Florida Park - Newtown Square, PA

[macgyver]

I'm a newbie here, and I am still in the research phase of my hunt, but I was wondering if anyone could help me out. I was reading a book written by the Marple/Newtown Historical Society on the area, and there was a place called "Florida Park" frequently mentioned. Now, I have been in the area where it supposedly was (near a small shopping center in Edgemont), and there is about a six-block section of houses named Florida Park. The thing I am wondering is why in the book it was always mentioned as a vacation spot. Does anybody know if there was a picnic area or swimming hole in that area? The area is rich in history, and I think it might turn out to be a hotspot if I can figure this out. Thanks

 

[root]

Hiya Mac....

I know the area you speak of and I'm wondering if this area may be where Castle Rock Park once stood. BTW....I'm in Springfield.

Peace and HH,

root

 

[macgyver]

Coolness

What was Castle Rock? I have seen things named Castle Rock on maps of the area, but I haven't paid much attention to them. I know Ridley Creek State Park is nearby as well - do you think that the Florida Park area extended into the area back there?

I also am guessing that you have heard of the Indian Cave in Marple township? They found a corpse in the 1940's of a Lenape indian!

 

[Jonesin]

Try

39°58'41"N , 75°25'47"W

And Welcome to the forum

Tom

 

[root]

Coolness

What was Castle Rock? I have seen things named Castle Rock on maps of the area, but I haven't paid much attention to them. I know Ridley Creek State Park is nearby as well - do you think that the Florida Park area extended into the area back there?

I also am guessing that you have heard of the Indian Cave in Marple township? They found a corpse in the 1940's of a Lenape indian!

I believe the remains of that indian are on display in the Marple Library. I've heard of Indian Cave and I believe it is located off Lawrence Rd. In Broomall. There was a dirt road just before Rt. 3 that took you back but The Blue Route took care of that!!

Peace

 

[macgyver]

Thank you Jonesin
I took a look at those coordinates you gave me, but there only appears to be a house and a street on the exact location of Castle Rock. I'll have to try to find some older maps of the area though.

Root;
I do not think the Indian is at the library anymore, but I do know that the rock shelter she was found in is about five blocks from it. I was talking to a neighbor earlier, and she grew up in the area. She recalls the area being mostly forestry, but there was a very old log cabin hidden somewhere near the Indian rock shelter. She was there many times as a kid, and she said it's a treasure trove. I have to look into this lead because the only other true (and still standing) log cabin I know of is near Upper Darby. If it turned out to be from the same time period as that one, it'd be worth finding it . As for the cave, I have to figure out who owns the property it is located on, and see if I could sweep it over.

As for Florida Park, I am going to see if I can pull up some older maps of the area from the library Saturday. Tomorrow I am heading out for a day of antiques in Adams County.

 

[mikesand]

Are you referring to Newton of Bucks county? If so good luck getting past the historical society.
HH
mike

 

[paul1410]

Hi guys,

Here is the web address of Newtown Square, pa.

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.ad...ddress=&city=NEWTOWN+SQUARE&state=PA&zipcode=

Zoom in 4 bars and then pan west slightly along West Chester Pike. You will see the areas of Florida Park and about 1/2 to 1 mike west is Castle Rock.

I don't know much about Florida Park other than the houses are somewhat older (pre 1940) but as far as I know they are all occupied, none are abandoned.

Castle Rock was the site of an amusement park around the turn of the century. It now has houses there on heavily wooded sites. There is a sign at the entrance (Castle Rock) but it also says "private" or something to that effect. I don't know how receptive the people there would be to giving permission.

Hope this helps.

HH
Paul

 

[macgyver]

Thanks Paul

That helped immensely. I was able to find a site on defunct amusement parks, and it said that the park operated from Memorial Day 1899 (wow that's good timing to find out about it!) until 1905. It was located at the very end of the 69th Street trolley line which was a good 10 miles away from the city. It was temporarily located about 5 miles from the city in a place called Broomall Grove (in Broomall) from 1895 until 1899 because the trolley line had not yet been completed.

I might have an advantage because I know many people who live in that area, so I will have to check. I am really interested where Broomall Grove was though. I'll have to research that some more. Thanks for all the help!

 

[root]

Thank you Jonesin
I took a look at those coordinates you gave me, but there only appears to be a house and a street on the exact location of Castle Rock. I'll have to try to find some older maps of the area though.

Root;
I do not think the Indian is at the library anymore, but I do know that the rock shelter she was found in is about five blocks from it. I was talking to a neighbor earlier, and she grew up in the area. She recalls the area being mostly forestry, but there was a very old log cabin hidden somewhere near the Indian rock shelter. She was there many times as a kid, and she said it's a treasure trove. I have to look into this lead because the only other true (and still standing) log cabin I know of is near Upper Darby. If it turned out to be from the same time period as that one, it'd be worth finding it . As for the cave, I have to figure out who owns the property it is located on, and see if I could sweep it over.

As for Florida Park, I am going to see if I can pull up some older maps of the area from the library Saturday. Tomorrow I am heading out for a day of antiques in Adams County.

The Swedish Cabin you speak of is on Darby Creek in Drexel Hill. I'm a Friend Of The Swedish Cabin and had the privilege for some time to take care of the grounds there. We performed an archeological dig there in '89 which produced over 2000 artifacts inc. clay marbles, French gun flints, an 1851 large cent, a 1785 Nova Constellatio, thimbles, an Indian scraper etc. etc. The cabin was restored by a fellow Williamson student named Norman Glass who is well known in historical restoration. Sigmund "PoP" Lubin. an early film pioneer made several silent films at this site.

HH,

root

 

[macgyver]

[quote/]

The Swedish Cabin you speak of is on Darby Creek in Drexel Hill. I'm a Friend Of The Swedish Cabin and had the privilege for some time to take care of the grounds there. We performed an archeological dig there in '89 which produced over 2000 artifacts inc. clay marbles, French gun flints, an 1851 large cent, a 1785 Nova Constellatio, thimbles, an Indian scraper etc. etc. The cabin was restored by a fellow Williamson student named Norman Glass who is well known in historical restoration. Sigmund "PoP" Lubin. an early film pioneer made several silent films at this site.

HH,

root
[/quote]

Thank you Jonesin
I took a look at those coordinates you gave me, but there only appears to be a house and a street on the exact location of Castle Rock. I'll have to try to find some older maps of the area though.

Root;
I do not think the Indian is at the library anymore, but I do know that the rock shelter she was found in is about five blocks from it. I was talking to a neighbor earlier, and she grew up in the area. She recalls the area being mostly forestry, but there was a very old log cabin hidden somewhere near the Indian rock shelter. She was there many times as a kid, and she said it's a treasure trove. I have to look into this lead because the only other true (and still standing) log cabin I know of is near Upper Darby. If it turned out to be from the same time period as that one, it'd be worth finding it . As for the cave, I have to figure out who owns the property it is located on, and see if I could sweep it over.

As for Florida Park, I am going to see if I can pull up some older maps of the area from the library Saturday. Tomorrow I am heading out for a day of antiques in Adams County.

The Swedish Cabin you speak of is on Darby Creek in Drexel Hill. I'm a Friend Of The Swedish Cabin and had the privilege for some time to take care of the grounds there. We performed an archeological dig there in '89 which produced over 2000 artifacts inc. clay marbles, French gun flints, an 1851 large cent, a 1785 Nova Constellatio, thimbles, an Indian scraper etc. etc. The cabin was restored by a fellow Williamson student named Norman Glass who is well known in historical restoration. Sigmund "PoP" Lubin. an early film pioneer made several silent films at this site.

HH,

root

Wow! That's really neat. Do you think that there is a chance that this cabin my friend was talking about that is hidden in the woods could be from the same time period? The area has always been extremely wooded, so it could easily be overlooked. Now I definitely have to talk to her again. Thank you for sharing this with me!

 

[Cw3885]

Is this post still active? I've been searching this area recently and believe i was able to get to one of the rock shelters, i have qyestions, can anyone respond if you are on here?

 

[airscapes]

from what my mom tells me, Florida park was where rich people from the city would go to vacation out in the county back in the day. My Brother in Law owned a home in Florida park and I live just down the pike in Upper Darby. Castle Rock is across from the Shopping center in edgemont and also was a resort spot.. lots of small house staked on the hill, kind of cool but not sure I would like living there. The Swedish cabin is a historical spot and probably off limits to MD although I did talk to a guy on my street who told me his brother had detected it back in the 80s, I have never bothered to visit the location.
There is very little area you can detect in Delco without permission.. and the Majority of ground is under concrete or buildings.
You can get permit for Ridley Creak St Park but you can only dig with a prob according to the rules.. lots of trash but not a bad place to go on a warm winters day when the under growth is dead.
Ping me in the fall if you want to get together for a local hunt at a trash park.. I have kind of given up on trying to find any place near by where I might find something interesting.