May is National Preservation Month! Historic Sugartown works to preserve not only the physical aspects and buildings of our 19th century village, but the stories of those who lived, worked, and thrived here. 

In the 1980s, Historic Sugartown’s General Store Complex had been falling into disrepair when it was decided that the thriving center of the 19th century village of Sugartown needed to be saved. In 1982 Historic Sugartown Incorporated was formed for the purpose of restoring and preserving the General Store and its adjacent buildings. At the time of Historic Sugartown Incorporated’s forming, the property consisted of just four buildings: 

  • A two-story stone residence constructed by Joseph Waterman in 1805, split into two separate tenant houses, originally holding the Saddler’s (Joseph Waterman)’s Shop and house.
  • The three-story stone General Store- the third floor Off Fellows Hall added in 1851.
  • The utility wing, built in 1889 to connect the General Store building to the Worrall House
  • The three-story Sharpless Worrall House, constructed in the 1860s for the Worrall family

The property held the ruins of the Worrall Barn, which originally had a second story that unfortunately fell into disrepair and collapsed in the 1980s. 

Fast forward to 2025, Historic Sugartown encompasses nine buildings. The four listed prior, as well as:

  • The Book Bindery, completed in 2001 and holding the collection of bookbinding tools that belonged to Fred and Elke Shihadeh
  • The William Garrett House, constructed in 1805 and saved from demolition in 2001 by moving the house to the Sugartown property from its original location on Providence Road
  • The Hannah Cheever House, constructed in 1835 and home to tavern keeper Hannah Cheever
  • The Cheever Bank Barn, constructed around the same time as the Cheever House and originally part of the Cheever farm property
  • The Carriage Museum, built over the foundation of the John family’s workshop and originally used by the Malvern Fire Company, now housing the Historic Sugartown and Chester County History Center’s collection of 1800-1900s carriages

I’ll spare you the details of exactly which preservation treatments have been used across the property and how- but I will include some photos of pre-restoration Sugartown.The important thing is, through the efforts of Historic Sugartown Inc., local residents, neighbors, and friends, Historic Sugartown is now restored to be physically representative of the buildings and community that thrived here in the 19th century, and also offers a peek into what life may have looked like in the 19th century through the sharing of stories of those families, like the Worrall’s, John’s, and Cheever’s, who lived and worked here.