Constructed between 1797 and 1803, the Harmon Talley House is a two-story, three-bay, double-pile stone

dwelling, arranged within as a variation of a Hall-Parlor Plan, built in a vernacular form that was popular in

Brandywine Hundred in the early-nineteenth century. The house features at least five periods of construction.

The main block of the dwelling is a two-story, double-pile stone dwelling; to the rear is the Period II, two-story

frame ell, added prior to 1850. The rear ell was expanded at least twice more, incorporating an attached

garage in the early-twentieth century. The rear ell of the dwelling was expanded to the west c. 1985.

The Harmon Talley House, also referred to as Tippecanoe Grove Farm or just Tippecanoe, located in Talleyville,

Brandywine Hundred, New Castle County, Delaware, is significant under Criteria B and E for possessing

distinguishing characteristics of a type of dwelling built in the Piedmont Region in northern New Castle County

during the early 1800s.

2 Constructed between 1797-1803, the dwelling is architecturally significant under the

historic context Stone Dwellings of Brandywine Hundred, as an early extant example of a variation of a HallParlor Plan built in stone.

In the eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries, most dwellings in Delaware were built of log or frame

construction, with brick and stone typically reserved for the wealthy.3 However, the Piedmont region of the

state, particularly Brandywine Hundred, was distinguished by the presence of readily available fieldstone—and

thus stone became one of the primary building materials in the hundred for people of all economic strata.4

Brandywine Hundred witnessed a rapid increase in population following the Revolutionary War. Census data

demonstrates that the hundred’s population more than doubled between 1800 and 1820, increasing from

2,066 people in 310 households to 4,380 individuals in 531 households.5 The number of dwellings increased

during this period to accommodate the expanding population, with the construction of stone houses greatly

outpacing that of log. It was during the early portion of this period of rapid population expansion that Harmon Talley built his family home of fieldstone, capitalizing on a readily available resource in the area. The property is therefore eligible under Criterion B for embodying development trends in this region, as well as Criterion E for its distinguishing architectural characteristics. Also contributing to the property’s significance under

Criterion E is the Harmon Talley House’s arrangement in a rare variation of a Hall-Parlor Plan, with four rooms

on the first floor instead of three.

Woodlawn Trustees acquired the property at 501 Mt. Lebanon Road in 1920 from John W. Talley. To generate

income for the Trustees’ preservation and affordable housing efforts, the Trustees began developing parts of

their holdings into residential communities along Route 202.38 The Harmon Talley farm was one such property

that was subdivided for a suburban development—Tavistock—which was constructed in the late 1960s. 39 As

part of the development, the Woodlawn Trustees carved out a one-acre wooded lot for the Harmon Talley

House. It was to be a “focal point” of the community.40 The house and property were then sold to Ronald H.

Masks and his wife Sandra in 1975.41 As part of this sale, the Woodlawn Trustees imposed deed restrictions on

the property—including the company’s right to approve any exterior alterations to the dwelling, this also

included approval for demolition. The Harmon Talley House’s ownership by the Woodlawn Trustees is

significant because it saved the structure from certain demolition in 2015.42 In 2014, a demolition permit was

requested for the structure, which was denied. The Harmon Talley House still stands today, and currently

awaits redevelopment due solely to the Woodlawn Trustees deed restrictions