for just about 88 years. The
Stone Barn itself has been standing for 61
years since the time it burnt down. This
is truly a historic site for Unionville.
|
