|
|
Home  History Historic Incidents
 The woods abounded with wolves, foxes, black bears, pheasants, partridges, wild turkeys and pigeons. Of the pigeons it was said, "They flew in such immense flocks as to obscure for a considerable time the rays of the sun. Thomas Cobourn, Caleb Harrison and Peter Heston went out a night in Martin's Bottom and they told him (William Worrell) that when they were in the woods where the pigeons roosted, the noise was so great, they could not hear each other speak". (The pigeons mentioned here were probably passenger pigeons, a specie of wild pigeon now extinct. Ed. note.)
From the History ofDelaware County, Pennsylvania, H. G. Ashmead, 1884 p. 213.
On September 14, 1777, the British army under General Howe was encamped from Mount Hope down to the lower part of Village Green in Aston following the Battle of the Brandywine. Parties of soldiers were sent in every direction to secure supplies for the troops. They were warned, however, not to rob the local residents of everything they owned, which was often the case on these expeditions. On this night, three British soldiers, believed to be Hessians, crossed Chester Creek above Dutton's Mill and robbed the Martin family of many things, taking as well some articles belonging to their eighteen year old daughter, Mary. They then proceeded three-quarters of a mile southeast to the Coxe family home near Sneath's Comers and did likewise, also depriving their teenage daughter of some of her possessions. The next day, the two young women went to the headquarters of General Cornwallis and complained to him or General Howe regarding the robbery. General Howe promised if they could point out the men, they would be punished. The soldiers were formed in a line and the young women identified them. The soldiers were then reformed in another line out of sight of the victims and again the young women identified the same men. Finally, the line was formed with the men again standing in other positions and again the same soldiers were identified. The three were then searched and some of the stolen goods were found on them. They were tried by a court-martial and found guilty. Two soldiers were sentenced to be hanged and the third had to do the hanging. They cast lots to determine their fate. They were hanged from an apple tree on George L. Nield's property the next day and were left hanging on the following day when General Howe marched the British army out of Aston.
From the History ofDelaware County, Pennsylvania, H. G. Ashmead, 1884 pp. 291-92.
Tracey Cobourn, born in 1813, conducted a private school on the Cobourn farm on the north side of Brookhaven Road about a quarter mile west of Edgmont Avenue. She charged her students one penny a day tuition. She suffered from some physical handicap in her life and died at the early age of 35.
From "The Cobourn Family of Delaware County", Chester F. Baker, Manuscript, 1940, P. 4 8 J.
"Until the year 1892, there was no voting place in the community, and all voters were compelled to go to Chester to cast their votes, and if you were not lucky enough to own a horse or buggy, you got plenty of exercise walking the four miles to town and then back."
From "The History of Brookhaven", Janet Dewees Thomas, Manuscript, p. 1, 1944.
"The Crozer Horse Farm occupied the current site of Cambridge Estates and it was common for the horses, sometimes numbering fifty or more, to be driven out on Edgmont Avenue and down that road to the Chester stockyards. Farmers drove their cattle down Edgmont Avenue to the stockyards as well."
Contributed by Walter Conley, Former Police Chief and Longtime Resident.
"The Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company operated the No. 77 trolley from Media through Bortondale, through Brookhaven to Chester, the tracks running down Edgmont Avenue. The fare was five cents from Chester to Elbon Road, five cents from Elbon to Knowlton Road, and five cents from Knowlton Road to Media. The trolley ran for about 50 years and stopped running in 1938."
Contributed by Orpha Keil Reiber, Longtime Resident.
"Ridley Creek was waist deep at Knowlton Road and our father taught the four of us to swim there. After we learned to swim, he drove us over to Chester Creek up above Dutton Mill Bridge where the water was much deeper. The Lenni Mills and Sackville Mills used to dump their dye water in Chester and Ridley Creeks and the creeks'water was whatever color that mill was using that day. Whether the creek was red, yellow or green, we swam in it anyway and just washed it off when we got home."
Contributed by Theda Pugh Pilkington, Longtime Resident
"We used to go sledding on the Crozer Farm where Scott Park is now and on Red Brick Hill which was part of Middletown Road near the Water Company. There was a swampy area right at Edgmont and Edwards Drive where we used to ice skate. Lots of times, a group of us would just walk to the State Theater in Chester and take the trolley home. Some of the best times we had were at the Minstrel Shows held at Washington School and at the firehouse. They were put on by the firemen and the residents. We all participated, singing and dancing and telling jokes."
Contributed by Elaine Kenney Thompson, Former Borough Secretary and Longtime Resident.
"As a member of the volunteer police force in the 1950's, we did not have use of a police car with radio communication. We used our own automobiles and police calls were taken by an answering service which transferred the call to the home of the officer who was on duty that night. When I was out on patrol duty, I rode by my house at regular intervals. If my wife left the porch light on, it meant a police call was waiting and I had to stop and get the information. Typical complaints included barking dogs and domestic quarrels. Police then also performed other non-police jobs such as painting crosswalks and replacing street lights. We were given $6.50 per month for our expenses."
Contributed by Dorsey Fooks, Former Auxiliary Police Sergeant and Longtime Resident.
|
|
|
