Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1895-10-31

OF ITO Years Ago.
In the northwestern part Of the pretty
little town of Media, the county seat Of
Delaware county. Pa. on tract of land
known as .'Star Mount" owned by
Samuel w. Powell, is located q genuine
curiosity in the form of an old log
house. which contains much to interest
the antiquarian. and to afford material
for the historian. The structure meas
ures % feet in length and is 20 feet
wide and Is feet high. 1t is said to Be
one Of the original manor houses con-
structed shortly after the arrival Of Will
liam Penn and his colony on the banks
of the Delaware river. Circumstances
point toward that belief. apd prove the
claim to antiquity. which makes the
old log house an important link connect
ing the distant past with the present
This house is constructed of oak and
chestnut logs hewn from the primeval
forest. while standing beside it is a
giant oak. the largest by all odds in the
surrounding country, which is living
witness Of the age Of the lowly dwell
ing which finds shelter beneath its huge
outspreading arms. Tree and house are
each the complement of the other, and
seem destined to continue their intima-
cy during succeeding years, and perhaps
ages.
In the year 1851 A. D., on the I'd
day of March, Peter and William Tay-
lor purchased the land upon which these
objects Of interest stand from William
Penn in England, and on the 22d inst.
Thomas Powell took title to the land
upon which the house and tree stand
and adjacent tracts, and after numerous
transfers it finally came into the pos
session Of Mr.. Powell, who formerly
resided in this city, but who now lives
in "Star Mount" in northwest Media.
Upon discovering the historic value of
the house and oak, he subsequently took
precautions to preserve the objects Of q
past age and civilization.
The house is constructed of logs, and
to prevent the entrance of cold air they
were chinked with mortar. The small
windows and doors were hand made,
from the primitive oak cut from the
forest. The faces and ends Of these logs
are SCARED and defaced by exposure to
the storms of at least two centuries,
and show plainly the ravages of the
"t6Oth Of time" but at heart are as
hard and sound as when first placed in
position to form a house for one of
PENIS followers.
The present owSer, desiring to both
preserve this ancient structure and to
improve its surroundings, added some
seven or eight years ago several addi-
tiOnal rooms to- the original mansion,
but outside the massive old chimney is
exposed to view, and inside the logs
with their plastering, the windows and
doors with their wooden latckes and
strings may be seen, while the low cell
ing of homemade boards point to date
when the ak and saw were almost uni
versally used by our fOrefathers.
At the time when the additions above
mentioned We're made an old English
coin was found Upon examination the
| coin proved to be a penny of the reign
Of King George 1, and while the date is
almost illegible, it seems to be 1924, OF
perhaps an earlier date. This old Eng
lish penny was lying under the old
wooden door sill. and had become i'm.
bedded in the ground, and was only
brought to light by the use of pick and
shovel History and tradition unite in
the story in relation to this old house.
Beginning with the river Delaware
and reaching as far as portions of Ches,
ter county, and bounded also by Ridley
and Crum creeks, were some two tracts
of land decided to the Taylors, Powells
and others in 1851 by the proprietor
and founder of our state, William Penn.
| Upon each Of these two tracts or parcels
of land log houses were erected. and one
| of them was destroyed by fire. One OF
these houses, the one now owned by Mr.
Powell in Upper Providence township,
adjoining the town of Media, is the sole
survivor, and it is correspondingly
priced by him.
The house and old oak, together with
the curiosities connected with them,
are very antique, and there is no doubt
but that the claim of antiquity is well
founded. In 1915 it was in the old log
cabin that John Powell changed from
the Quaker to the Baptist faith, and or.
ganized the First Baptist church of Del
aware county. known as the Brandy
wine church. The congregation was
formed on June IA, 1715, with Is mem
beers, and among the delegates were
Abel Morgan Of this city and James
Jones and Joseph Eaton of Delaware.
Thus the old house. constructed by a
first settler from the virgin forest. which
extended from far inland to the shores
Of the Delaware river, has both civil
and a religious history, and has been
both the birthplace of prominent fami
lies and the habitation within whose
walls prominent denomination of this
and surrounding country first sprung in
to existence.-Philadelphia Telegraph.
Hereditary Names.
According to the invariable custom Of
the Duke of Richmcnd's family. il i.