Members who were fired from Westtown Township’s historical commission after disagreements with local officials over historic preservation have launched their own society, operating independently with a mission of protecting buildings and history in the area.
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All six former members have signed on to form the board of the Westtown-Brandywine Historical Society, which they started within weeks of the Chester County township’s three elected supervisors’ July vote to remove them from the commission.
“Although it’s very disappointing to see the township operate the way that they did, it was perhaps an opportunity for us to build something even better,” said Stephen Wahrhaftig, one of the society’s founders.
Wahrhaftig, who served on the township’s commission for four years, had been involved with other historical organizations. One, which was privately run, seemed to operate more efficiently and effectively without political oversight, he said.
Within the new society’s first two meetings, the group had already sketched out a long list of potential events and activities, Wahrhaftig said.
“I was crushed when we were all dismissed, sad and angry. But within two weeks, we all came back together and said, ‘OK, let’s try something new and different,’” said Christine Gunsaullus, who served on the township’s historical commission for more than a year. “I feel like we’ve continued without missing a beat.”
The newly-formed society has already teed up four events in the coming months. They’ll host a hike and historical tour of Crebilly Preserve, . They’ll launch a historical book club. In October, the society will have a table at Westtown Day — something that the commission once helped found — and will give historical tours of Oakbourne Mansion and Park, where festivities are held, and have activities for children.
And they’ll host a presentation about the Darlington Inn, the 19th century historic property on the Crebilly tract that the township also purchased when it sought to preserve the farm. At that talk, they’ll show “what a gem we have and why it’s important to save,” Gunsaullus said.
That stance regarding the inn and its future is the very thing that the commission members believe led to their dismissal.
The township’s officials previously rejected assertions that the commission’s wholesale removal was due to differences regarding the future of the Inn, which sits on a two-acre parcel at the corner of State Routes 202 and 926. The inn was acquired in 2024 as part of a larger battle to preserve Crebilly. It was purchased with taxpayer money separately, and the township plans to sell it off to recoup the funds it used to buy it, and to prevent ongoing maintenance costs of the property.
The then-historical commission had argued that the inn was worth preserving, and asked officials to include a facade easement to protect the property from being demolished for commercial construction. The supervisors declined to do so at the time, but nothing precludes them from adding it in the future.
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The historical commission was composed of volunteers, appointed by the board of supervisors and acted as an advisory body, with no governing power. The supervisors said in July they would be re-examining the goals of the commission, and invited the fired members to reapply once that process was complete.
Even with the abrupt parting, the new society doesn’t foresee any tension blossoming between their new organization and the township they once served. They received the OK to represent the new group at the annual Westtown Day, which they think “bodes well” for working together, especially now at an arm’s length away. The township did not immediately respond to a request for on the group’s formation, or their relationship moving forward.
The society will offer free membership to those who want to join, and the intent broadly is to do what they accomplished with the township “but do even more and do it better and do it faster,” Gunsaullus said. That includes a newsletter, lectures, and historical tours. They’ll also be able to look broaden the scope beyond Westtown, hence the society’s name, and welcome members from outside the municipality.
Without being under the restraints of the township government, they envision they’ll be able to offer more and varied events. But in some ways, it’s the same: The leadership is composed of working architects, engineers, an author, and people with marketing expertise. All but one member is retired, making the society a labor of love, Gunsaullus said.
“We’re very pumped up about what we’re able to accomplish now,” Wahrhaftig said.
And they’ve seen an outpouring of support, they said.
“The response we’ve gotten from the community, from other historical societies and commissions — everyone is supporting us, wants to know how they can help, wants to provide venues for us to continue giving talks,” Gunsaullus said. “We’re very grateful for the support we’re getting from other historical geeks in the area.”
There are no plans to make the society a nonprofit at the moment, they said, but they aren’t sure what the future holds. They’re operating with no funding (but that’s not exactly unfamiliar; their finances were already “hilariously abysmal” under the township, Wahrhaftig noted), and may consider donations.
But aside from money, “It takes time, passion, and creativity, and we’ve got plenty of that,” Gunsaullus said.
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