Beginnings of Pocopson Township (1870-1900)

The West Chester Street Railway organized in 1890 and began operation in that borough by September of 1891.  Almost simultaneously, a route to Lenape was being graded and by November of 1891 the first trip to Lenape was accomplished.  The trip was 4.2 miles and took about 25 minutes first along Sconnelltown Road, open countryside, and what is now the area of soccer fields in East Bradford Township.  It ran at a speed of 7 mph and cost 5 cents.

The Locust Grove School documented history from December 1855 through 1923 overlaps two major periods in Pennsylvania education history: The Rise of the Common School System, 1818-1867[1] and The Long Progressive Era, 1867-1930. [2] School construction, reform, and oversight characterized the 1840s and 1850s; this period benefited from standardization in general, including teacher traini

The construction history of the Locust Grove Schoolhouse is still a mystery. Although there is documentary evidence that the Schoolhouse existed before 1870, it is not verified when it was originally constructed or what the building looked like prior to 1870. The Pocopson School Board minutes use a variety of descriptions to record the 1870 building period: building, rebuilding, construction, and renovation. Architectural clues from the roof and cellar shed light on the 1870 “renovation.”

Roof Construction Clues (Text)

The Pocopson Township School Board managed three one-room schoolhouses from the time of the Township formation, 1850, until 1923 when the schoolhouses were closed, and residents transferred to the newly established Unionville Vocational Joint Consolidated School. The school board continued to serve the residents after the closure of the local schools. One resident of Pocopson, Robert W. Caldwell served three terms on the Pocopson School Board. He lived very near the Locust Grove Schoolhouse and sent his eight children to the School.