Key Attractions

Longwood Progressive Friends Meeting House

Longwood Gardens

Beginning as Longwood Farm when George Peirce purchased 402 acres from William Penn in 1701, Longwood Gardens has a long and varied history. George’s son Joshua built a brick farmhouse in 1730 that, enlarged, still stands today in the heart of the gardens.  In 1798, Joshua’s twin grandsons Samuel and Joshua, inherited the farm and began planting an arboretum that eventually covered 15 acres. By 1850, the arboretum boasted one of the finest collections of trees in the nation and was a place where locals gathered outdoors. As the 19th century rolled into the 20th, the family’s heirs lost interest in the property and allowed the arboretum to deteriorate. The farm passed out of the family and a lumber mill was about to cut down the trees for timber. Pierre du Pont purchased the property in 1906 to save the trees from being sold for lumber. Today, Longwood Gardens is one of the world’s great horticultural displays, encompassing 1,100 acres of gardens, woodlands, meadows, fountains, a 10,010-pipe Aeolian organ and 4.5-acre conservatory. The crown jewel of the collection is the Main Fountain Garden which features more than 1,700 jets reaching heights of up to 175 feet. At night, illuminated performances create an unforgettable spectacle. In all, Longwood is one of the largest and most alluring classical revival landscapes in the country.

Hamorton Village
Hamorton Historic District

Hamorton Village, which includes both Hamorton Hall and School and Free Produce Store, was established by Quaker physician and anti-slavery activist, Dr. Bartholomew Fussell. He had previously founded a Sabbath School for African Americans in Baltimore and participated in the founding of the American Anti-Slavery Society in Philadelphia. Upon moving to the Kennett area, he announced a Boarding School for Girls, “irrespective of color,” housed in the Hamorton Hall.  The structure also served as a Hall of Free Discussion, providing a gathering place for Quakers who were very hesitant about using their Meeting Houses for discussions about slavery and political issues. When it opened in 1846, several speakers addressed slavery, temperance, capital punishment, and the social and political economy. During 1854, the Hall served as the temporary meeting place for the Progressive Friends before the Longwood Progressive Friends Meeting House was constructed in 1855. Sarah Harvey Pearson, wife of George Pearson, an ardent abolitionist and member of the Free-Soil Movement established the Free Produce Store in a stone house nearby that was later moved to a new brick structure across the street. Pearson operated the store which boycotted goods produced by the labor of enslaved persons until 1858. It continued to serve the local community as a grocery store until the 1950s and today is a thrift store that benefits Chester County Hospital.

Kennett Heritage Center

Sitting in the heart of the lush Brandywine Valley, the area, originally occupied by the Lenape tribe, now known as Kennett Square, served an important role in the nation’s history. British soldiers camped here during the Revolutionary War, the town served as a military encampment during the War of 1812 and many prominent Kennett Square citizens aided with the Underground Railroad. In addition, agricultural activities surrounding the delightful community produce 60% of the nation’s mushrooms. A four-room exhibit at the Center provides an overview of three distinct periods in the town’s history: the 1700s, the early 1800s and the 1900s through beautiful imagery, storytelling, and artifacts from the past.

The Pines

Before moving to the Kennett area, Dr. Bartholomew Fussell, a Quaker physician, and anti-slavery activist, opened a Sabbath school for African Americans in Maryland, helped to organize the American Anti-Slavery Society in Philadelphia in 1833, and proposed a Female Medical College of Pennsylvania (now a part of Drexel University College of Medicine) in 1847. He and his wife Lydia lived in this residence, referred to as The Pines, from 1827-1837, assisting more than 2,000 freedom seekers with food, clothing, and shelter, before sending them on to the next safe stop. The property was later owned by abolitionists Summer Stebbins from 1837-1841, and Chandler and Hannah Darlington from 1841-1882. Plans are to install a glass window on the rear façade of the house to allow visitors to see the actual catacombs and crevices in the basement where the freedom seekers were protected on their way to freedom. 

Old Kennett Meeting House

Turning to the right on US Highway 1, from Route 52, the Kennett Monthly Meeting known as Old Kennett Meeting House, was constructed in 1710 on land originally deeded by William Penn. As British forces moved towards Chadds Ford and the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777, the first shots of the Revolutionary War Battle of Brandywine were fired in the cemetery here. In 1853, the Progressive Friends meeting split from the Kennett Monthly Meeting over a dispute about how involved Quakers should become in the fate of freedom seekers and greater rights for women. Members of the Kennett Monthly Meeting in the area, who did not want to be involved in the conflicts regarding slavery and shielding of freedom seekers, disowned members of the Progressive Friends Meeting until 1874.  Old Kennett Meeting House encompasses the intrinsic qualities of historic and cultural. 

Pennock Worker Row Houses

Samuel Pennock, who is best known as a leading inventor of agricultural and road construction machinery in the United States moved to Kennett Square in 1844, and along with Edwin Brosius pushed for Kennett Square to incorporate as a borough. A series of row houses on East Linden Street were among the many homes that he and his brother built for employees of their foundry located on the corner of State and Willow Streets. Pennock married Deborah Yerkes in 1853, a friend of Susan B Anthony and was also involved in the Underground Railroad. She hosted Anthony at their home when she came to speak at the Longwood Progressive Meeting. 

Bucktoe Cemetery

After the church in Bucktoe burned, stones from the original foundation were used to build the new church foundation for New Garden Memorial UAME church in Kennett Square. The church still owns the Bucktoe Cemetery which is currently being restored and beautified by a group started by one individual from New Garden Memorial UAME. The Land Conservancy of Southern Chester County was enlisted to formally maintain the final resting place of over 100 former church members.

Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art

In the mid-1960s the community of Chadds Ford faced possible massive industrial development that would have dramatically changed the character and future of this area and proposed development threatened to devastate water supplies for numerous communities in southeastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware. Appreciating the need for rapid action, a group of local residents bought endangered land and founded the Brandywine Conservancy in 1967. They Conservancy opened the Brandywine River Museum of Art in 1971, in the renovated Hoffman’s Mill, a former gristmill built in 1864 that was part of the Conservancy’s first preservation efforts. The Museum has gained an international reputation for its dedication to American art with primary emphasis on the art of the Brandywine region, American illustration, still life and landscape painting, and the work of the Wyeth family. The collection also includes landscapes, still lifes, portraiture, and genre painting include work by Benjamin West, Gilbert Stuart, Asher Durand, W. T. Richards, William Harnett, John Haberle, J. D. Chalfant, and Horace Pippin.