Hatfield-Hibernia Historic District

Set along the Brandywine Creek in rural Chester County, the Hatfield-Hibernia district grew from a grist mill begun about 1738 and an iron forge established in the 1790s. Samuel Downing built the first forge, which became the Hibernia Iron Works. Charles Brooke, who bought the property in 1821, expanded the ironworks and the mansion, and he donated ground for the Hibernia Methodist Church, completed in 1841. The district is notable for its stone and stuccoed workers' houses, many dating to about 1810. Those built by Isaac Van Leer for the iron works are plain one-story cottages with nine-over-six windows. Those built by Samuel Hatfield for the grist mill are more spacious, with six-over-six windows, broad surrounds and symmetrical facades. The mill houses are believed to be the earliest surviving examples of such dwellings in the area. The iron industry declined after the Civil War and the mill closed in 1945.