Built c. 1715 Opened 1720 Added to NRHP 27 May 1971 | NRHP Reference # 71000690 Area 3 ha | |
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Location Northwest of Chadds Ford on Brinton's Bridge Road off U.S. Route 1, Pennsbury Township, Pennsylvania | ||
William Harvey House is a historic home located in Pennsbury Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. The original house was built c. 1715, and is a 2 1/2- to 3 1/2-story, stone banked dwelling. It is the earliest of the five Harvey family homes in Pennsbury Township.
William Harvey, a maker of malt, immigrated from Lye, Worcestershire, England prior to 1715. He purchased 300 acres of land in 1715. He died in 1754, leaving the house to his son, William Harvey. That son owned the house when it was in the line of fire during the Battle of Brandywine in 1777. A local legend holds that he refused to leave his home until a 12 pound cannon ball came through the kitchen wall, however, a later register of damages from the British occupation shows a loss of farm animals, hay, and oats, but no claim for household goods.
Descriptions of the property from the will of the grandson of the original William Harvey shows that no structural changes were made to the house between 1821 and a remodel sometime after 1926. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.