Candlelight 2019 Christmas Spirits drew a large crowd who feasted on tidbits of local history while sampling 18th-century treats. The Dec. 7 event included tours of the three Chadds Ford Historical Society properties: the Barnes-Brinton House, John Chads House and Springhouse.
“Our main focus is food and beverage,” said Jason Greenplate, executive director. “In the early 1700s, they didn’t decorate very much for Christmas, except with some greens brought inside.”
The Springhouse, built in the 1720s, was originally a tenant house. The one downstairs room served as the parlor and kitchen, and the lone bedroom is reached by a winding staircase. Pub cheese, a soft cheese spread that typically is mixed with beer or ale, was offered to attendees along with stories of the past.
“In 1834, this building became the first public school in Chadds Ford,” said Tom Snow the society’s education manager. “Fifteen students attended.”
The house across the way, having two bedrooms, qualified as a mansion when it was built in 1725. The original plank floors creak, but fires keep the small rooms warm. Costumed guides throughout the house shared stories of life here, including the focus on spirits.
Since the poor sanitation of the time meant water caused illness, everyone drank alcohol – even the children. Fruit was also preserved with alcohol, like the brandied peaches that were served, along with cookies and cakes of the period.
“It’s good – almost like a cookie,” one guest remarked after sampling a piece of currant cake before heading downstairs to the kitchen. Slices of fruit and nut bread, as well as black walnut pound cake, were spread across trays and offered with warmed cider.
“It takes a good two to three hours to pre-heat the oven,” said volunteer Julia McManus, as she detailed the hours of work banking the fire to heat the beehive oven to 600 degrees, before raking all the wood and cinders out to prepare it for the bread. “I have to let it cool a little bit first, so I put my arm in. I know it’s ready when I can keep it in there until I count to ten.”
The contents baked change as the oven cools. Yeast breads are baked first, followed by non-yeast breads, then cakes and gingerbreads.
“It’s a lot of work,” said McManus. “But they only baked once a week.”
The Barnes-Brinton house, also on the tour, started out as a tavern and has been restored to reflect that period. Built in 1714, the house has two parlors – one for the guests and one for the family. Above the family parlor is a single bedroom where the parents slept with their five children. Above the guest parlor is a guest bedroom, which would have been shared by gentlemen passing through this area.
“Times were different back then,” said Lynne Tolton. “When they said, ‘we laid down six naked men with a fireplace’, that meant the men took off their coats and boots!” Above the gentleman’s quarters, was attic space where men slept on pallets.
Celebrating its past as a tavern, the home offered Madeira wine to sample with the Madeira cake and a cauliflower soup that paired well with the beer bread and ale.
“We researched all the recipes,” said volunteer Sandi Johnson gesturing to Hannah Glass’s 1796 “The Art of Cookery.” The book includes the recipe for the Hasty Fritters – which were served warm and tasted similar to a funnel cake with apples.
“People are always surprised at the variety of foods that were eaten,” said Greenplate. The variety made for a memorable celebration of the food and spirits that nourished the early settlers to Chadds Ford.
About Karen Myers
Karen Myers lives in Pocopson Township and has written for several local publications. A strong supporter of our community, Karen has served on several non-profit boards, such as Pocopson Elementary PTO, The United Way of Southern Chester County, Chester County Art Association and Tick Tock Early Learning Center. She received her M.B.A. from the University of Delaware and worked in marketing and operations with a focus on banking.
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