♫Over the Crum and through the woods/to Swarthmore College we go♫
Nixon’s Vice President, Spiro Agnew, once allegedly called Swarthmore the “Kremlin on the Crum.” Swarthmore’s Alma Mater says “Ev’ry ripple of Crum’s water/Is a greeting clear.” The Crum Woods are a liminal space in Swarthmore’s geography. They are a part of the campus, yet it can also feel like an entire other world. People needing a break from homework will often take a stroll through the Crum Woods to clear their heads; as a resident of Mary Lyon, I will sometimes take the long route home through the woods. This week, I want to throw a spotlight on some stories from the Crum. To follow these stories, we are going to start at the Leiper Historic House, and then follow the Leiper Smedley Trail through the entirety of the Crum; along the way, we will pass historic ruins, Crumhenge, and Alligator Rock. We will learn about an entire other world and history separate from Swarthmore’s own, but at the same time incredibly near.
The Leiper Historical House, built in 1785 by Thomas Leiper, a Scottish-American, businessman, banker, and politician. He was born in Scotland in 1745 and was educated in Glasgow and Edinburgh. In 1763, he emigrated to Virginia, where his brother owned a tobacco plantation. In 1765, he moved to Philadelphia, where he operated a tobacco export business, purchasing from Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, among others, and exporting it back to Europe. During the American Revolution, he took advantage of restrictions on the tobacco trade to consolidate his grasp on the tobacco export business in Philadelphia, creating a near-monopoly in the city. He used this fortune to branch into other ventures, including creating the Philadelphia City Troop during the Revolution. He served with them as lieutenant and treasurer at the battles of Princeton, Trenton, Brandywine, and Germantown. After the war, he continued to serve with the troops, helping to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794. After the Revolution, he moved from Philadelphia out to the country, settling in Nether Providence Township and building his estate, Strath Haven, in 1785. The name came from Leiper’s home, Strathhaven, back in Scotland. The estate’s other name, Avondale, also comes from Scotland, referring to the Avon Waters where Strath Haven lies.
Leiper’s estate was one of the largest in Delaware County, comprising 414 acres on Crum Creek. Here, Leiper built a “fireproof” vault that held federal funds during the War of 1812 after the British occupation of Washington, D.C. Notably, Leiper also presaged the railroad age, building Pennsylvania’s first railroad, which was also the continent’s first chartered railway, first operational non-temporary railway, and the first well-documented railroad. Leiper’s house can be seen and visited on Avondale Road, which is right next to Leiper Park. Following Avondale Road, which runs parallel to Crum Creek, we eventually cross under I-476 and find ourselves at the Oak Knoll Italian Garden.
The Oak Knoll Italian Garden stands on the grounds of the former Lytlecote Estate. The land that Lytlecote stands on was originally purchased from Willaim Penn, of Pennsylvania founding fame, by Quaker Thomas Powell in 1681. In 1892, the land was purchased by Mrs. James H. Little, who gave the mansion she built the name Lytlecote. It was described as “one of the most attractive of the many handsome Delaware county estates … massive in its proportions and beautiful in its surroundings.” In 1927, the land was purchased by Ward and Edith Hinkson, who renamed it Oak Knoll. They turned their 32-acre estate into one of the most notable in the area, featuring a swimming pool, a private arboretum tended by six gardeners, and an Italian water garden. Marissa Lariviere ’18, in an article for the Scott Arboretum about the garden, detailed the bounty of nature: “Boxwood hedges, roses, tree peonies, rhododendrons, and Exbury azaleas, among others. They also planted an abundance of trees, including Norway spruces, white pines, a double-flowering dogwood, golden-flowered fringe trees, a lace leaf maple, and flowering cherry trees. Five greenhouses stood near the house, where the Hinksons grew twelve varieties of orchids commercially. Around 100,000 of these orchid flowers were cut and sold each year.” In 1964, much of Oak Knoll’s land was carved up into parcels to build suburban homes in Nether Providence Township. The main house on the property, constructed by Little, was demolished to make way for supports for I-476, the Blue Route. The ruins of the gardens can be seen on the Leiper-Smedley Trail, and they are well worth the visit.
Following the trail a bit further north, we can cross Crum Creek to find ourselves at Crumhenge. I visited Crumhenge the first time I came to Swarthmore in person, and was surprised by the garbage bins filled with beer cans and empty Trulys. Today, no such parties seem to be happening at Crumhenge, thanks to the presence of a camera monitored by Public Safety. Crumhenge was constructed in the 1980s by the then-director of grounds Steve Wheaton. The original stones were taken from the demolished Hall Gymnasium, which stood where Lang Performing Arts Center is today. The stones originally stood straight up in the air, and there were four boulders indicating the four compass directions. This photo from a performance at Crumhenge shows what the vertical pillars looked like. This gave Crumhenge’s structure a more Stonehenge-esque appearance. Crumhenge was disassembled in 2016 during the construction of the Crum Creek Viaduct, the bridge for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority’s Media-Wawa Line that spans the Crum. This disruption seems to have killed the ΠΡ (Phi Ro) club at Swarthmore, which organized and ran bonfires at Crumhenge. Another fraternity killed by overzealous public works infrastructure projects; you hate to see it. Anyways, when Crumhrenge was reconstructed, the stones were laid horizontally on the ground.
If we follow the Valley Walk trail a bit further, we eventually end up at Alligator Rock. This Rock is a giant outcropping from the Crum. It is the product of erosion, specifically erosion of schist, which along with gneiss, makes up the bedrock of Delaware Valley. Because schist is softer than gneiss, when it erodes, it leaves outcroppings of gneiss, such as the dramatic Alligator Rock. This article is not intended to be a dispositive account of Crum’s features. I have left out the Crum Dam, Wister Garden, and Joe Swarthmore’s buried treasure of the original 6,000 shares of Swarthmore College stock which give its finder ownership of and control over the college. Go out, explore the Crum, see the sights, and take a break from writing that essay or studying for that test.
