The Marshalls and National Vulcanized Fibre

National Fibre & Insulation Mills, c.1912

I'll begin this post with a bit of a confession -- While we all know that there have been lots of mills and factories that have operated in MCH over the past few hundred years, there are only a few that stayed around long enough that there are people in the workforce today who were employed by them (Haveg/Ametek in Marshallton and Curtis Paper, for examples). One of the big sites, though, had had me so confused and intimidated that I avoided digging into it for the first decade of doing this blog (yes, I've been around that long). That site is the National Vulcanized Fibre Company in Yorklyn, and my hope is that if you're as confused by it now as I was, by the end of this post you'll have a pretty good idea of what was there, where it was, who built it, and what they did there.

The story really starts in England in 1856 with inventor Thomas Taylor and the creation of a new material – vulcanized fibre. Originally know as "indurated paper" and considered to be one of the first plastics, it had the misfortune of coming about at the same time as another material, celluloid. Celluloid was seen as the more useful of the two, and Taylor's creation was largely ignored in his native England. Eventually he made his way to the United States, and in 1871 patented his invention here. With its strength, flexibility, and thinness, vulcanized fibre soon caught on. And with its machinability, resistance to solvents and oils, and ability to be made in colors, many uses were soon fund for the material.

Through the 1870's and 1880's Wilmington became a hub for the manufacture of vulcanized fibre, and it's with this that we get our first connection to the Marshall family. If you'd like a full refresher (or lesson) on the Marshalls, I strongly suggest checking out Robert Wilhelm's two earlier posts about them. (To be found here and here.) And incidentally, much of the information for this post came from his excellently-researched Marshall Timeline, found on the Friends of Auburn Heights website. For our purposes, know that in 1856 Robert Marshall's youngest son, Thomas S. Marshall, was allowed to convert the family's grist mill at Marshall's Bridge (on the Red Clay just north of Yorklyn) into a paper mill.

Oversee Farm and Shangri-La

I'm proud to present another guest post, this time from Robert Wilhelm. It's about two properties -- Oversee Farm, (mostly) in Christiana Hundred and now part of Auburn Valley State Park, and Shangri-La in New Garden Township, Chester County. It's a fascinating look at a property that will hopefully become more well-known, and I thank Bob for his work.

Oversee Farm property in 2020 with trails indicated
Note the meadows in 1937 (below) now wooded

--Written by Robert E. Wilhelm, Jr.

Israel Way Marshall and his brother Ellwood would never have guessed their rag papermaking business expansion in 1890 would eventually create the world’s largest vulcanized fibre manufacturer producing more than 75% of the world’s fibre during much of the 20th century. They might have thought it improbable that in the 21st century, the then 19th century burned-out Auburn Factory, and hundreds of acres of property surrounding the soon-to-become paper mill, would be donated by Israel’s great-grandchildren forming the core of a 600+ acre Delaware state park.

Throughout much of the 18th and 19th centuries, what would eventually become the 121.8-acre Oversee Farm property was owned by generations of the Chandler, Green, and Sharpless families. The earliest tax and planning maps of the area, dated 1849, show Samuel M. Green as owner. Handed down through generations, the Ellwood Green property would eventually be purchased by Henry Doud while the nearby Sharpless farm transferred to the Kane family. These properties would further be subdivided into smaller parcels to be owned by the Cloud, Cross, Davis, Mullin, Murray, and Wilkinson families among others. In 1927 Urey W. Conway began purchasing those smaller land parcels belonging to Chandler, Doud, and other families in the acreage bounded by Ashland-Clinton School, Center Mill, Snuff Mill, and Creek roads. By 1939 Conway had purchased fourteen land parcels totaling approximately 175-acres. Four additional parcels were added over the ensuing years bringing Conway’s total ownership to more than 200 acres.

When Urey W. Conway passed away on July 1, 1951 (born 1890), his last will and testament decreed his collection of contiguous Yorklyn properties go to his cousin, Adele Conway Mills of Tulsa, Oklahoma with Wilmington Trust Company serving as executor. Eleanor Annette Marshall (January 8, 1924 – August 25, 1999) was well acquainted with Urey’s property. Urey’s property was located on the opposite bank of the Red Clay Creek which was a common border with J. Warren Marshall’s (1881-1953) Woodcrest property; her father’s home where she grew up. Preferring the name Bonnie, Marshall bought the 206.48-acre property at auction for $80,000 on May 29, 1952 with financial assistance from her mother, Bertha T. Lamborn Marshall (1883-1962). Bonnie’s intent was to see the untouched stretches of forest, freshwater marshes, open fields, a free-flowing Red Clay tributary, and scenic views of Red Clay Creek preserved for future generations’ enjoyment. Bonnie moved into the former Greene family stone farmhouse that Conway once occupied. Bonnie promptly named her large property ‘Oversee Farm’.