Land Trust to preserve Wyeth family home in Chadds Ford

The Joseph Davis House sits on property that saw action during the Revolutionary War, and was one the home of N.C. Wyeth.

A former Chadds Ford home of illustrator N.C. Wyeth, where he worked on his famous “Treasure Island” illustrations, is in line to be preserved by the North American Land Trust.

The property known as the Davis Tract has more recently been known as the home of the Camp Family, former Chadds Ford residents. The 16-acre property lies just to the east of the Barn Shops on Route 1.

Land Trust president Steven Carter said the nonprofit conservation organization want the preserve the historic property and open it to visitors.

The trust plans to offer historical and cultural programs at the preserve, develop hiking trails throughout the rolling fields, create pollinator habitat along the trails, and eventually move its headquarters to the Joseph Davis House.

“We envision this preserve as an active historic, cultural, and natural resource attraction.” Carter said, “bringing visitors from all over to Chadds Ford to share in our region’s rich cultural heritage.”

The Land Trust is a national organization, “but Chadds Ford is our home,” Carter said. “We are excited about the possibility of moving our headquarters to the Village of Chadds Ford and becoming a more visible part of this vibrant community.”

The Joseph Davis Tract would be Land Trust’s second public preserve.

In 2022, it opened the 72-acre Brinton Run Preserve to the public. That property, just over a mile from the Joseph Davis Tract, initially was considered for development.

NALT and several partners were able to raise more than $4 million to permanently protect the battlefield and natural lands.

Chadds Ford Township holds the permanent conservation easement on Brinton Run Preserve. Carter said Chadds Ford Township also would hold the permanent easement on the Joseph Davis Tract.

Township Manager Lacey Faber said the Board of Supervisors and Open Space Committee was thrilled to be a part of preserving the historic 1597 Baltimore Pike property.

“Partnering with North American Land Trust shows our continued dedication to conserving open space in Chadds Ford, safeguarding its history, and establishing a vibrant community,” she said.

“The initiative underscores the remarkable collaborations among passionate professionals committed to land conservation. We are privileged to work alongside everyone involved, reaffirming our belief that together, we can significantly enhance our community and safeguard our natural heritage.”

Raising funds for Wyeth house

NALT is working with historic and conservation groups, as well as local and state agencies, to raise the $3.6 million needed to fully acquire the Joseph Davis Tract.

One of those partners is the American Battlefield Trust, which was instrumental in helping NALT acquire Brinton Run Preserve in 2021.

“With so much of the Brandywine Battlefield lost to development, the Joseph Davis Tract preservation project offers an exciting opportunity to protect an important historic site for future generations,” said David N. Duncan, president of the American Battlefield Trust.

The tract sits at the center of the Continental Army’s main defensive line during the Revolutionary War Battle of Brandywine, he said.

On Sept. 11, 1777, the American forces engaged the British forces but ultimately had to retreat. American General Anthony Wayne’s Pennsylvania Division took up position on the Joseph Davis Tract and a four-gun battery overlooking Chadds Ford was set up to the left of the property.

The historic Joseph Davis House, originally built in 1725, sits on the 16-acre property.

According to the Brandywine Museum of Art, N.C. Wyeth and his family lived in the house from 1907 to 1911. Wyeth converted a former carriage house into his studio, adding a skylight to his workspace.

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There, he created some of his major artworks including his depictions of Native Americans and his illustrations for Robert Louis Stevenson’s adventure novel “Treasure Island.”

N.C. was the father of the last Andrew Wyeth and grandfather of artist Jamie Wyeth.

William L. Coleman, director of the Wyeth Study Center at the Brandywine Museum of Art, said N.C. Wyeth found the setting at the Joseph Davis House inspirational.

Coleman said that inspiration was evident in the wide range of artwork he created in the studio.

“For that reason, NALT’s plans to make this structure a publicly accessible, interpreted space is tremendously exciting and would make a major addition to the networked natural and cultural resources of our region,” Coleman said.

Carter said the goal is to close on the property in the first quarter of 2025.

Go here to take a video tour of the Joseph Davis Tract.