historic districts
preservation and pirates along the Delaware River
Marcus Hook’s historical
significance comes from its identity as a maritime town. Originally a Lenape
settlement, it became a New Sweden trading post in the 1640s with shipbuilding
and fishing as early industries. Briefly a resort and amusement center, Marcus
Hook’s rail, roads and deep-water port gave rise to the refineries that became
the borough's dominant industry.
The Pioneer, an
iron-hulled American schooner still sailing, was built in Marcus Hook in 1885
The Hook was also a haven
for pirates in the early 18th century and its market provided a
place to sell plundered goods and re-supply for their next voyage; what is now
Second Street was originally called Discord Lane and where the pirates hung out
while in town.
Plank House once the home of a mistress of the pirate Blackbeard is a one-and-a-half story, hall-plan house featuring a finished upper level and full cellar. The house is constructed using sawn planks fitted together with dovetail joinery and caulked with oakum. Some of the original riven lath remains on the interior of the house. A stone and brick relieving arch in the cellar supports the fireplaces and chimney stack. The upper level of the house, accessed via a winder staircase, features a fielded panel fireplace. Both the architecture of the house and the archaeology indicate a probable construction date of 1735.
Plank House once the home of a mistress of the pirate Blackbeard is a one-and-a-half story, hall-plan house featuring a finished upper level and full cellar. The house is constructed using sawn planks fitted together with dovetail joinery and caulked with oakum. Some of the original riven lath remains on the interior of the house. A stone and brick relieving arch in the cellar supports the fireplaces and chimney stack. The upper level of the house, accessed via a winder staircase, features a fielded panel fireplace. Both the architecture of the house and the archaeology indicate a probable construction date of 1735.
The William Penn Landing Site
marks the spot of the first landing of William Penn on the territory of
Pennsylvania, on October 28 or 29, 1682. Penn, the founder of the Province of
Pennsylvania, landed in the only town in the province, then known as Upland and
promptly renamed it Chester. The monument at the site was designed by John
Struthers, erected on November 8 and dedicated November 9, 1882. The landing
site was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.
The Old Chester Courthouse
was built in 1724 in Chester, to serve as the courthouse for Chester County,
one of the first three counties in the Province of Pennsylvania set up by
William Penn. Later, the area around
Chester was separated from Chester County and formed into Delaware County; the
Chester Courthouse became the courthouse for Delaware County.
Chester Waterside Station is
a historic power station. The original section of the Station building was
built in 1916, and consists of the Boiler House with attached Coal Towers,
Turbine Hall, and the Switch House. It is in the Beaux-Arts style. The Turbine
Hall Annex addition was built in 1939-1942. Also located on the property is the
two-story, red brick Machine Shop building. It was listed on the National
Register of Historic Places in 2007.
Chichester Friends Meetinghouse
is a historic Quaker meeting house near Boothwyn. The Chester area was one of
the earliest areas settled by Quakers in Pennsylvania. The meetinghouse, first
built in 1688, then rebuilt after a fire in 1769 reflects this early Quaker
heritage. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in
1973.
John P. Crozer II Mansion
located in Upland, was built in 1879-1880, and is a three-story mansion house
built entirely of California redwood. It reflects grandiose Victorian tastes,
with elements of the Gothic and Queen Anne styles. The mansion was divided into
eight apartments. Also on the property are a contributing carriage house, barn,
trophy house, spring house, remains of greenhouses, a root cellar and ice
house.
Pusey-Crozier Mill Historic
District is a historic mill complex and national historic district located
in Upland. The district includes nine contributing buildings, one contributing
site, and one contributing structure, at the site of the first grist mill and
sawmill erected by the English Quakers in 1682. They are the Pennock Log House
(1790), schoolhouse (1849), four single houses (1850), large double house
(1850s), mid-19th century barn, and the original mill site, headrace, and tail
race.