This section documents information about existing buildings with a 18th century origin in Tredyffrin and those that no longer exist but where there is documentation such as photographs and drawings. Only those buildings that have correspondence with the 1798 Glass Tax returns have been included.

There is no consistent naming of the buildings so a commonly used name has been used together with the name of the 1798 owner.

Summary of 1798 Glass Tax information concerning Houses

Stone  Log Frame Brick Total
2 Floors 49 12 1 1 63
1 Floor 8a 47b 0 0 55
Total 57 59 1 1 118

a - 1 house without glass; b - 7 houses without glass

Owner-Occupiers 67a 55%
Others 51b 45%
Total 118

a - 3 houses without glass; b - 5 houses without glass

Presumably those houses without glass windows had some other covering (such as oiled paper) for their windows. There are also 7 tracts of land without a house.

Other Buildings

Out of the 118 houses, 33 had an external kitchen. 26 of the kitchens were stone; 6 of log; and 1 of frame construction. Presumably these kitchens were used in the summer to avoid making the house unbearably hot. None of these kitchens have survived to the present day.

Of the barns 4 or 5 survive today - the Federal Barn at Duportail’s Quarters, the Greenwood Farm Barn, the Kurtz Barn on the Detwiler-Andrews property, the Jones Barn, and possibly the Joseph Mitchell Barn. The Jones Barn is in storage awaiting the funds for reconstruction.

There were also 29 spring houses and 16 stables. Some of the spring houses may still be in existence but it is hard to date them. Other buildings included 12 mills (6 grist mills, 5 sawmills, 1 oil mill and 1 fulling mill), 13 workshops (8 unspecified, 3 smith shops, 1 halter shop, 1 currying shop), 8 wagon houses, 4 sheds, 2 beam houses, 1 tilt forge, 3 milk houses, 1 cow house, 1 hog house, 1 wash house, 1 smoke house, 1 tan house, 1 distillery, and 1 factory.

There are 5 log homes in existence in Tredyffrin at the present time: Church Road, Joseph Hampton (Heyburn-Roye), Thomas Hampton, Neilly, and Van Leer Cabins. Of these the Church Road Cabin, Neilly Cabin, and Joseph Hampton Cabin , Thomas Hampton Cabin are likely to be from the 18th century.

The Churches, Inns, and Mills are discussed in other sections of this web site. St. Peter’s in the Great Valley has an 18th century core. The First and Second Blue Ball Inns both date from the century. The Paoli Inn and the first Howellville Inn no longer exist but photographs are available. Photographs also exist for the Chesterbrook and St. Peter’s Mills.

The one 18th century school still in existence is Old Eagle School.

The houses that are still in existence with sections dating from the 18th century are given below. Click on a name for detailed information on the house.