Darby Township.

order made Nov. 12, 1678, that "the court this day ordered that Every p^rson should, W^thin the space of two months, as far as his land Reaches, make good and passable wayes, from neighbour to neighbour, w^th bridges where itt needs, To the end that neighbours on occasions may come together. Those neglecting, to forfit 25 gilders." Indeed, the petition presented to Council March 19, 1705/6, corroborates the foregoing statement. The petition is as follows:

"To the Hon'ble John Evans, Esq., Lieut.-Governor of the Province of Pennsylvania and the Three Lower Counties, and to his Council:

"The Humble petetion of the Inhabitants of the town and County of Chester and others, humbly showeth: That whereas, by y^e Laws of this Government, y^e sole power of laying out of the Queen's Road is lodged in the Governor and Council; and whereas the Town of Chester is daily improving, and In time may become a great place, and very advantageous to the Propriatour, but forasmuch as most of the People of that place concerned In the Improvement is much discouraged for want of a direct Road from thence to Philadelphia, wee, your Petitioners, whose names are hereunto subscribed, do beg the Governor and Councill that an ord'r may be granted to fitt and proper persons to lay out the Queen's Road on as direct a Line as can be from Darby, to answer the bridge on Chester Creek, and your petitioners in duty bound will ever pray.

Council in response to this petition ordered, -

"That the said Road be laid accordingly and if there shall be occasion for building a bridge over any Navigable creek or water for the greater conveniency of Travelling the said Road; that such bridge shall be so built that the same may in nowise hinder any boats from passing up or down such creek or water. And it is further Ordered y^t Jasper Yates, Caleb Pusey, Jeremiah Collett, Robert Barber and John Hendrickson, or any four of them, do survey and lay out the said Roads, and that they return as soon as they can to the Board, - Under their hands and seals an exact draught setting forth the several courses thereof."¹

This road was laid out, and bitter feeling was engendered against several of the commissioners, particularly Jasper Yeates, for the manner in which the road was surveyed. The people of that day declared that his influence carried the highway through Chester at the point it did, so that his own and his father-in-law's estate might be benefited thereby. "God and Nature," it was asserted, "intended the road to cross directly across the creek, but the Devil and Jasper Yeates took it where it was located." However, it was so laid, and at the August court, 1706, the sheriff was directed "forthwith" to give notice "to the Supervisors of the highways for Chester, Ridley, and Darby for clearing the new Road lately laid out by the Governor & Councill leading from Darby to Chester and further that they, the Supervisors, do without delay, upon notice thereof, cause the same new Road to be opened and cleared fifty foot wide." Previous to that road being laid out the highway to Philadelphia was considerably to the north of the present post-road, so that creeks could be crossed above tide-water at the fords. The King's Highway of the early days, if it could be called such, crossed Ridley township almost in a straight line from Irvington to Darby. William Worrall, whose recollections were written by Judge George G. Leiper, in 1820 (Worrall was born in 1730), and published in the newspapers of that time, stated that frequently, in plowing his fields, the plow-share would throw up nails or other articles dropped by the settlers in journeying across the land. He pointed out to Judge Leiper the course of the old road which Penn and his followers took when on their way by land to Philadelphia, as it passed through his farm.

The road laid out in 1706 in time having fallen in bad condition, many of the residents refused to work on the highway, alleging that it was never officially confirmed and was not a legal road, and, moreover, except for a very short distance, the traveled road was from twenty to forty perches south of the route surveyed in 1706. The dispute could only be adjusted by the Provincial Council. Hence on Aug. 17, 1747, the following petition of George Gray and others was presented to Council:

"To the Honourable, the President and Council of the Province of Pennsylvania:

"The humble Petition of George Gray, Keeper of the lower Ferry over Schuylkill, on the Road from the City of Philadelphia to Chester, and of others, living in the County of Chester, and using the said Road, Sheweth,

"That the said Road, leading from the south street of the said City over the said Ferry to Cobb's Creek Bridge, near Darby, in the County of Chester, has Time out of Mind been the only old and accustomed Road to Darby, Chester, Newcastle, and the Lower Counties.