Transportation

Pocopson Railroad Station

 

The "Shingle Style" structure that most people recognize as Pocopson Station is the second structure constructed for that purpose.

Trolleys

Power House at Lenape

The West Chester Street Railway organized in 1890 and began operation in that borough by September of 1891.  Almost simultaneously, a route to Lenape was being graded and by November of 1891 the first trip to Lenape was accomplished.  The trip was 4.2 miles and took about 25 minutes first along Sconnelltown Road, open countryside, and what is now the area of soccer fields in East Bradford Township.  It ran at a speed of 7 mph and cost 5 cents.

Railroad

Northbrook

In the middle of the 19th Century, there were railroad connections from Chester County into Philadelphia, and soon these connections became overburdened, and locals  began to seek another route for their products and produce.  One report suggested a connection with Wilmington, Delaware: “A glance at the maps of New Castle and Chester Counties will show that Wilmington is the natural outlet for the produce of a large district of rich and populous country, whose trade she has heretofore enjoyed to a large extent.”

Roads

Following Penn, Court Orders were issued to require landowners “to make good and passable ways” for neighbors to use.  Eventually, these developed into roads.  For Chester County, the most important was from Philadelphia to Marlborough Village, laid out about 1704.  It was called Marlborough Street Road, but eventually shortened to “Street Road” (Route 926).  So important was this road to the development of Pennsylvania that it has been called “the springboard to the west” for emigrants moving inland.    

Bridges

The location of the new township was advantageous in that both the Brandywine and Pocopson Creeks served as power and water resources. But these creeks were also a barrier to road transportation, and a further complication when the creeks flooded – which was all too often.  As early as 1685, the Courts ordered the construction of many bridges – most of these replacing established fording spots – which provided easier access to and through what would eventually become the township. The earliest bridges were of wood (covered and open), and later of stone, and then of iron and steel. 

Lenape Park

At the turn of the 20th Century, Pocopson was home to one of the region’s popular recreation spots—Lenape Park, on the Brandywine.  Reports differ on its early history.  As early as 1858, according to one source, picnics were held on the site, even though the ground was overrun with bushes and vines.  The more organized site started in 1877, in the middle of a hickory grove on Sager’s Island, when a group of local residents got together with hatchets and saws and constructed an open-air dance platform.