County acquires land for Struble expansion

WEST CHESTER »Chester County will pay about $160,000 for 35 acres of land along the East Branch of the Brandywine Creek in Wallace to add to the Struble Trail as it runs from Downingtown to Honey Brook.

But don’t expect it to be able to traverse the property, part of the larger Greenfield Estate, anytime soon.

The stretch of former railroad bed that runs between Marshall and Fairview roads in Glenmoore is landlocked between other parcels that are still in private hands, county officials said recently discussing the purchase, which was approved unanimously by county commissioners Wednesday.

Officials said the county would pay $150,000 for the land and another $10,000 in unidentified costs.

The parcel would be a key cog in the connection of the south and north stretches of the full, proposed Struble Trail map. But since the county does not own the adjoining parcels and has no current plans to acquire them, the Greenfield property will likely stay unused as trail bed.

In fact, commissioners’ Chairwoman Michelle Kichline said, only partly in jest, that she would likely be retired from her position on the board before the parcel would be publicly accessible.

In December 2015, the county

and the Brandywine Conservancy issued a report on the future plans for the northern sections of the trail through Upper Uwchlan, Wallace, East Nantmeal and Honey Brook townships. Although the plans are fairly detailed, the study found that many landowners along the proposed trail bed in the more rural areas of the county were fairly opposed to its creation, citing safety and loss of privacy.

But the Greenfield property, which had been acquired in 2017 by Natural Lands, the regional land conservation organization, became available when the organization offered to turn it over to the county.

David Stauffer, the capital projects coordinator with the county’s Facilities and Parks Department, said that the 34.8 stretch crosses the Brandywine at Wallace’s Burgess Park along Route 282, northeast of Springton Manor Farm.

“It’s a very important piece of the puzzle” that would extend the trail beyond its current 2.6 miles, ending at Dorlan’s Mill Road in Upper Uwchlan, Stauffer said. The county has been working on the acquisition for about two years, he estimated.

“My personal feeling is that the Struble Trail is one of the most scenic of all the county trail system, because it runs along the Brandywine,” he said. The location of the trail generally follows the rail bed of the former Waynesburg Branch of the Wilmington Northern Railroad. Its southern terminus is in Downingtown, and its runs east of the Brandywine past remnants of the historic Dowlin’s MIll. It has become immensely popular with hikers and bicyclists since it was opened in 1979, named after the late county Commissioner Robert G. Struble.

The property is part of the larger 600-plus estate of the late Albert Greenfield Jr., a figure in county Democratic politics, and is now owned by his heirs, including his two daughters and two sons.

To contact staff writer Michael P. Rellahan call 610-696-1544.

PETE BANNANDIGITAL FIRST MEDIA A pile of old ral ties along land that Chester County has purchased in Wallace Township to extend the Struble trail.

PETE BANNAN-DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Chester County Struble trail near Downingtown.