Derbydown Homestead
Also known as: Abraham Marshall House; Birthplace of Humphry Marshall; See Al
Why it's listed
A farmhouse near Northbrook in Chester County, Pennsylvania, Derbydown was built in or shortly after 1707 by Abraham Marshall and his wife Mary Hunt, who moved there from Darby. It began as a one-room-deep, three-bay structure and was later raised to a story and a half with a gambrel roof. In 1764 their son Humphry Marshall added a room in depth and raised the roof to a gable form, building the work himself with brick and fieldstone walls; he had been apprenticed to a stone mason. Humphry Marshall was born in the house in 1722 and became one of America's first botanists. He kept a botanical garden and arboretum, wrote an early botanical work on American trees and shrubs published in 1785, and traded in seeds and plants. He also held administrative posts in Chester County and helped found the county almshouse and Westtown Boarding School.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the house is significant for its association with Humphry Marshall, an early American botanist and man of science who was born there and enlarged it in 1764. It also cites the Marshall family's role in establishing the Bradford Friends Meeting and Marshall's civic work in Chester County.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 73001609, listed April 2, 1973. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | At jct. of CR 15077 and 15080, Northbrook |
|---|---|
| County | Chester County |
| Listed | April 2, 1973 |
| Reference number | 73001609 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1707-1801 |
| Architect / builder | Humphry Marshall (enlargement of 1764; he did the work himself) |
| Areas of significance | Agriculture, Science |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Altered; Original Site; condition marked good; the document notes further damage since 1915. |
| Acreage | 9.8 |
| Within district | Northbrook Historic District |
| Coordinates | 39.92539, -75.68645 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 73001609.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q15213696
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.