Another domino is about to fall with an additional Lewes-area farm now being in the crosshairs of becoming a residential housing development.
The Knapp Farm, located along New Road and adjacent to a small development called Ashburn, was presented for PLUS Review this past week by the heirs of Halsey Knapp for a Schell Brothers development called Glenwood. The PLUS Review application indicated there is nothing of historical significance on site.
I disagree.
From a colonial history perspective, this farm was once part of the 475-acre Duke of York tract called Tower Hill. This part of the tract was possessed by my direct ancestors from 1697 through 1770. This is not to be confused with the development of Tower Hill Farm by Carl Freeman Properties and called Tower Hill on the other side of Prettyman’s Branch, another part of the overall Tower Hill tract that the Prettymans held from 1697-1926.
There was a known colonial house site on the Knapp Farm that may have been where Ashburn now is (Ashburn having been subdivided from it many years ago). But more important is the likelihood of the presence of Indigenous (Native American) sites and artifacts, perhaps even human burials, on this farm.
When Dan McGreevy of the D2 Organization spearheaded the plans to develop Tower Hill Farm (aka the Groome Tract), he agreed, as a developer, to an archaeological assessment of the site. It was even hoped this could be a model for future development in the Lewes area. However, I have not witnessed that to date with other tracts along New Road and Old Orchard Road that came after and are now in the pipeline for development.
On Tower Hill Farm, early analysis showed that the Indigenous people had been there as far back as 5,000 years ago. The Knapp Farm tucked between Prettyman’s Branch and the Black Oak Gut, on well-drained upland, would have been an ideal location for additional Indigenous occupation and associated cultural resources.
In this open forum, I appeal to the Knapp heirs and to Preston Schell, a member of the Sussex County Land Trust and Delaware Chapter of the Nature Conservancy, and a contributor of historic maps to the Lewes History Museum, to engage a local archaeological firm for a phase 1 (identification) assessment, at a minimum, to survey the farm. This could lead to phases 2 (evaluation) and 3 (mitigation/data recovery) if necessary and potential conservation of sensitive areas. If nothing is done, the information and resources are destroyed and will be gone for good. We owe it to everybody to take this opportunity to learn about the past so that it can help shed light on what once was, what is, and what might be. I could go on about how this land would be better served to remain in agricultural use, to continue to act as a recharge area for surface water, to support wildlife, to present a farmland vista of the New Road Byway, or to not be part of the oversaturation of the area by contributing to the overbuilding of greater Lewes. But that is not my call to make. I am asking for a reasonable business expense that will provide a payout in historical information that would otherwise be eradicated.
In closing, I can’t help but reflect on what might have been for this area of greater Lewes. Readers may recall that there was a major effort to conserve the Knapp Farm, Tower Hill Farm, the Lank Farm, and the Hercules Farm, all historically and environmentally sensitive parcels, as open space. With Groome Church having led the way to sell Tower Hill Farm for development rather than partner with conservation forces, a viable option at the time, they pushed over the first domino. However, they did permit the archaeological work to be done. With the Knapp Farm no longer a candidate for conservation, I would strongly suggest the same path for this farm be followed as well.
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