In a time of deep cuts, a new $1.8 million federal grant will help preserve historic Chadds Ford property

Chadds Ford Township, the North American Land Trust (NALT), and others have worked for more than a year to raise enough money to buy and preserve a 16-acre property where some of the 1777 Battle of Brandywine occurred, and where artist N.C. Wyeth once lived and worked.

Their efforts just got a major boost.

On Tuesday, the National Park Service announced a $1.8 million grant that came as other Philly-area grants have gotten cut or frozen by the federal Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

“It really made things uncertain and unpredictable there for a while,” NALT president Steve Carter said of the wait to see if the grant would survive. “It was a milestone moment for us to actually receive the award announcement. It was a big day. A great day for us.”

The federal grant is equal to about half the $3.6 million NALT needs to acquire what is known as the Joseph Davis tract off Baltimore Pike in Chadds Ford and to open the property to the public as a preserve. The property is near the Brandywine Battlefield Park.

Carter said that, with the new federal grant and previous money raised, the group has about 95% of the funding needed to close the deal. He thinks the rest can be raised soon.

NALT has so far worked with the township, the state, and historic conservation groups to raise funds.

Chadds Ford Township has given $250,000 toward the purchase through its open space program. The state has kicked in $200,000. Meanwhile, NALT received several other grants. One partner, the American Battlefield Trust, previously helped NALT acquire Brinton Run Preserve in 2021.

NALT reached an agreement in June to acquire the tract from Wayne Megill, preventing it from being developed. Megill had hoped to build as many as 46 housing units on the property.

» READ MORE: House where artist N.C. Wyeth once lived is for sale in Chadds Ford

Now, Carter said, the land will be preserved intact with plans to offer historical and cultural programs, develop hiking trails, and create a pollinator habitat. Eventually, NALT plans to move its headquarters from a nearby location to the Joseph Davis House, the first floor of which could open to the public. NALT would use the second and third floor as offices.

Carter said the property’s history stretches back hundreds of years.

Soldiers fought on it during one of the largest battles of the American Revolution.

In 1777, Gen. George Washington took a position along Brandywine Creek in an attempt to keep 15,000 British and Hessian troops commanded by Gen. William Howe from capturing Philadelphia.

The ensuing Battle for the Brandywine was fought along 35,000 acres in Chester and Delaware Counties, including what is now the 50-acre Brandywine Battlefield Park, administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Washington lost the battle and Howe took the city but failed to crush the Continental Army, which continued to fight.

Part of the battle was fought on what later became known as the Joseph Davis tract, named after a family that had lived there for generations.

Carter said Wyeth sketched his famous illustrations for Treasure Island in a barn on the property between 1908 and 1911.

“It’s kind of where Wyeth cut his teeth,” Carter said.

A separate $260,000 state grant will go toward converting the lawn into a pollinator habitat and planting warm-season grasses.

Carter said it is likely the property, originally land used by the Lenni-Lenape, can be traced back to John Chads, who, during the 1730s and 1740s, owned a ferry service to usher people across Brandywine Creek that eventually became known as “Chadds Ford.”

“We believe based on evidence and readings that this was the site of the original Chad’s tavern,” Carter said. “The house itself has been built upon many times over the past 300 years, but there is an original portion of it that has bricking that says 1755. And we have come to understand that might be an original piece to Chad’s tavern.”