The Paper Mill House - Newtown Square, PA.

On St. David's Road in Newtown Square sits the only remaining structure and presence of the local mills that once existed along Darby Creek in the 1800's. It is called the Paper Mill House. The Newtown Square Historical Society uses this historic stone building as the location for the society's museum of local history. I have to admit that the only reason I had any interest in taking a tour of this house stems from my grandmom. She would point it out whenever we drove past it and she would mention how she lived there when she was a very young girl.

The Paper Mill House is open for tours on Saturdays & Sundays (in 2012 - I'm not sure about future or past times) in July & August from 1-4pm. Being the timely people that we are, we waited until the very last weekend in August to head over for a tour. We pulled into the parking lot from St. David's Rd and crossed a wooden pedestrian bridge that spans Darby Creek. We proceeded to the front of the building and entered the house. There were two people inside and they offered us a tour.

The house is three stories tall and housed four families when the mills were in full production. Each family had 3 floors in their own wing of the house. All of the floors were wooden and most of the staircases were not tall person friendly. At a stately 5'4" even I found the staircases to be unfriendly for the taller population; however, I know these were the normal dimensions used for housing back in the 1800's. Some of the rooms in the house were set up as bedrooms and many were set up as displays for the local history museum. The local history museum covered topics from historical relics found on site, old maps, old newspaper clippings, paintings of other area historical buildings by local artists, geological displays, period clothing displays, and even some local folk lore (Sandy Flash sticks out in my mind just due to his name).

The ground level features a mid-19th century general store replica. The general store had many objects of interested spread throughout it. One gruesome piece particularly stands out in my memory and it was the foot operated dental drill. As your teeth were being drilled, the dentist would actually pump the drill with his foot. Another thing that stood out to me was the sign of different homeopathic remedies for just about any illness/disease/pain you could imagine would trouble someone in the time before modern medicine. Those two objects made me grateful for the medical technology we have today!

Our guide also told us many interesting stories and facts about the property and the people who lived there. One of the stories was about the smallpox epidemic that struck in the late 1880's (I think that was the decade). Two thirds of the workers died and about a year later one of the buildings burned to the ground. There was no confirmation but arson was suspected to be the case. Speaking of fire, did you know the leading cause of death in women after childbirth was burning to death as a result of kitchen fires? I didn't either! However, after seeing the small size of the "kitchen" and the long flowy dresses women had to wear, it's no wonder that clothing caught fire.

One area we did not get to explore on our trip was the property itself. The trail was not weed whacked and one of us was wearing shorts rather than pants so we decided not to venture too far into the woods. When the trail is clear, you can actually walk along the creek and see the remains of the mills and a few other structures that stood on this property. It turns out there used to be several buildings on the property, and while the Paper Mill House is the last building standing, it was actually the smallest! Even the Paper Mill House almost didn't make it though. When the township acquired the property in the 1980's the roof was falling in and required a great deal of restoration. If you ask me the restoration paid off and it is a great piece of history in a township that is rich in history itself.


For more information:
* Newtown Square Historical Society.

 The front of the Paper Mill House & Museum.

The back of the Paper Mill House & Museum from across the Darby Creek.

Hopewell Furnace National Historic Park - Elverson, PA.

Wake up & smell the charcoal! That's exactly what would have happened back in the late 1700's if you lived in the small coal-production village of Hopewell, PA. What lies there now is known as Hopewell Furnace National Historic Park. It is adjacent to French Creek State Park and makes for both an educational and adventurous day trip.

Hopewell Furnace NHP is rich in history. The furnace first went into production in 1771. Its main product was iron and the ironmaster's name was Mark Bird. The furnace provided much of the iron weaponry used in the American Revolution. Without Hopewell & other furnaces scattered throughout the colonies, the Revolutionary War would have been a hopeless cause! These furnaces literally fueled the birth of our country.

Hopewell, like other furnaces, also made their own charcoal. It was a very time consuming process not only to burn the charcoal, but to cut all the wood needed to create the fuel. The charcoal making process required 6000-7000 cords of wood, or 200 acres of woodland, to keep the furnace in full operation for one year. The owner tried to convert Hopewell over to using anthracite coal; however, this proved to be too costly and was abandoned. The cost of iron production combined with the post-Revolutionary war debt accrued by the government eventually forced Hopewell and many other furnaces to be shut down permanently.

Fast forward to the present day and you are in a very different setting. There is no more iron smelting, and except for a few visitors and period re-enacters, the place is virtually deserted. However, this situation provides a great setting to visit each of the buildings and take in the history. My top 4 building recommendations are the Water Wheel building, the Office & General Store, the Iron Master's Mansion, & the Spring House. One of the tenant houses has replicas of dishes, butter churns, books, card decks, and dominos that you can pick up and examine more closely. Upon arriving in the General Store we spoke with a park volunteer dressed in period clothing that told us more about the park's history than the audio recordings or information placards could have possibly given to us! She also informed us that just three times a year they have the charcoal pit going, and what luck, we just happened to be there for it.

The park is open from 9am-5pm Wednesday-Sunday from Memorial Day through late October. In the off season the buildings are open on weekends, weather permitting. There is no admission to the park. There are many events both historical and not hosted by the park throughout the year, and there is an apple orchard open to the public in the fall months. Most of the buildings in the park can be seen in under 1 hour; however, if you take the time to really examine everything, you should allot yourself at least 2 hours.

Other nearby attractions include: French Creek State Park, St. Peter's Village, and the Horseshoe Trail.

For more information:
* Hopewell Furnace National Historic Park.
* Friends of Hopwell Furnace NHS.
* French Creek State Park.

The view of Hopewell Furnace village from the French Creek State Park east entrance.

 

The water wheel, in operation.

The Ironmaster's Mansion.

Hershey's Chocolate World - Hershey, PA.

Back in December I met up with some friends from school in Hershey, PA. December is cold, so obviously we stuck with indoor activities. One of the places we decided to visit was Chocolate World!

On the drive in, especially from points east, it becomes very obvious when you are approaching Hershey. You can see the factory smoke stacks from several miles out. When it doubt, just drive in that general direction! Or just follow the Hershey Highway signs on route 422 to "The Sweetest Place on Earth." When we arrived and got our parking ticket, we discovered that you only paid for parking if you stayed longer than 3 hours, which was nice.

The first positive point of Chocolate World was that the attraction is entirely free. Everyone likes free activities! That being said, Chocolate World is definitely laid out in such a way to try to force you to spend money. The line starts near the front of the building, but the ride ends near the back. This allows them to plant thousands of pieces of Hershey merchandise between you & the door. Since we went at Christmas time, many people definitely were purchasing the Hershey hats, tshirts, and overpriced, oversized candy bars.

The second positive point of Chocolate World was the ride itself. The lines for the ride can become very long, but they also move quickly. We managed to squeeze 4 of us onto the backseat of our car for the ride. The ride takes you through a display of how Hershey's makes their chocolate. There are singing cows that emphasize "It's the milk chocolate!" The ride even turns your car in the correct direction you need to look. The only effort required on your part is to manage to get into the car itself safely (the floor nearby spins & creates an optical illusion that can easily make you sick). The ride itself lasts about 8 or 9 minutes and is a great way to see a theoretical version of the Hershey factory.

In the past, if you were to visit Hershey in the summer, it would smell so badly of chocolate you would become nauseous. However, they don't make nearly as much chocolate on site anymore so the smell is tolerable, if not absent during most of the year.

Hershey is a great family attraction with year round events. They decorate for Christmas but their main attraction is Hershey Park in the summer months. Your best bet would be to lump the Chocolate World Tour in with a visit to the amusement park. (It would also probably give your skin a break from direct sunlight if you burn easily!). So next time you are in Dauphin County, and need something to do, just swing by chocolate world and relax to the sound of singing cows.


For more information on the places mentioned in this blog:
* Hershey's Chocolate World
* Hershey, PA - The Sweetest Place on Earth

Sorry, no pictures! (Youtube has this place pretty well covered).