The Marshalton Inn is just over 200 years old, but the history of Marshallton dates back more than a century earlier, when Abraham Marshall settled at Castle Rock in about 1705, decades before the American Revolution swept by during the Battle of Brandywine and the Valley Forge encampment.
According to local historian Tom McGuire, Marshall donated a log building for the Bradford Friends Meeting in 1727, and his son, Humphry Marshall, a renowned botanist, built an elegant country house in the mid-1770s, which was listed on the National Register in 1971.
McGuire will discuss these developments and others that occurred during the town’s first 100 years of growth, highlighting some of its notable residents, during “History on Tap,” on Sept. 8 at 6:30 p.m. at the Marshalton Inn.
The free series is part of an initiative of the Chester County Historical Society to bring history alive at local restaurants and watering holes. Join McGuire to learn about what taverns were like in the 18th century and what roads were like before PennDOT. Food and drink will be available for purchase.
History on Tap is sponsored by Susquehanna Bank and WCHE 1520AM. The Marshalton Inn is located at 1300 W. Strasburg Rd., West Chester, 19382.
The next installment will focus on the history of beer on Monday, Sept. 28, at 6:30 p.m. It will be held at Victory at Magnolia, the Victory Brewing Company’s newest brewpub at 650 W. Cypress St., Kennett Square, Pa., 19348.
