Askin Cottage, Maule Manor House, John Richards Manor House 1792

In the big volume of old pictures, which we described last week as being in the possession of the Radnor Historical Society, there are several pictures of the Askin Cottage, one of which is shown below.

By modern standards, this would be a good-sized house rather than a cottage, although by comparison with the mansion which Mr. Askin called “Louella House,” the smaller place was well named. It stood northeast of the big house and faced directly south.

06_image01This picture shows the large circular garden, directly in front of the house, with two gardeners at work. The driveway goes completely around the garden. The table of contents in the front of the book describes the place as the “Old Maule Manor House,” bought from the Richards family, who paid five shillings per acre for the land, which they held under the “Penn Patent.” Mr. Maule was among the oldest landowners in this part of Radnor township.

06_image02At right is a rear view of the same house, taken from the northwest corner of the lawn. The railroad tracks ran to the rear of the house, just out of sight in this picture. In addition to another view, which was shown in “Your Town and My Town” in the October 10, 1952, issue, there is still another picture in the old book which shows an ornate circular summer house, open on all sides, with a bench all around its interior.

This well-known landmark of its time stood between the cottage and the mansion.

Although the house shown below was not part of Mr. Askin’s holdings, the picture is included in the album because of its connection with the Richards family, who at one time owned “Maule Cottage,” which Mr. Askin occupied while he built the mansion.

Again referring to the table of contents, the album states that this is “a view from the northwest of the old John Richards Manor House, built in 1792, and probably the only remaining dwelling of the Richards family, who emigrated from Wales in 1687 and settled in Radnor, and who purchased directly from William Penn about 3,000 acres in the neighborhood. Their last lineal descendant and heir, Enoch Richards, died on the adjoining property in 1807, aged 88 years. He was born upon the farm (old house in picture shown above) and passed 82 years of his life upon it.”

06_image03This picture has been tentatively identified by one of Wayne’s old timers, who saw the album, as an old stone house on the left-hand side of Radnor-Chester road, just before the road goes under the overpass at Radnor station. If so, it was occupied for some time by members of one of the Torpey families of Radnor, and has been recently remodeled by the James F. Bodines and occupied by them. Positive identification from any of our readers would be interesting.

1867 Louella House, Cleaver’s Landing

With proposed changes and additions to the Louella Apartments providing front page headlines in last week’s “Suburban,” your columnist has turned back to the series on old Louella House which she wrote for this column in October, 1952. The first article showed a front and a back view of one of Wayne’s early landmarks as it looked in 1867.

View of original Louella House, home of the Henry Askin family, which was completed in 1869 after having been under construction for one year. This picture shows the west side of the building, with a partial view of the grounds on the east side. The elevation to the right in the picture contains the gas retorts that supplied the building. (A man is shown standing at the entrance to this underground chamber.)
View of original Louella House, home of the Henry Askin family, which was completed in 1869 after having been under construction for one year. This picture shows the west side of the building, with a partial view of the grounds on the east side. The elevation to the right in the picture contains the gas retorts that supplied the building. (A man is shown standing at the entrance to this underground chamber.)

By an unusual coincidence your columnist is able to show more of the Louella pictures in this week’s column, since the book in which the originals are bound is in her temporary possession. It had been lent to her by the Radnor Historical Society for a Saturday Club meeting on Tuesday, February 8, which featured a talk on “Wayne and the Saturday Club in 1886.”

Three handsome books, all filled with the same pictures of “Louella, Home of J. Henry Askin,” were compiled in 1812 by F. Gartekunst, 712 Arch street, Philadelphia. One remained in the possession of the Askin family; a second was presented to the John L. Mather family, while the third was given to Frank Smith, private secretary to George W. Childs, who, with Anthony J. Drexel, founded the Wayne Estate in the 1880’s. Mr. Smith presented this volume to Herman P. Lengel, through whose generosity it has been placed in the archives of the Radnor Historical Society.

The left side of this picture shows the back view of old Louella House, the front being marked by the stately cupola which still tops the building on its Lancaster avenue side. In the 1860’s this cupola commanded a far flung view over what were then farmlands in all directions. The two wings, to the east and west, were added at a later date, the eastern wing taking the place of a large greenhouse.
The left side of this picture shows the back view of old Louella House, the front being marked by the stately cupola which still tops the building on its Lancaster avenue side. In the 1860’s this cupola commanded a far flung view over what were then farmlands in all directions. The two wings, to the east and west, were added at a later date, the eastern wing taking the place of a large greenhouse.

Mr. Askin is often called the founder of Wayne, having come here to live with his family in the early 1860’s. Wayne was then the little hamlet of Cleaver’s Landing, so called because trains of the old Lancaster and Columbia Railroad stopped just west of the present Wayne station to pick up milk to be shipped to Philadelphia from the Cleaver farm. The name “Louella,” which succeeded Cleaver’s Landing, was a combination of Louise and Ella, Mr. Askin’s daughters’ names. Later, Louella was changed to Wayne, but the former name has been perpetuated in Louella Court Apartments, about which the present controversy centers; Louella drive and Louella court. Louella drive is the two-way automobile entrance and exit from Lancaster avenue to Louella court. On both sides of the drive are a number of small shops, while various attractive homes face on Louella court itself, the driveway of which completely encircles the apartment house.

Opposition to remodelling plans of Herman Grossman, present owner of Louella Court, were vigorously voiced at last week’s public meeting in the Township Building, not only by tenants of apartments, but by owners of these Louella court houses as well. The plans, which would include the erection of a number of garages on the site of the present apartment house lawn would, in the opinion of protesting property owners, constitute a traffic hazard, decrease visibility and deprive children of the area of a recreation spot.

(To be continued)

1928 Farley’s Inc. (Wayne Men’s Store in 1955), Wayne Chamber of Commerce, Real Estate firms

The above picture was taken from “Main Line Beautiful,” a real estate magazine published in 1928. Farleys, a dealer in athletic goods, as well as in men’s and boys’ wear, was the predecessor of the present Wayne Men’s Shop.
The above picture was taken from “Main Line Beautiful,” a real estate magazine published in 1928. Farleys, a dealer in athletic goods, as well as in men’s and boys’ wear, was the predecessor of the present Wayne Men’s Shop.

In writing of the Wayne Estate houses from time to time, your columnist has often quoted from the booklets which advertised the building and the sale of these houses. The descriptions were flowery ones indeed, but they were unequalled, if not outdone, some 50 years later when J. Howard Goodwin, in 1928, brought out his “Main Line Beautiful,” the real estate magazine about which we wrote last week.

In this magazine the Main Line is described as the spot “Where Nature Smiles,” a slogan which the magazine apparently adopted. It was also described as “The Residential Gateway to Philadelphia” which has no equal on the American Continent. The undulating country from West Philadelphia to Paoli is rich in natural scenery, which has from time to time been enhanced by the magic touch of the landscape gardener, whose artistry has made either side of the railroad a kaleidoscopic picture, not only pleasing to the eye, but winning the visitor, and he immediately becomes a booster.”

A few pages farther on in the magazine, the Wayne Chamber of Commerce, not to be outdone in descriptive powers, runs a full page advertisement which proclaims that “There is no place like Home, if your Home is in Wayne,” a very neat and compact little slogan indeed! “It was, and still is, Philadelphia’s first suburb” is the introduction to a statement in regard to the founding of Wayne by George W. Childs and Anthony J. Drexel. Among its attractions in 1928 were “clean modern stores, providing the finest parking space on the Main Line; a masterpiece of moving picture theatres, golf courses, community activities to the liking of men, women and children, colleges close at hand, churches of all denominations, drives such as can be found only in the beautiful Chester Valley and historic Valley Forge, finest of fire and police protection, pure sparkling Springfield water, an excellent community newspaper, and best of all genuine community spirit and hearty welcome to all newcomers.”

Officers of the Wayne Chamber of Commerce, which authorized the advertisement, were Charles D. Lyman, president; Charles R. Meyers, vice president, and C. Walton Hale, secretary-treasurer. All are still well-known citizens and businessmen of this area.

Among the local real estate firms which advertised in the 1929 ”Main Line Beautiful” magazine was that of Joseph M. Fronefield, father of J.M. Fronefield, 3d, located in the office building which was erected in 1927 on West Lancaster avenue. The firm specialized in the sale of “Country Homes and Farms.” George M. Aman, Sons, a firm consisting of Ralph L. Aman and George M. Aman, Jr., had two offices, one at 1218 Chestnut street in Philadelphia, and the other at 114 Audubon avenue, Wayne. Their specialties were “Insurance and Mortgages, Building and Loan Association.” Fred H. Treat, who listed “Main Line Homes and Farms,” was also the general rental and sales agent for the Windermere Court Apartments, which had been completed at that time.

C. N. Agnew, on the Lincoln Highway, advertised “Homes Built to Order and Financed” and “Suburban Homes, Farms” for sale. Hallowell and Johnson, 108 North Wayne avenue, were “specialists in Main Line Homes and Properties, Insurance and Mortgages.” C. Walton Hale, 104 North Wayne avenue, specialized in “the building, selling and rentlng of Main Line Homes of a selling value under $10,000 – providing comfortable living quarters for the average family at a monthly cost of $50 or less.”

J. Howard Mecke, Jr., with offices in the Packard Building, Philadelphia, was advertising “Something Unusual at Wayne” with the explanation that “In the Martin’s Dam Section, just five minutes by motor north of Wayne Station on the Main Line, a Colonial Village has been started.” Houses were to occupy sites varying from 1½ to five acres, having five and six bedrooms and three baths, and selling from $25,000 to $45,000. Among the unusual features of these houses were “old cranes in each fireplace (not reproductions); old wood carved mantels – some 100 years old (not reproductions) and individual built-in telephone booths (not coat closets).” At the time this advertisement was published 37 plots had already been sold.

Two real estate dealers who operated close to Wayne were A.H. Crockett, of King of Prussia, “the Gateway to Valley Forge,” and G.B.Wheeler, of Devon, who advertised houses “not just built to sell, but built to live in for generations… Anticipating Tomorrow, but realizing Today.” Unfortunately the “Tomorrow” was not the one to be anticipated with pleasure, for that “tomorrow” brought the depression of the early 1930’s.

(To be continued)

1928 “The Main Line Beautiful” booklet, children playing at St. Davids, Charles S. Walton estate

04_image01Without the never-failing interest of the readers of “Your Town and My Town,” it would be impossible for the writer of this column to have in it the wide variety of stories and of pictures of Wayne and its surroundings that appear each week. Some of these stories have to do with Wayne and with Radnor township of an era long past, others of a time that seems but yesterday to many among us. Into this latter category today’s column and picture fall, and, as so often happens, the material for this column has come from a reader of “Your Town and My Town.” Several years ago Miss Harriet E. Weed gave the writer a very handsome booklet which had been in her office files for more than 25 years, a 1928 copy of “The Main Line Beautiful.” Although its publishers, J. Howard Goodwin and Company, of Philadelphia, stated on its first page that it was to be published annually, it seems probable that this was its only appearance. At any rate, various local real estate dealers to whom your columnist has shown the booklet have its duplicate in their files, but none has mentioned any later numbers of “Main Line Beautiful.”

A guarantee of 100,000 readers for the booklet was given by the Goodwin Company, and free copies could be obtained “by applying in person to any real estate dealer whose advertisement appears herein.”

The purpose of the publication was to “foster the better upkeep and beautification of the Main Line, that it may remain as it now is – the most desirable suburban residential section in America.” And to many loyal Main Liners, this rather broad statement seems as true today as it did to the publishers of the booklet 27 years ago.

In the midst of all the pictures of handsome homes, churches, office buildings, banks and shops of the Main Line which fill the pages of the booklet, the picture shown at the head of this column is refreshing because of its human interest. Among the four boys all so intent on lifting stones from the creek, there may be this columnist’s own sons, and certainly must be their playmates.

The dog, as intent as the boys on the business in hand, might have been “Sooner,” property of the
Patterson boys and playmate of all the Midland avenue children. And the clothes these boys are wearing! They bring back nostalgic memories of the days when corduroy or tweed knickers, long stockings and heavy woolen sweaters constituted the “uniform” of the boys of the 1920’s as universally as dungarees and plaid shirts do now.

It is quite apparent from the length of hair of three of the boys in the picture that a trip to the barber was as much of an ordeal then as it is to those of their age nowadays. And no mother of boys in the 1920’s can fail to remember the struggle to keep the knickers from “drooping” and the garter from losing all connection with the long stockings with their rolled-over plaid tops.

“Kids Having Fun at St. Davids” certainly tells the story of this picture. The writer has tentatively located the brook, with its large stones, as one of the small streams on the former Charles E. Walton estate, now the property of Eastern Baptist College. More positive identification by some one who may recognize the boys in this picture would be interesting.

(to be continued)