Pawlings Farm at Walnut Hill

This entry was inspired by iPicture Girl's photo-shoots of historical buildings.

The land known as the Perkiomen Peninsula, and particularly the Pawling Farm, played an essential role in the Valley Forge winter encampment of 1777-1778. It provided strategic protection for the camp; it was the site of the newly organized Commissary function that saved the Continental Army from starvation; and it was ultimately the site of the encampment itself before the army marched on to victory at Monmouth, New Jersey on June 28, 1778.


A path made by the deer in the undergrowth.
Unlike the section of the encampment south of the Schuylkill River, the Pawling Farm section of the encampment was never acquired by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and thus was never made into a commemorative park setting with tour roads, monuments, and memorial groves of trees with recreated cabins.

The main portion of Valley Forge National Historic Park was donated to the Federal Government by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1976 as a "cost-cutting measure" under the guise of it being a "gift" to the nation during the Bicentennial celebration.

The Pawling Farm property was later purchased by the Federal Government in 1984.


Last Friday evening, seeking some inner peace and quiet, as well as some deer pictures, I walked off-trail from Betzwood to Walnut Hill. I was careful to mind my footing in the unmowed fields. As it was, I nearly tripped over the remains of a wrought iron boundary fence.


Tangled in the untamed growth, this iron fence was very ornate.


I followed the fence for several hundred yards thinking about Major General Nathanael Greene of Rhode Island who took on the disagreeable office of Quartermaster General of the under-supplied patriot army.


I found myself at the old Pawlings Farm. The Pawling Farm Mansion was destroyed by fire in 1967 and has long fallen into ruin.

Now, only a fieldhand's outbuilding, the barn, and some iron fencing still remain (sort of) standing. The outbuilding is now used by the Valley Forge National Historic Park service. While the house is tidy, it is not overly impressive and is nearly lost next to the towering stone barn directly behind it.


This 1825-1849 barn is believed to be the largest stone barn in Montgomery County (PA). Its size reflects the unusual prosperity of this historic farm, situated on excellent soil and close to canal and railroad transportation that provided access to markets in Philadelphia and beyond.


After the Continental Army departed, the Pawling Farm slowly recovered from the devastation of the long occupation. The excellent soil, southern aspect, and proximity to river transportation were great advantages.

By the early 19th century, the Pawling family, and later the Wetherill family (who also owned Mill Grove), were so prosperous that they became well known for early experiments in agriculture, known as scientific farming. It was then that this mammoth barn was built.

Throughout the following decades, most of the Pawling Farm continued to be farmed by private owners and by the Brothers of the Christian Schools which owns the nearby Saint Gabriel’s Protectory.


The Schuylkill Canal was built just before the barn, between 1816 and 1825 by the Schuylkill Navigation Company. It was less than a quarter mile away, directly across the Schuylkill River.

The Reading Railroad, immortalized by the Parker Brother's game of Monopoly, was laid over top of, or immediately adjacent to, the canal in this location.

The Schuylkill Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad, also a part of the board game of Monopoly, opened in 1882 (but is now the bike trail) ran right past the front door of the farm.

After I startled an 8-point Buck in the field adjacent to the barn, I turned around and headed for home.


Tired from a week of poor sleep, the walk, the heat and the humidity; I enjoyed the stillness as the yellow and gold sunlight filtered through the green leaves along the river banks along with a soft cooling breeze where, long ago, soldiers shouted encouragement to the mules pulling the supply wagons to their hungry compatriots; and later the young boys hollared at the mules pulling the canal barges; and still later, the pounding roar of the steam locomotives on the iron rails near the ornate iron fence.