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Chandler Mill Road Bridge celebrates its centennial

posted Wed, Dec 15, 2010

Daily Local

By Wm. Shawn Weigel

Congratulations, Chandler Mill Road Bridge – you’ve made it to 100.

And while there was no letter from President Obama commemorating that milestone, there were a few dozen residents who braved chilly rain and muddy fields to make the day special.

Last Sunday the Land Conservancy of Southern Chester County held a ceremony at the bridge, located in Kennett Township, to commemorate both its 100th “birthday” and to celebrate the work that went into getting the bridge on the official historic registry.

Executive director Gwen Lacy said that the one-lane bridge represents an aspect of a way of life that the Conservancy – and many area residents – is trying to preserve.

“It’s a certain quality of life – of stopping, waving for someone to come through while you wait on the bridge,” she said.

Constructed in 1910, the steel plate and girder bridge with hand-laid stone wingwalls was designed by Nathan Rambo, a turn-of-the-century designer who helped create 82 bridges throughout Chester County as county engineer.

According to Lacy, the bridge threatened with extinction several years ago, when Kennett Township announced plans to completely replace the bridge with a more contemporary one that, they said, was a safer two-lane design.

Historic preservation specialist Jane Dorchester, who helped get the bridge on the National Registry of Historic Places, said the process took two years, including a battle with the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission to keep it from being de-listed.

The hand-laid stone wing walls, she added, are a signature of Rambo’s designs and give them a unique character.

“If you’re in Chester County and you see stone wing walls, in all likelihood you’re looking at a Rambo bridge,” she said.

 

(Photo by Wm. Shawn Weigel): Tom Brokaw and William Ryan put the official Chandler Mill Road Bridge historic marker in place in commemoration of the bridge's 100th "birthday" last Sunday afternoon.

Dee Durham, executive director of SAVE, said that saving the bridge is compatible with their mission, which is to confront traffic and conservancy issues along the Route 41 corridor.

“We’ve also been trying to use this bridge as almost a case study to help change some of the policies that PennDOT uses, and the county uses, to change the policy overall so that other bridges can be saved,” she said. “I think a lot of people look at these bridges as a common bridge type, they don’t see it as a unique resource … it was an uphill battle.”

At the conclusion of the ceremony, an official sign was put place, giving a brief history of the bridge and its creator Rambo.

According to Lacy, the bridge and the adjacent Bucktoe Creek Preserve, represents over $5 million in public and private funding used towards preservation.

(Photo by Wm. Shawn Weigel): Tom Brokaw and William Ryan put the official Chandler Mill Road Bridge historic marker in place in commemoration of the bridge's 100th "birthday" last Sunday afternoon.

Red Rose Inn supporters ponder options

posted Sun, Dec 5, 2010

By Chris Barber, Daily Local News

LONDON GROVE — A group of folks concerned about the fate of the Red Rose Inn at Jennersville put their heads together over pancakes and scrambled eggs Saturday morning at the Perkins restaurant.

The meeting had been called by Tracy Culgan, a longtime Penn resident who has attended affairs and had meals through the years at the now-abandoned landmark. Fearing that the building at the intersection of Route 796 and Old Baltimore Pike will fall victim to demolition, she called the gathering in hopes of brain storming and finding a starting point to save what many say is a valuable piece of Chester County history.

About 40 people showed up, many of them holding diverse concepts of the outcome for the Red Rose. On one thing most agreed, however: They didn't want to see the building, whose roots go back to William Penn and the historic days of colonial America, demolished.

Culgan at first announced that she was open to ideas of usage, including a ghost-themed inn, a restaurant, a hotel or a dinner theater. She later clarified and said she would like to see it remain as an inn and a historical place in Jennersville.

Much of the discussion centered on having the building placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Mary Sue Boyle, a certified national register consultant, spoke at length advocating that a committee be formed to pursue the designation for the inn. She said that the inn, being older than 50 years old, is entitled in its entirety to apply, even if there have been changes and alterations to the building through the years.

Penn Township Supervisor Victor Victor Mantegna, said the board and its historic commission had looked into the process. They even applied for Jennersville to be named a historic district, but were told the integrity of the area as a whole did not qualify. He suggested turning the process over to the township manager, scheduling meetings of a core group at the township building and checking on the work that has been done by solicitor Sam McMichael.

Likewise, Charlie Humkey of New London agreed that a small group of people should meet to form a strategy. "We need people who have expertise. Maybe four or five people could prepare a game plan," he said.

When the question was raised about the ultimate goal of the preservation effort, Patricia Horrocks of Cochranville said the building need not be limited to a restaurant or inn.

"It could be turned into something useful. You have to think beyond food," she said.

The question of costs came up but did not persist. Culgan said "the bank" owns the inn -- which has been foreclosed on -- but she was not sure which bank it was. She also said she heard the asking price was $2.5 million, but was unsure of the figure.

Lawrence Waltman, a longtime Jennersville resident and owner-manager of the famous old Sunset Park, said the inn can be saved. "You need somebody with money. You need somebody who knows how to run it. And you need the service clubs to get back meeting in there," he said.

At the end of the meeting, Culgan collected the name, addresses and phone numbers of all who attended. She said she would pursue the goal of forming a dedicated core committee.

"Everybody is interested in doing something. I still want to get my committee together. It's the start of a grassroots movement to save the Red Rose Inn," she said.