2020-2021: A One-Year Review
By Sam Pickard
One year. 13 posts. 22,651 total words. 5,578 total views of posts/articles.
One year ago, I started this blog in an attempt to share research I’d done on Marple Township’s history, and to create a place where I could continue to explore the township’s past. I try not to focus on myself so much, but on this one-year anniversary, I ask that you’ll give me your indulgence. If you’re just interested in my history posts, check back in a few weeks for my next article.
Early in the summer of 2020, I stumbled across potter Benjamin Jones and his son Jesse in the 1860 census and then discovered their pottery factory marked on an 1861 map. Despite this, I could only find passing references to Jones and the pottery in old books, all of which seemed to imply that he’d gone out of business in the 1840s. It was this discrepancy which pushed me to research Jones and learn the “whole story,” or at least as much as I could.
No matter what I found, I knew at the time that my audience consisted of little more than Marple’s resident historian, Rich Paul, and my patiently suffering wife, Annie. I wanted to make a place where the public could learn about Marple’s history for free and easily share it with each other; yet present it in a more permanent manner than a tweet or post on Instagram. I also wanted to share the history in a way that I could cite my sources—allowing others to know how I got there and (hopefully) allowing some future historian to build off of what I wrote.
On the whole, things did not quite proceed as expected—for better and worse. My initial hope of posting twice a month was unrealistically optimistic. On the other hand, my wife’s concern that I wouldn’t have enough topics in the long term (something I hoped she wasn’t right about) has also proven to not have been optimistic enough. At the moment, I have posts planned out into 2023.
What have I learned about my home community over the past year? I’ve realized that while yes, Marple was a relatively rural, primarily agricultural township into the 20th century, it was also a dynamic place linked with the wider world. Not only did it have industry on a small scale in the mid-19th century, but it also began suburbanizing much earlier than I expected. While I covered some of the industry with my posts on the Jones pottery (Part One and Part Two), I hope to cover more of Marple’s industrial history in the future. I also would like to write a series in 2022 covering the suburbanization of the township in the decades leading up to World War II.
Finally, I want to take a moment to thank everyone who has read this blog and offered support over the past year. In particular, though, I want to thank those who have provided research assistance, including the staff and volunteers at the Delaware County Historical Society, Delaware County Archives, Chester County Historical Society, Philadelphia City Archives, Catholic Historical Research Center, as well as Kate Clifford, Greg Prichard, and Doug Humes. A special thanks goes out to the late Rich Paul, who not only encouraged me in this pursuit and provided materials, but met with me to talk over my research. Lastly, I want to thank my wife Annie for not only her support and encouragement, but also for proof reading each and every one of my posts.
To those who have read through this, thank you. Be sure to check back in a few weeks to learn about how a dispute over where chickens could roam turned into murder…
Comment Hi Sam! Love your thoughtful posts on Marple history. A very thorough historian (like you!) named Lucy Simler wrote “The First One Hundred Years … Township of Marple … 1684-1784”. I would love to see you tackle the next 250 years! Or even part of it. Hopefully you’ve come across her book. There is no shortage of material on Marple history – the hard part is deciding which stories to tell. May you continue to educate us all through your writing.