Samuel Alsop, Headmaster 1846–1853. Upon John Bullock’s death, Samuel Alsop, a Philadelphia Quaker, scholar, mathematician, and teacher at the Bullock School, becomes headmaster. He runs the school until 1853, when he sells his interests to...
First Permanent Railroad in the Nation. Originally built in 1810, the Leiper Railroad transports stone from quarries on Crum Creek to the landing on Ridley Creek, a distance of ¾ mile. It stops operation in 1828. Pictured here is the second Leiper...
Samuel Alsop, Headmaster 1846–1853. Upon John Bullock’s death, Samuel Alsop, a Philadelphia Quaker, scholar, mathematician, and teacher at the Bullock School, becomes headmaster. He runs the school until 1853, when he sells his interests to...
60th Anniversary of Washington’s Stay in Chester. General George Washington stays at this hotel after his defeat at the Battle of Brandywine in 1777. It is later renamed Washington House.
Anti-Slavery Broadside. Chester, an important route on the Underground Railroad, plays a significant anti-slavery role in the years preceding the Civil War. Growing anti-slavery sentiment, combined with the Fugitive Slave Act, results in widespread...
Delaware Military Academy Circular, 1860. A slave state with sympathies for the South, Delaware experiences conflicting loyalties during the Civil War. The Delaware Military Academy is almost evenly divided between students from the North and...
Henry C. Robinett, Civil War 1861–1865. Robinett (DMA 1860), pictured here leads an artillery battery that successfully defends an important position at the Battle of Corinth, Mississippi. In recognition, his battery is renamed “Battery...
Robert Wetherill & Co. Building, 1872. Brothers Robert and Richard Wetherill begin to manufacture Corliss steam engines at their shop at 6th and Upland Streets. Large stationary steam engines enable manufacturers to run more complicated...
The School Moves to Pennsylvania, 1862. The school is uncomfortable with Delaware’s pro-slavery stance and moves to the former Bolmar Academy building in West Chester. The name is changed to Pennsylvania Military Academy. Pictured here is the...
Henry Thomason was the Valedictorian of his P.M.A. class of 1879. He was trained as a doctor and served in the US Military. In 1898, he enlisted in the Spanish American War as Major and Surgeon in the Michigan Volunteer Infantry. He served as an...
Truxton Beale, Writer, Diplomat, and Philanthropist. Beale, a cadet at PMA from 1867 to 1874, is pictured with his father’s valet, Jordan, a former slave. Beale will become an ambassador to Persia, Greece, Romania, and Serbia.
“When Duty Calls, ‘Tis Ours to Obey”. The Hanley Hose Company, incorporated in 1869, is a Chester institution. In 1886 the city gives Hanley what is reportedly its first steam-powered fire engine.
PMA Football Team from the 1880s . Theodore Hyatt believes that young men attend PMA to obtain an education, not to play ball. However, in 1879, he approves the start of a football team but restricts it to on-campus games. In 1888, the team is...
Ruins of Penna. Military Academy: Burned Thursday Evening, Feb. 16, 1882. A third-floor chemistry laboratory catches fire, and Old Main sustains considerable damage. Colonel Hyatt is forced to send the cadets home. 16-year old Helen de Lannoy...
Electric Lights Installed, 1886. Chester’s Edison Electric Light Company installs lights in Old Main in 1886. Pictured is the Assembly Hall in Old Main, c. 1902.
Baldt Anchor Founded, 1901. The company’s first product is the Baldt Stockless Anchor, patented in 1896. Baldt Anchor becomes one of the nation’s leading manufacturers of anchors and chain.
Cavalry Begins, 1888. Charles Hyatt erects a riding hall on campus for cavalry instruction. The cadets are soon recognized as outstanding cavalrymen and are in demand for numerous public exhibitions. The 1923 PMC News caption under this photograph...
