Uwchlan Township
Uwchlan Meeting House
The Uwchlan Meeting held their first meeting in 1712 at the home of John Cadwalader. In 1715 Cadwalader purchased 250 acres of land from David Lloyd, and around that same year on January 16, sold his farm to "reserve a piece of Ground on ye side of the King's Road which ye sd John Cadwalader allotted for a burying place, and to set a meeting house on for ye people called Quakers." There they build a log house for their meeting. The present building on Rte 113 west of Route 100 was built in 1756.
During the Revolutionary War in 1778, the physicians of the Continental Army needed another place to accommodate their sick soldiers. After allowing the troops to use their meeting house as a hospital, they went to the home of George Thomas in Great Valley.
In 1976, the meeting house was sold to the Uwchlan Conservation Trust which restoraed the meeting house.
The Vickers Family: Abolitionists and Potters
Thomas Vickers (1757-1829) and his son, John (1780-1860) were not only potters but also two of the agents on the Underground Railroad as members of the Uwchlan Anti-Slavery Society. Thomas initially established a pottery near Downington, PA, later moving to Lionville to continue business with his grown son John. John purchased 5 acres and 66 perches for $800. The property is today a White Dog Cafe.
Bibliography
Cope, Gilbert. Genealogy of the Sharpless Family: Descended from John and Jane Sharples, Settlers Near Chester, Pennsylvania, 1682, Together with Some Account of the English Ancestry of the Family, Including the Results of Researches by Henry Fishwick, F. H. S., and the Late Joseph Lemuel Chester, LL. D., and a Full Report of the Bi-centennial Reunion of 1882. (Philadelphia: Bicentennial Committee, 1887): 419-420.
Futhey, John Smith and Gilbert Cope. History of Chester County, Pennsylvania: With Genealogical and Biographical Sketches. (Philadelphia: Louis H. Everts, 1881): 236-237.
Maye, Fran. "Historic Vickers Restaurant in Exton closing after 50 years." Daily Local News. Last modified October 15, 2021. https://www.dailylocal.com/2021/10/15/historic-vickers-restaurant-in-exton-closing-after-50-years/.
Mikulich, Leah. "White Dog Cafe Brings Fresh Flavor to Chester Springs’ Iconic Old Vickers Tavern." VISTA Today. Last modified December 23, 2024. https://vista.today/2024/12/white-dog-cafe-chester-springs-vickers/.
Thomas, Justin W. "The Vickers Family Of Pennsylvania: Abolitionists, Farmers And Quaker Potters." Antiques & Auction News. Last modified September 02, 2022. https://antiquesandauctionnews.net/the-vickers-family-of-pennsylvania-abolitionists-farmers-and-quaker-potters/.
"Through the Years." Uwchlan Conservation Trust, Inc. Accessed February 4, 2025. https://uwchlanconservationtrust.org/through-the-years/.