Valley Forge Farms: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Valley Forge National Historical Park

Layton, Timothy; Sargent & Lloyd; Brown, Lanae; Brown, Nancy

The Valley Forge Farms is part of Valley Forge National Historical Park (NHP), which preserves and commemorates the site of the 1777–1778 winter encampment of the main body of the Continental Army under the command of General George Washington. The park is located in southeastern Pennsylvania, approximately 20 miles northwest of Philadelphia. It straddles the Schuylkill River and contains land in two counties (Chester and Montgomery) and five municipalities (Lower Providence, Schuylkill, Tredyffrin, Upper Merion, and West Norriton). Originally established as Pennsylvania’s first state park in 1893, the park has been managed by the National Park Service since 1976 and now encompasses approximately 3,452 acres. The land to the north of the Schuylkill River is generally referred to as the North Side and that to the south, as the South Side. Seventy-five percent of the park lies on the South Side, which is composed of three distinct landforms: the dolomite limestone valley, quartzite hills, and red sandstone and shale river terraces. The twin peaks known as Mounts Joy and Misery visually and physically anchor the west-central portion of the South Side. These two prominent landforms were important defensive elements of the Revolutionary War encampment, providing opportunities for long views across open areas and presenting challenging terrain to intruders. The North Side covers much of the southern half of the Perkiomen Peninsula formed by the confluence of Perkiomen Creek with the Schuylkill River, and its landform is characterized by a series of fertile river terraces formed on red sandstone and shale. The pastoral landscape of this area, with open fields surrounded by forest, encompasses several former multi-generational farms. The 355-acre Valley Forge Farms area occupies the southwestern corner of the park, straddling Valley Creek. Today, several eighteenth-century farm buildings that housed General Lord William Alexander Stirling, Brigadier General Henry Knox, and Major-General Marquis de Lafayette during the encampment remain. These log, stone, and stucco buildings and their associated outbuildings anchor the site’s historic farmsteads, set amongst rolling fields, hedgerows, farm lanes. Other features are associated with late nineteenth and early twentieth century estate development, including that of Philander Chase Knox, who held cabinet positions in three administrations and served as a U.S. Senator for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The estate features ornamental plantings and pleasure garden features and structures; traces of recreational features such as a swimming pool, pool house, tennis court, and former horse track; and resources representative of the tenants and hired hands that managed the estate. Prominent features associated with historical park development include access roads and routes, trails, parking facilities, interpretive signage, and the establishment or maintenance of meadows on historically cultivated fields and tree lines along historic property lines to depict encampment-era ownership patterns. The landscape also bears evidence of regional circulation history; a reconstructed covered bridge structure spans Valley Creek, and road traces, including an abandoned ford site, exist that likely were utilized by the Continental Army during its encampment at Valley Forge. Baptist Road, also known as Route 252, was established by the earliest European settlers of the region. More contemporary routes that edge or traverse the component landscape include Yellow Springs Road, and the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The turnpike, constructed in the 1950s, forms the southern boundary of the park and the component landscape. The sound of traveling vehicles is audible from portions of the area, although the highway is barely visible due to screening vegetation and topography.

Valley Forge Farms: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Valley Forge National Historical Park

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