Bedminster Township: A strand of historic jewels

 Ruin along Creek Road, Bedminster

The Intelligencer
May 18, 1978
By Florence Schaffhausen
Staff Photos by Gian Luiso

They extend like a strand of historic jewels along the Deep Run in the Pennsylvania German heartland of Bedminster Township.

The main buildings on more than 80 properties along the historic run all date earlier than 1850 and many are 200 to 250 years old.

There are structures large and small, impressive and modest; great barns of stone and wood, double and triple houses, a root cellar with a paved floor, springhouses, two centuries-old schools, a creamery, picturesque ruins, a stenciled wall, historic churches.

Mulberry Hill barn on the Apple Butter Road property of Anthony Marcus

They are situated in a 2,200-acre area under consideration as an historic district. This will be discussed at a special meeting called by the supervisors on Tuesday.

If it becomes a reality, it will be the second largest such district on the eastern seaboard. Designation is designed to protect the architectural and historical values.

A curious feature of the district is the fact that William Allen, land agent for William Penn, sold all the properties along Deep Run to Pennsylvania Germans with the exception of the site for the Irish Meeting House, the Presbyterian church at the extreme western end.)

Mrs. Pauline Cassel of Bedminster Township, coordinator of the project, speculates that Allen believed he had to provide land for the church to satisfy the English and Irish settlers to the south in what is now Plumstead.

 Robert Ferlauto property on Twin Oaks Road

Most of the early settlers were Mennonites who lived quietly as pacifists on their farms while nearby communities were sending soldiers to fight in the Revolutionary War and the Rev. James Grier, minister at the Irish Meeting House, was preaching fiery sermons on the war. The church graveyard, with 22 graves of soldiers from the war, is a reminder of this split in commitment.

Descendants of three of the original families — Leatherman, Wismer and Detweiler — still live in the valley and many of the original homes and barns are in use today.

But the great three-story Jacob Agony grist mill on Deep Run is now only a hump along the bank. Grist mills were early buildings that attested to the fact that Deep Run was the industrial center of the township.

The Krout Mill on Quarry Road is also gone, but the dam remains and the original residence, which housed the mill store, still stands in excellent condition.

The Wismer property on the southwest end of the proposed district, is the site of the home of the first white settler, Jacob Wismer, who came in 1720.

Mrs. Cassel recounts the fact that the fine condition of many buildings along Deep Run impressed representatives of the state Historic and Museum Commission when they toured the proposed district with her.

The district, following the curve of the run, is roughly bounded by Irish Meetinghouse, Elephant and Quarry roads. At one point Irish Meeting House becomes Deep Run Road. In general, boundaries follow property lines rather than roads.

Despite the large area of the district, the uniformity of the 18th century architecture gives it unexpected coherence.

Several of the properties still have the original small house or barn of the earliest settler.

A two-story house, now a ruin, stands next to the Ralph Leatherman residence on the farm which has been in his family since 1740.

 The Rev. Abraham Black house ... at the Deep Run Mennonite Church East

The home of the Rev. Abraham Black Jr., the first minister at what is now the Deep Run Mennonite Church East, still stands behind the 1820 residence of Noah Derstine on Irish Meeting House Road. It is a one-room and lift stone structure.

Black's original home, probably built in 1785, the present residence of Walter Mills, has exceptional historic interest. The exterior is shingled. Under the shingles are clapboards and under these is a two-story log house. Until the last renovation, the original windows were in the house.

Most historic districts, Mrs. Cassel pointed out, are village squares. The closest comparison to Deep Run is Goose Creek, Va., a 20,000-acre historic zone, nearly as large as the whole of Bedminster Township.

If Deep Run is to become a historic district, township officials say, the concept must have the wholehearted support of the residents.

This is one of the reasons the supervisors have called for a special meeting to hear their views.

Mrs. Cassel emphasizes that there will be no demands on anyone in the district to do renovation and that farmers will not be restricted on the farm buildings they can construct.

 Robert Tait Farm on Irish Meeting House and Hill Roads

"We don't expect farmers to build 18th century barns," she says. "If a farmer needs an aluminum duck house or barn, he can build it."

If the concept is approved, one of the first moves will be the appointment of an architectural review board. Membership must include an architect, the township building inspector, a real estate broker, and residents of the district. Two are required, but Mrs. Cassel would like to see the board to include several more.

The board will be advisory. It will make reviews where major construction, demolition or restoration is proposed.

Deep Run is presently a green, scenic, historic belt along of old farms in the southern part of the township.

Supporters of the historical concept hope that the district, along with scenic designation in some parts by the Bucks County Planning Commission and possibly agricultural districts in the future will help to preserve the township's scenic and historical heritage.