Be a part of more Arts in the Park! Friends of Glen Providence Park and Media Arts Council are delighted to announce a new mural for the main entrance to Glen Providence Park in Media, PA. The mural will be in six panels, on the cemented windows and doors of the overlook at the State Street entrance. The four windows will depict the four seasons in the glen with native woodland plants, while the two doors will depict live music… in view of concerts this summer at the park’s WPA stage!

Help us reach our goal of $2,700 to cover the cost of this art installation that will brighten and transform the main entrance – donate to our Glen Providence Mural GoFundMe!

Thank you for your support! 

The mural designer is Laurie Kirkpatrick Doran.  She will paint the mural with Shannan McConnell, whose grandfather helped build the main entrance in 1935 as part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA)! They are both Media Arts Council Gallery Artists. The funds will cover the cost of the materials and payments to the artists for design and implementation. 

The mural is a joint project of Friends of Glen Providence Park and Media Arts Council. It’s an exciting year for the project – it’s the Friends’ 10th anniversary and MAC’s 15th anniversary! The mural will be painted in June, in time for the Friends’ first Arts in the Park concert this summer on June 26. 

We are grateful to Delaware County Parks and Recreation for making this project possible, including power washing the cement to prepare it for painting.

Paintings by Laurie Kirkpatrick Doran. Those shown are a portion of a musician panel for one of the two doors, and the Spring panel for one of the four windows.

George and Eleanor Butler donated the land for Glen Providence Park in the summer of 1935, and work started on October 31, 1935 – making Halloween Glen Providence Park’s birthday! Coincidentally(?), some spooky-strange tales from local folklore take place in and around the park, and it has hosted some spook-tacular Halloween events.

It was the local ghost and witch stories recounted in the early 1900’s by Dr. Anna E. Broomall that led us to discover the rich pre-park history of Glen Providence, from the time it was called Scroggie Valley!  Dr. Broomall was the daughter of Judge John M. Broomall, who had owned the land that is now Glen Providence Park from about 1864 until his death in 1894.  

“Back in the early days of this region before civilization had turned too strong a light on things occult, the neighborhood was peopled with its full quota of goblins and ghosts and witches…” You can read the rest of Dr. Broomall’s telling of the 1700’s story of newlywed ghosts haunting the park, and the 1800’s story of three witch sisters tormenting the local miller, and of their Witches’ Ride in the park.  Both stories are annotated with our historical research and maps.

In the 1980’s, Delaware County Parks & Recreation held frightening Halloween Hauntings in Glen Providence, with Freddy Kruger, a chain saw man, Dracula, and even water creatures in the pond! My favorite newspaper description stated, “After completing the eerie walk, visitors will receive a cup of cider and the director’s assurance that no one will follow them home.” 

Those hauntings were apparently scary enough to help inspire Penncrest grad Gary Dauberman, the horror screenwriter of the 2017 adaptation of Stephen King’s novel “It”! He spoke about it in interviews, telling the Delaware County Daily Times, “I remember going on haunted walks at Glen Providence Park in Media every Halloween, which helped to foster my love of horror at a very young age. So did driving by the Heilbron Mansion on the school bus every day…”

To honor the 80th Anniversary of Glen Providence Park in 2015, we held a Halloween Birthday celebration at the stage, with Hedgerow Theatre enacting Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven, and the park’s Ghost and Witch Stories! It was an enchanting evening, with the audience dressed in costumes, ready to head off for trick-or-treating immediately following the performance. 

Halloween events are just some of the park’s wonderful array of activities and events since it opened in 1935. That tradition of community events, and the elegance of the park’s design and structures built by the Works Progress Administration, are why Glen Providence Park was determined eligible for the National Register of Historic Places!  What a marvelous history it has had…

Happy 85th Birthday, Glen Providence Park!

And, Happy Halloween!

Click on the links in the article above for photos and much more information!

This fall, the all-volunteer Media Presbyterian Church Senior Craftsmen beautifully built kiosks for all three entrances to Glen Providence Park! Kiosks were long on our wish list for the park, and now there is a place to post trail maps, park rules, of course park events, and other information about Glen Providence.

Meeting to work on Thursday mornings, the Craftsmen skillfully constructed the kiosks off-site, then assembled and installed them at Glen Providence Park. Thoughtful touches such as artfully rounded corners and cedar shingles make the kiosks a graceful fit to the park’s historical WPA-built entrances. We are incredibly grateful for the Craftsmen’s generous work!

What is this park called?

To our knowledge, Glen Providence Park has not had entrance signs since the original elegant 1930’s carved-letter signs. Over the past several years, we had met people who use the park regularly but do not know what it is called, and others who don’t know about all of its trails, or about the park’s events, history, flora or fauna. It became apparent that it would be helpful to have a place to post information about the park, and we got approval from Delaware County Parks & Recreation to build entrance kiosks.

Senior Craftsmen to the rescue

Dale Snead, one of our regular volunteers for invasive plant removal, is also a member of the Media Presbyterian Church Senior Craftsmen: a wonderful volunteer group that meets weekly to work on construction projects for the community and for those in need. Through Dale, the Craftsmen agreed to take on the project, and from there Ben Curtis led the way with his expert design and planning. Craftsmen including Dale, Ben, Joe, (another) Joe, Ted, Dan, Marty, Andy, Bill, Ed, Frank, and Walt worked on the kiosks through part of the summer and fall.

Thanks to the Senior Craftsmen, now there is a place to post information so that people can be aware of all that Glen Providence Park has to offer. We will be adding carved-letter “Glen Providence Park” signs to the kiosks, in addition to holders for park maps. In combination with the trail posts we installed this spring, the kiosks will help encourage people to explore and appreciate more of the Glen!  

The kiosks are funded by Friends of Glen Providence Park, and the foundations were installed by Delaware County Parks & Recreation. A tremendous thank you to our donors, to County Parks, and to the fantastic Media Presbyterian Church Senior Craftsmen! Did I mention they’re all-volunteer? Here’s more about this remarkable group… and be sure to check out the photos below! 

The Media Presbyterian Church Senior Craftsmen

From the Media Presbyterian Church website: “The Senior Craftsmen is a group of seasoned carpenters from our church who performs a myriad of home repairs and engage in a variety of construction projects that help to benefit the surrounding community and its residents.  They are best known for constructing much-needed wheelchair ramps throughout Media and Chester and their work in churches throughout the city.  Most, if not all, of their work is done at no cost.  The Senior Craftsmen meet every Thursday.  If you are interested in joining these gentlemen, please call the church office at 610.566.3944 x16 and leave a message.  The Senior Craftsmen do not do roofing.”

Since it was created by the WPA in 1936 for fishing and skating, the pond in Glen Providence Park has seen its fair share of fishing, from family outings to years of fishing contests! Early active involvement by the environmental organization Izaac Walton League gave way to activities led by other community groups, with fishing programs and rodeos for boys and girls, field trips, and fishing lessons. The pond was listed in the Fishing Directory of Delaware County, and was stocked with impressive quantities of fish for decades.  

Waders Beware!

Ten pairs of largemouth bass that were introduced as brood fish got the “rearing pond” off to a start a little more exciting than intended, as recounted in the August 1937 issue of Pennsylvania Angler magazine: “The bass were on the nests and everything was going lovely when a park authority gave Waltonian Phil Platt a hurry call on the ‘phone. It seems that a lad was wading or something like that and his foot came rather close to a bass over its nest. The fish struck so viciously that it drew blood.” Fortunately that did not deter hundreds of children from participating each year in the County’s fishing program!

Junior Fishing Project

There were fishing programs for children under 16 (the fishing license age) from at least 1940 to 1967, so that youths could “enjoy the pasttime of fishing.” In the County’s “Junior Fishing Project” in the 1940’s, each boy and girl would register at the park guard house: “Upon registration, the child is given a tag, and these tags, issued free of charge, permit the youngster to fish from May to October.” Fishing was permitted on Wednesdays and Saturdays, with daily catch limits, and a requirement that all hooks be barbless.

The fishing program was well organized by Delaware County Parks & Recreation – park guards tracked registrations, and the sizes and totals of  fish caught, with prizes awarded at the end of the season for the largest fish.  In the summer of 1941, “There were 282 registrations throughout the summer of children under 16 years of age. These youngsters proved themselves worthy Izaak Waltonians when a record of the total fish caught was received from Mr. Stokes, guard at Glen Providence Park, as follows: 662 sunfish, 19 perch, 4 bass.” A 17-pound bass was caught in 1940, and in 1945, “Stokes said catfish 10 to 12 inches long having been reported and carp up to 17 inches. Bass are running from 12 to 20 inches long.”

Stocking the pond

All this fishing was sustained by some impressive stocking of the pond with various fish through the years, often by the thousands. Perch, bass, sunfish, carp, catfish, and bullheads were stocked in the 1940’s; and blue gills, largemouth bass, and catfish in the 1960’s.

After stocking the pond with 4,000 catfish, bullheads, and carp in 1942, the County offered a recipe to make use of them: “Carp make good eating, too, park board authorities say. But, they warn, place six to eight potatoes in the same pan, smack up against the fish. Bake until done and then, above all things, discard the potatoes. That’s because the potatoes absorb the objectionable taste and odor. If the carp is prepared in this suggested manner, they say, the carp will easily pass for a fresh Spanish mackerel.”

As with most events and activities in the park’s past, different community organizations contributed to sustaining fishing through the years. In addition to Delaware County Parks & Recreation, those who stocked the pond included the Izaac Walton League in the early 1940’s, the Field and Stream Club in 1949, and Delco Anglers and Conservationists in the 1960’s. In 1950, 4,000 Bluegills were donated by the federal government! In 1963, the Media Jaycees, who were so involved in the park for years through running the Great Media Easter Egg Hunt and the July 4 Fireworks & Festivities, led a fishing expedition for children of Elwyn School: “17 boys caught 35 fish in the morning at Glen Providence Park.”

Fishing Rodeos

After forming as an organization in 1961, Delco Anglers and Conservationists were active in Glen Providence in the 1960’s. They transplanted over 200 Bluegills and 65 Largemouth bass into the pond in 1963. Then in 1965, they held a fishing rodeo for boys and girls up to 15 years old, with more than 100 contestants from 10 communities. Wonderfully, it was a four year old girl who caught more fish than any other contestant in the rodeo! Her well-deserved prize was “a spanking new rod and reed almost twice as tall as she is.”

The Delco Anglers held the “Annual Fishing Rodeo” for at least two more years. The most recent article I found specific to fishing in the park was from 1968, when Glen Providence was one of 4 locations where 2,500 catfish were released: “The whiskered gents have been released in four of the local lakes for your fishing pleasure.”

Fishing today

We don’t have records of fishing at the park in the 1970’s, but we know the pond had virtually dried up by the early 1980’s – when it was revitalized and restocked with frogs, as recounted in A WPA Pond. The pond was likely restocked with fish as well. There are also fish in Broomall’s Run, which feeds the pond, making that another source of fish. 

While there are no longer fishing programs or rodeos, fishing at the pond continues today. Two years ago we discovered fly fishing lessons in the park, run by Delco Manning Trout Unlimited and Sporting Gentleman – when it was located in Media Borough, 2 blocks from the park. We also come across individuals and families “enjoying the pastime of fishing.”

The fish mentioned throughout the newspaper articles are listed as: bass, Largemouth bass, sunfish, Bluegill (sunfish), perch, carp, catfish, and Bullhead (catfish). The fish we have photographed in the past 5 years are: Pumpkinseed and Bluegill sunfish, Bullhead catfish, Common carp, Largemouth bass, and unidentified minnows. If you have more to add to that, let us know – we’ll create a Park Fish List to add to our species lists of the park’s birds, trees, and reptiles & amphibians!

Do you have stories, memories, or photos from fishing in Glen Providence Park, or species to add to those listed? Please email us at FriendsoftheGlen [at] gmail [dot] com.

Read some more details from early articles, and see that four year old fishing champion(!) and photos of the park’s fish, in the gallery below. Sources listed after the gallery.

Sources:

Chester Times & Daily Times articles researched on the Newspaper Archives of Delaware County Library.

Pennsylvania Angler Magazine:
Waders Beware!, August 1937
Successful Season at Junior Project, January 1941

Chester Times:
Thousands Enjoy Relief from Heat in County Parks, July 25, 1940
County’s Park System Program, January 31, 1941
Sports Shorts, May 14, 1941
Fishing Project for Young Folks, May 29, 1941
4000 Fish for Lake in Park, September 2, 1942
Glen Providence, On Edge of Media, Is Bird Haven, July 22, 1944
Glen Providence Fishing Contest To Start July 1, June 29, 1945
Glen Providence Park One of Scenic Spots in County, October 24, 1949
Glen Providence Gets 4000 Blue Gills, November 2, 1950
Glen Providence Is Interesting Spot, May 1, 1951???

Delaware County Daily Times:
Ernie’s Almanac, Ernie Trosino, September 19, 1963
Middletown Jaycees Aid Polio Clinic, October 9, 1963
Ernie’s Almanac, Ernie Trosino, September 2, 1965
Little Girl’s Fish Story Is No Fabulous Fiction, But Fact, September 18, 1965
Ernie’s Almanac, Ernie Trosino, September 15, 1966
Fishing Rodeo Is Scheduled, August 23, 1967
Ernie’s Almanac, Ernie Trosino, April 15, 1968

Additional sources cited in A WPA Pond.

Thank you to Brian Vadino of the Delaware County Conservation District, and Art at the pond, for their assistance with some of the fish ID’s.

One of the most beloved features of the Glen Providence Park is the man-made pond at its center – created 80 years ago for fishing and skating! Like the other original park structures and trails, it was constructed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a Depression-era jobs program – which is part of what made the park eligible for the National Register of Historic Places!

Creating a pond

Samuel L. Smedley envisioned the pond when he founded Glen Providence in 1935, and effusive Chester Times articles about the new park tracked the pond’s construction. Work had begun on the “lake” by April 1936: “Entering from the Third street end… From here the nature lover, following paths recently completed by the WPA will see springs, and a small lake in the course of completion.” The pond was “nearly completed” by August.

A 1937 article about Glen Providence described the new pond in detail: “The most outstanding object of interest is “Mirror Lake,” 400 feet long, 100 feet wide, irregular in outline, constructed near the middle of the property, and to the west of Broomall’s Run. The  water supply is by a by-pass, from Broomall’s Run… A second supply is from the larger spring [the historical drinking spring near Broomall’s Dam]… the water being carried through about 500 feet of pipe and liberated over an artificial cascade into the lake, making a very attractive feature.” That cascade would later be improved in 1948 by the Providence Garden Club as the Eleanor Reed Butler Waterfall – with her husband, Eleanor had donated the majority of the land for the park as a Bird Sanctuary and Arboretum.

Fishing, skating, ducks… and the Swamp Man!

True to its intended purpose, the pond was the site of years of fishing derbies for children in summer, and was regularly stocked with perch, bass, and sunfish. Enchantingly, there were lights around the pond for nighttime skating in winter! The pond also hosted a cast of feathered characters, with ducks and geese that were named by the park guards – and some of their antics made the newspapers!*

Any manmade body of water requires maintenance over time, and by the early 1980’s, the pond had virtually dried up. Under Recreation Supervisor Terry Smith, Delaware County Parks & Recreation held a “Sherlock Holmes Mystery Walk” in 1981 at the dried-up pond, which “won rejuvenation thanks to public awareness.” The pond was dredged, and in 1983 and 1984, “Great Bullfrog Releases” were held inviting volunteers “to help release bullfrogs into the park’s revitalized pond.”

The pond went on to play a role in the park’s “Halloween Hauntings” in the 1980’s –  we’ve heard from many people about the scary “Swamp Man” who hid in the pond (in scuba gear!), jumping out at passers-by!  

The pond today

While still full of wildlife including several species of turtles, fish, and frogs, the pond is again filling with sediment. Sometime since 1975, the pipes feeding the Eleanor Reed Butler Waterfall caved in, eliminating a source of water and aeration for the pond. A fountain was installed in the pond in the early 2000’s to help with aeration, but was ultimately vandalized. The pond’s shallowness, combined with insufficient aeration and inadequate vegetation around the pond, contribute to it being overgrown with algae in summers. 

There are potential upcoming changes to the pond as a result of the Broomall’s Dam replacement (now anticipated for 2018), including the possible creation of wetlands at one end of the pond. In any case, the pond will need dredging, stabilization of the intake and outlet, and planting of trees, shrubs, and appropriate native vegetation around, and in, the water to restore and preserve its ecosystem.

We hope that revitalization is successful, and that future generations are able to enjoy this WPA pond!   

*I’ll write more about the fishing derbies, illustrious ducks, and winter skating in future articles!

Click below to see the charming 1939 photos by local resident GJ Ulshafer showing what the new pond looked like, an undated postcard, and photos from 1944, 1959, and 2016. 

Early Spring pond panorama in 2016 – click for a closer view

Sources:

Chester Times articles researched on the Newspaper Archives of Delaware County Library:

Chester Times:
Club Leaders See New County Park, November 1, 1935
New Park Rich in Trees, Birds, April 2, 1936
Parks Pilgrimage, June 6, 1936
Glen Providence Nature Oddity, August 8, 1936
Delaware County Park Board Makes Progress, February 8, 1937
Glen Providence, On Edge of Media, Is Bird Haven, July 22, 1944
Swing Into Spring, April 10, 1959

The Philadelphia Inquirer:
Whodunit? At Bottom, It’s a Plot to Help Delco Parks, September 18, 1981
A Great Bullfrog Release Nears – Volunteers Restocking Media Park Pond, June 19, 1984

2015 was the 80th Anniversary year for Glen Providence Park! In 1935, prominent Media Borough residents George and Eleanor Reed Butler donated the majority of land for Glen Providence, which would be the first park in the Delaware County system. The Butlers donated the park as a bird sanctuary and arboretum, and specified in the deed they signed on July 24, 1935 that the land be kept “in as natural a condition as possible.” Eleanor named Glen Providence “because of its glen-like formation and as it is located in the heart of the Providence townships.”

It was on Halloween 1935 when James Stokes, the first park guard, began work on the park under the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a depression-era jobs program. The WPA built all original park structures, including the entrances, the pavilion, several footbridges, and the concert stage.

The day after the park opened, an article in the Chester Times beckoned the public: “Come with your bird glasses, your flower guides, your tree books. Bring the school children and scout groups, and let Nature teach them her ancient lessons.” Glen Providence has hosted decades of events and activities including nature walks, birdwatching, scouting events, skating, sledding, fishing, fireworks, concerts, Haunted Woods, and the Great Media Easter Egg Hunt!

In 2015, we celebrated and honored the first 80 years of Delaware County’s first park. In addition to our regular monthly events:

• At our Earth Day Celebration, we planted trees by the historical stage with Delaware County officials and Media Providence Friends School students.

• On the anniversary weekend of the park deed being signed, we held an 80th Anniversary Celebration at our July concert – with the Butler grandchildren Eleanor Reed Lewis and Clifford Butler Lewis as guests of honor!

• At our Halloween 80th Birthday Celebration, Hedgerow Theatre performed Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven, and enacted the park’s 1700’s Newlywed Ghost Story and 1800’s Witch Story! A costumed audience of almost 200 enjoyed the performance (and birthday cupcakes!) before heading off for trick-or-treating.

Read more about the founding of Glen Providence Park and its Halloween birthday, or explore its rich past on our History Timeline. More photos and details about our 80th anniversary events are in the green links above.

We wish you many more wonderful years, Glen Providence Park!

Photographs by George Tate:

At the wonderful concert with Jean Therapy on July 25, we celebrated the 80th anniversary of Glen Providence Park – with some very special guests! On July 24, 1935, George Thomas & Eleanor Reed Butler signed a deed donating the majority of land for Glen Providence Park to Delaware County. They donated the land as a bird sanctuary and arboretum, and specified that the land be kept in as natural a condition as possible.

We were honored to have as guests at our celebration the two grandchildren of George and Eleanor Butler: Clifford Butler Lewis and Eleanor Reed Lewis, or Cliff and EllieReed. Their grandparents’ gift was remarkably generous – it started the Delaware County park system, and generations have enjoyed nature walks, picnics, and community events in Glen Providence Park, including decades of Summer Concerts starting in June 1937!

The stage was built in 1937 by the Works Progress Administration, and is part of what makes Glen Providence Park eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. This summer, Delaware County Parks & Recreation resurfaced the stage for the park’s 80th anniversary, for which we are very grateful!

At our celebration, Media Borough Mayor Bob McMahon presented a proclamation to Cliff and EllieReed honoring the 80th anniversary of their grandparents’ gift – you can read the proclamation below. Cliff and EllieReed then spoke movingly about Glen Providence Park, including EllieReed’s gratitude that the park continues to be preserved in keeping with her grandmother’s intent, and Cliff’s childhood memories of running on the hill during summer concerts. It was touching to have Cliff and EllieReed there as we marked their grandparents’ enduring legacy.

We sang Happy Anniversary to Glen Providence Park, then shared delicious anniversary cake while enjoying a captivating afternoon concert with Jean Therapy!

Thank you to George Tate for the wonderful photos – click on any photo for a closer look!

Remarkably, the Butlers also brought golf to Delaware County in 1896, which you can read about here.

George and Eleanor Butler donated the land for Glen Providence Park in the summer of 1935, and its final approval was reported in the October 30, 1935 Chester Times.  The long-time park guard and caretaker James Stokes started work the next day on October 31, 1935- so Halloween is Glen Providence Park’s birthday!

Perhaps it is fitting, as there seems to be a tradition of strange tales and haunts in the park.  In fact it was the local ghost and witch stories recounted in the early 1900’s by Dr. Anna E. Broomall that led us to discover the rich pre-park history of Glen Providence Park, from the time it was called Scroggie Valley!  Dr. Broomall was the daughter of Judge John M. Broomall, who had owned the land that is now Glen Providence Park from about 1864 until his death in 1894.

You can get in the Halloween spirit reading Dr. Broomall’s telling of the 1700’s story of newlywed ghosts haunting the park, and the 1800’s witch story of three sisters tormenting the local miller and their Witches’ Ride in the park.  We annotated the stories with our historical research and maps, and even included music for the witch story.

We have heard wonderful accounts of the annual Haunted Woods that County Parks & Recreation held in 1980’s, with Freddy Kruger, a chain saw man, Dracula, and even water creatures in the pond! It sounds like it was an impressive production, and pretty scary! This year at our Nature & Ghost Walk, we shared extra information about the historical ghost and witch stories and other appropriately odd tales about the park, and the darker side of its plants and wildlife– you can read some of those in our article “Ghosts & other park frights”.

Halloween events are just some of the park’s wonderful array of activities and events since it opened in 1935. That tradition of community events, and the elegance of the park’s design and structures built by the Works Progress Administration, are why Glen Providence Park was determined eligible for the National Register of Historic Places!  What a marvelous history it has had…

Happy 77th Birthday, Glen Providence Park!

And, Happy Halloween!

The image is of a 1930’s or 1940’s postcard of Glen Providence Park, showing the park guard house half way down the sledding hill.

For decades, summers meant weekly concerts at the stage in Glen Providence Park! The first concert on Tuesday, June 29, 1937 had “classical and semi-classical numbers” performed by the Delaware County WPA Orchestra.  Classical music continued to be favored through the early 1940’s, with programs including Beethoven, Dvorak, Schubert, Strauss and Rodriguez– and even opera with Bizet’s Carmen!

Concerts in 1941 were held on Tuesdays nights in July and August, with bands such as the Upper Darby WPA Concert Orchestra, Glen Mills Band, Quaker City Elks Band, and the Chester YMCA Glee Club. Park Guard James Stokes would prepare for the concerts including setting up chairs, distributing programs, and spraying for mosquitoes!

Performances stopped during the United States’ involvement in World War II, and post-war programs seem to have transitioned to big band music and John Philip Sousa’s patriotic marches, with concerts usually held on Thursday nights.  A long-time favorite was the Chester City Band- they performed in Glen Providence Park every summer for at least 19 consecutive years from 1947 to 1966, and as recently as 1982.  Their concerts were popular- one in 1948 drew 1,500 people!

These concerts were sponsored by the Delaware County Parks & Recreation Board.  In 1975, the amphitheater at the new Rose Tree Park in Media was dedicated, and the main concert series moved to this larger venue.  There were very few concerts in the 1980’s and 1990’s- at least one concert was presented by the Media Business Authority. The last record we have found for a concert in Glen Providence Park is for June 17, 2000, when Media Brassworks played for Media’s 150 year anniversary celebration.

Concerts were a wonderful part of the array of events and activities held in Glen Providence Park over its almost 77 years!

Image is from the June 29, 1937 Chester Times.

In 2002, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission determined that Glen Providence Park is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places!  This is the official list of the Nation’s historic places determined worthy of preservation.  As Friends of Glen Providence Park, we could not agree more that this park is worthy of preservation!

In 2001, a Historic Resource Survey of Glen Providence Park was conducted, including a map of the proposed National Register Boundary.  The report recounts George and Eleanor Butler’s donation of the land as a Bird Sanctuary and Arboretum, and discusses recreation, culture and landscaping, including the trails, fishing, night-time skating, outdoor concerts and the park’s historic setting.

The report concludes: “The park is a good example of a community park, created from donated land, and then improved upon by the WPA… Glen Providence Park embodies the characteristics of an early twentieth-century community park…  The park has retained its integrity of design, and is recommended eligible for listing in the National Register.”  The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission agreed, and determined Glen Providence Park to be eligible.  We linked the report, the proposed National Registry Boundary, and the determination letter below.

What is the next step?  It seems that Delaware County (the owner of the park) was never notified back in 2002 when this determination was made, so getting listed on the National Register of Historic Places was never pursued.  We came across the determination letter when we reviewed the Bridge/Dam documents on the Media Borough website last year, and we have been sharing this information ever since.  And we are happy to say that we are now working with the County to investigate attaining National Historic Register status!

What else around Media is on the National Register of Historic Places?  Here is what is listed on the National Park Service website:

Dr. Samuel D. Risley House (in Media!)
Media Armory
Old Rose Tree Tavern
Ridley Creek State Park

Intriguingly, a little further away, the Okehocking Indian Land Grant Historic District in Willistown is also listed- of course we are researching the history of the Okehocking in our area!

We would be proud to have Glen Providence Park join the company of these historic places on the National Register!

You can look at these Glen Providence Park documents yourself:

– Historic Resource Survey of Glen Providence Park

– map of the proposed National Register Boundary within Glen Providence Park

– National Historic Register eligibility – determined by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission

Each of these documents is also posted on the Media Borough website, under the PA Dept of Transportation Section 2002 Evaluation.