Excerpt from the History of Delaware County

The following is an excerpt from the definitive history of Delaware County, by Henry Graham Ashmead, published in 1884. The section includes two period newspaper articles about Wayne, both of which are extremely detailed. This excerpt is one of the most informative and useful sources on the early days of the Wayne Company development.

Town of Wayne. - In September, 1880, the readers of a Philadelphia newspaper were informed that George W. Childs, of the Philadelphia Ledger, and A. J. Drexel, of that city, had purchased a tract of land of about six hundred acres, three hundred of which is the Louella farm at Wayne Station, on the Pennsylvania Railroad, formerly owned by J. Henry Askin. It is the intention of the present owners to have the property laid out in the most attractive manner by an experienced gardener. Buildings will be erected, lots sold on the most advantageous terms, and money advanced to those who desire to build. There are several fine residences, two public halls, a church (Presbyterian), and gas- and water-works on a part of the Askin estate. The new purchase will be called "Wayne," and there will be about five hundred thousand dollars invested, including proposed improvements. The lots will be sold at private sale, it being the intention of the projectors to provide desirable residences for those of moderate means, who may desire to settle in that portion of Delaware County.

Thus was foreshadowed what has since proved to be the successful and praiseworthy enterprise in which Messrs. Childs and Drexel embarked. After the lapse of nearly four years another newspaper speaks of "Wayne's rapid growth" as follows:

"The beautiful suburban town which Mr. George W. Childs, of the Public Ledger, and the Messrs. Drexel, the bankers, are building at Wayne Station on the Pennsylvania Railroad, has just donned its summer garb; Louella Mansion, the larger of the two hotels there, having opened yesterday for the season. This, with the Bellevue, which pulled up its blinds a week ago, contributes over four hundred or one-third of the population of the place. In three years, forty-nine new buildings have been erected by these capitalists, a large hotel has been constructed, and another one very much enlarged; they have perfected a drainage system which is said to be unequaled by any resort in the United States, the designs having been furnished by Col. George F. Waring, the best posted man in the country on sanitary matters. Miles of distribution pipe have been laid by them; a water system that draws its supply from springs at the source of Ithan Creek, and clarifies itself in a reservoir capable of holding two hundred and fifty thousand gallons, at an elevation of four hundred and fifty feet above tide-water, has been put in operation; a nursery has been laid out for young sprigs, which are tenderly cared for in this little patch until they have acquired enough age to be transplanted along the banks of the creek in a pretty park; a new and attractive station has been built by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, new driving roads have been made, and in all there has been an outlay for grounds and improvements of three-quarters of a million dollars towards the establishment of a city on scientific principles, and towards providing homes in the country with all the comforts of the city. Eventually six hundred houses will be built there, and accommodation furnished for a population of three thousand.

"A drive along the Lancaster pike, past Bryn Mawr, Radnor, and other resting-places of wealth and fashion, brings Wayne within an hour and a half of the Public Buildings, at Broad and Market Streets. The distance by rail is fourteen miles, or thirty minutes from Broad Street Station. The pike is owned by a corporation headed by Mr. A. J. Cassatt, who bought the charter of the stretch from Philadelphia to Paoli for seven thousand five hundred dollars, and then improved it at an expense of seventy thousand dollars. Before the building of the Pennsylvania Railroad it was the main avenue from Philadelphia to the West, but after the railroad paralleled it with tracks, up to the time that Mr. Cassatt and his friends acquired possession, it had been very much neglected. To-day there is not in America a driving road of equal length that compares with it. Along this avenue for a stretch of one and a half miles lies the Childs-Drexel tract of seven hundred acres, and facing it on either side are nearly all of the buildings which these gentlemen have put up. A row of eighteen residences set out by pairs, in lots having one hundred and twenty feet front, has just been finished. The new buildings stand forty feet back of the street line. They are of brick, with broad piazzas and sloping lawns surrounding. The interiors are planned with broad open stairways, finished in hard wood. There are tiled fireplaces and handsomely-carved mantels, wide door-ways that give opportunities for luxurious draperies, stained glass windows and numerous gables, spacious bath-rooms, and other conveniences that are seldom looked for outside of large cities. Many of these properties have been sold for five thousand two hundred dollars each, Messrs. Childs and Drexel taking one-third in cash and the balance on easy installments. Contracts have been entered into for a row of eighteen frame cottages, costing three thousand dollars each, north of the railroad. A large building designed for a drug-store and a bakery is rising opposite the town hall, and a livery with accommodations for one hundred and fifty horses has been established.

"It is proposed to utilize the waters of Gulf Creek to supply those properties lying north of the railroad, where there are two hundred acres of the tract, and where extensive improvements are also in contemptation. Three railroad stations dot tile property, - St. David's, Wayne, and Eagle. The last-named place is the site of the old Eagle Hotel, which Mr. Childs bought to stop the sale of liquor near his bailiwick. It has been fitted up nicely, and will be used during the summer as a school for the Indian children of the Lincoln Institution.

"Near St. David's, on the north side, and on part of the original Askin's property, many new residences are going up. Mr. Runk, of Darlington & Runk, has located there. Mr. Robert Stewart, of Stewart, Ralph & Co., is putting up a handsome building to cost fifty thousand dollars. Mr. Thomas Williams, father-in-law of Mr. George B. Roberts, and Mr. Henry Geiss, the wool man, are also building. Mr. Goldsborough has bought six acres adjoining Mr. Runk. Mr. Manley, of Manley & Cooper, purchased the old George House of Mr. Childs, and is fitting it up in complete style. Mr. John M. Kennedy, Jr., has improved his house.

"Real estate men say that the tendency of purchasers of country homes along the Pennsylvania Railroad is beyond Bryn Mawr, and they attribute this to three facts, the lower prices, higher elevation, and the extensive improvements at Wayne and other places near by. In six years the value of real estate fringing the Pennsylvania Railroad from the county-line to a point near Paoli has appreciated nearly $30,000,000. All this started with the purchase of 600 acres near White Hall by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company thirteen years ago. Within three years the advance in prices along the line has been very rapid. Properties that sold in 1880 for $500 an acre have been recently disposed of for $1200, and some pieces of the ground have gone at $4200 an acre."
A more particular account of the town of to-day, however, is found in the following article, which was published in the Germantown Telegraph, under date of July 2, 1884:

"A new town, or rather an aggregation of delightful suburban residences, is rapidly springing up within easy traveling distance of the city of Philadelphia, either by rail or pike. It is known as 'Wayne,' Delaware County, Pa., and is situated on the line of the Pennsylvania Railroad, 14 55/100 miles from the Pennsylvania Railroad Station at Broad and Market Streets, and is also accessible by a pleasant drive over Lancaster Avenue or pike. During the latter part of the year 1880 two prominent and enterprising Philadelphia capitalists, Mr. George W. Childs, proprietor of the Public Ledger, and Mr. Anthony J. Drexel, the well-known banker, conceived the idea of making extensive improvements in Radnor township, near Wayne station, on the line of the Pennsylvania Railroad. In the following spring large tracts of charmingly-situated land were purchased, and the work of building commenced. The first land purchased was a tract of about 500 acres belonging to Mr. J. Henry Askin. Adjoining properties were then secured, until over 600 acres of fine land came into the possession of Messrs. Childs and Drexel, and no time was lost in laying out the most available ground into building-lots. The nucleus of a good-sized and most attractive-looking town soon appeared, and now not less than fifty elegant residences have been completed and occupied, or are being finished with great rapidity, and the gentlemen named have not less than $600,000 invested in the great enterprise. The dwellings erected or under progress are very handsome architecturally, and are built in the most substantial manner, being provided with every modern convenience, and the drainage system, coustructed under the supervision of Col. Waring, is simply perfect.

"The extent of the estate may be judged from the fact that three Pennsylvania Railroad stations are on the property, namely, Wayne Station, St. David's Station, and Eagle Station, and for the purpose of giving the reader a comprehensive idea of the new town of Wayne and its surroundings, the writer proposes to describe a visit he recently made there, and state just what he saw.

"A half-hour's railroad ride from the Broad Street Station brought me to Wayne Station, and emerging from the cars a short walk up Wayne Avenue and past several beautiful cottages on either side brought Wayne Lyceum Hall into view, owned by Messrs. Childs and Drexel. The hall is three stories high, and is built of brick and plastered. It cost about thirty thousand dollars. A large general store and a drug-store are on the first floor, and an audience-room for five hundred persons is on the second and third floors. The hall is forty feet by sixty feet in size; it is situated at the corner of Wayne and Lancaster Avenues, and contains the post-office and the superintendent's business office. Opposite Wayne Lyceum Hall, on Lancaster Avenue, is the cottage of Mr. J. Henry Askin, the former owner of the estate. The cottage is handsomely built of brick, and has a spacious porch and a neat lawn. Close by is the cottage of Mrs. Patterson, a fine brick building, and north of that is the large and substantial cottage of Mr. Israel Solomon, of the Bingham House, who also purchased the adjoining lot. There are other cottages near by belonging to Mr. Childs as yet unsold. A fine cottage adjoining Mr. Askin's is occupied by Mr. William J. Phillips, ex-superintendent of the Police and Fire Alarm Telegraph. The intervening property on Lancaster Avenue between Mr. Phillips' cottage and the Bellevue Mansion, is owned by Mr. William D. Hughes, of the firm of Hughes & Cook. He owns some four or five acres, beautifully laid out. Between Lancaster Avenue and Wayne is a French drain, which completely protects the water used from all impurities. An elegant cottage on Lancaster Avenue opposite the Bellevue Mansion has been sold, although not yet finished. This cottage is one of seven others of similar character. They will contain twelve rooms, open hallways, parlor, dining-room, library, and kitchen on the first floor; four chambers and bath-room on the second floor, and the same on the third floor, and elegant wide porches. The cottages are finished in imitation of hard wood, and built of brick and stone, with slate roofs, have hot and cold water, and are papered in the latest style. The lots are one hundred feet front and three hundred feet deep. Mr. Abbott, of the Pennsylvania Railroad Conipany, is building a fine cottage on the same land, and will spend his honeymoon there.

"We now come to the beautifully-situated Bellevue Mansion on Lancaster Avenue. Tile mansion has been leased by Mr. Childs to Miss Mary Simmons and her sister, and is a charming summer resort. It has one hundred rooms, and each room has a private porch. Four porches run entirely around the mansion, and the building and surroundings cost over eighty thousand dollars. The mansion stands in the centre of a beautiful lawn, and is approached by a fine macadamized road. The parlors present a most luxurious appearance, and the large and elegant dining-room is where the 'Aztec Club' took their annual dinner before the death of Gen. Robert Patterson. A handsome billiard-room or hall is near the mansion, and there are ice-houses, servants' quarters, stables, gas-house, etc. The mansion is well supplied with fire-escapes, and the heating. arrangements are excellent. There are a smoking-room, card-room, private parlors, etc.

"Adjoining Bellevue Mansion on the west is a lot one hundred by three hundred feet in size, purchased by Mr. Theodore Gugert, of the firm of Bergner & Engel, who is erecting an elegant cottage, and west of Mr. Gugert's property is the lot owned by Dr. Egbert, a young physician of Radnor township, who is also building a fine stone cottage. Dr. Egbert has medical charge of the young Indian girls at the Spread Eagle Hotel, near his cottage. The hotel building, owned by Mr. Childs, is an old stone structure built in 1795, and has been loaned by him as a country home for the young Indian wards of the Lincoln Institute, eighty-five in number, who are under the care of Mrs. Belangee Cox. The children have plenty of comforts and conveniences, and every opportunity for out-door exercise, without being interfered with by outsiders. They have plenty of freedom, but still a strict watch is kept over them.

"Leaving Spread Eagle Hotel and returning, we come to Conestoga road or the old Lancaster pike, and at the intersection of the pike and Wayne Avenue stands the old Baptist Church, and it is said Gen. Anthony Wayne is buried near there. A number of elegant building lots, owned by Messrs. Childs and Drexel, are in the vicinity of the Baptist Church, and they can be bought for from eight hundred to fifteen hundred dollars each, having fronts of one hundred and fifty feet and considerable depth. Near by, at the corner of old Wayne road and Bloomingdale Avenue, may be seen the spacious and substantial reservoir, which cost thirty thousand dollars, and has a capacity for three hundred thousand gallons of pure spring water, of which there is an abundant supply on the estate. The reservoir stands four hundred and fifty feet above tide-water, and is supplied by extensive and costly water-works. There is a fine ascent to the reservoir and an elegant promenade on top, provided with rustic seats. At the corner of Bloomingdale road and Wayne Avenue stands a superb cottage, owned by Childs and Drexel. It has a very fine lawn, with evergreens, carpet gardening, etc. Nearly opposite, on Bloomingdale Avenue, is the very superior cottage of Robert Smith. No expense has been spared on this cottage and the surrounding grounds. There are several very handsome cottages on Bloomingdale Avenue, which is a popular promenade leading to the reservoir.

"Leaving Bloomingdale Avenue and going northeast on Wayne Avenue can be seen a number of new brick and stone cottages on either side. They are very superior and provided with all modern conveniences. Some have fronts of eighty-five feet by two hundred and fifty feet deep, and will be sold for five thousand five hundred dollars, clear of all incumbrance. Each cottage is by itself, and there is plenty of privacy.

"Crossing Audubon Avenue, with Windemere Avenue to the right (on which there are several available building lots), we approach two new and handsome stores, opposite Wayne Lyceum Hall, one to be used as a drug-store and the other as a bread and cake bakery and refreshment saloon. Again striking Lancaster Avenue, we approach the costly, well-built Presbyterian Church, near Wayne Lyceum Hall, and of which the Rev. William Kruse is pastor. Near by are two splendid cottages, nearly finished, with lots seventy-five feet front and three hundred feet deep. They are built of brick, with slate roofs, ten rooms, wide porches, fine lawns and luxuriously fitted up. Just east of these is the fine cottage of James Pinkerton, paying-teller of the Bank of North America. Mr. Pinkerton's lot is two hundred by three hundred feet, and his cottage is the picture of comfort.

"Now comes one of the great attractions of the estate, the Louella Mansion and magnificent surrounding grounds on the north side of Lancaster Avenue. The mansion is a splendid stone structure, with eighty rooms, and is surrounded by a spacious porch that looks on as finely cultivated a lawn as can be found in the surrounding country. The mansion has a front of one hundred feet, and is a very imposing-looking edifice. There is a lawn front on Lancaster Avenue of one thousand feet, and an abundance of shrubbery, shade trees, flower-beds, etc. Louella Mansion is a very popular summer resort, and is conducted by Miss E. R. Boughter, who rents the establishment from Mr. Childs. East of the Louella Mansion is the old shade ground on which stands the old Carpenter homestead, or "Maule Farm." Opposite Louella Mansion, and south of Lancaster Avenue, stand the water-works, containing a large retaining pond from which the water is pumped into the reservoir. Adjoining the Louella grounds are extensive livery stables, with stall-room for one hundred horses, and near by is a commodious wagon-house. The stabling arrangements are under the care of Mr. Charles R. Wetherell, the competent and experienced lessee.

"Reaching Aberdeen Avenue, we find several very superior brick cottages, with elegant terraced walks in front, and graveled foot-ways. Several of these cottages are occupied, and all of them are in a finished condition. These cottages are built on large lots and finished in first-class style. They contain from nine to twelve handsomely-papered rooms, side vestibules, stained-glass windows, broad porches, and spacious stair-ways. The heating arrangements are excellent, including low-down grates in the parlors. The kitchens have circular boilers, ranges, hot and cold water, etc., and all the rooms and passage-ways, from the first floor up, are finished in imitation of hard wood. Bathrooms and water-closets are on the second floor, and all the bedrooms are provided with inside shutters. There are sliding doors between the parlors and dining-rooms and between the vestibules and parlors. These cottages rent for three hundred and sixty, four hundred and eighty, and six hundred dollars per annum, according to size, and will sell from five thousand two hundred and fifty dollars to seven thousand two hundred dollars each. They can be purchased on easy terms. A number of smaller (frame) cottages, on Wayne Avenue, north of the railroad, will be rented for twenty dollars per month, and can be bought for three thousand dollars each.

"Back of St. David's Station, Mr. Manley, of the firm of Manley & Cooper, is converting an old stone country farm-house into a first-class cottage, and the surrounding lot is being laid out in elegant style. The lot is one hundred and fifty by three hundred feet, and the cottage will contain fifteen rooms. Near St. David's Station is a charming piece of woodland, which will be utilized as a grove for pleasure parties, picnics, etc.

"All the buildings that have been erected at Wayne since Messrs. Childs and Drexel took hold of things there have been put up by Messrs. Wendell & Smith, the well-known builders. It may be mentioned here that no particular style of houses are required to be built at Wayne, and parties purchasing lots can erect any kind of building they choose, or make any disposition of their purchases they deem proper."