Preliminary Land Use Service (PLUS) Delaware State Planning Coordination 122 Martin Luther King Jr

Preliminary Land Use Service Application • Page 1 of 3 Preliminary Land Use Service (PLUS) Delaware State Planning Coordination 122 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., South • Dover, DE 19901 • Phone: 302-739-3090 • Fax: 302-739-5661 Purpose of PLUS - -The PLUS process is intended to provide consolidated State comments regarding the proposed project. The Applicant is encouraged to submit the application during the concept stages of planning as this process often offers recommendations for changes to the plan. The application should be submitted after the pre-application meeting with the local jurisdiction but before formal application is made.

Please complete this PLUS application in its entirety. All questions must be answered. If a question is unknown at this time or not applicable, please explain. Unanswered questions on this form could lead to delays in scheduling your review. This form will enable the state staff to review the project before the scheduled meeting and to have beneficial information available for the applicant and/or developer at the time of review. If you need assistance or clarification, please call the State Planning Office at (302) 739-3090.

PLUS Number (to be completed by OSPC): ______Investment Level Per Strategies for State Policies and Spending (to be determined by OSPC): ______

1. Project Title/Name: 501 Mount Lebanon Road

2. Location ( please be specific): 501 Mount Lebanon Road, Wilmington, DE 19803 4. County or Local Jurisdiction Name: where project is 3. Parcel Identification #: 06-064.00-030 located: New Castle 5. If contiguous to a municipality, are you seeking annexation: n/a

6. Owner’s Name: Dennis P. Snavely, Mount Lebanon Road, LLC

Address: PO Box 46

City: Yorklyn State: Delaware Zip: 19736

Phone: (302) 235-2525 Fax: Email: [email protected]

7. Equitable Owner/Developer (This Person is required to attend the PLUS meeting): Dennis P. Snavely

Address: PO Box 46

City: Yorklyn State: Delaware Zip: 19736

Phone: (302) 235-2525 Fax: Email: [email protected]

8. Project Designer/Engineer: Mark A. Russo, PLA, VanDemark & Lynch, Inc.

Address: 4305 Miller Road

City: Wilmington State: Delaware Zip: 19802

Phone: (302) 764-7635 x118 Fax: (302) 764-4170 Email: [email protected]

9. Please Designate a Contact Person, including phone number, for this Project: Mark Russo, (302) 764-7635 x118

Preliminary Land Use Service Application • Page 2 of 3

Information Regarding Site:

10. Type of Review: Rezoning, if not in compliance with certified comprehensive plan Site Plan Review (Adaptive Reuse) Subdivision 11. Brief Explanation of Project being reviewed: The NCC UDC allows a historic structure to be converted or adapted into an office use that does not rely on customers or clients on-site. The plan proposes a 2-story addition to the historic structure totaling +8,795 sq. ft. If this property has been the subject of a previous LUPA or PLUS review, please provide the name(s) and date(s) of those applications.

12. Area of Project (Acres +/-): 1.13 Number of Residential Units: n/a Commercial square footage: + 8,795

13. Present Zoning: NC15 14. Proposed Zoning: NC 15 with Historic Overlay

15. Present Use: Residential (Single Family Detached) 16. Proposed Use: Office

17. Water: Central (Community system) Individual On-Site Public (Utility) Service Provider Name: City of Wilmington

Will a new public well be located on the site? Yes No 18. Wastewater: Central (Community system) Individual On-Site Public (Utility) Service Provider Name: New Castle County

Will a new community wastewater system be located on this site? Yes No 19. If residential, describe style and market segment you plan to target (Example- Age restricted): n/a

20. Environmental impacts:

How many forested acres are presently on-site? 0.0 How many forested acres will be removed? 0.0

To your knowledge, are there any wetlands, as defined by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers or the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, on the site? Yes No

Are the wetlands: Tidal Acres: Non-tidal Acres:

If “Yes”, have the wetlands been delineated? Yes No

Has the Army Corps of Engineers signed off on the delineation? Yes No

Will the wetlands be directly impacted and/or do you anticipate the need for wetland permits? Yes No If “Yes”, describe the impacts:

How close do you anticipate ground disturbance to wetlands, streams, wells, or waterbodies? ______+500 ft. to wetlands located on the property to the south. 21. Does this activity encroach on or impact any tax ditch, public ditch, or private ditch (ditch that directs water off-site)? Yes No

22. List the proposed method(s) of stormwater management for the site: Bioretention and/or Stormtech Underground System

23. Is open space proposed? Yes No If “Yes,” how much? Acres: + 0.45 (Open area)

What is the intended use of the open space (for example, active recreation, passive recreation, stormwater management, wildlife habitat, historical or archeological protection)? Open area for Historical protection, Stormwater management and bufferyards.

24. Are you considering dedicating any land for community use (e.g., police, fire, school)? Yes No Preliminary Land Use Service Application • Page 3 of 3

25. Please estimate How many vehicle trips will this project generate on an average weekday? A trip is a vehicle entering or exiting. If traffic is seasonal, assume peak season: 100 trips (Source: ITE Trip Generation Manual 10th Edition)

What percentage of those trips will be trucks, excluding vans and pick-up trucks? 9.34%

26. Will the project connect to state maintained roads? Yes No 27. Please list any locations where this project physically could be connected to existing or future development on adjacent lands and indicate your willingness to discuss making these connections. This project is entering a parking and cross-access easement agreement with adjacent the Church, as it intends to share the Church's existing entrance. 28. Are there existing sidewalks? Yes No; bike paths Yes No Are there proposed sidewalks? Yes No; bike paths Yes

Is there an opportunity to connect to a larger bike, pedestrian, or transit network? Yes No

29. To your knowledge, is this site in the vicinity of any known historic/cultural resources or sites? Yes No

Has this site been evaluated for historic and/or cultural resources? Yes No

Would you be open to a site evaluation by the State Historic Preservation Office? Yes No

30. To promote an accurate review of your parcel’s features, would you permit a State agency site visit? Yes No Person to contact to arrange visit: ______Dennis Snavely phone number: ______(302) 235-2525

31. Are any federal permits, licensing, or funding anticipated? Yes No I hereby certify that the information on this application is complete, true and correct, to the best of my knowledge.

______Signature of property owner Date

______12/18/19 Signature of Person completing form Date (If different than property owner) Signed application must be received before application is scheduled for PLUS review. This form should be returned to the Office of State Planning electronically at [email protected] along with an electronic copy of any site plans and development plans for this site. Site Plans, drawings, and location maps should be submitted as image files (JPEG, GIF, TIF, etc.) or as PDF files. GIS data sets and CAD drawings may also be submitted. If electronic copy of the plan is not available, contact The Office of State Planning Coordination at (302) 739-3090 for further instructions. A signed copy should be forwarded to the Office of State Planning, 122 William Penn Street, Dover, DE 19901. Thank you for this input. Your request will be researched thoroughly. Please be sure to note the contact person so we may schedule your request in a timely manner. EXPLORATORY MINOR LAND DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR 501 MOUNT LEBANON ROAD

ZONED: NC10 ZONED: NC15 LOCATION PLAN

X X

ZONED: NC10 ZONED: NC15

DATA COLUMN: SITE COVERAGE BREAKDOWN BUILDING: 0.095 AC.+ (8.4%) PAVEMENT / SIDEWALK: 0.339 AC.+ (30.1%) OPEN AREA / LANDSCAPING: * 0.694 AC.+ (61.5%) *(INCLUDES 0.02 AC. OF SWM AREA)

UNIT BREAKDOWN: OFFICE (2-STORY): = 8,795 SQ. FT.

PARKING RATIONALE (UDC TABLE 40.03.522) (PARKING REQUIRED) OFFICE: 3.5 PER 1,000 SQ. FT. TOTAL SPACES: 31 SPACES (2 HANDICAP SPACES REQUIRED) APPLICATION NO. 2019- TOTAL PARKING SPACES PROVIDED: 31 SPACES EXPLORATORY MINOR LAND DEVELOPMENT PLAN (INCLUDES 2 HANDICAP ACCESSIBLE SPACES) BICYCLE PARKING 501 MOUNT LEBANON ROAD 1 BICYCLE SPACE FOR 10 PARKING SPACES 3 SPACES

PROJECTED SANITARY SEWER FLOWS: MOUNT LEBANON ROAD OFFICE 8,795 SQ. FT. X 0.1: 880 GPD (AVERAGE) BRANDYWINE HUNDRED NEW CASTLE COUNTY 880 X 4 = 3,520 GPD (PEAK) DELAWARE SCALE: 1" = 30' OCTOBER 19, 2019 BUILDING DATA: EXISTING STRUCTURE: 5,714 SQ. FT. GFA PORTION TO BE REMOVED: 2,570 SQ. FT. GFA PORTION TO REMAIN: 3,144 SQ. FT. GFA PROPOSED 2-STORY ADDITION: 5,651 SQ. FT. GFA PROPOSED TOTAL: 8,795 SQ. FT. GFA

SEAL IS NOT VALID UNLESS RED OR EMBOSSED X X X X

X X X

X X X X X

APPLICATION NO. 2019- EXPLORATORY MINOR LAND DEVELOPMENT PLAN 501 MOUNT LEBANON ROAD MOUNT LEBANON ROAD BRANDYWINE HUNDRED NEW CASTLE COUNTY DELAWARE SCALE: 1" = 20' OCTOBER 19, 2019

F DELMARV O A Y - D IT E IL L T A W U 1-800-282-8555 S A S R I

C ! A G L I L D B U E F O RE Y O

SEAL IS NOT VALID UNLESS RED OR EMBOSSED Preliminary Land Use Service (PLUS)

501 Mt. Lebanon Rd. 2020-01-12

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Legend 2012 Land Use LULC Category 110 Single Family Dwellings Multi-Family Dwellings Mobile Home Parks/Courts Commercial Industrial Transportation/Communication/Utilities Ct m Mixed Urban/Built-up ha Ald Institutional/Governmental Recreational Farms, Pasture, Cropland Confined Animal Feeding Operations/Feedlots/Holding Rangeland Orchards/Nurseries/Horticulture Deciduous Forest Evergreen Forest Mixed Forest Shrub/Brush Rangeland 2020-01-12 Clear-cut Man-made Reservoirs and Impoundments Marinas/Port Facilities/Docks S e Open Water v e Emergent Wetlands - Tidal and Non-tidal r n Forested Wetlands - Tidal and Non-tidal R d Scrub/Shrub Wetlands - Tidal and Non-tidal

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501 Mt. Lebanon Road (#N00550)

Historic Zoning Report

New Castle County, Delaware

MID-ATLANTIC HISTORIC BUILDINGS AND LANDSCAPES SURVEY

501 Mt. Lebanon Road Historic Zoning Report

By Catherine Morrissey, M.A.

With Andreya Mihaloew, Ph.D.

And Mary Fesak, M.A. Kimberley Showell Kevin Barni, M.A.

Prepared For

New Castle County Historic Review Board

On Behalf of:

Mt. Lebanon Road, LLC

Center for Historic Architecture and Design University of Delaware

November 2019

The University of Delaware is committed to assuring equal opportunity to all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, religion, ancestry, national origin, sexual orientation, veteran status, age, or disability in its educational programs, activities, admissions, or employment practices as required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, with the Americans with Disabilities Act, other applicable statutes, and University policy. Inquiries concerning these statutes and information regarding campus accessibility should be referred to the Affirmative Action Officer, 305 Hullihen Hall, 302/831-2835 (voice), 302/831-4552 (TDD).

Table of Contents

MID-ATLANTIC HISTORIC BUILDINGS AND LANDSCAPES SURVEY ...... 1

PROJECT DESCRIPTION ...... 4 BOUNDARIES ...... 5 CRITERIA FOR DESIGNATION (UDC.40.15.110) ...... 6 THE RESOURCE MUST BE FIFTY (50) YEARS OLD...... 6 CRITERIA B AND E: ...... 6 CRITERION B. “HAS SIGNIFICANT CHARACTER, INTEREST, OR VALUE AS AN EXAMPLE OF THE DEVELOPMENT, HERITAGE OR CULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE COUNTY, THE STATE OR THE UNITED STATES.” ...... 6 CRITERION E. “EMBODIES DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS OF AN ARCHITECTURAL STYLE OR ENGINEERING SPECIMEN.” ...... 6 HISTORIC INTEGRITY ...... 15 CLASSIFICATION OF HISTORIC RESOURCES (UDC 40.15.111) ...... 17 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 18 APPENDIX A: FIGURES ...... 20 APPENDIX B: PHOTOGRAPHS ...... 31

Project Description

David Hogan, on behalf of Mt. Lebanon Road, LLC, contracted with the Center for Historic Architecture and Design at the University of Delaware to produce a Determination of Eligibility report for its property located at 501 Mt. Lebanon Road, Wilmington, Delaware. Mt. Lebanon Road, LLC, plans to request that the New Castle County Historic Review Board place a Historic Zoning Overlay on its property, known as the Harmon Talley House, to allow for commercial use. Mt. Lebanon Road, LLC, purchased the property in March 2019.

Constructed between 1797 and 1803, the Harmon Talley House is a two-story, three-bay, double-pile stone dwelling, arranged within as a variation of a Hall-Parlor Plan, built in a vernacular form that was popular in Brandywine Hundred in the early-nineteenth century. The house features at least five periods of construction. The main block of the dwelling is a two-story, double-pile stone dwelling; to the rear is the Period II, two-story frame ell, added prior to 1850. The rear ell was expanded at least twice more, incorporating an attached garage in the early-twentieth century. The rear ell of the dwelling was expanded to the west c. 1985.

The dwelling is located in the vicinity of Talleyville, in Brandywine Hundred, New Castle County, on the north side of Mount Lebanon Road, about a quarter mile from the intersection of Mt. Lebanon Road and Concord Pike (U.S. Route 202). The dwelling, built by Harmon Talley, was formerly part of an agricultural complex that, at its peak, included 145 acres of land.1 It is situated on a slight hill, approximately 82 feet from Mt. Lebanon Road, and accessed via a driveway along its east elevation. The only other remaining historic feature on the property is a stucco-covered stone wall in front of the dwelling.

1 New Castle County Tax Assessment (NCCTA), Harmon Talley, Brandywine Hundred, 1803-1804.

Boundaries

It is recommended that the boundaries of the historic zoning overlay should coincide with the boundaries of the current New Castle County tax parcel, 06-064-00-030, which currently measures 1.13 acres. The property is bounded to the southeast by Mount Lebanon Road, to the northeast by the Brandywine Valley Baptist Church, and to the southwest and northwest by developed residential lots of a late-twentieth century subdivision (Tavistock, c. 1971). The adjoining subdivision and church are located on land that was previously part of the Harmon Talley agricultural complex. A perimeter of mature trees roughly bounds the property to the southwest, northwest, and northeast.

Contributing resources: Harmon Talley House (1797-1803)

Noncontributing resources: None

Criteria for Designation (UDC.40.15.110)

The resource must be fifty (50) years old.

The main two-story, three-bay, stone block of the dwelling was built between 1797 and 1803.

Criteria B and E:

Criterion B. “Has significant character, interest, or value as an example of the development, heritage or cultural characteristics of the County, the State or the United States.”

Criterion E. “Embodies distinguishing characteristics of an architectural style or engineering specimen.”

The Harmon Talley House, also referred to as Tippecanoe Grove Farm or just Tippecanoe, located in Talleyville, Brandywine Hundred, New Castle County, Delaware, is significant under Criteria B and E for possessing distinguishing characteristics of a type of dwelling built in the Piedmont Region in northern New Castle County during the early 1800s.2 Constructed between 1797-1803, the dwelling is architecturally significant under the historic context Stone Dwellings of Brandywine Hundred, as an early extant example of a variation of a Hall- Parlor Plan built in stone.

In the eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries, most dwellings in Delaware were built of log or frame construction, with brick and stone typically reserved for the wealthy.3 However, the Piedmont region of the state, particularly Brandywine Hundred, was distinguished by the presence of readily available fieldstone—and thus stone became one of the primary building materials in the hundred for people of all economic strata.4 Brandywine Hundred witnessed a rapid increase in population following the Revolutionary War. Census data demonstrates that the hundred’s population more than doubled between 1800 and 1820, increasing from 2,066 people in 310 households to 4,380 individuals in 531 households.5 The number of dwellings increased during this period to accommodate the expanding population, with the construction of stone houses greatly outpacing that of log. It was during the early portion of this period of rapid population expansion that Harmon

2 The property at 501 Mt. Lebanon Rd. is called “Tippecanoe Grove Farm” in the probate record for Samuel McCaulley, 1860, and “Tippecanoe” in the 1881 G.M. Hopkins & Co. Map of New Castle County, Delaware. 3 Andrzejewski, Anna V. and Rebecca Siders, Log Dwellings in Delaware, 1780-1860. Newark, Delaware: Center for Historic Architecture and Design, 1997. 4 Sheppard, Rebecca and Catherine Morrissey, Stone Dwellings in Brandywine Hundred, 1770-1960+/ -. Newark, Delaware: Center for Historic Architecture and Design, 2013 (hereafter Stone Dwellings). 5 Stone Dwellings.

Talley built his family home of fieldstone, capitalizing on a readily available resource in the area. The property is therefore eligible under Criterion B for embodying development trends in this region, as well as Criterion E for its distinguishing architectural characteristics. Also contributing to the property’s significance under Criterion E is the Harmon Talley House’s arrangement in a rare variation of a Hall-Parlor Plan, with four rooms on the first floor instead of three.

Context: Stone Houses in Brandywine Hundred From 1750 to 1960, the residents of Brandywine Hundred relied on stone as a building material in far greater numbers than anywhere else in Delaware. The rest of the county and state built primarily in log, and later frame, with brick construction reserved for the dwellings of the elite in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The proliferation of stone dwellings within Brandywine Hundred thus complicates the use of construction material as a primary indicator of wealth. Both the surviving buildings and the data from tax assessments indicate that homeowners across a wide range of economic conditions built and occupied stone dwellings and outbuildings. In Brandywine Hundred, dwelling size and level of finish were more significant markers of wealth and status than building material. Stone enjoyed popularity within Brandywine Hundred due, in large part, to relative ease of access to abundant quantities of fieldstone and later quarried stone. The greater durability of stone, as compared to wood, in addition to higher efficiency of retaining both heat and cool air within a building, made it a superior choice as a building material. In the late-nineteenth and early- twentieth centuries, the rise of balloon framing construction prompted a shift towards wood-framed dwellings, but the regional preference for stone reappeared in many of the early suburban developments built in Brandywine Hundred between 1930 and 1960.6

The context Stone Dwellings of Brandywine Hundred identifies five property types built from 1750 to 1960, each of which has specific characteristics that must be present in order for a dwelling to qualify for nomination:7 • Hall-Parlor-Plan Stone Dwelling (evidence of the hall-parlor plan must be clearly visible) • Georgian or Center-Hall-Plan Stone Dwelling (evidence of the original Georgian or Center-Hall Plan must be clearly visible)

6 Susan Mulchahey Chase, David L. Ames, and Rebecca J. Siders, Suburbanization in the Vicinity of Wilmington, Delaware, 1880- 1950+/-, Center for Historic Architecture and Design, 1992. 7 Stone Dwellings, Section F, 1-11.

• Stone Addition to Period I Log/Frame Dwelling (evidence of the Period I log or frame building must be visible, at least in archaeological form) • Colonial Revival Stone Dwelling (style of the dwelling must be Colonial Revival) • Suburban Stone Dwelling (style should reflect those typical of suburban development)

The walls of any eligible dwelling must be constructed of stone, either rubble fieldstone or quarried stone. All eligible properties must also have at least two of three associative characteristics: historic exterior finish in the form of exposed stones or mortar and stucco, original fenestration, and/or original story height. Additionally, the economic and social status of the owner or builder should be established through the use of tax assessments, probate records, and other documentary sources. This information should then be related to the building’s physical characteristics, especially its size, type and treatment of stones, level of finish, and quality of workmanship. Stone houses nominated under this context must also retain four out of the seven areas of integrity, including specifically workmanship, materials, and design.

The Harmon Talley House: Architecture & Wealth Expressed in Stone The Harmon Talley House is significant under the context Stone Dwellings of Brandywine Hundred as an example of a variation on a Hall-Parlor Plan Stone Dwelling, built for an elite agriculturist in Brandywine Hundred.

Wealth Wealth within Brandywine Hundred can be examined two ways: First, documentary evidence such as tax assessments and probate records provide actual numerical data about real and personal wealth and its value. Second, wealth can be understood through the quality and finish of stone dwellings. Not too much is known about Harmon Talley, but by examining tax assessments, his wealth can be compared to others in Brandywine Hundred. A hundred-wide tax assessment was taken in 1816, at which time Harmon Talley’s property included a stone house, barn, stable, and livestock—with a total value of $9066, placing him in the top four percent of wealth in Brandywine Hundred.8 A few other period accounts regarding Harmon’s life survive—he was elected

8 New Castle County Tax Assessment (NCCTA), Harmon Talley (erroneously entered at Herman Talley), 1822. Another “Harmon Talley” is valued in this tax assessment and listed as a “carpenter”—this is a different Harmon Talley based on family genealogies.

to the state legislature in 1828, likely serving only one term.9 In an article published in The Daily Republican on the life of his son Isaac G. Talley, the writer waxed poetic about Harmon’s contributions to Brandywine Hundred: “He was the first person that hauled manure form Wilmington to Brandywine, and was also the first person to build a large barn in Brandywine Hundred. He would bring a load of wood to Wilmington and then take home a load of manure. The neighbors laughed at this and told him he had better spend his money on whiskey; that, they said, would do him some good. Frequently they told him that he would never fill his barn with huckleberry bushes. He lived, however, to see the time when the barn would not hold half his crop.”10 Unfortunately, the large barn associated with Harmon’s ownership does not survive, but the stone house remains as a monument to his enterprises.

Harmon Talley moved to Ohio after the passing of his second wife in 1836, after which the house was owned by a series of wealthy men who resided in Wilmington or elsewhere in Brandywine Hundred.11 The house was thus likely used as a tenant farm between 1855-1877.12 First, Samuel McCaulley, a Wilmingtonian who owned a prosperous brickyard in the city, owned several properties in Talleyville—including the Harmon Talley House, an adjacent stone tavern (demolished), “Fairview Farm” (demolished, located near today’s 3200 Concord Pike), and the Reverend John Talley House (demolished, located opposite “Fairview Farm”), as well as numerous properties in the city.13 McCaulley likely never lived at house, but instead used it as a means to acquire more wealth.

After the passing of Samuel McCaulley in 1860, Eli Baldwin Talley, nephew of Harmon, acquired the four properties owned by McCaulley in Talleyville—returning the Harmon Talley House to the Talley family.14 Eli Baldwin Talley was a native of Brandywine Hundred and was described as a man of “magnificent presence,”

9 George A Talley, A History of the Talley Family on the Delaware and Their Descendants: Including a Genealogical register, Modern Biography and Miscellany, Philadelphia, PA: Mover & Lesher, Printers, 1899, 67. 10 “Events of the Past,” The Daily Republican, January 21, 1881. 11 Talley, 67. 12 New Castle County Recorder of Deeds (NCCRD), Jacob Rice to Samuel McCaulley, March 26, 1855; NCCRD Estate of Samuel McCaulley to Eli Baldwin Talley, March 20, 1861. 13 Historian J. Thomas Scharf notes McCaulley’s brickyard as large, stating that he and his partner Jacob Rice “built a brick making machine [in 1848], propelled by steam. It cost ten thousand dollars and made twenty-five thousand bricks per day.” Scharf, History of Delaware, p. 659. Information about the adjoining properties was gathered from a series of historic maps drawn in 1849, 1860, and 1868. 14 NCCPI, Samuel McCaulley, 1860; NCCRD estate of Samuel McCaulley to Eli Baldwin Talley, March 20, 1861

who was “interested in everything pertaining to his native hundred.”15 Like McCaulley, Talley likely did not live on this farm, but instead lived in a stone dwelling (demolished) on the north side of Naaman’s Road, north of its intersection with Shipley Road.16 Perhaps unlike McCaulley, Talley relied on familial tenancy to operate the Talleyville farms, buying the land not for wealth alone, but to also establish farms for his children. Prior to Eli’s death in 1875, his son William Talley purchased the farm from him.17 It was likely William who was tenant farming the property from 1861 (he would have been 31 at the time) to 1875.18 Another son of Eli, Elihu Talley, purchased the nearby Fairview Farm prior to his father’s death, as well—giving strong indication that the sons were likely tenanting the properties prior to their outright purchases of the land from their father. William Talley resided at the property, then called Tippecanoe, from 1875 (and perhaps as early as 1861) until his death in 1896.19 William’s son John W. Talley continued to operate the farm until he sold it to the Woodlawn Trustees in 1920.20 In short, the wealth of the house’s builder, Harmon Talley, as well as the wealth and prominence of subsequent owners during the nineteenth century, demonstrates that the Harmon Talley House was a stone house of a higher social caliber—a fact validated by its architecture.

Architecture The Harmon Talley House is architecturally significant in relation to the Stone Dwellings of Brandywine Hundred context for its variation of a Hall-Parlor plan, its stone construction, and its high level of finish. The Stone Dwellings context requires that three primary architectural features (original stone walls, fenestration, and building height) must still be present for a property to be eligible under its criteria. These criteria focus on the survival of major structural elements from the original period—and the Harmon Talley House retains these, plus many other of its key structural elements from its original building campaign. While the exterior of the dwelling is stuccoed, the visible stones are dressed and coursed with large quoins at the corners. The Harmon Talley House retains all of its Period I stone walls, along with its original fenestration and original two- and-a-half-story building height. The Period I front elevation remains largely unchanged, divided into its

15 Talley, 194-195. 16 Eli Baldwin Talley owned a dwelling north of the intersection of Naaman’s and Shipley Roads prior to his acquisition of the property at 501 Mt. Lebanon Rd. (at least as early as 1849, evidenced by the 1849 Rea & Price Map for New Castle County). He still held that property at his death in 1875, though he had sold his other farm properties, including that at 501 Mt. Lebanon Rd. 17 NCCRD, Eli B. Talley to William Talley, April 17, 1872. 18 Talley, 89. 19 Talley, 89. 20 NCCRD, John W. and Caroline E. Talley to Woodlawn Trustees, October 29, 1920, E-30-6.

original three-bay configuration; the façade is thus still evocative of the original design. On the interior, where framing has been exposed during recent renovation work, the original four-room plan, along with the Period I partition walls, have been retained. Also exposed through this process were the beaded, Period I floor joists, showing a high level of finish in the original dwelling. The stairway has been reconfigured since the initial period of construction, but during the renovation process, the evidence for the Period I stair was visible—and the location of the Period I stair helps us understand the room usage in the house. The dwelling originally featured four fireplaces on the first floor. Though only one remains, enough historic evidence survives in the basement, in the form of relieving arches, and in the pattern of the floor joists for the second floor, to reconstruct their original configuration. Trim has been removed from the windows, but the original stone window “splays,” a feature common in the stone houses of the Delaware Piedmont, are retained.

The second floor of the dwelling has been reworked, like the first floor. There were four rooms historically and likely a hallway on the second floor. One of these chamber rooms was converted into a three-piece bathroom in the early-twentieth century.

The attic and basement retain a high level of Period I fabric, as well—the original numbered and pegged roof rafters survive in the attic. In the fully excavated, Period I cellar, a large stone reliving arch survives on the west side of the dwelling, while two corner corbelled stone fireplace supports survive on the east side. These were the large supports needed to carry the weight of the four stone fireplaces above. Additionally, portions of the basement have been whitewashed, indicating that this space was once used as a sanitary cold storage space. Together, these features on the interior and exterior satisfy the requirements for listing under the stone dwellings context.

Four-Room Plans Four-room plans are an elaborate variation of late-eighteenth or early-nineteenth century “open” floor plans. Open floor plans are defined by a door providing direct entry into a heated room, likely a “hall” (a term indicating a primary living space, rather than a hallway, as we think of it today). The category of open floor plans is most closely associated with the classic two-room, hall-parlor plans, but there are three-room and

four-room variations of open floor plans. This subset of open plans contained three or four heated rooms on a floor and were usually two full stories in height.21 Common three-room variations found in the area include a hall entry flanked by double parlors, and the “William Penn” or “Quaker” plan. The Penn plan, so named for the room arrangement that Penn recommended to Quaker immigrants in Pennsylvania, is a variation on the hall-parlor plan in which the smaller of the two rooms is divided by a partition wall parallel to the long exterior wall. Typically, the two smaller rooms share a centrally placed chimney, with fireplaces set diagonally in the corner of each room (see figure 7). Entry is still granted directly into the hall in this configuration, which is the largest of the three rooms. These three-room open plan dwellings were popular from the 1720s to the early 1800s.22

While three-room open plans were rare, four-room plans were rarer still. Surviving four-room plan examples date from a narrow range, popular from the 1760s through the 1820s.23 The distinguishing characteristics of the plan include direct access into a heated room containing a stair, with a second room of similar size behind the entry room. Two other rooms, similar in size, completed the plan. Currently, we have little sense of how these spaces were used except for the entry room—which was usually the hall.24 The four-room layout at the Harmon Talley House is similar to Mount Jones, located off of Route 13, in St. Georges Hundred, New Castle County (see figure 9).

Perhaps some understanding of room usage might be gleaned from the four-room house plan of Harmon’s father, William Talley. When William Talley passed away in 1812 at his four-room plan dwelling, which was also a stone house in Brandywine Hundred, a room-by-room probate inventory labeled four rooms on the first floor: “the east room,” “the south room,” “the west room,” and “the north room.”25 The first room listed on the inventory is the east room, likely the heated room with the stair. It contained “a case of drawers and sundries.”26 The south room, perhaps the room directly behind the stair room, contained an expensive clock (valued at $50), and a desk, along with two tables, six chairs, “a lot of books,” floor carpet, tea ware, plates,

21 Lanier and Herman, 21. 22 Lanier and Herman, 21. 23 Lanier and Herman, 24-25. 24 Lanier and Herman, 24-25. 25 New Castle County Probate Inventory (NCCPI), William Talley, May 22, 1812. 26 NCCPI, William Talley, May 22, 1812.

and spoons—indicating a mixed use space, perhaps a combination dining room and office (for William).27 The west room contained a nine-plate stove (the second most valuable item in the house) and was likely used as a parlor.28 The north room contained an old clothes press and sundries—indicating use as a first-floor bedchamber.29 The Harmon Talley House likely had a similar configuration of rooms on the first floor, including a hall (with stair), a dining room/office, a parlor (or best room), and perhaps a chamber.

In William Talley’s house, three rooms were described on the second floor—their naming convention corresponding to the first-floor naming convention, perhaps indicating that there were four rooms above the four rooms below, but nothing of assessable value was in the west room on the second floor. Each of the valued second floor rooms contained a bedstead, bedding and sundries.30 William’s house, like the Harmon Talley house, contained a full “garrett” and “seller.”31 The property also had an “out seller” (root cellar), a free-standing kitchen, corn crib, barn, and stables—shedding some light onto a possible farm configuration that Harmon was familiar with and might have emulated at his own dwelling.32

Hall-Parlor, three-room, and four-room open floorplans experienced popularity in the eighteenth century, but by the early-nineteenth century, people interested in larger, more grandiose houses were opting for the classically-inspired Georgian house plans.33 This family of open plans differs from Georgian, Center-Hall, and Side-Passage plans that are in the “closed floor plan” family. These later, “closed” floor plans provided direct entry into an unheated passageway, not into the best room of the house. This family of closed plans quickly took over as the preferred floorplans for stone houses in the Piedmont region, dominating the landscape through the nineteenth century. Greek Revival, Italianate, and Victorian dwellings predominately were constructed with closed plans. It was not until the early-twentieth century, marked by the arrival of the bungalow and American foursquare, when open floorplans become fashionable once more.

27 NCCPI, William Talley, May 22, 1812. 28 NCCPI, William Talley, May 22, 1812. 29 NCCPI, William Talley, May 22, 1812. 30 NCCPI, William Talley, May 22, 1812. 31 NCCPI, William Talley, May 22, 1812. 32 NCCPI, William Talley, May 22, 1812. 33 Lanier and Herman, 21.

The four-room plan represented a conservative alternative to closed Georgian house plans, but due to the fact that so few “open” four-room plans were commissioned, it seems that many affluent families did not prefer these alternative layouts, explaining the rarity of these four-room dwellings.34

Woodlawn Trustees Ownership The property’s association with local industrialist and philanthropist William Poole Bancroft (1835-1928) also adds to its historical significance under Criterion B for its cultural developments in the Brandywine Hundred in the twentieth century, particularly philanthropy related to industrial development along the Brandywine River, and early conservation efforts in the area.35

William P. Bancroft was the son of textile mill owner Joseph Bancroft. Having emigrated from England in the 1830s, the elder Bancroft established a soon-thriving textile mill on the Brandywine River, downstream from the du Pont powder mills. After their father’s death in 1874, William and his brother Samuel took over operation of the successful mill and, in 1895, bought and consolidated the neighboring James Riddle and Son textile mill. A devout Quaker, William’s interest in preserving undeveloped lands in and around Wilmington for the benefit of residents and in the improvement of the lives of workers set him on a philanthropic course that provided the basis for the public park system in New Castle County and led him to construct affordable housing in improved settings for workers.36 William Bancroft began buying property within the City of Wilmington in the late-nineteenth century and donating it to the city to be used as public park space. He also built low-rent row, semi-detached, and apartment housing along a beautified parkway with nearby amenities. Seeing Wilmington’s rapid growth beyond its bounds, in the early-twentieth century, he began buying property in Brandywine Hundred in order to preserve the natural or bucolic character of large tracts of land and produce orderly development outside the city.

In 1901, Bancroft established the Woodlawn Company, later Woodlawn Trustees, Inc., transferring the hundreds of acres of lands he had acquired to the company and transferring oversight of future land

34 Lanier and Herman, 24-25. 35 On the Bancroft Mills, see Alice Kent Schooler, National Register of Historic Places: Bancroft Mills, Wilmington, Delaware (West Chester, PA, John Milner Associates, 1984). 36 Schooler, NRHP: Bancroft Mills, Sec. 8, 1.

acquisitions to its board of directors.37 The organization’s charter called for the acquisition of land in and around Wilmington for future transfer to the city for public park lands, wise urban planning, or housing that would benefit residents. In addition to his work to establish parks, as president of the Wilmington Park Commission, which he helped to found, Bancroft worked to build a landscaped parkway between Rockford Park and Canby Park and to place affordable housing along that stretch. Under Bancroft’s guidance, Woodlawn redoubled its efforts to purchase land in the Brandywine Hundred between the Brandywine River and the Concord Pike, holding around 1,900 acres by 1922.

Woodlawn Trustees acquired the property at 501 Mt. Lebanon Road in 1920 from John W. Talley. To generate income for the Trustees’ preservation and affordable housing efforts, the Trustees began developing parts of their holdings into residential communities along Route 202.38 The Harmon Talley farm was one such property that was subdivided for a suburban development—Tavistock—which was constructed in the late 1960s. 39 As part of the development, the Woodlawn Trustees carved out a one-acre wooded lot for the Harmon Talley House. It was to be a “focal point” of the community.40 The house and property were then sold to Ronald H. Masks and his wife Sandra in 1975.41 As part of this sale, the Woodlawn Trustees imposed deed restrictions on the property—including the company’s right to approve any exterior alterations to the dwelling, this also included approval for demolition. The Harmon Talley House’s ownership by the Woodlawn Trustees is significant because it saved the structure from certain demolition in 2015.42 In 2014, a demolition permit was requested for the structure, which was denied. The Harmon Talley House still stands today, and currently awaits redevelopment due solely to the Woodlawn Trustees deed restrictions.

Historic Integrity

The Harmon Talley House possess a high level of integrity of design, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association, as well as a medium level of setting and location.

37 Hagley Museum and Library, Woodlawn Trustees, Inc. records, “Historical Note,” https://findingaids.hagley.org/xtf/view?docId=ead/2424.xml, accessed 9/9/2019. 38 Maureen Milford, “Historic Home Threatened: Group files suit to stop demolition of what might be the last Talley house in Talleyville, The News Journal, January 24, 2015, A4. 39 Milford, A4. 40 Milford, A4. 41 NCCRD, Woodland Trustees Incorporated to Ronald and Sandra Mask, V-90-434, August 26, 1975. 42 Milford, A4.

Workmanship: The Harmon Talley House retains a high level of integrity for workmanship. The skill of the stone masons is still evident on the interior and exterior of the dwelling. Despite the fact that the exterior is stuccoed, corner quoining and rubble-coursed fieldstone are visible behind the thin stucco veneer. On the interior of the dwelling, workmanship can be seen in the elegantly beaded floor joists, as well as in the expertly crafted window splays.

Materials: Since the construction of the dwelling between 1797-1803, the materials of the stone dwelling have been retained and little altered. A two-story, frame rear ell has been added, but it does not detract from the integrity of the original building materials. As such, the integrity of materials is high.

Design: The Harmon Talley House retains a high level of integrity of design. It is easily understood as a large stone dwelling in the Piedmont region of northern Delaware. Additionally, on the interior, the evidence of the original design of the four-room plan remains.

Feeling: The dwelling still retains a high level of integrity of feeling. It evokes the architecture and plan of an early stone dwelling in Brandywine Hundred.

Association: The level of integrity for association is high. The dwelling still evokes an early nineteenth-century stone dwelling. Sited on a slight bluff overlooking Mt. Lebanon Road, the house retains its noteworthy presence. Additionally, it was built by Harmon Talley, one of the original settlers in Talleyville, and this association is retained through the name of the dwelling. This stone house is one of the last extant Talley structures in Talleyville. Other Talley structures survive in other places of Brandywine Hundred to the north and east—notably the National Register-listed William Talley House at Talleys Corner, and the nearby Talley- Day House.

Setting and Location: The Harmon Talley House retains a medium level of integrity of setting and location. The dwelling is sited in the same location, though only 1.13 acres of the original 145-acre farmstead is retained. Additionally, over the course of the twentieth century, the farm outbuildings have been demolished. The farmland has been developed into a suburban housing development. While the location remains unchanged,

the surrounding area has grown from a nineteenth century crossroads into a large commercial thoroughfare. No other traces of the nineteenth century hamlet of Talleyville survive besides the Harmon Talley House.

Classification of Historic Resources (UDC 40.15.111)

The Harmon Talley House and property at 501 Mt. Lebanon Road is identified as a small lot site, defined in Subsection 40.15.111.D as “a site in a developed area, typically a village or hamlet, where the site cannot be subdivided or would permit only one (1) additional building on the property.” Due to its small parcel size of 1.13 acres and proximity to developed residential lots, the property does not meet the guidelines for an open context site or a closed context site as defined in Subsection 40.15.111.B and C. It meets the exception for a small lot site, which “may be less than three (3) acres where said lot is at least fifty (50) percent larger than all adjacent lots, and, further provided, that the use shall then be limited to office uses which do not rely on customers or clients on-site.” The property meets this allowance, except for a single adjacent property, New Castle County tax parcel 06-064.00-031 (owned by the Brandywine Valley Baptist Church), which is 3.76 acres and larger in size. Mt. Lebanon Road, LLC, plans to request a variance in this provision through the New Castle County Board of Adjustment.

Bibliography Primary Sources

Beers, D.G. Atlas of the State of Delaware: from actual surveys. Philadelphia: Pomeroy & Beers, 1868.

Hopkins, Griffith Morgan, F. Bourquin, and Walter S. Mac Cormac & Co. Map of New Castle County, Delaware: from actual surveys & records. Philadelphia: G.M. Hopkins & Co, 1881.

“Events of the Past.” The Daily Republican, January 21, 1881.

Lake, D.J., S.N. Beers, F.W. Beers, L.B. Lake, and D.G. Beers. Map of the Vicinity of Philadelphia: from actual surveys. Philadelphia: John E. Gillette and K.C. Stone, publishers, 1860.

New Castle County Probate Records. Delaware Public Archives, Dover, Delaware.

New Castle County Recorder of Deeds.

New Castle County Courthouse, Wilmington, Delaware.

New Castle County Register of Wills.

New Castle County Courthouse, Wilmington, Delaware.

New Castle County Tax Records. Delaware Public Archives, Dover, Delaware.

Rea, Samuel M., Jacob Price, George Read Riddle, Robert Pearsall Smith, Smith & Wistar, and Rea & Price. Map of New Castle County, Delaware: from original surveys. Philadelphia: Smith & Wistar, 1849.

Secondary Sources

Andrzejewski, Anna V. and Rebecca Siders. Log Dwellings in Delaware, 1780-1860. Newark, Delaware: Center for Historic Architecture and Design, 1997.

Hagley Museum and Library. Woodlawn Trustees, Inc. records. “Historical Note.” https://findingaids.hagley.org/xtf/view?docId=ead/2424.xml, accessed 9/9/2019.

Herman, Bernard, Gabrielle Lanier, Rebecca Siders, and Max Van Balgooy. Dwellings of the Rural Elite in Central Delaware, 1770-1830 +/-. Newark, Delaware: Center for Historic Architecture and Engineering, 1989.

Lanier, Gabrielle and Bernard Herman. Everyday Architecture of the Mid-Atlantic: Looking at Buildings and Landscapes (Creating the North American Landscape). Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997.

Mulchahey, Susan and David Ames. Suburbanization in the Vicinity of Wilmington, Delaware, 1880-1950+/-: A Historic Context. Newark, Delaware: Center for Historic Architecture and Design, June 1992.

Scharf, J. Thomas. History of Delaware, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 1609-1888. Philadelphia: L.J. Richards, 1888.

Schooler, Alice Kent. National Register of Historic Places: Bancroft Mills, Wilmington, Delaware. West Chester, PA: John Milner Associates, 1984.

Sheppard, Rebecca and Catherine Morrissey. Stone Dwellings in Brandywine Hundred, 1770- 1960+/-. Newark, Delaware: Center for Historic Architecture and Design, 2013.

Talley, George A. A History of the Talley Family on the Delaware and Their Descendants: Including a Genealogical register, Modern Biography and Miscellany. Philadelphia, PA: Mover & Lesher, Printers, 1899.

Appendix A: Figures

Figure 1 501 Mt. Lebanon Rd., New Castle County tax parcel 06-064.00-030

Figure 2: 501 Mt. Lebanon Rd. property, Wilmington North Quadrangle DE-PA, U.S. Geological Survey, 7.5 Minute Series (Topographic), 2016

Figure 3: 1849 Rea & Price Map for New Castle County, cropped image highlighting 501 Mt. Lebanon Rd., erroneously labeled “McGalley” for then owner Samuel McCaulley

Figure 4: 1860 Lake & Beers Map of the Vicinity of Philadelphia, cropped image highlighting 501 Mt. Lebanon Rd., owner Samuel McCaulley

Figure 5: 1868 D.G. Beers Atlas for New Castle County, cropped image highlighting 501 Mt. Lebanon Rd., owner E.B. Talley

Figure 6: 1881 Hopkins & Co. Map for New Castle County, cropped image highlighting 501 Mt. Lebanon Rd., owner William Talley with residence labeled “Tippecanoe”

Figure 7: Example of a three-room Penn or Quaker Plan dwelling (Pemberton Hall, Salisbury Vicinity, Maryland)

Figure 8: Period I first floor plan of the Harmon Talley House at 501 Mt. Lebanon Road (drawn by Catherine Morrissey and Kevin Barni).

STAIR

HALL

Figure 9: Four-room plan at Mount Jones, located off of Route 13, in St. Georges Hundred, New Castle County.

Figure 10: Newspaper description of Harman (Harmon Talley) who built the dwelling at 501 Mt. Lebanon Road, The Daily Republican, January 21, 1881.

Figure 11: Sale of 501 Mt. Lebanon Road from John W. Talley to the Woodlawn Trustees, Inc., The News Journal, November 10, 1920.

Appendix B: Photographs

Photo: Exterior view of south elevation of main block, looking north

Photo: Exterior perspective view of south and east elevations of main block, looking northwest

Photo: Exterior perspective view of east and north elevations of main block and east elevation of rear-ell, looking southwest

Photo: Exterior perspective view of east and north elevations of rear-ell, looking southwest

Photo: Exterior perspective view of north and west elevations of rear-ell and modern addition, looking southeast

Photo: Exterior perspective view of west and south elevations of modern addition and west elevation of main block

Photo: Detail view of moulding at main entryway, south elevation

Photo: Interior view of south section of main block, looking east

Photo: Detail view of framing for earlier stair box near center of south section of main block

Photo: Interior view of south section of main block, looking west

Photo: Interior view of northeast section of main block, looking southeast

Photo: Detail view of exposed beaded second-story floor joists in south section of main block

Photo: Interior view of northeast section of main block, looking east

Photo: Interior view of northwest section of main block, looking south

Photo: Interior view from southwest second-story main block, looking northeast

Photo: Interior view from southwest second-story main block, looking east

Photo: Interior view from southeast second-story main block, looking northeast

Photo: Interior view from northeast second-story main block, looking west towards stair and access to rear-ell

Photo: Interior view of main block attic, looking east towards brick chimney stack

Photo: Interior view of main block attic, looking west towards brick and stone chimney stack

Photo: Detail view of pegged mortise and tenon rafter joint with carpenters marks, main block attic

Photo: Interior view of basement, looking west, showing the large stone relieving arch

Photo: Interior view of basement, looking east, showing one of two corner corbelled fireplace supports

Photo: Interior view of basement, looking east, showing the second corner corbelled fireplace supports, summer beam, and basement partition wall

Photo: Detail view of basement joists, showing rough and partially round joists