and heating systems, had USB charging outlets installed in each bedroom, upgraded lighting to LED chandeliers for savings and sustainability, and replaced the driveway, sidewalks, and decking. When it came time for cosmetic changes, Gaffney made them as historically accurate as possible. He and a team worked around the clock this past summer to remove carpeting and refinish the original hardwood floors, railings, and wood staircase. The entire interior also got fresh paint, and walls were removed from the second and third floor hallways. “We wanted to bring the house back to the way it was when the Wetherill’s lived there,” Gaffney said. Robyn Holford, a friend of Widener, volunteered to rehabilitate the beautiful mural in the first floor bedroom of the home, leaving a portion on the ceiling and moving another portion to a glass frame hung on the wall of the sorority’s chapter room. By the time the sisters returned in mid-August, the rooms were ready for move in. Katie Sholder, a junior nursing major and vice president of recruitment for Delta Phi Epsilon, was shocked by the transformation. “It looks so classic,” Sholder said. “I’ve always loved The Castle, but now it feels like a real home.” A house steeped in Chester’s history The Castle sits on the western edge of Widener’s campus as a show of the prominence that once enveloped Chester during the height of its industrial era. The Wetherill family was central to the industrial success of the region and were considered pioneers of the time. Richard Wetherill was in business with his brother, Robert, producing engines that fueled ships and local industry. He also made his fortune in banking as president of the Chester National Bank. “If you needed money in Chester, you would probably have gone to see Richard Wetherill,” Edgette said. “He was very well admired in the city.”
Four years after marrying Larkin, Wetherill built The Castle for her, in approximately 1884. The property originally stretched three quarters of a block. The house was a miniature version of his brother Robert’s home, Greystone, which occupies a full city block five blocks away at 20th Street. The couple lived in The Castle with their four children, two of whom attended Widener when it was known as Pennsylvania Military College, according to Edgette. After Larkin and Wetherill died in 1929 and 1934, the home remained with the family until it was purchased in the 1950s by the Chester Knights of Columbus. Is Mrs. Wetherill still home? When students and staff think of campus hauntings, they usually picture The Manor, the red brick 19th century English country manor that sits across the street from The Castle. The Castle, however, has its own ghost tales, albeit a bit more ambiguous. Take, for instance, stories that Edgette has heard from students about Civil War soldiers wandering the house’s halls. There is one problem—the house was built decades after the war. Delta Phi Epsilon sisters occasionally hear stories about lovers who haunt The Castle, but current students have only witnessed an item drop unexpectedly or a cold spot in their bedrooms. They often just blame these unexplained incidents on Mrs. Wetherill. The renovations, they said, have turned The Castle into a place that once looked—and even felt—haunted into somewhere they now consider home. “In this house, I instantly get a feeling of sisterhood,” said Emma Hetrick, president of the sorority and a senior majoring in social work. “It is absolutely gorgeous.” W
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