Okehocking Historic District
Also known as: Okehocking Indian Land Grant Historic District
Why it's listed
Rural district of 18th and early 19th century stone farmhouses, barns and mill sites in Willistown Township, Chester County, about six miles east of West Chester. It is centred on a 500-acre tract granted in 1703 to members of the Okehocking Lenape, who were not long in residence before the land reverted to the Proprietary in the 1720s. Quaker families including the Yarnalls, Smedleys and Garretts then farmed and milled the land, building houses with local stone, a meeting house completed by 1798, and a school. A former inn, the Rising Sun, operated from 1766 until about 1820. In 1913 Dr. Thomas Ashton assembled a 1400-acre estate called Delchester Farm, and other wealthy owners followed in the 1920s. The buildings and open farmland are regarded as a well-preserved record of how the area was settled, farmed and kept open over more than two centuries.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the district is locally significant for how its architecture and farmland record settlement and growth from 1700 to 1940. Its stone farmhouses and outbuildings are described as a well-preserved collection of Pennsylvania farm buildings in a traditional rural setting, much of it under conservation easement. The land's history as an Indian grant, its Quaker settler families, and the early twentieth-century gentleman farm estates are also presented as central to its importance.
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 93000719, listed August 2, 1993. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly bounded by West Chester Pike, Plumsock Rd., Goshen Rd. and Garrett Mill Rd., Willistown Township, Media |
|---|---|
| County | Chester County |
| Listed | August 2, 1993 |
| Reference number | 93000719 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1700-1940 |
| Architectural style | Pennsylvania Colonial; Early Republican; Victorian; Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Agriculture, Exploration/Settlement, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Most contributing buildings are in good condition; four are vacant, including the surviving mill and two barns. |
| Acreage | 1400 |
| Coordinates | 39.98093, -75.49033 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
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 93000719.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7081918
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.