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Past Meetings |
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At our public meeting on November 19, 2006 the featured presentation was: The Blue Ball Inn of Tredyffrin Township By 2006 Mildred Kirkner Memorial Essay Contest winner Caroline Hager In 1796 an inn was constructed on the corner of what is now Russell and Old Lancaster Roads in Berwyn to provide “a roof and a meal” to drovers and wagon drivers traveling between Philadelphia and Lancaster. For the next 100 years the Inn developed an eccentric and even eerie reputation. This fascinating story will be presented by Ms. Caroline Hager, a senior at Conestoga High School and Gold Prize Winner of the 2006 Mildred Kirkner Memorial Essay Contest. A sample paragraph from the essay whets the appetite for more on this legendary dwelling: “Priscilla Moore, otherwise known as ‘Prissy’, inherited the Blue Ball Inn in the early 1800's and served as innkeeper for more than 50 years. She was well remembered for her quick temper and her sharp tongue. Prissy was married to Edward Robison, John Cahill and John Fisher, all of whom mysteriously disappeared. A few travelers were also heard to have vanished during a night’s stay at the Blue Ball. Needless to say, strange stories circulated about Prissy. Legend has it that guests would sometimes be awakened by muffled cries in the night and scraping noises, like that of a shovel on hard dirt, only to be served steaming black coffee and sugared doughnuts by Prissy in the morning. One wealthy woman was found hung at the inn, and Prissy claimed it to be suicide... The dark tales rumored about Prissy were never substantiated until many years later when six skeletons were found buried under the kitchen...” Ms. Hager has collected many photographs to augment her talk. Local press coverage |
Second Blue Ball Inn, taken in 1895 by Moses King, |
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Page last updated: 2007-11-23 at 11:45 EST |