Historic Quaker Houses of Chester County, PA
The Taylor-Parke House
Built in 1768 by Abiah Taylor
Above: The 1768 Taylor-Parke House on Strasburg Road. Image source: Lee J. Stoltzfus
The Nearby 1724 Taylor House
Built by this Abiah Taylor’s Grandparents:
A Sampling of the Historic Taylor Buildings
In the Taylor-Cope Historic District:
Above: Image source: East Bradford Township (modified)
The Taylor–Cope Historic District, in West Bradford Township, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. The district includes fifteen contributing buildings which are mostly rural residences and barns.
Above: Family tree of the Taylor family, showing three generations of Taylors and two of their historic houses.
Datestones for the Two Taylor Houses
The Grandparents’ and the Grandson’s Houses:
Datestone on left: The 1724 datestone on the grandparents’ farmhouse: Abiah Taylor, Jr. and Deborah (Gearing) Taylor.
Datestone on right: The 1768 datestone on the Taylor-Parke House built by the grandson and wife: Abiah Taylor and Ann (Trimble) Taylor.
Datestones on historic Quaker houses are an exception, rather than a rule. These Taylor datestones are uniquely memorable. The Taylor wives’ initials on these datestone are an architectural reminder of Quakers’ progressive views regarding the relationship between men and women. Quakers demonstrated some of the most equitable roles for women in colonial Pennsylvania.