We’ve mentioned Sharpless Worrall’s Truck Garden on the property in a past blog, but we were curious as to what else Mr. Worrall may have grown over the years.

Some of the answers are easy to find.  Mr. Worrall kept a journal of the trees that he planted in his orchard.  It seems clear that by the time Mr. Worrall builds his house on the property in 1860, he is positioning himself to be a “gentleman farmer”.  He looks towards higher styles in designing his house and is also familiar with the idealistic rural “cottage” lifestyles that were popular at the time.  Sharpless Worrall even removes his store from his daily tasks when he transfers the general store to his son, Lewis, in 1863.  Sharpless wanted to retire into the life of experimenting in agricultural pursuits.

The Record, December 18, 1877

Between 1861 and 1865, Sharpless Worrall plants at least 90 trees as part of his orchard. He starts off in 1861 by planting 15 cherry trees, of various strains.  In the spring of the next year, he plants 12 more trees, all dwarf pears.  He follows that up the following year by planting a variety of pear, apple, and cherry trees.

But, while he records all of this in a small booklet, there are some things he leaves out!  For example, in 1865, Sharpless Worrall wins a first place award at the annual Chester County Agricultural Society for his grapes!  The following year he wins an award for making wine.  In 1875, a local report states that he was still occupied with growing grapes, and note that he was growing “Roger’s No.15”.

And then there was the lemon tree!  An article in The Record on December 18, 1877 tells the story of the Worrall’s lemon tree, planted around 1871, that was producing 70 lemons each season.