Penn Township
The Red Rose Inn
The Red Rose Inn dates back to the 1730s. The 5,000 acre tract on which it was built was conveyed by William Penn to his grandson, William Allen, with the rent payment of a single rose (hence the name). Over the years, the inn was a successful restaurant until it closed in 1985. Instead of tearing the building down, the township decided to preserve and restore the building..
Before the township took over the former inn, there were rumors about the Red Rose Inn being haunted. Families who owned the inn felt the spirits' presence of an Indian man and a young girl.
Sunset Park,
A Hub for Country and Bluegrass Music
"Although the Philadelphia Folk festival is more widely known, country and bluegrass music found a venue in the southern part of the county that became famous long before the Philadelphia Folksong Society was founded. G. 'Uncle Roy' Waltman began to invite country singers to his park in Jennersville in 1939. Crowds appeared with the facility attracting up to 3,000 people. By 1944, Nashville stars came north to perform. The show would run for 55 years before closing in 1995. Sunset hosted premier acts including Eddy Arnold, Bill Monroe, Hank Williams, Earl Scruggs, Conway Twitty, Crystal Gayle and Dolly Parton. These acts rarely crossed the Mason Dixon Line, but the longevity of the Park perhaps best demonstrates that there was an audience for this music genre."
- Mark Ashton, Chester County, A Modern History
In 2018, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission approved the placement of a marker at Sunset Park.
Jennersville Hosptial
West Grove native Dr. William B. Ewing (1875-1945) started a hospital in the former Hotel Roseboro in West Grove at the corner of Prospect Avenue and Walnut Street, naming it the West Grove Hospital. The hospital operated until 1959 when there was a need for improved medical facilities. Thus, the hospital was relocated, and a new Jennersville Hospital was established.
In 2021, the hospital closed down, and ChrisianaCare currently occupies the former hospital.
Bibliography
Barber, Chris. "DAR honors Penn Township for restoration of the Red Rose Inn." Chester County Press. Last modified May 15, 2024. https://www.chestercounty.com/2024/05/15/491575/dar-honors-penn-township-for-restoration-of-the-red-rose-inn.
Carson-Gentry, Martha and Paul Rodebaugh. Southern Chester County in Vintage Postcards. (Charleston: Arcadia Publishing, 1999): 81.
Cope, Gilbert and Henry Graham Ashmead. Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Chester and Delaware Counties, Pennsylvania, Volume 2. (Salem: Higginson Book Company, 1904): 445-446.
Greene, Sean. "ChristianaCare to reopen part of former Jennersville Hospital this August." WDEL. Last modified June 27, 2025. https://www.wdel.com/news/christianacare-to-reopen-part-of-former-jennersville-hospital-this-august/article_4c0c5046-1025-4b9c-a431-dd654453b592.html.
"History." Penn Township. Accessed June 29, 2025. https://www.penntownship.us/about/pages/history.
Hoffman, Steven. "A new life for hospital in Jennersville." Chester County Press. Last modified June 15, 2022. https://www.chestercounty.com/2022/06/15/403221/a-new-life-for-hospital-in-jennersville.
"Red Rose Inn." This Haunted Place (blog). October 13, 2024. https://thishauntedplace.com/red-rose-inn/.
Thompson, Richard. "Sunset Park designated a Pennsylvania landmark." Bluegrass Today. Last modified April 25, 2018. https://bluegrasstoday.com/sunset-park-designated-a-pennsylvania-landmark/.