The Fell Historic District

Fell Historic District area, c.1860

A couple years ago (have I been doing this that long?) we took a brief look at the history of the Fell Spice Mill at Faulkland. In that post, we focused primarily on the history of the spice mill itself, and the Fell family who ran it. I mentioned, however, that there are several other aspects of the story that are worthy of their own posts. I think the most obvious are the surrounding buildings in the Faulkland area that comprise the Fell Historic District, entered into the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. There are eight buildings in the district, erected over a period of a century and a quarter, from 1800 to 1925. Some of them are visible from Faulkland Road, and some are not. You may even have driven by them without realizing their historic nature.

We'll now take a look at these eight homes (they weren't all homes to begin with, but they are now), which I've divided into three periods -- Early, Middle, and Late (original, huh?). There's more to say about some than others, but we'll touch on them all (with pictures!!). If you want to refamiliarize yourself with the basic history of the district, I recommend going back and reading the original Spice Mill post. That will hopefully make it easier to follow along with the names being used here.

Early Period





William Foulk's "Miller's House" today



The Miller's House: The oldest building still standing in the historic district is visible from Faulkland Road, just west of the creek. Known as "The Miller's House", this stuccoed fieldstone home was built by William Foulk soon after he consolidated ownership of the mill and property in 1798. During the Fell's tenure it was known as "The Farmer's House", as it served partially as the residence for the tenant farmer who worked the surrounding fields.



Miller's House on the right, c.1867



Miller's House with gable, behind burned mill, 1895



Foulk's old home has undergone several renovations and modifications over the years. According to Ken Shelin, his ancestors the Woodwards (who were employees at the spice mill), were occupying "the west half" of the Miller's house as early as 1833 (see comments section). This would seem to imply that it was being used as a double family home from the early days of the Fell's tenure here. In 1867, as shown in the top picture above, there was still only one front entrance. At some later date, a second front entrance was added, only to be removed when the house was changed back to a single-family dwelling in the 1940's. The house was damaged by what turned out to be the final mill fire in 1878. It may have been in the rebuilding afterwards that the cross-gabled roof and side addition (visible in the bottom picture above) were added.

 

William Foulk's Stone Barn, now a residence

 

The Stone Barn: Not long after building his home, William Foulk erected a stone barn along the road, down in front of his house. Whereas the house first appears in the records on the 1803 tax assessment, the barn pops up in 1816. Partially shrouded from the road by shrubbery and trees, its end wall sits very near the widened Faulkland Road. It was used by the tenant farmer throughout the 1800's, but converted into a residence in the 1950's.



Courtland Fell's 1836 Mansion

The Fell Mansion: By far the most impressive of the three Early Period edifices is the Fell Mansion, which sits a bit up the hill and away from the road. This Greek Revival home was built by Courtland J. Fell, soon after he moved to Faulkland in 1836. Courtland had been raised in Philadelphia, and presumably the older, smaller home of William Foulk was not up to his more refined tastes. Like the other two Early Period structures, it can be seen (along with the spice mill) in the painting at the top of the post. The five-bay symmetrical home is built of stuccoed fieldstone, and measures approximately 50' x 40'. Except for a kitchen wing on one end and a porch on the other, the house is little changed from Courtland Fell's day. With its up-to-date architecture and double-linked chimneys on each end, the house surely conveyed that Fell was a man of taste and means. It was also the last major structure erected in the district for about 30 years.

It remained in the Fell family until 1992, when it was finally sold off. By then the old home had started to feel the effects of its age, but was beautifully restored by the new owners.

Middle Period

The Gate House, Or Gatekeeper's House



The Gate House: The three Middle Period houses were all likely built by Franklin Fell, sometime in the mid-to-late 1860's. In fact, all three seem to appear on the 1868 Beers map. Franklin had retired from the day-to-day operations of C.J. Fell and Brother in early 1867, turning the family company over to his son, William Jenks Fell. Franklin continued to reside at Faulkland, however, and turned his attention to other business ventures. He was, for example, a major investor in the Wilmington and Western Railroad, and was named as one of the original VP's of the railroad. (The official groundbreaking for the W&W RR actually took place here, at Faulkland.)

Another of Franklin Fell's investments was his purchase, in 1869, of the Brandywine Springs Hotel and its property. His initial idea was to donate it to the Episcopal Church, but that deal was never finalized (a nice way of saying they didn't want it). Sometime just before this, and certainly prior to 1871 when they were described in insurance documents, Franklin built three houses on his property, all along Faulkland Road. These were built as tenant houses, to be leased either for a full year, or for the summer for visitors coming to Brandywine Springs (and presumably who didn't want to stay in the hotel. The hotel was pretty much at its lowest point then, and may have been bit on the run-down side).

The smallest of these houses is known as the Gate House, as it sits at the entrance to the "new" Fells Lane which replaced the old one when cars supplanted carriages in the early 1900's. It's a 1-1/2 story frame house, described as a Carpenter Gothic style. The Gate House has recently been restored by the owners, and probably looks as good as it did 140 years ago.



The Swiss Chalet double tenant house

The Swiss Chalet: By far the most architecturally unique of the tenant houses (and maybe of the whole district) is the Swiss Chalet. Facing Faulkland Road just up from the mill site, this striking red home is actually a double tenant house, used by the Fells in the same way as the Gate House. It stands now pretty much exactly as described by Franklin Fell in an insurance document in 1871. Like the other properties, it was sold off by the descendants of William Jenks Fell sometime in the 1940's or 50's.
 

Frame Tenant House

Tenant House: The final of the Middle Period houses is probably the most architecturally conservative of the bunch, but is no less appealing. It sits just below the Swiss Chalet, facing down the hill towards Red Clay Creek. It's a two story, three bay, frame house built on a stone foundation. The main block of the home is little changed from 1871, with only a rear ell added around 1900 and a side garage put on later. Like the other two Middle Period homes, this tenant house appears to be in excellent condition. So good, in fact, that I wonder how many people driving along Faulkland Road realize that these three homes were built 145 years ago to supplement the income of a 19th Century spice merchant?


Late Period



William Jenks Fell's 1894 Carriage House

 The Carriage House:  The final two elements of the Fell Historic District comprise what I call The Late Period, since they both date to a time after the dissolution of C.J. Fell and Brother and the end of spice milling along the Red Clay. The first of these two is the Carriage House, built by William Jenks Fell in 1894. The Carriage House sits up the hill from Faulkland Road, off of Fell’s Lane and sort of behind the Fell Mansion. It was built by William Jenks Fell to house his carriage, as well as the carriage attendant and family. By looking at the 1900 Census, it appears that the attendant at that time was an African-American named George Roberts (I’m fairly certain his occupation is listed as “Horse Man”, and he’s listed directly after the Fells). If so, then it was Roberts, along with wife Louisa, children Norris, Bessie, Walter, and Caroline, and mother-in-law Hannah Smith who lived in the Carriage House then.


The Carriage House is constructed of beautiful gray, rough-finished granite, built in the Romanesque Revival style. It's designed in a T shape, and I believe the near section in the picture was the portion that housed the carriage. When the structure was converted into solely a residence in the 1950's, the carriage door was enclosed with a large picture window. Since this is the side facing toward Fells Lane, I assume the square window with the lintel above was the carriage door opening. The house also retains some of its original stained glass, some of which I think can be seen in the upper window on the end of the carriage wing.



1925 Georgian Revival House

Georgian Revival House: The last, and newest, home included in the historic district could easily be mistaken at a glance as being one of the oldest structures. This is the large Georgian Revival house, situated at the end of Fell's Lane, past the Fell Mansion. Like its older neighbor, this home is a five-bay, fieldstone (although not stuccoed) house topped by three dormers. It was constructed in 1925 by a granddaughter of William Jenks Fell, and designed by her husband. I have to believe he designed his new home to complement the old family home next door.

There are two interesting architectural details about this house that I was tipped-off to recently by the mother of the house's current owner (thanks, Pat!). Both deal with elements of the house that were saved from older local structures and incorporated into this one. First, some of the stones used in the foundation were salvaged from the Yarnall Tavern, a colonial-era inn that sat on Newport Gap Pike just south of Faulkland Road. Also, one of the mantelpieces was rescued from the old hotel at Brandywine Springs, which in 1925 was on the verge of being torn down.


In a way, these help to bring full circle the story of the Fells in Faulkland. It was in large part due to Brandywine Springs that they were here to begin with (Jonathan Fell purchased the mill property after visiting Brandywine Springs and falling in love with the area). Now, in the last major structure built by the family, there are items honoring the area's earlier history -- Much as the Fell Historic District honors, in its own quiet way, the impact of a century of milling at Faulkland.

The house shown below was (I now believe incorrectly) identified originally in this post as being the Miller's House. The real identity of this house is unclear, but may be addressed in a future post. Sorry for the confusion.



A Fell House, possibly an early tenant house