Revolutionary War hamlet to get its due
Many area residents have passed through the once-prosperous hamlet of Trimbleville, located along the west branch of the Brandywine Creek in Pocopson and West Bradford townships, with no inkling of its Revolutionary War significance.
The Friends of Martin’s Tavern hope to change that on Sunday, Sept. 11, at 1 p.m., when a historic plaque is erected at 311 Broad Run Road, about two miles south of Marshallton, to commemorate the Battle of Brandywine and the Village of Trimbleville’s role in it.
On Sept. 11, 1777, Gen. Howe and more than 8,000 British forces crossed Trimble’s Ford in their flanking march to engage Gen. Washington’s troops in Birmingham Township. According to published reports, the British troops’ journey through Trimbleville prompted numerous damage complaints from residents.
Although the Americans lost the battle, they proved that they had talent and resiliency, which not only prompted assistance from the French but it also prompted the Americans to pursue a more effective defensive strategy that ultimately led to winning the war.
The plaque ceremony will include remarks from Jack M. Hines Jr., a West Bradford Township supervisor and lifelong resident; Linda Kaat, president and founding member of the Friends of Martin’s Tavern; and Mark Slouf, vice president of the Friends of Martin’s Tavern and a member of the West Bradford Township Planning Commission. Refreshments will be provided by the Marshalton Inn.
Kaat said she hoped the event would represent the first of many to recognize area sites whose historic significance has gone unrecognized. She said Lake Shore Industries, a business in Erie, created the sign, which exceeded her expectations. “They did a first-class job,” she said. “I hope we’ll be able to add a bunch of others.”
The Trimbleville Historic District, circa 1740, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. It encompasses an area that includes Northbrook, Broad Run, and Camp Linden roads.
The Friends of Martin’s Tavern is a nonprofit 501(c)(3), organized to preserve the Revolutionary-era tavern in Marshallton. Over the years, the Martin’s Tavern site has served as a focal point for many village activities, and the organization has also become caretakers of the Marshallton Blacksmith Shop, a nearby historic building built in 1750 that remains essentially unchanged from its original condition.
The group is also dedicated to the enhancement of the village life in and around Marshallton, and its financial goal is to provide and maintain an endowment sufficient to assure long-term preservation and maintenance of these local historical treasures.
In 1993, the Brandywine Battlefield Task Force was formed with municipal, state, and federal representatives along with nonprofit institutions. Since then, it has been working to ensure that this integral part of American history gets the attention and preservation it merits. To learn more, visit http://www.landscapes2.org/publications/PubHistoric.cfm.
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