Hersey-Duncan House

Sometimes when I stop and think about it, I'm amazed that any old houses (say, 150 years or more) are still around for us to enjoy. It takes a special combination of luck and caring ownership for a historic home to remain in excellent, near original condition. One such house that has benefited from just this scenario is the Hersey-Duncan house, on Duncan Road just off of Kirkwood Highway. This handsome Federal style fieldstone home not only has enjoyed caring ownership from a single family for most of its history, but its own history is directly intertwined with the history of the area.

The story actually begins at least 40 years before the construction of the current Hersey-Duncan House, in the 1760's.
It was at this time that a man named Solomon Hersey settled in the area, and built a merchant grist mill along the Red Clay Creek. The millseat was so well positioned, in fact, that the site would see continuous industry from about 1765 until 2003, when a devastating flood closed the now Ametek-owned site for good.

When Solomon Hersey died in 1801, he left his property to his two sons, Benjamin and Isaac. According to county tax records, in 1798 Solomon had only a frame house on his property. In 1804, Isaac was shown as owning a frame house (presumably his father's), while Benjamin had a stone house -- the home we see today. This puts the build date for the house somewhere between 1798 and 1804, although I would narrow it to after Solomon's death in 1801. The brothers continued to operate the mill and farm (with the help of three slaves) until 1819, when they lost all of their property due to unpaid debts their father had accumulated. The holdings, which included "a stone dwelling house, tenant house, grist mill, and other improvements thereon erected containing two hundred and sixty acres", were sold to Jesse Trump, Jr. The property at this time included all of what is now Dunlinden Acres, extended over to the Red Clay Creek, and included a section of the Newport-Gap Turnpike and part of what is now Marshallton.

Trump was apparently not a miller, as he immediately sold the portion of the property that included the millseat to James Buckingham. In 1836, John Marshall would purchase the mill, expand it, and convert it to an iron rolling mill. He would also lend his name to the surrounding community, previously called Hersey's Bridge, that would now be known as Marshallton.

Trump would again subdivide the old Hersey lands by selling 100 acres, including the stone house, to Joseph W. Paxson. Paxson would occupy the house until 1839, when he sold it to Benjamin W. Duncan for $4537.12. The Duncan family has retained ownership of the property ever since (until possibly a few years ago). Benjamin W. and his wife operated the farm, growing a mix of different vegetables and fruits, and even cultivating bees for honey. When he died in 1870, his son Benjamin F. inherited the farm and continued its operation.

In 1907, presumably due to his advanced years, Benjamin F. (and his daughters) sold the farm to his son Herman. Herman operated a dairy farm on the property. Among other customers in the area, Herman sold milk for ice cream at the nearby Brandywine Springs Amusement Park. The encroaching suburbs finally reached the Duncan lands in the early 1950's, when Herman Duncan sold about 84 acres of his land for what would become Dunlinden Acres. In the following years, more acreage was sold for lots. Herman's only child, a daughter named Mary, inherited the property in 1964.

Through all the years (over 200 of them now) and all the drastic changes in the surrounding landscape, the Hersey-Duncan House has remained in remarkable shape. For much more detailed information, check out its National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. It was added to the Register in 1990. Additionally, here is a collection of photographs of the house and property.