Historic Quaker Houses of Delaware County, PA

Two Quaker Farmhouses
On the Brandywine Battlefield
Used for Howard Pyle’s Art School
Including George Washington’s Headquarters:

 Ring House (Benjamin and Rachel Ring House) / General George Washington’s Headquarters:
The Ring House was built in 1731. During the Brandywine Battle it was the home of Benjamin Ring and wife Rachel (James) Ring, both members of the local Quaker meeting. As Quakers, they attempted to uphold the testimonies of peace and neutrality. Despite this, the house became General George Washington’s headquarters before the Battle of Brandywine in 1777, placing the Ring family at the heart of a conflict they sought to avoid.
The house burned down into a pile of rubble in 1931. The house was rebuilt to its Revolutionary War appearance by Architect G. Edwin Brumbaugh in 1952.

Gilpin House (Gideon and Sarah Gilpin House)
The Gilpin House, also located on the Brandywine Battlefield, was the home of prominent Quaker farmers Gideon Gilpin and wife Sarah (Gregg) Gilpin. The stone portion of the house was built by Gideon Gilpin’s father, Joseph Gilpin, in 1745. Gideon purchased this tract from his father in 1764. The rear kitchen was added in 1782.
Gideon Gilpin was a member of Concord Monthly Meeting. He tried to uphold the Quaker’s testimony of peace during the Revolutionary War. He remained committed to neutrality during the Battle of Brandywine.
After the battle, British troops looted Gideon Gilpin’s farm, leaving him nearly destitute. In 1778, he pledged loyalty to the Pennsylvania government and supported the local militia. These actions led to his disownment by his Quaker meeting. He later was reinstated to the meeting after expressing remorse.

Both Houses were used for Howard Pyle’s Art School 
Quaker / Swedenborgian Artist Howard Pyle -
The Father of American Illustration:

 Above: Quaker / Swedenborgian artist Howard Pyle and his painting The Evacuation of Charleston by the British, December 14, 1782, painted in 1892 to illustrate “The Story of the Revolution," by Henry Cabot Lodge, in Scribner's Magazine. Image sources: Portrait: Delaware Historical Society, Painting: Delaware Art Museum

 Oil Paintings by Howard Pyle:

 Pyle’s Pirates
Not Your Usual Quaker Characters:

 “Pyle tacitly acknowledging the anomaly of pirates in in pantheon of heroic types, wrote that they ‘are hardly of the pacific nature one would expect of a boy with two hundred years of pure Quaker blood in his veins, but I have always had a strong liking for pirates and for highwaymen, for gunpowder smoke and for good hard blows.’”
Above quote: Howard Pyle, American Master Rediscovered, edited by Heather Campbell Coyle, 2011, Howard Pyle to Edith Robinson, Howard Pyle Manuscript Collection, Delaware Art Museum

 Robin Hood (1883) and King Arthur (1903)
Written and Illustrated by Howard Pyle:

Artist Howard Pyle - A Birthright Quaker
How Quaker was Howard Pyle?

  Howard Pyle was a pioneering American illustrator, author, and teacher. He is often named the “Father of American illustration.” Born in Wilmington, Delaware, he was raised a family with deep Quaker roots, though he did not remain an active member of the Society of Friends as an adult. Pyle gained national recognition for his vivid illustrations and retellings of classic legends like Robin Hood and King Arthur. Through his teaching he trained a generation of artists who became leaders in American illustration, including N.C. Wyeth, Jessie Willcox Smith, and Maxfield Parrish.
Pyle’s first American ancestor on his father’s side was Robert Pyle who came to America in 1682 with William Penn’s company. When Pyle was about seven years old his Quaker parents began attending the Swedenborgian church and were read out of Quaker meeting. Howard Pyle attended Swedenborgian church regularly, although he got married in the Quaker tradition in the home of his wife Anne Poole. He used the Quaker thee in writing to his wife. When writing to friend A. B. Frost he referred to “my Quaker family.”

“It was not a matter of abandoning one [Quakerism] for the other [Pyle’s Swedenborgian beliefs] - he would encompass both although he was no longer a recognized member of the Society of Friends.” Howard Pyle, by Henry C. Pitz, 1965.

“Yet the Quaker simplicity, handed down from generation to generation, remained undiminished under Swedenborgian
influences. He retained throughout his life a simplicity of character that was most unusual for one of his versatile genius, and which was probably due to the long tradition of Quakerism which lay behind him.” Howard Pyle, A Chronicle, by Charles D. Abbott, 1925.

  Howard Pyle married a Quaker woman named Anne Poole in 1881, four years before the publication of this Quaker wedding illustration. The Pyle’s Quaker wedding ceremony took place at the home of Anne’s parents in Wilmington, Delaware. This was fairly typical at the time, especially among families of similar social and religious backgrounds. Anne Poole came from a well-known Wilmington family, and the ceremony was private and relatively modest.

 Illustration of the Ring House / Washington’s Headquarters
A Boys’ Residence at Howard Pyle’s Art School

Above: N. C. Wyeth’s illustration On the Way to the Front in ‘76 appears in the 1918 history textbook Essentials of American History by Thomas Lawler. The painting depicts Continental soldiers heading toward the frontline. The Ring house / Washington’s Headquarters is in the background. The artist N. C. Wyeth was the most famous student of the Howard Pyle Art School. This Ring house was a boys’ residence for that summer school.

Love Your Enemies 
Anti-War Traditions in the Brandywine Valley
Quaker Convictions During the Revolutionary War:

The Brandywine Valley was an important center of Quaker life in the 18th century. Strong beliefs in nonviolence and neutrality shaped the community’s response to the Revolutionary War. Most Quakers were guided by their peace testimony and refused to take up arms or support either side. They maintained a pacifist stance despite pressure and suspicion from both British and American forces. Their commitment to peace left a lasting mark on the area's history and identity.

 A Painting of the Gilpin House
By Andrew Wyeth in 1941:

 Brandywine Battlefield Park
National Register of Historic Places
Society of Architectural Historians / Archipedia
Philadelphia Encyclopedia / Brandywine Valley