History Spotlight
What’s the Oldest House in Marple? Written by Doug Humes
Photos Courtesy of the Marple Historical Society
Francis Stanfield house Photos Courtesy of the Marple Historical Society
W
hat is the oldest surviving home in Marple Township? Probably the Stanfield/Rhoades house on Crum Creek Road. Francis Stanfield purchased 600 acres from William Penn, sight unseen. He, wife Grace and their family, were some of the first Marple settlers off the boat, arriving from England in September of 1683. Upon landing, they gathered the tools and goods they had packed and somehow made their way the 8 miles from Chester to their new “home”– a patch of woods in frontier Pennsylvania. The first thing they did was build a log shelter. Over the next several years that shelter turned into a log home. In later years the log home was enclosed with plaster on the outside, and eventually plaster on the inside. The log home “disappeared” into the home that survives to this day. A small panel in the window frame gives a peak at the wood frame original house hidden inside. The large walk-in fireplace that heated the family on the first floor is still in place, today providing charm rather than heat. The second floor that once housed the family sleeping area still has its original fireplace, though now it graces a bathroom!
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Grace and Francis were some of the first new settlers to die in Marple as well, in 1691 and 1692. The home was sold to the Rhoads family, who ran a tannery across the street and built a 2-story stone structure just west of the house to do their tanning. The Rhoads family occupied the house until late in the 1800’s, almost 200 years. The home has been added to and enlarged in several directions, but the stone tannery and original log home, age 335, are still standing. For more information on the history of Marple, visit the Marple Historical Society website and Facebook page, and join the society to keep up to date on coming events: www. MarpleHistoricalSociety.org. M
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