The Morton Railroad Station was built c. 1880 and has changed very little since it was built. Originally the station master lived on the second floor. Morton was named for Judge Sketchley Morton a great great grandson of John Morton who signed the Declaration of Independence.
A look back at the West Chester Railroad Line
Morton station is conspicuous by
reason of a handsome pressed brick railroad house, one of the neatest along the
road. Several buildings, principally
private residences or annexes thereto, are being erected. Thomas T. Tasker owns 600 acres here, with a
fine residence and barn. J. H. Irwin has
just purchased 80 acres at Morton for about $300 per acre, and has erected a
new hotel near the station, fitted up with has, &c. At the time of his purchase Mr. Irwin owned
70 acres, nearly adjoining the new territory, and has a large machine shop
there. H. A. Bregoard is another large
property owner at Morton. He owns one
hundred acres thereabouts, which he is daily improving. Dr. Kingston Goddard, ex-Coroner of
Philadelphia, owns a handsome property lying near the railroad. The J. Edgar Thomson estate owns about 160
acres near Morton, fronting on the Delaware County Pike and near the
railroad. Handsome residences, built
after the Swiss chalet style of architecture, adorn nearly all of the
properties named, which have undergone vast improvement within a few
years. The old Morton homestead stands
back some distance from the railroad station.
Swarthmore
is the name of the next station on the West Chester Road. The college is the most conspicuous public
object hereabouts. The spirit of
improvement shows itself about the institution as well as generally along the
road, and during the last two or three years important changes have been made,
notably the long and broad sweep of pathway running from the railroad to the
college building.
The high hill in the distance is
dotted with several handsome new stone houses, the residences of a number of
the college professors. The West Hill
Land Company has purchased two hundred acres adjoining the college property on
the east. Their acreage is all high and
health land. The company is effecting
many improvements in the vicinity of Swarthmore. On the hill a large water
works is being erected. Thomas Foulke,
Prof. Beardsley and S. Kent occupy fine houses at Swarthmore, and Sylvester
Garrett is erecting for himself a valuable residence. Nearly all the property lying hereabout
belongs or originally belonged to the John Ogden family. J. H. Linville, President of the Keystone
Bridge Company, and President of the new Southern Maryland Railroad, has a fine
residence on the south side of the road.
So also has Mr. Callander I. Leiper, of the firm of Leiper & Lewis,
who own the stone quarries near Swarthmore, of the stone of which nearly all
the new houses in the neighborhood are built.
An interesting relic of other days is built. An interesting relic of other days is the old
cottage on the college grounds, which was the birthplace and for many years the
home of the painter, Benjamin West. It is
in the center of a small orchard, and has every appearance of age. Real estate at Swarthmore ranges in value
from $500 to $1000 per acre. East of
Swarthmore Charles Ogden has built tow handsome residences, and Henry Ogden has
a fine residence on the Delaware County Turnpike.
Wallingford
is distinguished for its many fine residences.
Directly opposite the station, on the north side, is the residence of
Horace Howard Furness, Esq. The mansion
is very large and handsome. Mr. Furness’
property embraces some 65 acres, and contains another residence besides that
named. Three acres were recently
purchased by Mr. Furness at the rate of a thousand dollars per acre. S. D. Hibbert has a handsome house with a new
stable at Wallingford. Among the other
fine properties or new residences here are those of D. B. Paul, President of
the Third National Bank; James Spear, the stove manufacturer of Philadelphia,
who has just purchased thirty additional acres has just purchased thirty
additional acres from Samuel C. Lewis; C. W. Godfrey, of the firm of Drexel
& Co., who occupies a handsome stone house, with a tract of eighteen acres;
Henry P. Dixon, of the firm of Thomas S. Dixon & Sons, who has just
purchased nine acres of the Miskey property for $15,000. Two acres of an adjoining property were
recently sold for a thousand dollars an acre.
Louis Drake has eleven acres near Wallingford, with a modern style of
house; Isaac Lewis, proprietor of the Wallingford Mills, has a farm of sixty-four
acres, worth, it is said, $500 per acre; J. Howard Lewis owns six hundred acres
fronting on the pike, which, at this point, is about a mile to the south of the
railroad track. Samuel C. Lewis, George
C. Howard, J. Edward Farnum, ex-President of the West Chester Road, Isaac L.
Miller and M. Kershaw own properties varying in size, lying at or near
Wallingford. Many of these properties
front on the old Providence Road, which runs from Chester due north to
Media. This road was laid out by William
Penn’s Commissioners in 1682, and many old line marks are still standing. Nearly all of the properties named are
undergoing improvements of some kind or other, and, with the growth of this
popular station, proportionately increase in value.
From
Wallingford to Manchester, and indeed to Media, are many desirable building
lots, with high and healthy grounds, large water power from Ridley Creek, and
many other local advantages. Prices
hereabouts range from $400 to $800 per acre.
One of the largest landowners near Media is Sam Bancroft, proprietor of
the Todmorden Mills. Several large sales
of available building slots have recently been made in and about Media for good
prices.
Need a lecturer???
If you are looking for a lecturer I give talks all the time, well most of the time. A local library was looking for a guest speaker and a friend who volunteers there mentioned me. The head librarian thought it was a great idea and asked the local historical society what they thought about me giving a talk in "their town". They didn't. The historical society said no, I was not welcome in their town. Oh Well. I had some wonderful pictures of their town. Glass plates from some 120 years ago. Perhaps another time.
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