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The Millbrook Society was founded in 1984 at the request of the late Mrs. Charles Harper Smith of Horsham Township, PA. The original intent of the Society was to receive and hold in trust the land and buildings that make up the Kenderdine Mill tract called "Millbrook". We were also given the task of continuing the late Charles Harper Smith's work in the areas of preservation and education of local, state and national history. Because of circumstances beyond our control, this was never to come about entirely. The Society still bears the name Millbrook, after the property in Horsham Township. We still strive to preserve local history and we educate people about the history of their community, their state and their nation. Therefore, we are still carrying on the work of the late Mr. Smith, but we are now much more than originally envisioned.
From the beginning to 1989 - When the Society was founded in February of 1984, we started the Society newsletter and selected "Forward into the Past" as our motto. The following year, the Society began a relationship with Bucks County Community College relating to preservation and archaeology. Lyle Rosenberger is still our chief contact there. During the period of 1985 to 1988, the Society conducted Old Fashioned Band Concerts in Hatboro. We established a relationship with Old Dominion University through a board member, and we began our Student Intern Program during the school year 1985/1986. The Society became the official Historical Unit at Hatboro-Horsham High School, in 1985. We have managed historical displays in the High School, at times. In 1986, the Society redefined its goals. We then established relationships with Temple University and The College of William and Mary through a board member. That year, the Society conducted an Adult Evening School at Hatboro-Horsham High School and the Society began a project on “Women in Uniform”, led by our Ron Beifuss. We were then given permission to use the Amy Yerkes Museum as a meeting place and took responsibility for maintaining the museum. In 1987, we started the Maritime Division and the Natural History Program. In 1988, we became the unofficial Hatboro Historical Society, and began an archaeology project at Paradise Valley in the Pocono Mountain area. In 1989, we became the Historical Commission of Hatboro after the demise of the Hatboro-Horsham Historical Commission, and our then Executive Director became the Hatboro Historian. 1990 to 2000 - In 1992, the Society helped in the sale of “Life is a Lark in Willow Grove Park", and scuba diving Society members dove on the wreck of the "Empress of Island". In 1993, the Society began performing colonial interpretation. In 1995, the Society Newsletter ceased publication and it was replaced with our journal the "Grist". That year, the Society began an archaeology field school for Penn State University, Abington. We support Dr. Peter Capelotti in this effort. In 1997, we became the Archaeology Department for the Moland House property, as named by Warwick Township, that June. That year, the Paradise Valley Archaeology project ended. In 1999, the Society began work on the publication of the "Images of America" book on Hatboro. The book includes the Regenhard collection. We were also invited to support an archaeology project at the Peter Wentz Farmstead in Worcester Township, Montgomery County. In 2000, we began support of an archaeology project at the Evans-Mumbower Mill in Upper Gwynedd in cooperation with the owners, the Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association. That year, we inaugurated our Web site. 2001 to Present - In 2001, we began an archaeology project with the Neshaminy-Warwick Presbyterian Church. We also sponsored a Ground Penetrating Radar project that involved four archaeology sites. In 2003, we outlined the foundation of the First Presbyterian Church at Neshaminy-Warwick with Belgian block as we performed archaeology practices. This ended the archaeology project at the site, but the work on the artifacts is on-going. In 2004, the Society supported the Goschenhoppen Historians in developing an archaeology program at the Antes House in Lower Frederick Township, Montgomery County. In 2005, we began an archaeology project at the Stokes house in the Holmesburg section of Philadelphia. In 2006, we joined with Scott Randolph and Arrival Video in a project to produce a video on the "History of Hatboro". We also ended, for now, the support of the archaeology projects at the Evans-Mumbower Mill and the Peter Wentz Farmstead. |
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Weekly adult meetings are held Wednesday nights from 7:30 - 9:30 PM. Please come and join us.
For additional information, please contact: The Millbrook Society 32 North York Road P.O. Box 506, Hatboro, PA 19040 (215)957-1877 milbrook@voicenet.com
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