DUPORTAIL
Step back in time and relax in this circa 1740 farmhouse, situated on the fringe of Valley Forge National Historical Park.
One of a Kind Experience
Weddings
DuPortail House, a restored 1740 farmhouse beside Valley Forge Park, offers weddings for up to 160 guests with planning services, included furnishings, A/C, WiFi, parking, pet-friendly policies, and outside vendor flexibility.
Private Events
Ideal for private events, DuPortail House blends historic charm with modern amenities, featuring spacious indoor and outdoor settings, guest capacity up to 160, and the freedom to choose your own vendors.
Parties
Perfect for parties of all kinds, DuPortail House offers a unique blend of rustic elegance and flexible space, accommodating up to 160 guests with modern comforts and customizable vendor options.
Timeless Elegance
Step into timeless elegance at Duportail House, where over 250 years of history provide the perfect backdrop for your most cherished moments. Nestled in the heart of Chesterbrook, our beautifully restored 18th-century farmhouse offers a unique setting for weddings, corporate events, private parties, and more.
Whether you’re celebrating a milestone or simply gathering with loved ones, Duportail House blends historic charm with modern comfort to make your occasion truly unforgettable. In addition to hosting special events, Duportail House warmly welcomes school aged educational field trips, adult history lectures and corporate meetings. With your continued support, this historic gem in the heart of Tredyffrin Township, Chester County, will continue to serve as a vibrant community resource for years to come.
A Message from the President
In the winter of 1777–78, as the Continental Army fought to survive at Valley Forge, a French engineer named Louis Duportail took up quarters in a Welsh Quaker’s stone farmhouse beside Valley Creek. Secretly recruited by Benjamin Franklin, Duportail had arrived in America only months earlier. By December he was a brigadier general and Washington’s chief engineer. Around the farmhouse table, he drew the maps that laid out the defenses of the entire encampment.
That farmhouse still stands. Today it is the Historic Duportail House, the centerpiece of the Tredyffrin Heritage Center, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
A House That Kept Its Secrets
John Havard Jr. built the house around 1740 on land his father had acquired through William Penn’s Welsh Tract. The Havard family and their Davis descendants farmed it for 163 years and seven generations, longer than the United States had existed when they finally sold it in 1903.
Under its next owner, Lawrence McCormick of Philadelphia’s Bellevue Stratford Hotel, the property became Cressbrook Farm. It supplied watercress from its streams to the hotel’s kitchens, an early example of what we would now call farm-to-table. During McCormick’s renovations, workers made a remarkable discovery: Duportail’s original Valley Forge defense maps, rolled up and hidden in the attic rafters, where they had lain for more than 130 years. Those maps are now held by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
Beside the house stands the Federal Barn, inscribed by its builders in 1792. It is the onlyknown signed bank barn in Pennsylvania.
Why Duportail Matters
Duportail went on to design the siege works at Yorktown that ended the war. He founded what became the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, whose motto, Essayons (“Let us try”), honors him and his fellow French engineers. When he left the army in 1783, Washington wrote to him: “I shall ever retain a grateful sense of the aids I have derived from your knowledge and advice to me.” Few officers ever received such a tribute.
Preserved for the Community
The property later passed to the University of Pennsylvania and then, in 1969, to developer Richard J. Fox as part of the land that became Chesterbrook. Under agreements with Tredyffrin Township, preservation was a condition of development, and in 1985 the house and barn were conveyed to Duportail House, Inc., a not-for-profit, for permanent protection. Since then the property has been self-sustaining. Historical and educational programs, along with social and business events, generate the revenue that covers its basic operating costs.
Looking Ahead
America’s 250th anniversary this year brought new attention to the places where our nation’s story was written. We are building on that momentum to grow the Tredyffrin Heritage Center into an educational destination that tells the full history of this place. That history includes the Lenape people, the Welsh Quaker settlers, and the farmers, ironmasters, and soldiers of the Great Valley. Plans include interpretive signage, digital exhibits, and connections to the Chester Valley Trail and the broader Patriots Trail network.
A house nearly three centuries old needs constant care. Its future, both physical and financial, depends on the support of our neighbors, residents and businesses alike.
Support the Tredyffrin Heritage Center
As a lifelong area resident and businessman, I have been honored to serve as President of the Duportail House Board of Directors for more than ten years. Throughout that time, I have been continually impressed by the dedication of my fellow board members and by the generosity of the neighbors and businesses who have helped preserve, protect, andimprove this remarkable place.
I invite you to join them. A gift of as little as $50 helps make sure the house where Duportail drew his maps stands for the next generation.
The house needs preserving. The story needs telling. None of it is guaranteed, but all of it is worth attempting.
Essayons: let us try.
Questions about giving, events, or visiting? Contact us at info@tredyffrinheritagecenter.org
With sincere thanks,
C. Richard Downes Jr.
President, Duportail House, Inc.
See For Yourself
