Colonial Village swimming pool, Martin’s Dam, the Wilds family, old Indian School “Ponemah”, Zooks’ Dam

July 18, 1952 / Emma C. Patterson

A quaint landmark on the well travelled road that leads to Chester Valley by way of the Colonial Village Swimming Pool and Martin’s Dam Club is the small white stone house on old Upper Gulph road just at its intersection with Croton road.

Standing as it does among modern houses and remodeled old houses, the small whitewashed stone structure catches the eye of every passing motorist. So little changed during the 140 years it has stood there, it is, indeed, a quiet reminder of a day long past.

Until the house was sold in 1927 by James R. Wilds, of Wayne, to Sidney Evans Wells, it had been in the continuous possession of the Wilds family since the four acres of land, on which it originally stood, had been bought by John Wilds, and his sister, Sarah Wilds, in 1814. The old deed, still in the possession of the present James Wilds, shows that the purchase price was “150 silver milled dollars.”

The four acres were a portion of a large tract of land belonging to Rudolph Huzzard, a blacksmith, that extended as far west as Old Eagle School road. At a somewhat later date, this entire acreage could have been bought by John Wilds’ son for $1500.

The first Wilds to come to America was another James Wilds, the great – great – grandfather of the present James Wilds. When he left his native England, in 1772, he received a “certificate of good conduct” signed by the minister and “principal inhabitants” of the township of Crompton Parish, of Cresturick, County Palatine of Lancaster, showing that he left there “with unblemished character” and with the good wishes of his community. By trade he was a wool weaver, and probably worked in one of the old mills near King of Prussia after coming to America.

A son and daughter of this first James Wilds bought the four acres of land on old Upper Gulph road. Supposedly, they built the house that still stands there soon after they purchased the land, although there is no written record of the fact.

Here, John Wilds and his wife had a family of 15 children, though all did not live to maturity. The house then consisted of a basement kitchen, with two rooms above them on the second floor. It was not until the Wellses remodeled what appeared to be an old stone house that it was discovered that the original structure had probably been made of logs, at least in part.

In their remodeling the Wellses added eight feet to the west end of the house. At one time a barn, which has since been torn down, stood to the south of the house. So small and quaint and reminiscent of the past is this neat, white house, that it is difficult to believe that any changes at all have been made since it was built in about 1812. It is now the property of Mrs. Kathryn L. Stimson.

Across the road from the old Wilds’ homestead, in the northwest corner of Upper Gulph and Croton roads, is another old house now occupied by Mr. and Mrs. John H. Preston, Jr., who bought it from Mr. and Mrs. Arthur P. G. McGinnes. The latter is a descendant of the Hughes family, who at one time owned almost all of the houses on either side of Croton road, from Upper Gulph road to Martin’s Dam, in addition to the famous old Hughes’ lumber and grist mills. In reminiscing of her former home, Mrs. McGinnes tells of the original deep well, now part of the porch at the northwest corner of the house. In the course of remodeling it was discovered that this house, too, was, at least partly, made of logs.

A house dating back to the middle eighties is one on the left side of Croton road, past the Preston house. Now the property of Mr. and Mrs. Howard H. Stringer, it was originally built for Mr. and Mrs. William H. Owens. The former was a son of Sarah Hughes Owens. Sold to the Stringers by Mrs. John W. Henry, daughter of Mrs. Phoebe Hughes Brown, the original old white house has seen but few changes in its almost 70 years of existence, and none of them are of recent date.

Still another old house on Croton road is the one to the north of Miss Emily Exley’s, now occupied by Mr. and Mrs. George C. Turner. For many years this house was owned by William Morris. Across the road from the Exley and Turner properties is the former site of the old Indian School known as “Ponemah,” meaning “Land of Hereafter.”

In addition to what has been written in three previous issues of this column, this is in brief the story of historic Croton road, along which ran the rapidly flowing streams that turned the wheels of some of the famous mills on the edge of Chester Valley, none more famous than the old Hughes Mill described in last week’s column. Some time in the late 1700’s or early 1800’s a grist mill had been built near Zook’s Dam, later to be known as Martin’s Dam, then converted into one for the manufacture of woolen materials, and was sold to Richard Martin in 1841.

English born, the Martins had lived in Kensington before coming to Upper Merion township in Montgomery County to run a woolen mill such as they had owned in Kensington. They occupied a small pre – Revolutionary house across Croton road from the Dam. As the family grew, so did the house, until two wings had been added to it. All the Martin children, as they grew up, attended the small frame school on the right hand side of Croton road past Martin’s Dam, the walls of which are still standing. In winter they often went on stilts to keep out of the snow and in spring to keep out of the mud.

Of the nine children born to the Richard Martins, James was the last to occupy the old homestead. Some of the original acreage he sold to the Thomas Nurseries. In 1890 he sold the rights to Martin’s Dam and a few acres surrounding it to the Lower Merion Water Company. Whether the project was conceived in good faith has always been open to question. Certainly the flow of water was never great enough to warrant the piping of water to the lower Main Line, which was the announced purpose of the Company. So complicated was the title that it was not until 12 years after the organization of Martin’s Dam Club that the Directors were able to purchase the Dam.

More Wayne baseball / Kelly’s Dam (Natatorium)

April 14, 1950 / Emma C. Patterson

The last two articles in this series have been devoted to baseball in the Main Line League, and particularly as it was played by the Wayne team in its early days. Then, in the first part of the twenties, local interest lagged and Wayne withdrew from the League. It was not until 1946 that Wayne rejoined, this time under the managership of Tommy Arena, for many years a catcher for the Wayne I. A. C. team. At the close of the season Wayne was in fifth place in the league.

The next season, that of 1947, Wayne took the title after a most exciting series of games. With “Mickey” Gavin as manager, Wayne, in an 11-team league, won the western-half title, going on from there to gain the championship in a thrilling seven game series with Drexel Hill. A general riot marked the fifth game in this final play-off series when Ray Edelman bowled over Larry Aigeldinger, Drexel Hill shortstop, while sliding into second base. The riot was eventually quieted down, and Wayne not only won that game, but eventually took the series.

Although Wayne was not the final victor in the 1948 series, the team did get into the playoffs, defeating Narberth in the semi-finals, only to be defeated by Manoa in the final game of the seven game series. According to my informant, “Johnny Byrne starred on the mound in two of the games for Wayne. In the sixth game Wayne was losing 10-0 going into the last inning. They scored nine runs and left the bases loaded before the final out was made in the ninth inning.”

Last season Wayne beat their arch-rival, Narberth, in the seven-game final series, thus winning the championship. “In the fourth and fifth games”, to quote again one more versed in baseball ligno than this writer, “the locals lost by lop-sided scores, but in the final two games received great pitching from Jim Covello and Jim Morrissey.”

Paying tribute to some of the men who have brought the name of Wayne to the fore in the local baseball world since it rejoined the Main Line League, there is Mickey Gavin, under whose guidance our team has won two championships and has played in the finals the third year. During his term he has sent several players to the minor leagues, some of whom are still playing. Among them are George Brown and Norm Swigler of the 1947 team; Pete Caniglia, outfielder, and Andy Schultz, a fine young left-hander of 1948; Vince DiMagistris, who returned to Wayne in 1949; Ed Skladany, Temple University star of the ‘48 team and John Maiden and Walt Lownes, of the 1949 team.

Attendance at these games was probably at its best in 1947, when over 1000 fans were drawn to each of the first two Sunday games against Narberth. Television may be in part the cause of smaller attendance since then. Be that as it may, Manoa and Ardmore have withdrawn since the close of the ‘49 season, which was such a successful season for Wayne.
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Just a year ago this month when this column was but a few weeks old, the writer devoted the major part of one article in the series to the story of Kelly’s Dam, a body of water down in the hollow near the railroad tracks in the general vicinity of what is now Willow avenue. In its beginnings it was just a good old “swimmin’ hole”. Then an interested group took over by renting the rights to Kelly’s Dam and installing equipment and building dressing rooms. A high wooden fence made for privacy for the swimmers. Wayne was one of the first localities in this section to have such an outdoor swimming pool.

Since first writing of Kelly’s Dam, some interesting additional data in regard to it has come the way of this writer. It was in May, 1895 that a charter was applied for by the Wayne Natatorium Association. The incorporators were John P. Wood, president; Richards H. Johnson, vice-president; Christopher Fallon, Esq., secretary and Julius A. Bailey, treasurer. Also among the incorporators were T. Stewart Wood, Herman Wendell and Frederick H. Treat. A charter was granted on June 10, 1895, by Acting Judge William B. Waddell. Kelley’s Lake was then little more than a muddy pond, ranging in depth from about eight inches to eight feet. Its water supply was from the creek which ran from Leaming’s Wood through North Wayne. The R. H. Johnson Company was awarded the contract for excavating and constructing a pool about 500 feet long with an average width of about 100 feet. A fine clubhouse was built, the first floor being used as a ladies’ dressing room and the second floor as living quarters for the manager. A men’s dressing room was built midway of the pool.

At the formal opening of the pool in July, 1895, a large crowd of amateur swimmers, representing the Philadelphia Swimming Association, the New York Athletic Club, the University of Pennsylvania and a number of other organizations was present. It was indeed a gala occasion! The first swimming instructor was Charles Holryd, a Yorkshireman “with an accent so thick one could cut it”. He was later succeeded by George Kistler, who at that time was the champion mile swimmer of the world. After leaving Wayne he became swimming instructor at Houston Hall at the University of Pennsylvania, and for many years coached Red and Blue championship teams.

Under the excellent training of these two men not only the youngsters but many of the oldsters of Wayne were taught to swim. In the winter the pool was used for skating, with many a carnival held under the bright lights with which the enclosure was illuminated.

For a number of years the Natatorium was a great success. Then the bicycling craze reached its height, and attendance dwindled while former patrons of the pool took off on long “hike” trips. Then at about the turn of the century a general drought made it necessary for the Wayne Water Works Company – a local concern, to sink a number of artesian wells to augment its supply. This dried up several large springs along the creek which fed the pool.

And so after several years of struggling against adverse conditions, Kelley’s Dam was sold, and on its site were built the houses on the South side of Willow avenue.

Swimming holes, Bicycle Club

April 15, 1949 / Emma C. Patterson

With spring in the air and summer not far off, the thoughts of many a Wayne resident, young and old, turn to those warm days when swimming in nearby pools will furnish much welcome recreation. They will gladly go their ways to Martin’s Dam or Colonial Village Swimming Pool or the Mill Dam, little realizing that once upon a time Wayne swimmers of another generation did not have so far to go. For in the early nineties they did their swimming at Kelly’s Dam, a body of water down in the hollow near the railroad tracks in the general vicinity of what is now Willow avenue!

As a matter of fact, Wayne was one of the first localities in this section to have an outdoor swimming pool. In the beginning it was just a good old “swimmin’ hole.” Then an interested group rented the rights to Kelly’s Dam and began to make some improvements. A dressing room was built on piles and there were diving boards, a slide and other equipment. This was enclosed by a high wooden fence to make it private, with a boardwalk along one side of this fence. the diving board was at the deep end of the pool while the shallow end had a wooden bottom. The creek along Willow avenue did not run directly into the pool as there was some sort of filtering system to keep the water clean. In winter when the pool froze over there was skating by lantern light with a stove for heat in the small club house. Yearly dues entitled members to both swimming and skating privileges. Among those early members were the Wendells, the Heilners, the Spiers, the Conkles, the Hallowells, the Fulweilers, the Reginald Harts, the Canizares, Frederick Jones, Louis Erben, Charlie Maguire and the large John P. Wood family and many others, whose names are not now available.

Swimming Taught

Activities at Kelly’s Dam were under the supervision of Kistler, their swimming coach, who later became an instructor at the University of Pennsylvania. At the opening day races, Osgood Sayen upheld the prestige of Wayne by winning the 60-yard novice race against a large field. At that time the Australian crawl stroke was a new sprint idea. From time to time quite large swimming meets, considering the size of Wayne, were held here. In the light of present-da methods of teaching swimming those of that early period are interesting by way of contrast. A telegraph pole was sunk in the ground at each end of the pool, with a heavy wire cable stretched across the water. To this was added a rope on a pulley with a belt attached at the water line. The pupil was strapped into the belt and thus taught the art of swimming without danger of going down!

As time went on the young people began to go to Fenimore’s pond in north St. Davids for their swimming and skating. “Billy Pump,” who took his name from the fact that he ran the pumping station for the Pennsylvania Railroad, was in charge there. He was part Indian and considered quite a character. Be it said to his great credit, that while he could not swim himself, he patrolled the pond in his row boat so conscientiously that he never had a drowning!

Many christenings took place both at Kelly’s Dam and at Fenimore’s Pond. Some still remember the time when the crowd watching one of these christenings at the former place was so great that the boardwalk gave way and the spectators themselves were tumbled into the water! Many remember, too, the white-robed figures and the loud screams when baptisms of one of Wayne’s colored churches took place at Fenimore’s Pond.

Bicycle Club Formed

In the late nineties the bicycle craze struck Wayne with the result that a bicycle club was formed with headquarters on the pike north of the post office. There Karl, the German steward, provided excellent meals for members and their guests. One particularly noteworthy one was a terrapin supper, Maryland style, prepared by Bob Martin, assisted by Dr. Kueri, of Philadelphia, and by Paul D. Chaillu, the African explorer. Their combined efforts produced a banquet worthy of the name! And after an evening of good eating and much merriment, the guests rode home on their bicycles! Among the leading spirits of the club in addition to Bob Martin, were Francis Fenimore, Julius Bailey, “Goostav” Bergner, “Der Goos” Gallagher, Tony Peterson and “Demon” Schultz, and this is to mention but a few!

(In my information for this week’s article, I am indebted both to George W. Schultz, of Reading, and to a member of the John P. Wood family.)

This is a picture of the original Saturday Club house, built in 1898, as described in "Your Town and My Town," in a recent issue of The Suburban. The wagonette at the left has been identified as that of the late John W. Yeatts, of St. Davids. Identification of the other vehicle would be interesting. Information would be appreciated by mrs. Patterson, Wayne 4569, for use in her column. — This is a picture of the original Saturday Club house, built in 1898, as described in “Your Town and My Town,” in a recent issue of The Suburban. The wagonette at the left has been identified as that of the late John W. Yeatts, of St. Davids. Identification of the other vehicle would be interesting. Information would be appreciated by mrs. Patterson, Wayne 4569, for use in her column.