The author here is Stephanie Schumacher from suburban Chicago. We spent a nice November Saturday showing her family around, and I asked if she would share how their visit came about. This is her story, about wonderful parenting and making new friends in Newtown Square:
“As a homeschool family, we place great importance on surrounding our daughters with books full of stories, biographies being the emphasis for learning about history. This fall we began reading about the Colonial time period, focusing on true stories about the lives of children. One that truly captured the heart of our family was Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin by Marguerite Henry. I read a few chapters aloud each day, and each time my daughters begged for me to read more. We loved learning about Benjamin West as a boy – how he first drew a picture of his baby niece, how he learned to mix colors from the Indians, and of course all the stories about his beloved cat Grimalkin. After finishing the book, we
learned that the house where West was born was still standing, but not preserved in a way for us to visit and imagine what life was like for West then.
My daughters kept asking if there was any way we could go visit anyways, as there was nothing they wanted more than to see where Benjamin West lived. After more searching, I discovered Newtown Square and the Square Tavern that Benjamin West’s father ran when West was a little boy. It looked as though the Tavern was a place in which we could go inside and see how it would have originally been, 
and so I decided to reach out to the Newtown Square Historical Society to see if we were to fly in for a visit if we could have a tour. After receiving a gracious invitation from board member, Doug Humes, we were thrilled to learn that he was willing to give us a tour. We promptly booked our flights and hotel for a few weeks out.
Thanks to Doug and Terry Jones, we had a fabulous experience at the Square Tavern during our stay in Newtown Square and are so thankful for the opportunity to have learned more about West from the knowledge they shared, and to imagine what it was like to have lived there when he did.
It was a beautiful example of how history connects people, and how our daughters who are 6 and 8 can have the same interest and joy in learning about a Quaker boy who became the Father of American Painting as the adults who have spent many years studying him as well. We are so grateful for our time at the Square Tavern and know that we won’t forget the experience of standing and sitting where West once lived, and the new friends we made.”
For more history on Newtown Square, Delaware County, and membership information, please visit our website at: https://nshistory.org/Catching the History Bug at a Young Age