Kennett Township
The present land area that comprises Kennett Township was originally part of a 30,000 acre tract conveyed by William Penn to his children, William Jr. and Letitia. The tract known as Stenning Manor, surveyed by Henry Hollingsworth in 1701, included the land within the present boundaries of Kennett Square Borough, the Townships of New Garden, Pennsbury, and Pocopson, and several thousand acres in present day New Castle County, DE.
It is difficult to say who the first white settlers in the Township might have been, but it is known the Lenape Indians are native to the area. Indian Hannah, who has been called the "last of the Lenni-Lenapes," was born just north of the junction of U.S. Rt. 1 and PA Rt. 52. She lived and worked among the white settlers of the community and died in 1803. Although she is buried near Embreeville, a marker alongside Rt. 52, just north of the Rt. 1 intersection is a reminder of her presence in the community.
One of the early settlers within the original limits of the Township is reported to have been Francis Smith, who acquired two hundred acres at the mouth of the Pocopson Creek in 1686. The Township name is said to have been suggested by Smith as a tribute to his home village, Kennett, in the County of Wiltshire, England.
The first recorded mention of Kennett Township was in February of 1705, when Henry Pierce, the Township constable, appeared in court. Pennsbury Township was established in 1770, in response to a petition requesting that Kennett Township be divided into East and West Kennett Township for the purpose of better representation.
The Borough of Kennett Square was formed from the Township and incorporated in 1855. The original village in the Township served as the nucleus of the Borough. The Borough itself comprised a little over one square mile of land and included 606 inhabitants at the time of its formation.
Kennett Township figured prominently in our nation's military history. During the Revolution, British soldiers and Hessian mercenaries passed through on their way to Chadds Ford. Records indicate that preliminary skirmishes of the Battle of the Brandywine took place at the Anvil at Hamorton and near Old Kennett Meetinghouse. Most of the early settlers in the area were English Quakers, who were inclined to support neither the British nor the American side, since, by tradition, they were opposed to war and the taking of oaths.
During the War of 1812, an encampment of 3,000 soldiers under the command of General Bloomfield drilled on the site of the present Kennett Square Borough Waterworks. He gave his name to the property which supported a series of early mills in the Township and was owned by the Chambers family for over a century.
Prior to the Civil War, many of the Quakers in Kennett Township were active in the "Underground Railroad," which aided runaway slaves in their efforts to escape to Canada. Using railroad terminology, the pers
It is difficult to say who the first white settlers in the Township might have been, but it is known the Lenape Indians are native to the area. Indian Hannah, who has been called the "last of the Lenni-Lenapes," was born just north of the junction of U.S. Rt. 1 and PA Rt. 52. She lived and worked among the white settlers of the community and died in 1803. Although she is buried near Embreeville, a marker alongside Rt. 52, just north of the Rt. 1 intersection is a reminder of her presence in the community.
One of the early settlers within the original limits of the Township is reported to have been Francis Smith, who acquired two hundred acres at the mouth of the Pocopson Creek in 1686. The Township name is said to have been suggested by Smith as a tribute to his home village, Kennett, in the County of Wiltshire, England.
The first recorded mention of Kennett Township was in February of 1705, when Henry Pierce, the Township constable, appeared in court. Pennsbury Township was established in 1770, in response to a petition requesting that Kennett Township be divided into East and West Kennett Township for the purpose of better representation.
The Borough of Kennett Square was formed from the Township and incorporated in 1855. The original village in the Township served as the nucleus of the Borough. The Borough itself comprised a little over one square mile of land and included 606 inhabitants at the time of its formation.
Kennett Township figured prominently in our nation's military history. During the Revolution, British soldiers and Hessian mercenaries passed through on their way to Chadds Ford. Records indicate that preliminary skirmishes of the Battle of the Brandywine took place at the Anvil at Hamorton and near Old Kennett Meetinghouse. Most of the early settlers in the area were English Quakers, who were inclined to support neither the British nor the American side, since, by tradition, they were opposed to war and the taking of oaths.
During the War of 1812, an encampment of 3,000 soldiers under the command of General Bloomfield drilled on the site of the present Kennett Square Borough Waterworks. He gave his name to the property which supported a series of early mills in the Township and was owned by the Chambers family for over a century.
Prior to the Civil War, many of the Quakers in Kennett Township were active in the "Underground Railroad," which aided runaway slaves in their efforts to escape to Canada. Using railroad terminology, the pers
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