Ivy Cottage (West Whiteland Township, Pennsylvania)

Last updated
Ivy Cottage
IVY COTTAGE, EXTON, EAST CHESTER COUNTY, PA.jpg
USA Pennsylvania location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location225 W. Lincoln Highway
Exton, PA 19341
Coordinates 40°01′39″N75°38′02″W / 40.02755°N 75.63384°W / 40.02755; -75.63384
Area2.4 acres (0.97 ha)
Built1799
Architect Richard Thomas
Architectural style Georgian, Queen Anne
NRHP reference No. 84003961
Added to NRHPNovember 9, 2018

Ivy Cottage is a historic residence located in Exton, a census-designated place in West Whiteland Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. Built in 1799 by politician and soldier Richard Thomas, the cottage started out as a plain stone farmhouse in the double-door Georgian style. It underwent extensive renovations and embellishments in the Queen Anne style in 1881 followed by an award-winning restoration in 2019. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 9, 2018. [1]

Contents

History

Ivy Cottage circa 1881 Ivy Cottage, summer residence of Sarah R. Bull, West Whiteland Township, Pennsylvania, 1881.jpg
Ivy Cottage circa 1881

Ivy Cottage was the finale of a building program by Richard Thomas, a prosperous Quaker farmer who served as a colonel of the Pennsylvania militia during the American Revolutionary War and went on to serve in the United States Congress. Thomas erected Whitford Lodge, a two-story brick manor house, circa 1782, followed by Whitford Hall circa 1796 and Ivy Cottage in 1799. The cottage was reportedly intended as a summer home for two unmarried women relatives of Colonel Thomas. [1] [2]

The property descended to Sarah Roberts Thomas (1823–1897), who lived in Philadelphia and summered at Ivy Cottage with her husband, William M. Bull (1820–1883). [3] She oversaw an extensive renovation of the cottage in 1881, adding architectural flourishes as well as extensions and a porch. [4] Ivy Cottage passed to Sarah's son, Episcopalian minister William Levi Bull, on her death. [3] [2] After Bull died in 1932, the cottage passed to his stepson, attorney and soldier George C. Chandler. [5] Sarah's was the last major renovation until 2019—the house changed little in the ensuing century and stayed in the Thomas family. [1]

In 2019, the Hankin Group, a local property developer, restored and converted Ivy Cottage into a pair of apartments, renaming the residence the Chandler House in honor of its previous owners, George G. and Ann Howell Chandler, who were descended from Colonel Thomas. The developer received the 2019 West Whiteland Township Historic Preservation Award. [6]

Ivy Cottage was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 9, 2018. [1]

Description

Ivy Cottage was constructed in 1799 as a plain Quaker farmhouse in the double-door Georgian manner, a vernacular style widely used in Chester County at the time but relatively unusual in West Whiteland Township. The building's core is rectangular, two-storied, double-piled, and gable-roofed with a box cornice and brick chimneys. The facade, facing south toward the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike, is evenly divided into four bays and features double balanced entrances. Each of the four first-floor rooms contains a fireplace. A full basement lies beneath the house. A two-story wooden kitchen wing extends off the north wall. [1]

Bull's 1881 renovation incorporated corbelled chimneys, elaborate mantles, slate roofing, a large porch on the western wall, and an enlarged service wing faced with stone and featuring picturesque dormer windows. Her highest-profile addition was a two-story pentagonal room known to the family as "La Sata" and featuring 16/1 windows with brick arches, shed dormers, and an exposed ground-to-roof brick chimney, in quintessential Queen Anne style. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chester County, Pennsylvania</span> County in Pennsylvania, United States

Chester County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in the Delaware Valley region, located in the southeastern part of the state. As of the 2020 census, the population was 534,413, increasing by 7.1% from 498,886 in 2010. The county seat and most populated municipality is West Chester. Chester County was one of the three original Pennsylvania counties created by William Penn in 1682. It was named for Chester, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whitford station</span> Commuter rail station in Chester County, Pennsylvania

Whitford station is a commuter rail and former intercity passenger rail station located in the western suburbs of Philadelphia at South Whitford Road and Spackman Lane, Exton, Pennsylvania. It is served by most SEPTA Paoli/Thorndale Line trains and until 1998 some of Amtrak'sKeystone Service trains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Myrtles Plantation</span> Historic house in Louisiana, United States

The Myrtles Plantation is a historic home and former antebellum plantation in St. Francisville, Louisiana, United States built in 1796 by General David Bradford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church Farm School</span> School in Exton, PA, United States

The Church Farm School (CFS) is a private secondary Christian school in Exton, Pennsylvania, United States. In 1985, the campus was listed as a historic district by the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Chester Area School District</span> School district in Pennsylvania, United States

The West Chester Area School District serves the borough and surrounding townships of West Chester, Pennsylvania, United States. The other parts include the surrounding townships of East Bradford, East Goshen, Thornbury, West Goshen, West Whiteland, and Westtown, all in Chester County, as well as Thornbury Township in adjacent Delaware County. The WCASD consists of eleven elementary schools, three middle schools, and three high schools, as of the fall 2022 school year. Elementary schools include grades 1-5, middle schools grades 6-8, and high schools grades 9-12.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henderson High School (Pennsylvania)</span> High school in West Chester, Pennsylvania, United States

B. Reed Henderson High School is located partially in the borough of West Chester and partially in West Goshen Township in Pennsylvania. B. Reed Henderson is one of the three high schools in the West Chester Area School District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exton Square Mall</span> Shopping mall

Exton Square Mall is a shopping mall located in the Exton, Pennsylvania in West Whiteland Township in Chester County, Pennsylvania. The mall features a parking garage and food court. It is located at the crossroads of Chester County at the intersection of U.S. Route 30 Business and Pennsylvania Route 100. The mall is anchored by Macy's and Boscov's retail stores and a Round One Entertainment, an arcade and bowling center. It also contains dozens of smaller stores and a food court.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Thomas (Pennsylvania politician)</span> American politician

Richard Thomas was an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as a Federalist member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 3rd congressional district from 1795 to 1801. He also served in the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 9th Senatorial District from 1791 to 1793.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Widehall</span> Historic house in Maryland, United States

Widehall is a historic and architecturally significant house in Chestertown, Kent County, Maryland. Built by Thomas Smyth III, 1769–1770, it is a contributing property in the Chestertown Historic District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oaklands Cemetery</span> Rural cemetery in West Chester, Pennsylvania, USA

Oaklands Cemetery is a rural cemetery founded in 1854 in West Goshen Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. It is located at 1042 Pottstown Pike and is approximately 26 acres (0.11 km2) in size.

William Harris (1757–1812) was a farmer, soldier, and member of the Pennsylvania legislature. He was the father of two other American military men.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Paul's Episcopal Church (Exton, Pennsylvania)</span> Historic church in Pennsylvania, United States

St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Exton, also known as St. Paul's Church, is a historic church at 1105 E. Lincoln Highway in Exton, Pennsylvania in Chester County, Pennsylvania, in the area known as the Great Valley. It was built in 1828 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984 as St. Paul's Church. It is one of the 155 parish churches of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacob P. Perry House</span> Historic house in New York, United States

The Jacob P. Perry House is a historic home on Sickletown Road in Pearl River, New York, United States. It was constructed around the end of the 18th century, one of the last houses in Rockland County to have been built in the Dutch Colonial style more common before the Revolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Autun (West Whiteland Township, Pennsylvania)</span> Historic house in Pennsylvania, United States

Autun, also known as Meadowcourt, is a historic home located in West Whiteland Township, Pennsylvania, United States. Designed by the architect Edmund Beaman Gilchrist in 1928 and completed in 1929, it is a 1+12-story, French style, "L"-shaped country house.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lochiel Farm</span> Historic house in Pennsylvania, United States

Lochiel Farm is a historic home located in West Whiteland Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. The house was built about 1800. It consists of a large, two-story, double pile stone central section with two flanking wings in the Georgian / Federal style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whitford Hall</span> Historic house in Pennsylvania, United States

Whitford Hall is a historic home located in West Whiteland Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. Built about 1796 by Richard Thomas, the house is a 2+12-story, five-bay brick dwelling in the Federal style. It has a gable roof with dormers, service wing, and frame additions. Also on the property are a stone shed, tenant house, and carriage house. It is one of three surviving historic residences constructed by Richard Thomas, the others being Whitford Lodge and Ivy Cottage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Butler House (West Chester, Pennsylvania)</span> Historic house in Pennsylvania, United States

Butler House is a historic home located in West Chester, Chester County, Pennsylvania. It was built about 1845, and is a 2+12-story brick dwelling in the Federal style. It has a rear ell with porch. The house has been renovated into apartments. It was the home of Congressman Thomas S. Butler (1855–1928), father of U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Smedley Butler (1881–1940). Maj. Gen. Butler grew up in the house.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bank of Chester County</span> U.S. historic place in Pennsylvania

Bank of Chester County is a historic two-story bank building located in West Chester, Chester County, Pennsylvania, the first bank to be chartered in the county. Following the failure to renew the charter of the Bank of the United States in 1811, states received responsibility over the banking systems within their jurisdiction. Although an initial proposal was rejected by the state legislature in 1813, a 41-bank proposal was passed the following year. An early bank building was utilized in West Chester beginning in 1814 at the Record Office, though the bank was relocated in 1818 to a building across the street, present-day 13 High Street. Following a proposal for a new site in 1835, a bank, to be built at 17 High Street, designed by architect Thomas Ustick Walter (1804–1887). It was built in 1836 in the Greek Revival style at the cost of $33,000, and features a portico with four Doric order columns; the bank was subsequently altered in 1874, 1905, and 1928. The previous building has since been rented to numerous individuals, although it still houses outdated equipment no longer used by the bank. The current building is occupied by Wells Fargo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whitford Lodge</span>

The Whitford Lodge is a historic building located in Exton in West Whiteland Township, Pennsylvania, in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. Politician and soldier Richard Thomas constructed the lodge in 1782. It is one of three surviving historic residences constructed by Thomas in West Whiteland Township, the others being Whitford Hall and Ivy Cottage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Mill and Miller's House</span> Historic house and gristmill in Pennsylvania, U.S.

Thomas Mill and Miller's House is a historic grist mill and adjacent dwelling in West Whiteland Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. Erected between 1744 and 1754, the buildings are made of frame and stone and formed part of the extensive Thomas family holdings in the area. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 19, 2004.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Ivy Cottage". National Register of Historic Places. Retrieved 2022-11-08 via National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 Wolf, Martha Leigh; Snyder, Diane Sekura (1982). A History of West Whiteland (Revised 2022 ed.). West Whiteland Historical Commission. Retrieved 2022-11-08.
  3. 1 2 Cope, Gilbert (1901). Genealogy of the Smedley Family, Descended from George and Sarah Smedley, Settlers in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Lancaster, PA: Wickersham Printing Company. p. 551.
  4. "2003 Vassar Show House and Gardens: Ivy Cottage in Exton, PA". Vassar Quarterly. Vol. 99, no. 1. 2003-03-01. p. 66. Retrieved 2022-11-08.
  5. "Sun Time". The Philadelphia Inquirer . 1959-03-15. p. 188. Retrieved 2022-11-08.
  6. Hostutler, Mark (2019-11-24). "Hankin Group Recognized for Restoration of Historic Property in Exton". VISTA.Today. Retrieved 2022-11-08.