Discoveries from the Darkroom - MacElree’s Photographs

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010 | Brandywine, Historical photographs | No Comments

Working on creating a collection guide is a fulfilling task for me. Always something new is discovered. On this blog we have been looking at photographs from the Joseph Thorne collection. Now that I am writing the guide I am learning more about who he was and am raising questions about some of the photos.

Joseph Thorne, 1849-1916, was the son of Anna M. Williams and Henry Thorne. After apprenticing at the American Republican newspaper in West Chester, he went to work for printer and publisher F. S. Hickman. Here he was Hickman’s right-hand man for the rest of his career. Thorne’s obituary called him the best printer in West Chester.

What is curious are glass plate negatives mixed into Thorne’s collection marked “MacElree negative.” Many of the photos show the Brandywine, so I picked up a copy of Wilmer W. MacElree’s “Along the Western Brandywine” and voila here were the same images in the book. A quick look at the title page showed that F. S. Hickman printed the work in 1912.

So are these Thorne’s photos that were used in MacElree’s work or are they MacElree’s photographs that are somehow included in Thorne’s collection? I started looking around through CCHS’ voluminous newspaper clippings file for an answer.

I discovered that MacElree wrote two books on the Brandywine. The first one was published in 1906 titled: “Down the Eastern and up the Black Brandywine.” MacElree printed a limited edition of 1500 copies which contained 200 illustrations, but cost only $5 each. This volume is a journey taken by the author along the Brandywine, filled with historical notes and poetic musings. According to information from the clippings file, MacElree found his walks along the Brandywine to gather information for the book to be a welcome break from his demanding career as Chester County’s District Attorney.

Then I discovered a clipping from the Daily Local News dated July 20, 1905 it read: “W.W. MacElree has just completed some very fine photographs of scenes in Northern Chester County. Some of the pictures of scenes along Marsh Creek are very pretty indeed. The engravings of these will be used to illustrate a new book to be printed by Mr. MacElree.” Here was the answer I was looking for - MacElree took his own photographs for his books.

MacElree, 1859-1960, was a person of many talents. Professionally he was a respected lawyer. He also was a well known orator, writer, artist and wood carver and lived to be 100 years old. The discovery of MacElree’s photographic talent are another exciting find in CCHS glass plate negative collection. - Pamela Powell, Photo Archivist

Aren’t You Glad We Have Snow Blowers Today?

Friday, February 12th, 2010 | railroads, snow storms | No Comments

Yesterday I measured 25 inches of snow in my yard. The Blizzard of February 10, 2010 has made national news headlines. Local government and schools were closed for the past two days, even CCHS! So after doing my share of running the snow blower and lifting a shovel, here is a little look back to the Blizzard of 1899.

On February 12, 1899 the mercury in thermometers in Chester County plunged to zero and the sky looked ominously grey. The snow fell for two days dumping three and half feet of snow. The temperature dipped to 17 degrees below zero as winds raged and snow drifted ten feet deep in places. The headline of the West Grove Independent for February 16, 1899 declared: “Former Blizzards Out-Blizzarded.”

The only way to get around, if you could, was by sleigh. Even the railroad had to suspend train travel for three days until the tracks were cleared. The West Grove Independent told of James Wilson who was heading for jury duty in West Chester on Monday’s train. He did not arrive until Thursday.

People had trouble keeping their homes warm, with heat supplied by wood or coal. It was especially hard for the greenhouse owners to keep the temperatures constant for their plants. The growing of carnations was a big industry at that time. It was noted that the employees of Dingee and Conard dug out the road in order to get coal for their greenhouses.

The most curious report was of a 15 foot high snow drift that looked by an Egyptian Sphynx in the backyard of Dr. M.E. Conard in West Grove! - Pamela Powell, Photo Archivist

Duffy’s Cut Photos Emerge from the Darkroom

Friday, February 5th, 2010 | Monuments, railroads | No Comments

A good deal of interest has been raised by the story of Duffy’s Cut, the tale of the Irish workers who perished from cholera while constructing the railroad near Frazer.

Emerging from CCHS’ glass plate negative printing project is this view of the marker placed by the Pennsylvania Railroad on the supposed site of the workers’ burial. It was taken by amateur photographer Joseph Thorne in 1895.

In CCHS newsclipping file is an original news story of the death of the Irish workers printed in the West Chester Village Record on November 7, 1832. Another story from the Daily Local News published September 12, 1892 tells about the installation of the fence seen in the photograph.

W. G. Higginbottom, Superintendent of the Pennsylvania Railroad reported in the Daily Local News of April 25, 1927 that a number of PRR employees contributed 50 cents each to build an octagonal wooden paling fence around the burial mound. This was in place until it was replaced with a stone wall in 1909.

Aren’t you glad they said “No”

Friday, January 29th, 2010 | Monuments, West Chester | No Comments

Thanks to donor Paul Preston Davis for bringing in this photograph. Now we know what the statue proposed in 1905 for the Chester County Courthouse lawn looked like to honor the soldiers and sailors. Aren’t you glad the committee selected “Old Glory” that we know today?

The sculptor Brewster, submitted the design you see here. It was created to honor people from all branches of the service. Four columns support figures to represent the homecoming of the volunteer soldiers and sailors serving in the Union Army. Depicted on the sides of the monument are the artillery, cavalry and the “loyal women of Chester County” dressing wounds in a hospital scene.

The statue was to stand 22 feet high with the base measuring 10 x 12 feet wide. The Harrison Granite Company of Canton, Ohio was to provide the stone according to an article published in the Village Record, November 9, 1905. Undoubtedly the cost of the monument sent the committee back to the drawing board and “Old Glory” as we know it was unveiled on June 11, 1915.

Discoveries in the Darkroom

Friday, January 29th, 2010 | Brandywine, Historical photographs | No Comments

The Photo Archives is currently making reference prints from the collection of over 8,000 glass plate negatives. We will present on this blog some of the photographs that bring to light “new” and fascinating views of Chester County.

Our first offering is from the work of amateur photographer Joseph Thorne. He photographed Lenape Park in 1896 when it had only been open for four years. West Chester lawyer and President of the West Chester Street Railway, William Hayes, developed Lenape Park as an attraction on the trolley line. It included picnicking, boating, a boardwalk and restaurant.

James Spence, an African American who operated a well-known oyster house in West Chester, ran the restaurant at Lenape. He also owned shares of stock in the West Chester Street Railway and rode on the first trolley to the Park.

This is a look at Lenape Park in its infancy, long before the days of the carousel and the Venitian swings!