Village of Valley Forge: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Valley Forge National Historical Park

Layton, Timothy; Sargent & Lloyd; Brown, Nancy

The Village of Valley Forge 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 316-acre Village of Valley Forge area extends from Valley Creek west to the west edge of the park and from the Norfolk Southern Railroad right-of-way south to a point approximately one-quarter mile south of the Upper Forge Complex site. Residential development associated with the growing industry around the creek occurred southwest of its confluence with the Schuylkill River from the early eighteenth century forward and is known as the Village of Valley Forge. The village is the only dense building cluster within the park and includes a range of late eighteenth- through early twentieth-century single-family houses with domestic outbuildings. Many of the extant buildings in this area replaced earlier houses, outbuildings, and mills that existed at the time of the encampment. Ruins near the creek are associated with iron forges and saw and grist mills established in the eighteenth century, and charcoal hearths are found on Mount Misery. The primary historic resource in the area is Washington’s Headquarters, a two-story Georgian style home dating to 1768-1770, surrounded by a complex of associated outbuildings. It is characterized by features established in support of park development—lawn, groves of trees and other ornamental plantings, commemorative features such as monuments and replica encampment huts, worm fencing, stone walls, and visitor amenities such as walks, parking areas, picnic benches and site furnishings, and interpretive waysides, and an early twentieth century train station. The other resources in the Village of Valley Forge are located amongst wooded lands along Route 23 (Valley Forge Road) and Valley Creek Road, and include the Steuben Memorial Information Center, a ca.1770 masonry house later redesigned in the Victorian style. This building is currently vacant, but several other buildings and spaces in the village area have been adapted for use by the National Park Service for administrative and office use.

Village of Valley Forge: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Valley Forge National Historical Park

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