Chester County Medicine Summer 2021 - 9

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We would not be providing good service if we did not go back
in time and remember and reminisce on the history of the Center
itself. In 1893, Gilbert Cope, a Chester County historian, along
with six men and four women established the initial charter of
Chester County Historical Society. It is interesting to see that the
society has always involved women in governance. At first the
society meetings were held in a room in the West Chester Public
Library on North Church Street. The society originally raised
$95.49 from 46 persons who had paid the initiation fee and 34 of
these who had paid their annual dues.
art heritage. Some great artists like Andrew Wyeth, N.C. Wyeth,
George Cope, Howard Pyle, and many others that have collections
in the world's best museums were Chester County residents. One
of the greatest collectors of art and a great chemist, Albert Barnes,
was from the area.
We also have great scientists and doctors like Humphry
Marshall, William Darlington, Graceanna Lewis, William Baldwin
and Charlotte Moore. I can go on and on, but the purpose of a
history center is not to just present achievements of these greats
but also to catalogue the ordinary folks who contributed to make
this one of the foremost counties in the USA.
Then there are those who had the talent but in their lifetime
suffered ignominy like the great African American painter Horace
Pippin who used to exchange his paintings for his daily needs
and even his gravestone was lost. As self-taught pioneer, his
unmodulated vibrant paintings make him a pioneer and his work
one of the most sought after in the USA.
We are also trying to involve those that have come more
recently. To that end, the Dr. Mian A. Jan Fellowship was
established (see below). The Fellowship will allow the History
Center to continue adding the local history of these varied
communities in the county into the permanent collection in recent
years. The growth of this community has been the fastest and thus
the History Center brings new communities into its fold.
Due to the small space available at the library, society meetings
were moved to a room on the second floor, to what was then
known as Normal School Library. At this time projects were
created around the Native Americans and the early settlers.
Ribbon Cutting
Under the leadership of Dr. Charles Philips, monthly meetings
and annual banquets were held with a membership of total of 87
in 1907. After World War I, in 1920, Dr. Philips died. Activities
continued with The Honorable Frank Hause, a Chester
County judge, chosen to lead the organization. The
lack of space to house and exhibit the ever-expanding
collection continued to be a problem for the society as
the years passed. In the 1930s a building committee
looked at various options. Memorial Hall on High
Street in uptown West Chester was bequeathed by
Mrs. Uriah Painter and was rebuilt to become the
future home of the historical society. The condition of
the bequest was that the society could not occupy the
building until after the death of the last member of the
Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), who used the
building (which happened in 1937). Isabel Darlington,
SUMMER 2021 | CHESTER COUNTY Medicine 9
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Chester County Medicine Summer 2021

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