Village of Locust Grove

Explore the 18th and 19th century history of this Chester County village

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Village of Locust Grove

West Chester, Pennsylvania 19382, United States

Created By: Sarah Mims

Tour Information

Locust Grove Village was established in 1863 and is the oldest village in Pocopson Township, Chester County. In 1886, the population was 60 people. The village was the dream of businessman Pennock Marshall, who wanted to establish a settlement that would resemble William Penn's "Greene Country Towne". He laid out 3 streets in a stand of locust trees and planned 29 lots. Mr. Marshall was disappointed because the village never had more than two dozen families; however many of its buildings live on.

Please stay on designated, trails, sidewalks and roadways and be mindful of private property.


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What You'll See on the Tour

The Eusebius Barnard House is an early 1800's stone house located opposite the Pocopson Home, and was a stop on the Underground Railroad. Eusebius Barnard was born in July of 1802 and educated in Chester County. He attended neighborhood sc... Read more
In the early 1800’s, agriculture was the leading occupation in all of Chester County. The Indians had been cultivating corn, and the early settlers throughout the county continued to raise corn as an important cereal. They also introduced... Read more
This log cabin is one of the oldest houses in Chester County. Although no exact date exists, the best guess is that the house dates from approximately 1700. Caleb Harvey lived in the frame and log house and raised vegatables on a large scal... Read more
In 1834, the Free Public School Act was passed in Pennsylvania. This called for the formation of county divisions, township school districts and provided for teacher examination and certification. But implementation of this law was up to lo... Read more
Mr. and Mrs. Eaby came to Locust Grove in the early 1900's. They had nine children, and unfortunately one died during the 1918 influenza epidemic while World War 1 was raging. Horace was the youngest child.
Close to Corinne Road was a creek that was dammed to create a pond. There was a springhouse on the property and a water-powered ram pumped water back from the creek to a big wooden tank up in the house attic. Water flowed by gravity from th... Read more
It is rumored that the Lenni-Lenape camped, hunted and fished on this land and that an Indian burial ground is on the corner of Locust Grove and Corinne Roads. The Brandywine Creek is about 2 miles north and was abundant with fish, nearby ... Read more
The original part of the building still stands next to the garage. Robert Brittingham brought his family to the village after his Civil War service and started a blacksmith shop. HIs name is on the Pennsylvania momument at the Gettysburg Ba... Read more
Pennock Marshall built a "store stand" on the quarter acre lot at the intersection of Locust Grove and Corinne which he then sold in 1841.  In 1853, the Locust Grove store was advertising "store goods at public sale" featuring dry goods, g... Read more
The Village lacked a post office until the late 1800's.  With 43 people living here, an application was made for a post office to be named "Locust Grove". However, the Federal post office would not accept the name because of possible confu... Read more
This log cabin was owned by Samuel Sellers in 1766 and most likely dates back to the early 1700s.  It is one of the earliest buildings in Pocopson Township.   The owners of this cabin probably saw British troops file past during the Ba... Read more
For many years, this property was part of a large farm that encompassed most of the land bounded by Corinne, Locust Grove and Wawaset Roads. From the 1950s to 1971, the farm was owned by AW Browning, a native Virginian married to a member ... Read more
Turtle Creek Farm is the former home of environmental and author Ted Browning. Browning published a series of articles in the Kennett Paper in 1986 and 1987. In 1991, these articles were collected and published by the Brandywine Conservancy... Read more
This beautifully preserved house has had only 3 owners. In 1735, Benjamin Chambers, Sheriff of Philadelphia, sold 200 acres of what was originally a 2,000 acre tract to Samuel and Jane Sellers. The Sellers constructed a log house here in 1... Read more
This property successfully combines the old and the new with a historically inspired "post and beam" Pennsylvania bank barn. Inside the original stone farmhouse is an stone lined hand dug well that can be viewed through a trap door in the ... Read more

 

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