Indigenous History at The Mill
Like many places in Chester County, the Mill at Anselma is the site of Indigenous history. In fact, Route 401/Conestoga Road was originally a Lenape trail! In honor of that legacy, three trails winding through our historic site are named after matrilineal clans of the Lenape tribe: Turtle, Turkey, and Wolf. On June 8th, 2019, the Mill celebrated the grand opening of the new trail system, including a performance by the Native American band Spirit Wing.
In observance of Indigenous Peoples Day, October 14th, 2024, we present a short history of Chester County’s original inhabitants: The Lenape.
The Lenape people are the original inhabitants of Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York, and New Jersey. When Europeans arrived in the early seventeenth century, the Lenape had already lived here for centuries, establishing villages along the Schuylkill and Delaware Rivers. Using natural resources to build their homes, they lived in wooden huts called wigwams. The Lenape used rivers and streams like highways, frequently traveling by canoe. They also built trails between agricultural towns where they raised corn and other crops, hunted, fished, and foraged. The Lenape trails were linked with the cooperative neighboring tribes of The Munsees to the north, The Susquehannocks to the west, and The Nanticokes to the east.
Dutch and Swedish immigrants would have been the first Europeans encountered by the Lenape, but with little significant interaction. William Penn would have a more enduring and impactful relationship with the Lenape people. Penn came to the Delaware River valley in 1682 to claim the lands granted to him by England’s King Charles II and to establish a haven for other persecuted Quakers. The Quakers believed strongly in the principles of goodwill and friendship, and Penn upheld these principles with the Lenape until his death in 1718.
Unfortunately, this peaceful relationship did not last long. For example, The Lenape lost all claims to the land they inhabited for centuries in the "Walking Purchase" deed of 1737. Penn’s son insisted that the family's claim to land extended a full day and a half's walking distance. Sending out so-called "walkers" to determine the area, the Penn family seized ownership of lands previously occupied by the Lenape sixty-five miles to the north and west.
During this time, a large influx of European settlers came to the Delaware Valley. Among them was the Lightfoot family, which settled in the Pikeland area in 1725. Responding to local farmers' requests, Samuel Lightfoot built the gristmill we now call “The Mill at Anselma” in 1747 to provide feed and grain to the community. It is unclear if the Lightfoot family had any direct relations with the Lenape people, but by this time, alliances had soured due to unfair land acquisitions like the “Walking Purchase,” cultural conflicts, and the devastation of European diseases.
Despite continued displacement efforts through the 18th and 19th centuries, the Lenape people remained in the Delaware Valley. Many hid their ancestry and embraced Anglo-American identities until the twentieth century. Today, Lenape communities are found in Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Wisconsin, Ontario, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. At The Mill at Anselma, we honor the site's Indigenous influence by including Lenape representation in our events, history, and site design.