Pocopson Township Historic Committee

Minutes from Meeting of October 8, 2008          7:30 PM

 

Attendees:

Dan O’Neil

Pat Burnett

Sue Woodward

Sarah Mims

 

The meeting was opened at 7:30 p.m.

 

Founders Day: We received a lot of positive feedback from the Founders Day exhibits and the house tour. 

 

Things that worked well:

  • truly interested visitors
  • houses were as people actually used them
  • no driving or parking problems
  • signs marking houses
  • generated a lot of interest in our activities

 

Ideas for improvements: 

  • start tour in the schoolhouse and go over the exhibits in detail
  • have a shorter tour for children, costumes?
  • use a bus/van instead of a wagon
  • advertise better for more participation
  • try to get the schools involved or get a magazine article written

 

Received contact information for several new people who may be interested in our activities:

  • Dick and Marty Brittingham (grew up around the Schoolhouse)
  • Richard Chalfont and his mother (she was a Barnard). Richard has written a book about the Barnard family and is willing to come talk to us about the history.
  • A few other people have been added to our regular e-mail list.

 

Schoolhouse

1)      Still seeking additional bidders on the front door.  We received a bid from Glenn McNemar for $1200.  Sarah will forward the specs for the door via e-mail.

2)      The school desks from the Pocopson school are in Zeke’s canoe barn.  We will have a “working” day in the spring to clean them up.

3)      Submitted new grant applications to:

·        the State of Pennsylvania via Rep. Barrar

·        the Fair Play Foundation

·        the Chester County Visitors Bureau. 

·        In addition, the grant submitted to the Federal Government via Congressman Gerlach in now part of the pending appropriations bill.

4)      Discussed the possibility of a fundraising sign at the schoolhouse; however, it was decided that we would rather spend our money on a historical marker.

 

Written History and Photos:

  • Pat has uncovered additional photos from Chester County Historical Society (CCHS) on the Denton Hollow area.  She will make photocopies for our records.
  • In addition, the Hunt Magazine is interested in some of our photos.
  • We agreed that a magazine or article format may be an easy way to publish the research that we currently have.

 

Oral Histories: Richard Chalfont’s mother is now on the list.

 

Cemetery: Pat found an interesting magazine article describing a village in York County with surprising similarities to the AME church/cemetery and local Quaker churches. Sarah will scan and distribute.

 

Other Business

Sarah will attend the Kennett Regional Historic Committee meeting on Oct 16th.

 

The cost of archival framing for the Quaker marriage certificate of Eusebius Barnard and Alta Downing dated 1878 is $295.  Invoice will go to Supervisors for advance approval.

 

Historical Markers

  • Will submit grant applications for state historical markers for both the Schoolhouse and the Barnard House. 
  • Will need $1500 for each marker to match the state grant money.
  • Will ask the Supervisors for these additional dollars, but agreed that we’d be willing to donate part of our annual budget for this cause.

 

Prioritization of 2009 projects

It was agreed that we do not want to spread ourselves too thin next year, so:

  • We will maintain our exhibit at the Schoolhouse for next Founders Day. 
  • We would like to “unveil” the Barnard House to the public and open it up for tours. 

Agreed to focus our efforts this year on researching and collecting artifacts relating to the Barnard House

  • Mary Dugan can help with the research and maybe with the tours.
  • Richard Chalfont may be able to help also.
  • Should develop a tour geared towards children for at least one of the sessions.

 

Adjournment:  The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 PM.

 

 

 

_______________________________________

Sarah Mims, Chair