Preservation

DuPortail House, a Protected Historic Landmark in Tredyffrin Township

Tredyffrin Township created a Board of Historical and Architectural Review (HARB) to protect historic landmarks within the Township. HARB is an advisory group of seven members appointed to five-year overlapping terms. Under the Pennsylvania Historic District Act, a building inspector, registered architect, and licensed real estate broker must be appointed to the HARB. The HARB defines and identifies historic properties and establishes procedures for conserving the landmarks. Its province covers the permits to reconstruct, alter, or demolish identified historic properties. At present, 29 historic sites are listed for protection, including the Quarters of Brigadier General Louis Lebeque DuPortail (DuPortail House).


Under the township's Historical District Ordinance, any work performed on these properties that require a building permit must be reviewed by the Tredyffrin Township Historical Architectural Review Board (HARB) and receive a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Board of Supervisors. The HARB reviews each property/permit according to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.

With a growing demand for a place to hold meetings, events and receptions a Board of Directors was established to guide the future preservation of the DuPortail complex, which also includes the Cottage and  the Federal Barn built in 1790.

The Board of Directors is a dedicated group of volunteers with representation from Tredyffrin Historic Preservation Trust, Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society, Open Land Conservancy, Tredyffrin Township's Historical and Architectural Review Board and Board of Supervisors.  If you have an interest in helping with the ongoing preservation and maintenance of the DuPortail House, Federal Barn and Cottage; or serving on the Board of Directors, we encourage you to email duportail@verizon.net or call us for further information, 610-644-4840.

List of Protected Historic Landmark Historic Sites in Tredyffrin Township

  1. Quarters of Major General William Alexander, Lord Stirling
  2. Quarters of Brigadier General Henry Knox
  3. Quarters of Brigadier General William Maxwell
  4. Quarters of Major General Marquis de Lafayette
  5. Quarters of Brigadier General Louis Lebeque DuPortail
  6. Quarters of Brigadier General Anthony Wayne
  7. Quarters of Brigadier General Count Casimir Pulaski
  8. Quarters of Brigadier General Enoch Poor
  9. Quarters of Brigadier General James Potter
  10. Quarters of Sir William Howe
  11. Quarters of Brigadier General William Woodford
  12. Quarters of General Charles Cornwallis
  13. Quarters of General Charles Lee & Thomas Bradford
  14. Quarters of Captain John Davis
  15. Diamond Rock Octagonal School
  16. Old Eagle School Road 
  17. DeAddio Log Cabin
  18. Shumway-Davis Log Cabin
  19. Roye-Heyburn-Clarke Log Cabin
  20. Wetherby-Hampton-Snyder-Atlee-Wilson Log Cabin
  21. Van Leer Curwin Log Cabin
  22. Hughes Hollow-Browning Log Cabin
  23. Drexel-Paul-Thompkins Log Cabin
  24. First Blue Ball Tavern
  25. Second Blue Ball Tavern
  26. The Great Valley Mill
  27. Knox Bridge 
  28. Barn, Stirling's Quarters
  29. Prescott Springhouse 

Recent News

Many long awaited renovations are in the works for the first quarter of 2009.

The Grounds
Duportail House  is surrounded by Black Oaks (Quercus kelloggiia) which are used as nesting sites and/or food sources for many species of insects, mammals (DuPortail's own, Red tail fox, who presently lives in the Federal Barn with her family), birds, including tree squirrels, fishers, martens, owls, deer, and woodpeckers.

Over many years this neglected perimeter has allowed vines to disturb and strangled (literally) these specimen trees, reducing their canopies and longevity and compromising the healthy wild habitat.

Once all the vines and root systems have been removed, straw & grass seed will be applied to stabilize the soil to reduce erosion. Completion date, April of 2009. 

The House
DuPortail is gradually receiving a well deserved face lift.

Schedule of Improvements

  • Fascia & Soffits
  • New gutters
  • Improved gutter drainage system
  • New HVAC
  • Repair stucco
  • Replace porch window
  • Kitchen renovation
  • Dumpster fence repair
  • Repair to parking lot walls
  • Security lighting
  • Landscaping/Arbor
  • Interior painting
  • Exterior painting

The History of DuPortail House

The original section of the DuPortail House was built in 1740 by John Harvard, Jr., a  Welsh farmer, on a tract of land given to him by his father. The house was used as quarters by General Louise Lebeque DuPortail chief engineer of the Continental Army, during the encampment at Valley Forge in 1777-78. The original map of which General DuPortail planned the fortification at Valley Forge was found in the attic of the rafters nearly a century and a half later. This map served as the basis for Valley Forge National Historic Park as it is today. From 1969 on, the planned community of Chesterbrook gradually grew around the DuPortail House. In 1972, the house was designated a historic site and placed on the National Historic Register. Restoration work on this historic house was completed in 1985 and opened to the public as an educational and tourist center.



       

       

       

       

      View of Duportail from Arbor.
      Source: Photograph, The U of Pennsylvania 
      The Pennsylvania Gazette Vol 35, Number 18.
      Web: www.archives.upenn.edu/primdocs/uplan/gazettejul11937.pdf

                     

           

       

       

       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

610-644-4840
www.duportailhouse.com
Copyright 2009, DuPortail House Inc. All rights reserved.