1742 Square Tavern:  

As a child, Benjamin West began to paint here, learned how to mix colors from the natives, went abroad to study, settled in London and became the teacher to the first generations of American artists, and one of the founders of the Royal Academy of Arts.  This crossroads tavern also witnessed the troops of Howe and Washington during the British occupation of Philadelphia in 1777-78.

1828 Crosley-Garrett Mill Workers' Housing, Store and Mill Site:

In the 19th century, this building on the banks of the Darby Creek housed mill workers for the textile mills across the creek, and also was the general store for the mill community.  Today the building has a re-created general store and museum on local history.

1842 Hood Octagonal School:  

The Hood Octagonal School, an early public school in Newtown Township, was built by James Dunwoody in 1842, and replaced a log school of the same name that was built by his father Joseph Dunwoody and two neighbors for their children. It is a one room schoolhouse built in an unusual octagonal shape. High windows let in light without distracting students from their work. One student, William Hood Dunwoody, son of the man who built the school, moved west to make his fortune and struck gold as one of the owners of the Washburn Crosby Company, the makers of Gold Medal Flour.

1860 Bartram Bridge:

The old Goshen Road was a main thoroughfare for Chester County farmers headed to markets in Philadelphia.  Before 1860, they had to cross a ford at Crum Creek that could be treacherous.  The adjoining township of Newtown and Willistown petitioned their respective counties to build a bridge to replace the ford, and the bridge built in 1860 survives to this day, a much loved member of the community. 

At the time of an inventory ten years ago we had 116 structures deemed worthy of some legal protection.  We have a wealth of history – but we are losing some each year.