Category: History Spotlight

There is an excellent 1986 book on “The First One Hundred Years … Township of Marple.” It is in our library, and you can find copies for sale online. The book looks at Marple in the period from 1684-1784.

If you lived in Marple on May 26, 1912, and you had even the slightest curiosity, you would have headed down the Pike to Manoa to see something you had never seen before—an airplane taking off and landing at Eagle Field, now Manoa Shopping Center.

There are two men whose names are familiar to us. Though most know nothing about…

In 1946, West Chester Pike was a two-lane country road, with lots of empty space…

From 1848 to 1918, West Chester Turnpike was a toll road, with toll houses along its 20 mile route. The toll? Two cents per horse per mile.

In rural Marple in the late 19th century, men of learning were rare. But from 1859 till his untimely death in 1878, the Reverend Beriah Bishop Hotchkin was the most learned man in the Township. He was not a native of the area, but a 3rd generation preacher, from a Revolutionary War soldier turned preacher from Connecticut.

In 1942, 25-year-old Alice Y. Matthews was a weekend widow when husband George went off to compete in pistol competitions.

Following the American Revolution, a civil war took place in Chester County. The county seat was the town of Chester, on the Delaware River, equally inconvenient to everyone in the huge county other than the locals.

Joe and Kathleen Cirminello went to the hospital on November 1, 1944 forewarned – she was likely carrying twins. Dr. John Ullery at Philadelphia Lying-In Hospital decided to perform a C section, and what he saw surprised him: “I never saw so many hands and feet in my life!”

Pennsylvania has had five Miss Americas, but only one of them lived in Broomall for 33 years.