Radnor Township.

1790. Benjamin Davis, grist-mill; John Evans, saw-mill; Levi Lewis, grist-mill; Daniel Maule, tan-yard; Simeon Matlock, tan-yard.

1802, '03, '04. Jesse Brooke, grist-, saw-, and plaster-mills; David Evans, grist- and saw-mills; Levi Lewis, saw-mill; Daniel Maule, tan-yard; John and William Siter, tan-yard, bark- and saw-mills.

1807. Jesse Brooke, grist- and plaster-mills; Levi Lewis, grist- and saw-mills; George and Simeon Matlock, tan-yard; Daniel Maule, bark- and tan-yard; John Pugh, bark- and tan-yard; Edward Siter, tan-yard and bark-mill; William Siter, saw-mill.

1809. Samuel Colef, saw-mill; Evan Roberts, grist- and saw-mills.

1811, '12. Samuel Colef, saw-mill; Levi Lewis, grist-mill; Evan Roberts, grist-mill; Jesse Brooke, grist-mill; William Siter, saw-mill;¹ Edward Siter, stone saw-mill, tan-yard, and currying-shop.

1817, '18. Jesse Brooke, grist- and saw-mill; John² and David Evans, grist- and saw-mill; Hannah Lewis, grist- and saw-mill; Joseph Pugh, tan-yard; Edward Siter, tan-yard and currying-shop; William Siter, saw-mill.

1820 '21. Jesse Brooke, grist, saw- and plaster-mills; John and David Evans, grist- and saw-mills; Edward Siter and Yocum, tan-yard; William Siter, saw-mill.

² John Evans, miller, was born in Radnor in 1790, and died in the same township in 1862. At the time of his death, and for years preceeding that event, he was the possessor of grounds containing the finest botanical collection ever seen in this latitude, all being the result of his own researches and labor.

The following is an extract from an official report made in 1826, regarding the mills, mill-seats, etc., in the county of Delaware, Pa.:

"On Ithan Creek in Radnor, a mill-seat on land of the heirs of Andrew Steel, deceased.

"On Ithan Creek, in Radnor, a grist-mill and saw-mill, head and fall about twenty-three feet, owned and occupied by John and David Evans.

"Near the head of Ithan Creek, in Radnor, a grist-mill and saw-mill, head and fall about sixteen feet, grinds from eight to ten thousand bushels of grain per annum, and about fifty tons gypsum per annum, saw-mill employed occasionally, owned and occupied by Jesse Brooke.

"On Darby Creek above Ithan Creek, in Radnor, a mill-seat, head and fall fourteen or sixteen feet, owned by Samuel Kelly and others.

"On a westerly branch of Darby Creek, in Radnor, a saw-mill, head and fall about eighteen feet, owned and occupied by Levi Lewis.

"On Darby Creek, in Radnor, an old grist-mill, head and fall about ten feet, owned by Levi Lewis, occupied by John Weaver, grinds from ten to twelve thousand bushels of grain per annum.

"On easterly branch of Darby Creek, in Radnor, a mill-seat, on lands of Levi Lewis.

"On the same branch, in Radnor, a mill-seat, on lands of Elizabeth Matlock and others.

"On the same branch is a clover-mill and a saw-mill owned by William Siter, and occupied by William Wilfong, Jr."

In 1829, '30, the following mills, etc., and owners were mentioned: Brooke's grist- and saw-mills; John and David Evans' grist- and saw-mills; E. Siter and Yocum's tan-yard, and William Siter's saw-mill.

During the year 1829, Eber James built an earthen-ware pottery kiln near the fifteenth milestone, on the old Lancaster road, which he operated (with the exception of three or four years, when it was rented to Benjamin Jones) until his death, in the year 1845. Benjamin Jones then managed the works for six years, and was succeeded by L. G. James, a son of Eber. Subsequently Isaac Hoopes conducted the business for a number of years.

The mills now in operation in Radnor are the Brooke Mills, owned and operated by Joseph W. Worrell; the Evans Mills, owned and operated by David Paxon; the Siter Mill, owned and operated by Mahlon Edwards; and Tryon Lewis' mills. A large amount of work is performed at the mills last mentioned, which, it will be remembered, occupy the seat of the mill of 1710.

Schools. - Prior to the adoption of the school law enacted in 1834, schools of more or less excellence had been maintained in the township from its first settlement. Of their history, however, but little is known and never will be. They were subscription schools, chiefly taught in the winter, during periods irregular in their duration. Yet in them the descendants of the pioneers, through several generations, mastered the rudiments and the essential principles of education with a facility equal to that displayed by the students of to-day.

The first authentic references to schools in Radnor are found in the court records, where it is shown that in 1825, in accordance with an order issued, Abran Lewis, Benjamin Maule, and Benjamin Davis were elected school trustees for the township. They were then called "school men," and were elected to serve for one, two, and three years respectively. Again turning to the records, we learn that, on the 14th of May, 1827, the "school men" purchased from Mordecai Lewis land "on which to erect a Union school."

In 1834, at the inauguration of the free-school system, the court appointed as inspectors of schools for Radnor, to act until directors "be elected," John Evans and Jesse Brooke, Jr. The following year, through its treasurer, the township received for school purposes, from State and county, the sum of $1010.45.