{"id":1820,"date":"2014-05-16T09:15:19","date_gmt":"2014-05-16T13:15:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/?p=1820"},"modified":"2014-05-16T09:36:52","modified_gmt":"2014-05-16T13:36:52","slug":"indian-hannah-earns-high-visibility-venue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/?p=1820","title":{"rendered":"Indian Hannah earns new high-visibility venue"},"content":{"rendered":"

Monument re-dedicated at location outside Longwood Gardens<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h1>\n
\n

By Kathleen Brady Shea<\/strong>,\u00a0Managing Editor, The Times<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Paul<\/a>

Paul B. Redman, director of Longwood Gardens, explains what led to the relocation and rededication of the Indian Hannah monument.<\/p><\/div>\n

With a reverence for the past and an eye to the future, state and local officials gathered at the entrance to Longwood Gardens on Thursday, May 15, to re-dedicate the monument honoring Hannah Freeman, better known as Indian Hannah, a celebrated member of the Lenni-Lenape Indians in Chester County.<\/p>\n

Paul B. Redman, director of Longwood Gardens, explained that when Rt. 52 was relocated in 2011 to accommodate the expansion of Longwood\u2019s Meadow Garden, the nearly 88-year-old monument \u201cbecame an island,\u201d losing its visibility.\u00a0 He said an effort to ensure that the memorial would be accessible involved a host of collaborators, including the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, The Chester County Historical Society, Kennett Township and the Kennett Township Historical Commission.<\/p>\n

\u201cLongwood could not have done this alone,\u201d Redman said. In an effort to pay homage to the history of the monument \u2013 a bronze plaque anchored by a water-worn Pocopson Creek boulder \u2013 Redman said Wednesday\u2019s ceremony was organized to replicate the one held on Sept. 5, 1925, and it resonated with links to the past.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Fellow<\/a>

Fellow Boy Scout Zachary Powell (left) holds the music as Harrison Warren plays \u201cAmerica the Beautiful\u201d at the Indian Hannah rededication ceremony at Longwood Gardens.<\/p><\/div>\n

Dennis Coker, principal chief of the Lenape Tribe of Delaware, set the tone with an evocative invocation to the Great Spirit. Calling Indian Hannah, \u201ctruly a keeper of this land,\u201d he asked for blessings upon the multi-cultural group that assembled at the monument\u2019s new home: the grounds of the former Progressive Friends Meeting House, now the Chester County Conference and Visitors Bureau, adjacent to the Longwood Gardens entrance.<\/p>\n

Like the original gathering, representatives from what is now the state Historical and Museum Commission and the county\u2019s Historical Society joined descendants of the Webb family, who owned the land in Kennett Township where Indian Hannah was born in 1730. Kenneth Vandegrift was one of four Webb descendants who participated on Wednesday; his mother unveiled the plaque in 1925.<\/p>\n

As environmental steward Pierre S. du Pont had done decades ago, Nathan Hayward III, president of Longwood\u2019s board, conveyed a deed for the land to Serena Bellew, director of the state Bureau for Historic Preservation. Redman noted that du Pont had a great interest in genealogy and preservation and would certainly have applauded the effort to provide a venue that offered the monument improved exposure and accessibility.<\/p>\n

Hayward pointed out that Redman owes a debt of gratitude to the Webbs, since he now resides in a home \u00a0formerly owned by their family. Another \u201cbit of symmetry:\u201d The year that Indian Hannah was born was the same year that the du Ponts started the lucrative gunpowder business that eventually enabled Pierre du Pont\u2019s philanthropy, Hayward said.<\/p>\n

\"Descendants<\/a>

Descendants of the Lenape Indians, including Chief Dennis Coker (second from left), pose in front of the Indian Hannah memorial.<\/p><\/div>\n

Rob Lukens, president of the Chester County Historical Society, provided insight into Indian Hannah\u2019s legacy, explaining that the myth that she was \u201cthe last of the Indians in Chester County\u201d gained steam over the years. \u201cThere are plenty of Lenapes still here with us,\u201d he said. In fact, some of those myth-busters attended the ceremony.<\/p>\n

More importantly, Lukens said Indian Hannah offered a stellar example of resilience as she and others adapted to a changing \u2013 and often turbulent \u2013 landscape. In 1764, she and relatives moved to New Jersey to escape the violence, returning to Chester County seven years later. She developed close relationships with some of the Quaker families who cared for her, and she became one of the first to reside in Chester County\u2019s Poorhouse, where she died in 1802, he said.<\/p>\n

Claire Sawyers, director of Swarthmore College\u2019s Scott Arboretum, read a poem written by John Russell Hayes, who was Swarthmore\u2019s librarian when he recited it at the first dedication. In it, he describes the kind of pastoral landscapes that Longwood\u2019s new Meadow Garden will contain.<\/p>\n

Finally, Redman said, the task of finding a bugler presented a bit of a challenge, but the Boys Scouts came to the rescue. Harrison Warren from Boy Scout Troop 24 played a crowd-pleasing \u201cAmerica the Beautiful\u201d to end the program.<\/p>\n

Later, the serendipitous nature of the gathering continued when Coker approached Kennett Township Manager Lisa M. Moore. \u201cYou look like you could have Indian” ancestry, he told her.<\/p>\n

Moore\u2019s eyes widened in amazement. \u201cBlackfoot,\u201d she said proudly.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know who we are,\u201d Coker added knowingly, reflecting a heritage the Indian Hannah monument should help to promote.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Monument re-dedicated at location outside Longwood Gardens By Kathleen Brady Shea,\u00a0Managing Editor, The Times With a reverence for the past and an eye to the future, state and local officials gathered at the entrance to Longwood Gardens on Thursday, May 15, to re-dedicate the monument honoring Hannah Freeman, better known as Indian Hannah, a celebrated […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,8],"tags":[1305,1235,1306,1307,330,1308,1309,1310,1311,593,1312],"class_list":["post-1820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-featured","tag-indian-hannah","tag-kennett-township","tag-kennett-township-historical-commission","tag-lenape-tribe-of-delaware","tag-longwood-gardens","tag-longwoods-meadow-garden","tag-nathan-hayward-iii","tag-paul-b-redman","tag-pierre-s-du-pont","tag-the-chester-county-historical-society","tag-the-pennsylvania-historical-and-museum-commission"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1820","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1820"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1820\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}