cally designed doorway, Leiper's security vault constructed to resist attack by man or nature, and the remains of what constituted the first attempt to construct a railway in Delaware County.

Leiper desired to establish a method of transportation for stone from his quarry to Ridley Creek, one mile away. The attempt was successful and the horse-drawn railway was operated for 19 years. The remains of a canal, of which one of the locks was built in 1828 by George Leiper, a son of Thomas Leiper, are still to be seen in a fair state of preservation. Also located in the Crum Creek area is the site of the first forge in Delaware County. The spacious grounds of Strath Haven Inn occupy the land today, and the section also housed the first powder mill which was built in 1776 to manufacture ammunition for the hardly pressed Continental Army that was soon to fight the bloody battle of the Brandywine at Chadd's Ford and Birmingham.

Established in 1864 at a time when the area of Westdale was still a part of Springfield Township the Hicksite Quaker institution of learning, Swarthmore College, has added much to the educational background of the neighborhood. It has over 850 students enrolled currently and the college's beautiful campus spreads over 250 magnificently landscaped acres bordered by Crum Creek. The institution, while founded by the Hicksite Quaker group, is entirely non-sectarian and a number of Springfield students are enrolled there.

Springfield Township today is the home of the famous Vertol Aircraft Corporation, whose modern manufacturing plant employs many Delaware Countians. Other than this concern, Springfield is largely residential and while most of the old farm land in the township has been acquired for building purposes many park areas have been retained for recreational uses and improvements have been made by an alert township park board. The orderly development of the township throughout the years has been the result of intelligent co-operation between the Board of Township Commissioners and the citizenry. Determined to maintain the high standard set by the past, this co-operation is even more marked today.

Townships like Springfield are an integral part of the bone and sinew of the United States. But such elemental parts of a great country are not created overnight, they are the product of slow and painful growth emerging from the mists of time as a well-rounded community. Acknowledging its debt to the past, the Board of Commissioners unanimously passed the resolution given to them on October 23, 1950. It was presented by the Historical Society of Springfield and reads in part, "With the thought in mind that God-fearing people, from many lands representing all denominations of the Christian faith, came to this land of promise to establish new homes and to worship God as they chose, we hereby request the Board of Commissioners of Springfield Township to designate the first Sunday in November of each year as 'Springfield Day' in commemoration of the founding of this ancient town, one of the oldest in our country."

With a wonderful past, Springfield Township, Delaware County, looks forward to a greater future.