Rose Valley, Pennsylvania
Encyclopedia
Rose Valley is a small but historic borough in Delaware County
, Pennsylvania
, United States
. Its area is 0.7 square miles (1.8 km²) and the population was 944 at the 2000 census. It was settled by Quaker farmers in 1682, and later water mills along Ridley Creek
drove manufacturing in the nineteenth century. In 1901 Rose Valley was founded as an Arts and Crafts
community by architect Will Price
, who bought 80 acres (323,748.8 m²) of land around the former Rose Valley textile mill. Price, a follower of the Henry George
's economics was also a co-founder of Arden, Delaware
, where he tried to create a single-tax utopian community. Nevertheless the single-tax ideal was never implemented in Rose Valley and crafts works soon foundered, leaving a legacy of impressive architecture, a preserved landscape, and the a regional theatre, the Hedgerow Theatre
(founded in 1923), as well as an artistic community that includes writers, painters, and architects. As a former mayor said, "Rose Valley is an island of non-conformity." The Rose Valley Historic District, covering essentially all of the borough, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 2010.
or Delaware tribe lived in the area when Europeans began arriving. A major trade route, the Great Minquas Path
, passed though the site of the present borough, along Long Point, a hairpin turn in Ridley Creek, and then across the creek and through the center of the borough. Furs were carried along the path from Native Americans on the Susquehanna River
to European traders on the Schuylkill
and Delaware River
s.
Soon after William Penn
received his charter for the Colony of Pennsylvania, three brothers, Thomas, Robert, and Randall Vernon received land grants from Penn to settle over 900 acres in the present borough of Rose Valley and Nether Providence Township
. The brothers arrived in Pennsylvania in 1682 and began farming the area, about 4 miles north of Chester
, which was then the largest settlement in the colony. Though the brothers purchased their land in 1681 while still in London
, the land was not surveyed and patents were not granted for the land until years, perhaps decades, later. The Providence Great Road (now PA 252
), just to the north of the borough, was laid out in the 1680s, and Brookhaven Road, on the borough's eastern boundary was laid out in 1705.
Randall Vernon's house was built before 1700, and still stands. Robert Vernon may have built the house known as the "Bishop White House" about 1695. The name of the house comes from its use by the family of Bishop William White
during the yellow fever epidemic of 1793
in Philadelphia. Though the Bishop visited the house, he generally stayed in Philadelphia in 1793. Will Price modified this house after 1900, adding a stone porch and red tile roof. The Vernon families continued living in the area into the nineteenth century. The American Revolution
split family members, who served as soldiers on both the American and British sides.
Many veterans of the Revolution are buried in now unmarked graves in the cemetery of the Old Union Methodist Church, the only church in the borough. The roots of the church may go back to 1804, and it was officially organized in 1811. The current building dates to 1835.
Following the Revolution land in the southwest corner of the present borough was confiscated from a Vernon family member who had supported the British. The land was eventually sold to Jacob Benninghove, a Philadelphia tobacconist
, who built a large mansion there in 1787. About the same time he built a dam on Ridley Creek and a water powered snuff
mill. Samuel Bankcroft bought the house in 1831 and named it Todmorden Mansion. He lost the house in bankruptcy in 1842, but bought it back in 1857 and lived there until 1889. He built tunnels and secret chambers in the house for use in the Underground Railroad
.
, the remains of a dam and millrace can be seen leading up to the "Old Mill," which is now used as the town hall. Benninghove's snuff mill was likely built here c. 1789. Between 1826 and 1850 it was run as a paper mill. It was reconstructed as a textile mill in 1861 and burned down in 1885. After 1900 Will Price built a furniture mill or craft shop on the foundations and later it was used as a meeting hall. After extensive fire damage, it was reconstructed into today's town hall.
Hutton's mill, on Rose Valley Road by Vernon Run, was built about 1840 as a feed mill. In 1847 it became a turning mill. It was used to produce bobbin
s for the nearby textile mill as well as serving as a warehouse. Later it produced sandpaper. Will Price also reconstructed this mill into a meeting house and theater. It also suffered fire damage, was again reconstructed, and now houses the Hedgerow Theatre
.
to buy and improve the land.
Price's vision may have been modelled on the utopian socialist society described in News from Nowhere
by William Morris
.
Price's liberal views led to some misconceptions about the project according to his niece, Eleanore Price Mather: "First, it was not a free love colony. Second it was not single tax .... And third, it was not communistic. Rose Valley was essentially an arts and crafts project."
Price had led a discussion group, including Edward Bok and brothers Samuel and Joseph Fels
, and many in this group became investors or residents in Rose Valley. Other early residents included Hawley McLanahan, who became Price's architectural partner, McLanahan's father-in-law, Charles T. Schoen
, Price's employees at his architectural firm, and his relatives, including his brother Walter, also an architect. Feminist Anna Howard Shaw
lived nearby. Administration of the project was in the form of a town meeting, called the "Folk Mote."
The Rose Valley Association did not produce arts and crafts itself, but rather rented out working space to craftsmen, and provided them housing, generally designed or renovated by Price. The crafts were sold from Price's office at 1624 Walnut Street in Philadelphia. Furniture, as well as ceramics and book binding, were produced at the Old Mill until about 1907. A journal, The Artsman was published from 1903-1907. An art gallery was located in the old bobbin mill, then called Artsman's Hall, and, starting in 1904, run by well-known artist Alice Barber Stephens
, who lived in the mill until a nearby barn was converted by Price into her house, Thunderbird Lodge
. Artsman's Hall was also used for theater, with the first play "The Carpet Bagger's Revenge" presented on New Year's Eve, 1904. Eventually the building became used solely by the Hedgerow Theater, which is still an active theater.
By 1910, however, craft production had faded and the community had become essentially a commuter suburb of Philadelphia, using the nearby Moylan-Rose Valley Station. The buildings designed or renovated by Price during this period may be Rose Valley's major achievement. According to George E. Thomas, "Rose Valley is of exceptional importance, a major American architectural landmark."
After 1910 Schoen, McLanahan, and Price bought the remaining land from the Rose Valley Association, and Price designed the "Rose Valley Improvement Company Houses" near the old bobbin mill. As a group, these are the most important group of houses designed, rather than renovated, by Price in Rose Valley.
of 2000, there were 944 people, 347 households, and 292 families residing in the borough. The population density
was 1,332.8 people per square mile (513.4/km²). There were 351 housing units at an average density of 495.6 per square mile (190.9/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 95.34% White, 1.59% African American, 0.11% Native American, 1.69% Asian, 0.32% from other races
, and 0.95% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.22% of the population.
There were 347 households out of which 34.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 76.9% were married couples
living together, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 15.6% were non-families. 12.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 2.99.
In the borough the population was spread out with 25.4% under the age of 18, 3.6% from 18 to 24, 19.6% from 25 to 44, 34.7% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 98.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.4 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $114,373, and the median income for a family was $118,637. Males had a median income of $91,184 versus $47,031 for females. The per capita income
for the borough was $54,202. About 1.7% of families and 2.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under age 18 and 1.9% of those age 65 or over.
Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Delaware County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 558,979, making it Pennsylvania's fifth most populous county, behind Philadelphia, Allegheny, Montgomery, and Bucks counties....
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Its area is 0.7 square miles (1.8 km²) and the population was 944 at the 2000 census. It was settled by Quaker farmers in 1682, and later water mills along Ridley Creek
Ridley Creek
Ridley Creek is a tributary of the Delaware River in southeast Pennsylvania in the United States. The entire drainage basin is in the suburban Philadelphia area, but the upper creek and extensive park lands on the creek retain a rural character, while the mouth of the creek has long been heavily...
drove manufacturing in the nineteenth century. In 1901 Rose Valley was founded as an Arts and Crafts
Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
community by architect Will Price
Will Price
William Lightfoot Price was an influential American architect, a pioneer in the use of reinforced concrete, and a founder of the utopian communities of Arden, Delaware and Rose Valley, Pennsylvania.-Career:...
, who bought 80 acres (323,748.8 m²) of land around the former Rose Valley textile mill. Price, a follower of the Henry George
Henry George
Henry George was an American writer, politician and political economist, who was the most influential proponent of the land value tax, also known as the "single tax" on land...
's economics was also a co-founder of Arden, Delaware
Arden, Delaware
Arden is a village and art colony in New Castle County, Delaware, in the United States, founded in 1900 as a radical Georgist single-tax community by sculptor Frank Stephens and architect Will Price. The village occupies about 160 acres, with half kept as open land. According to the 2010 Census,...
, where he tried to create a single-tax utopian community. Nevertheless the single-tax ideal was never implemented in Rose Valley and crafts works soon foundered, leaving a legacy of impressive architecture, a preserved landscape, and the a regional theatre, the Hedgerow Theatre
Hedgerow Theatre
Hedgerow Theatre is a theatre company based in Rose Valley, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. It is the oldest residential repertory theatre company in the United States....
(founded in 1923), as well as an artistic community that includes writers, painters, and architects. As a former mayor said, "Rose Valley is an island of non-conformity." The Rose Valley Historic District, covering essentially all of the borough, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 2010.
History
Native Americans of the Leni LenapeLenape
The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...
or Delaware tribe lived in the area when Europeans began arriving. A major trade route, the Great Minquas Path
Great Minquas Path
Great Minquas Path was a 17th-century trade route that ran through southeastern Pennsylvania from the Susquehanna River, near Conestoga, to the Schuylkill River, opposite Philadelphia. The 80-mile east-west trail was the primary route for fur trading with the Minquas people...
, passed though the site of the present borough, along Long Point, a hairpin turn in Ridley Creek, and then across the creek and through the center of the borough. Furs were carried along the path from Native Americans on the Susquehanna River
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River is a river located in the northeastern United States. At long, it is the longest river on the American east coast that drains into the Atlantic Ocean, and with its watershed it is the 16th largest river in the United States, and the longest river in the continental United...
to European traders on the Schuylkill
Schuylkill River
The Schuylkill River is a river in Pennsylvania. It is a designated Pennsylvania Scenic River.The river is about long. Its watershed of about lies entirely within the state of Pennsylvania. The source of its eastern branch is in the Appalachian Mountains at Tuscarora Springs, near Tamaqua in...
and Delaware River
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...
s.
Soon after William Penn
William Penn
William Penn was an English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony and the future Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was an early champion of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful...
received his charter for the Colony of Pennsylvania, three brothers, Thomas, Robert, and Randall Vernon received land grants from Penn to settle over 900 acres in the present borough of Rose Valley and Nether Providence Township
Nether Providence Township, Pennsylvania
Nether Providence Township is a first class township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Many residents refer to the township by the name of its largest community, Wallingford, because the Wallingford postal code is used for most of the township....
. The brothers arrived in Pennsylvania in 1682 and began farming the area, about 4 miles north of Chester
Chester, Pennsylvania
Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, with a population of 33,972 at the 2010 census. Chester is situated on the Delaware River, between the cities of Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware.- History :...
, which was then the largest settlement in the colony. Though the brothers purchased their land in 1681 while still in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, the land was not surveyed and patents were not granted for the land until years, perhaps decades, later. The Providence Great Road (now PA 252
Pennsylvania Route 252
Pennsylvania Route 252 is a north–south route that connects at its northern terminus Pennsylvania Route 23 in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania to Pennsylvania Route 320 in Nether Providence Township, Pennsylvania at its southern terminus.-History:...
), just to the north of the borough, was laid out in the 1680s, and Brookhaven Road, on the borough's eastern boundary was laid out in 1705.
Randall Vernon's house was built before 1700, and still stands. Robert Vernon may have built the house known as the "Bishop White House" about 1695. The name of the house comes from its use by the family of Bishop William White
William White (Bishop of Pennsylvania)
The Most Reverend William White was the first and fourth Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, USA , the first Bishop of the Diocese of Pennsylvania , and the second United States Senate Chaplain...
during the yellow fever epidemic of 1793
Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793
The Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 is believed to have killed several thousand people in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.-Beginnings:...
in Philadelphia. Though the Bishop visited the house, he generally stayed in Philadelphia in 1793. Will Price modified this house after 1900, adding a stone porch and red tile roof. The Vernon families continued living in the area into the nineteenth century. The American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
split family members, who served as soldiers on both the American and British sides.
Many veterans of the Revolution are buried in now unmarked graves in the cemetery of the Old Union Methodist Church, the only church in the borough. The roots of the church may go back to 1804, and it was officially organized in 1811. The current building dates to 1835.
Following the Revolution land in the southwest corner of the present borough was confiscated from a Vernon family member who had supported the British. The land was eventually sold to Jacob Benninghove, a Philadelphia tobacconist
Tobacconist
A tobacconist is an expert dealer in tobacco in various forms and the related accoutrements .Such accoutrements include pipes, lighters, matches, pipe cleaners, pipe tampers, ashtrays, humidification devices, hygrometers, humidors, cigar cutters, and more. Books and magazines, especially ones...
, who built a large mansion there in 1787. About the same time he built a dam on Ridley Creek and a water powered snuff
Snuff
Snuff is a product made from ground or pulverised tobacco leaves. It is an example of smokeless tobacco. It originated in the Americas and was in common use in Europe by the 17th century...
mill. Samuel Bankcroft bought the house in 1831 and named it Todmorden Mansion. He lost the house in bankruptcy in 1842, but bought it back in 1857 and lived there until 1889. He built tunnels and secret chambers in the house for use in the Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
.
Mills
At least three mills operated in the area of Rose Valley. Little remains except a silted-in dam pond of what may have been the earliest mill, located on Vernon Run near the present Pool and Tennis Club. Near the Bishop White House, on Ridley CreekRidley Creek
Ridley Creek is a tributary of the Delaware River in southeast Pennsylvania in the United States. The entire drainage basin is in the suburban Philadelphia area, but the upper creek and extensive park lands on the creek retain a rural character, while the mouth of the creek has long been heavily...
, the remains of a dam and millrace can be seen leading up to the "Old Mill," which is now used as the town hall. Benninghove's snuff mill was likely built here c. 1789. Between 1826 and 1850 it was run as a paper mill. It was reconstructed as a textile mill in 1861 and burned down in 1885. After 1900 Will Price built a furniture mill or craft shop on the foundations and later it was used as a meeting hall. After extensive fire damage, it was reconstructed into today's town hall.
Hutton's mill, on Rose Valley Road by Vernon Run, was built about 1840 as a feed mill. In 1847 it became a turning mill. It was used to produce bobbin
Bobbin
A bobbin is a spindle or cylinder, with or without flanges, on which wire, yarn, thread or film is wound. Bobbins are typically found in sewing machines, cameras, and within electronic equipment....
s for the nearby textile mill as well as serving as a warehouse. Later it produced sandpaper. Will Price also reconstructed this mill into a meeting house and theater. It also suffered fire damage, was again reconstructed, and now houses the Hedgerow Theatre
Hedgerow Theatre
Hedgerow Theatre is a theatre company based in Rose Valley, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. It is the oldest residential repertory theatre company in the United States....
.
Arts and crafts project
Under the leadership of Will Price, the Rose Valley Association was formed in July 1901 to start an arts and crafts project and buy about 80 acres of land, an area that is the nucleus of today's borough. Investors contributed about $25,000 in capital including $9,000 borrowed from nearby Swarthmore CollegeSwarthmore College
Swarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....
to buy and improve the land.
Price's vision may have been modelled on the utopian socialist society described in News from Nowhere
News from Nowhere
News from Nowhere is a classic work combining utopian socialism and soft science fiction written by the artist, designer and socialist pioneer William Morris...
by William Morris
William Morris
William Morris 24 March 18343 October 1896 was an English textile designer, artist, writer, and socialist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement...
.
Price's liberal views led to some misconceptions about the project according to his niece, Eleanore Price Mather: "First, it was not a free love colony. Second it was not single tax .... And third, it was not communistic. Rose Valley was essentially an arts and crafts project."
Price had led a discussion group, including Edward Bok and brothers Samuel and Joseph Fels
Joseph Fels
Joseph Fels was an American soap manufacturer, millionaire, and philanthropist.Born of German immigrants in Halifax County, Virginia, Fels moved with his family to Baltimore in 1866; by 1876 he'd assumed control of a soap manufacturing company based in Philadelphia, and brought two of his brothers...
, and many in this group became investors or residents in Rose Valley. Other early residents included Hawley McLanahan, who became Price's architectural partner, McLanahan's father-in-law, Charles T. Schoen
Pressed Steel Car Company
On January 13 1899 the Pressed Steel Car Company was incorporated in New Jersey with an authorized capitalization of $25 million, for the stated purpose of “manufacturing passenger, freight and street railway cars and to make trucks, wheels, and other parts of cars”...
, Price's employees at his architectural firm, and his relatives, including his brother Walter, also an architect. Feminist Anna Howard Shaw
Anna Howard Shaw
Anna Howard Shaw was a leader of the women's suffrage movement in the United States. She was also a physician and the first ordained female Methodist minister in the United States. Her birthday is celebrated as Anna Howard Shaw Day, as an alternative to St. Valentine's Day.-Early Life:Shaw was...
lived nearby. Administration of the project was in the form of a town meeting, called the "Folk Mote."
The Rose Valley Association did not produce arts and crafts itself, but rather rented out working space to craftsmen, and provided them housing, generally designed or renovated by Price. The crafts were sold from Price's office at 1624 Walnut Street in Philadelphia. Furniture, as well as ceramics and book binding, were produced at the Old Mill until about 1907. A journal, The Artsman was published from 1903-1907. An art gallery was located in the old bobbin mill, then called Artsman's Hall, and, starting in 1904, run by well-known artist Alice Barber Stephens
Alice Barber Stephens
Alice Barber Stephens was an American painter and engraver, best remembered for her illustrations.She was born on a farm in Salem, New Jersey, and attended local schools. Her Quaker family moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and at age 15 she became a student at the Philadelphia School of Design...
, who lived in the mill until a nearby barn was converted by Price into her house, Thunderbird Lodge
Thunderbird Lodge (Rose Valley, Pennsylvania)
Thunderbird Lodge is a building of historical and architectural significance in the utopian community of Rose Valley, Pennsylvania.-Architect:...
. Artsman's Hall was also used for theater, with the first play "The Carpet Bagger's Revenge" presented on New Year's Eve, 1904. Eventually the building became used solely by the Hedgerow Theater, which is still an active theater.
By 1910, however, craft production had faded and the community had become essentially a commuter suburb of Philadelphia, using the nearby Moylan-Rose Valley Station. The buildings designed or renovated by Price during this period may be Rose Valley's major achievement. According to George E. Thomas, "Rose Valley is of exceptional importance, a major American architectural landmark."
After 1910 Schoen, McLanahan, and Price bought the remaining land from the Rose Valley Association, and Price designed the "Rose Valley Improvement Company Houses" near the old bobbin mill. As a group, these are the most important group of houses designed, rather than renovated, by Price in Rose Valley.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 944 people, 347 households, and 292 families residing in the borough. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,332.8 people per square mile (513.4/km²). There were 351 housing units at an average density of 495.6 per square mile (190.9/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 95.34% White, 1.59% African American, 0.11% Native American, 1.69% Asian, 0.32% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.95% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.22% of the population.
There were 347 households out of which 34.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 76.9% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 15.6% were non-families. 12.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 2.99.
In the borough the population was spread out with 25.4% under the age of 18, 3.6% from 18 to 24, 19.6% from 25 to 44, 34.7% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 98.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.4 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $114,373, and the median income for a family was $118,637. Males had a median income of $91,184 versus $47,031 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the borough was $54,202. About 1.7% of families and 2.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under age 18 and 1.9% of those age 65 or over.