I came across this account of a fox hunt on February 12, 1913, that ranged through Radnor and mostly Marple Township. In those years before World War II, Marple was still considered “out in the country.” Much of it was open farmland—some still cultivated, others turned into “gentlemen’s farms” for wealthy Philadelphians who came out on weekends to ride. Organized groups such as the Radnor Hunt and the Rose Tree Hunt were active, often crossing paths and occasionally riding together. This account follows one day’s outing as the riders start from Ellis’s meadow—now the Cornerstone development at Sproul and Bryn Mawr Avenue—then trace Darby Creek through Marple and back again.
“A more unpropitious day for hunting it would have been hard to imagine. The mercury was at 14° when I left my stable at ten-thirty to hack over to the kennels for the meet at eleven. Not only was it cold, but a gale was blowing.
The first draw was Mr. Ellis’s meadow, but the big drains there proved blank. Hounds moved on down the Darby Creek to the wood back of Bergdoll’s, where two foxes went away, the pack splitting, but most of the small field out went after that part of the pack that crossed the Pike, bearing left-handed to the Lawrence Mills, then upcountry again, along the creek to the Fox Croft Quarries: where, after a short check, hounds swung sharply around and took us back down-country again to the Mill.
Crossing the Pike above the Mill, hounds ran at a faster pace over the meadows to Powder Rocks, then, reaching the hills again, they were brought to their noses as previously and worked their line on up-country, through Broomall to the Barrens [Malin & Barren roads], and on out to Bryn Mawr Avenue, 
where the fox was evidently turned, for hounds turned back once more and were finally whipped off in Bergdoll’s Wood, after three hours and five minutes of very good hound work, but not a great deal of galloping, which, no doubt, was a good thing, as the going was hard as nails and the hillsides a mass of ice.
Roscoe Bowen’s chestnut mare went down in a ditch on the hilltops back of Bergdoll’s, and both Roscoe and the mare were considerably the worse for wear; Roscoe so much so that he had to be taken to the hospital for repairs.”
The Radnor Hunt still rides today, now based in Willistown, where large estates still welcome them across their grounds. But it has been many decades since a pack of hounds and riders crisscrossed Marple in pursuit of the wily fox. Now the foxes roam unbothered, slipping across roads and into backyards—perhaps well aware that the days of being chased through icy hills by horsemen in red coats are long gone.
For more on the history of Marple, visit the Marple Historical Society website and Facebook page, and join the Society to keep up to date on coming events: www.MarpleHistoricalSociety.org