Historic Quaker Houses in Chester County, PA
The Milltown / Hickman Plank House
Built ca. 1808
The Milltown / Hickman Plank House was originally located on West Chester Pike. The house was dismantled in the late 1980s to make way for a retail shop. Friends of Historic Goshenville raised money to restore the house. They reassembled the building and opened the house to the public on township property in 1999. Image source: Lee J. Stoltzfus
The Hickman family has deep Quaker connections in Chester County, including ties to local Friends meetings such as Concord and Goshen. English Quaker Francis Hickman emigrated from England in the late seventeenth century and became part of the early Hickman presence in Chester County.
Above: The floorplan is a hall-and-parlor plan with an unusual centered fireplace. The house consists of a kitchen (hall) and living room (parlor) on the first floor and two bedrooms on the second floor. The window sashes are original. New hand-planed cedar siding covers the planks today.
The House in its Original Location:
A sign at the house includes photos of the dwelling at its original location along West Chester Pike. Image source: Lee J. Stoltzfus
A Sign at the Plank House:
Details of the Plank Construction
With Dowels and Dovetails:
Above: An exposed section of the wall reveals spaced horizontal sawn planks with dowels between them.
Above: An exposed corner reveals the house’s unusual construction: sawn planks joined with dovetailed corners. Image source: Lee J. Stoltzfus
1960 Historic American Buildings Survey
Before the House was Relocated:
Above: The 1960 HABS photographs show sawn vertical posts and spaced horizontal planks, with lath nailed to both the interior and exterior surfaces. Threatened with demolition in 1989, the house was dismantled and placed in storage.
Friends of Historic Goshenville formed in 1990 to raise money for its reconstruction, and the house was rebuilt in the 1990s as part of Historic Goshenville. Image source: Historic American Buildings Survey, Ned Goode, Library of Congress.
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