Page 30 - The Hunt - Spring 2022

in the West Bradford Township newsletter, noting that the task force will approach Chester County commissioners this month with a request to declare 2022 the year of Humphry Marshall. The township has been asked to do the same. One of its supervisors, Jack Hines, even has a dog named Humphry Marshall.
The site for Martin’s Tavern/Humphry Marshall Historical Park is on a small township- owned lot west of the tavern’s ruins. It will share the mission and perhaps the historic plantings and interpretative signage of Marshall Square Park in West Chester, which was dedicated
in 1848. Marshallton Conservation Trust hopes to plant a local garden with specimens consistent with Marshall’s catalog. Beginning in
July, there’s also a plan to hang banners with Adrian Martinez’s portrait of Marshall. About five years ago, the Downingtown-based artist mounted an exhibition inspired by Marshall. “Everything Humphry did is so timely again,” says Martinez.
“This is one of our superstars,” adds Linda Kaat, a Marshallton resident, task force member and preservationist. “We all have such respect for this remarkable and underappreciated genius in the wilderness.”
Kaat has looked into getting a postage stamp commissioned in Marshall’s honor—a process that takes years. The subject has to be deceased, and free of scandals. “I don’t know that Humphry Marshall had any,” she says.
Another idea is to create a permanent Marshall repository at the Chester County History Center, and a short documentary is also planned. “We’d like to focus on educating school children and the general public about Humphry Marshall and his achievements,” says Slouf, “but also about how his thoughts and actions apply to today, especially regarding the environment. I can’t think of another person in the county with more impact internationally. He’s a notch below Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. Everyone knows those names, but they don’t know Humphry’s name.”
At press time, it wasn’t clear if the celebration will include tours of Marshall’s ancestral home. Kept pristine, it’s owned
28 THE HUNT MAGAZINE spring 2022