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"Under a spreading chestnut tree
The village smithy stands;
The smith, a mighty man is he,
With large and sinewy hands…”
Had Longfellow lived in Chadds Ford many years ago, he might
have finished the introduction to his classic poem with the words…
“…and only one leg!”
Willard Sharpless was Chadds Ford’s blacksmith in the early
20th century. He rented a two–floor, five-room apartment in the front half of
the house, now 1755 Creek Road, from Lottie Brittingham Eachus.
His blacksmith shop bordered on what is now the far end of
Brandywine Prime’s parking lot.
Recently I came across several volumes of Sharpless’s job
books stored in a large second floor cabinet of the old house.
Here I found a rich glimpse of Chadds Ford life in the 1920s
and ‘30s with clients like L.H. Brittingham, Dr. Cleveland, Irénée DuPont and
Granogue Farm; H.G. Haskell and Hill Girt Farm; Peter Hurd, William and Sellers
Hoffman as well as N.C. Wyeth.
Many of the job orders for his ironwork included small hand-drawn
sketches with measurements.
February 1929, invoices to N.C. Wyeth were as follows:
1 old shoe, Black Horse .40
3 shoes, “Cabbage”
1.90
2 shoes, Black Horse 1.25
2 bolts in sleigh .20
In the 1920s Sharpless advertised “Horse Shoeing, General
Blacksmithing and Wheelwrighting.” By the 1930s, he added, “Artistic Wrought
Iron Work a Specialty.”
But life changed for Sharpless in 1944 when he had to have a
leg amputated.
Chris Sanderson wrote in his memories of that day:
“Friday, Nov.
17, 1944. Today, they took off Willard Sharpless’ leg above the knee. Poor old
blacksmith. Gruff but kind.”
It was Sanderson himself who mounted a campaign to buy
Sharpless an artificial leg. Chris kept an account book of the donations, also
found in the Sharpless file.
N.C. Wyeth donated $25, a small fortune for that time, less
than a year before he was killed in the accident with the train. The Chadds
Ford Hotel (now Brandywine Prime) donated $10, as did William Hoffman Sr.,
Gregg Danby and the Atwaters.
On Creek Road, Paul Miller gave $5; the Beard’s gave $5,
while the Plebani’s gave $2. At a
time when our country was still emerging from the Great Depression, you come to
realize how much the village valued this man.
By Oct. 26, 1945, Sanderson had collected $279 and Sharpless
had his leg.
But here’s the rest of the story…
When Sharpless died in 1959, the 5-room apartment he had
rented stood empty. It was then that Andy Wyeth, Thomas R. Thompson and other
friends of Chris Sanderson’s, who rented the smaller 3-room apartment in the
back wing of the house, asked Lottie Eachus if Chris could move his collection
of historic artifacts into the front rooms. She agreed.
When Chris Sanderson died in late 1966, Andy Wyeth became
the founding president of the Sanderson Museum and on July 21, 1975 the board
bought the house from the estate of Lottie Eachus. The crumbling old blacksmith
shop was torn down around 1970. Part of the foundation is still visible in back
of the Sanderson Museum.
And in another year or so, as part of the Sanderson Museum’s
plans for a formal walk-through garden, a quiet memorial to the craft of
Willard Sharpless will grace the back corner.
About Sally Denk Hoey
Sally Denk Hoey, is a Gemini - one part music and one part history. She holds a masters degree cum laude from the School of Music at West Chester University. She taught 14 years in both public and private school. Her CD "Bard of the Brandywine" was critically received during her almost 30 years as a folk singer. She currently cantors masses at St Agnes Church in West Chester where she also performs with the select Motet Choir. A recognized historian, Sally serves as a judge-captain for the south-east Pennsylvania regionals of the National History Day Competition. She has served as president of the Brandywine Battlefield Park Associates as well as the Sanderson Museum in Chadds Ford where she now curates the violin collection. Sally re-enacted with the 43rd Regiment of Foot and the 2nd Pennsylvania Regiment for 19 years where she interpreted the role of a campfollower at encampments in Valley Forge, Williamsburg, Va., Monmouth, N.J. and Lexington and Concord, Mass. Sally is married to her college classmate, Thomas Hoey, otherwise known as "Mr. Sousa.”
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