Wallace Township was formed through a division of
West Nantmeal Township in 1852. The Township—as defined by its current
boundaries—includes nearly the same territory as the early eighteenth century
Springton Manor, minus a small portion of land that was granted to Uwchlan
Township in 1853. Township boundaries were slightly revised in 1860, when
the lines abutting East and West Nantmeal Township were changed and a second
adjustment between Uwchlan Township and Wallace Township was finalized.
Archaeological and historical research indicates that Wallace Township's
earliest eighteenth century inhabitants included remnants of the Brandywine and
Okehocking bands of the Lenape Indians, who dwelt in the area from
approximately 1720 to 1740. A Brandywine Indian burial site, excavated in
1952 and again in 1982, is currently owned and maintained by Wallace
Township.
The first official Wallace Township survey, completed in 1729, canvassed the
8,313 acre Springton Manor. Springton Manor, one of seven Chester County
manors established as part of an agreement between Charles II and William Penn,
was originally located in the Downingtown area. According to nineteenth
century Chester County historians, J. Smith Futhey and Gilbert Cope, the first
European settlers to occupy the early Springton Manor tracts were almost
entirely of Scottish descent and "attracted to the area by the pure water,
absence of marshes, and elevation of between five and six hundred feet above
tide-water." Ultimately Penn's manorial system failed; by the time the
Revolutionary War broke out, most Springton Manor settlers had been able to
secure patents to their own tracts of land.
Despite the fact that a committee of Springton Manor residents met with
Philadelphia Govenor Thomas in 1744 and complained that they were being asked
to pay too much for land that was "in poor condition" for crop production,
agriculture represented either a primary or secondary source of income for most
eighteenth century Wallace Township residents. Local harvest included
corn, Irish potatoes, fruit crops (including apples, peaches, several varieties
of berries, and grapes), wheat, and oats. Area farmers also tended
livestock, including cattle, cows, pigs, and horses.
The East Branch of the Brandywine and its tributaries, coupled with the area's
extensive stands of hardwood forests, attracted forge and mill workers to
Wallace Township. The Village of Glenmoore and the hamlet of Cornog
developed as eighteenth and nineteenth century industrial centers because of
their ability to support mill activity through ready water supply.
In the south-central part of the Township, Robert McConaghey, an important
early settler, began operating a forge in 1769. Springton Forge, located
adjacent to what is now the County-owned Springton Manor Farm, was operated by
a succession of owners for more than one hundred years; the Forge turned out
superior-grade iron during the Revolutionary War and produced first-quality
bars for blacksmiths and rolling mills well into the nineteenth century.
Robert McConaghey has also been credited with building the 1770 saw and grist
mill located near the corner of Creek and Devereux Roads.
Wallace Township's less than efficient access to Downingtown, the area's
closest center of activity, created a great demand for cottage
industries. Wheelwright, blacksmith, cobbler, butcher, and coachmaker
shops fulfilled the daily requirements of local residents. Taverns and
inns served travelers and provided informal space for meetings.
As early as 1810, a group of local residents "associated themselves for the
purpose of erecting a subscription schoolhouse" at the intersection of Fairview
and Indiantown Roads. After the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed the
Free School Act in 1836, "Indiantown School" was opened to the public; the
facility continued to support Wallace Township in an educational capacity for
more than one hundred years. Additional early Township schools included
West Nantmeal Seminary and Lincoln School on Little Conestoga Road, Glen Dale
School on Indian Run Road, and Locust Grove School at Highspire and Marshall
Roads.
The advent of the railroad and main transportation corridors considerably
altered the face of Wallace Township in the late nineteenth century. The
hamlets of Cornog and Glenmoore, for example, developed substantially as a
result of Chester Valley Railroad stops and a new major thoroughfare, Creek
Road. Rail access also precipitated the conversion of eighteenth and
nineteenth century farmsteads to summer estates. Summer residents
included John Wanamaker, the Philadelphia merchant, who bought the large estate
of "Glen Cairn" in 1888.
Twentieth century influences have had a profound effect on the Wallace Township
landscape. A segment of the Pennsylvania Turnpike was constructed through
the Township in 1950 and late twentieth century residential subdivisions have
replaced what was once productive agricultural land. Worth noting,
however, is the Wallace Township Comprehensive Plan comment that "despite
evolution from an agrarian countryside with one village and one hamlet to a
proliferation of subdivisions," residents can still appreciate the area's past
"because of the many symbols and artifacts which survive to reflect that
heritage."