(From a press release)
The latest major addition to Chester County’s open space inventory is the more than 200 acres of Crebilly Farm in Westtown, Pa. This historic tract spans centuries of Chester County History, including the 1777 Battle of Brandywine, when Hessian troops fired on American troops.
Before Chester County became a hotbed of the Abolitionists, there were slaves present. One, a woman named Bilha, lived on the Crebilly property. She was freed and owned property, becoming the first Black person to have a will registered in the county.
Home to one of the last freed slaves in Chester County, Hessian troops fired on Americans at the Battle of Brandywine in 1777 from this farm. Over the centuries, farmers, blacksmiths and innkeepers developed Crebilly which is named for an ancient Irish castle.
A free public talk on the History of Crebilly will be given at 10 am on Saturday, June 7 at the Westtown Township offices, 1039 Wilmington Pike in West Chester. The talk will be given by members of the Westtown Historical Commission and will be divided into three sections.
The first is about the disastrous American defeat in 1777, and Crebilly’s part in the battle where British and Hessian troops routed Washington’s army. The next part is about the history of the land, which is located on Wilmington Pike (Route 202). This was the most traveled road in Chester County in Colonial times, and a portion of the original pike still sits on Crebilly property.
The final portion of the talk will be given by historical architects who will discuss the many structures on the farm, including blacksmith shops, Civil War era homes, and the still-standing 1823 Darlington Inn. This inn was the meeting place for abolitionists from the Whig and Republican parties. The green serpentine stone façade features carvings of Whig presidential candidate Henry Clay, and a pet dog that lived at the inn, named Lincoln.
The architects giving the talk personally designed some of the Crebilly buildings including a beautiful springhouse that has been converted inti a chapel.
