Ercildoun, Pennsylvania
Ercildoun Historic District | |
| NRHP reference No. | 85001157[1] |
|---|---|
| Added to NRHP | May 20, 1985 |
Ercildoun | ||
|---|---|---|
ZIP codes 19320 (Coatesville) | ||
Ercildoun, population about 100, is an unincorporated community in East Fallowfield Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The hamlet was founded by Quakers and was an early center of the abolitionist movement. In 1985 the entire hamlet, including 31 properties, was listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places. Of these properties two were vacant land, 14 were significant buildings, ten were contributing buildings, and five buildings, built in the 1950s, were non-contributing.[2] The Lukens Pierce House, an octagon house listed separately on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, is located about half a mile northwest of the hamlet. Ercildoun is one of about ten hamlets in the township, which has no cities or towns, but has 31 sites listed on the National Register. It is one of the larger hamlets, located near the center of the township, and historically among the best known. The city of Coatesville is about 3 miles north.[3]
The name "Ercildoun" was taken from the poem, "Thomas the Rhymer" by Sir Walter Scott when the hamlet's post office opened in 1850, but it was misspelled "Ercildown" until 1854. The main character in the poem was Thomas of Ercildoun, from Ercildoune, Scotland.[2]
History
"One old building still stands
As a tribute to voices now stilled
It stands as a monument to Old "Friends"
Who dared to do right."[4]
Land in the current hamlet was first settled by
The Anti-Slavery Society met in the Fallowfield Meetinghouse until the winter of 1844, when Abby Kelley and Charles Burleigh spoke at a meeting that was broken up by a mob of anti-abolitionists. About this time abolitionist halls were burned down in Philadelphia and Lancaster, both less than 40 miles away. The Quaker Meeting membership then banned the Anti-Slavery group from its meetinghouse. In 1845 an association of abolitionists purchased the land and built a hall next to the Meetinghouse, which they called the Free Hall and later the People's Hall.[2] The group declared that "every question, creed, or race was welcome on our platform," and above the platform was the motto "Let Truth and Error grapple." According to resident Gertrude W. Nields, one Quaker who had been supporting the group, withdrew his support on seeing the motto, considering it "inconsistent in Friends to grapple with anything - even error."[5]
Ercildoun became known as center of the
After the Civil War, former slaves settled in the hamlet and People's Hall served as a
Gideon Pierce built a store on across from the Friends Meeting House in 1818. The Webster family bought the store in 1863 and operated it until 1987. The store still stands and remains active today as Triple Fresh Market. The name "Ercildoun" was first used by Pierce when his store housed the village's post office in 1850.[11]
The July 1877 "Ercildoun Tornado" was so violent that it was the subject of a lecture at the French Academy of Sciences in 1878. Fourteen buildings were destroyed.[2][12]
In 1894 an African-American congregation built the Christ Disciple Church.[2]
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Interior of the People's Hall, note the motto "Let Truth and Error Grapple" on the arch above the stage -
People's hall exterior -
Notable people
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g Jane L.S. Davidson, Ercildoun Historic District NRHP Nomination[permanent dead link], 1985
- ^ Davidson, Jane (1981). "East Fallowfield Township Multiple Resources". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
- ^ by Isabella Stokes, resident of Ercildoun and daughter of former slave Samuel Roth, 1974, reprinted in NRHP nomination form
- ^ a b Fallowfield Friends Meeting House, 1811-1911, One Hundredth Anniversary, Ercildoun, Pennsylvania
- ISBN 9781317454168. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
- ISBN 9781317454168. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
- ^ Smedley, Robert Clemens (1883). History of the Underground Railroad in Chester and the Neighboring Counties of Pennsylvania. Lancaster, PA: Office of the Journal. pp. 136–137.
- ^ "Pennsylvania At Risk 2015" (PDF). Preservation Pennsylvania. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 24, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
- ^ "People's Hall.org". People's Hall Home. The Trustees of the People's Hall. May 21, 2016. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
- ^ "Ercildoun, National Historic District, East Fallowfield Township, Chester County, Coatesville PA 19320". www.livingplaces.com. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
- ^ "Township Biography". East Fallowfield Township - General Information. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
Further reading
- Smedley, R.C.; Christopher Densmore (2005) [1883]. History of the Underground Railroad in Chester and the neighboring counties of Pennsylvania. Stackpole Books. p. 407. ISBN 0-8117-3189-8.
- Switala, William J. (2001). Underground railroad in Pennsylvania. Stackpole Books. p. 216. ISBN 0-8117-1629-5.
