Page 48 - The Hunt - Winter 2022
P. 48
HOME & GARDEN
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THE HUNT MAGAZINE winter 2022-23
Saving Cedarcroft
Bayard Taylor’s historic home is A theultimatefixer-upper.
merica’s first travel writer, Bayard Taylor regaled readers with tales of his journeys to the Orient, Africa, Russia and beyond. In 1859, he was 34 and already heralded as a poet and author when
he decided to put down roots. The 19th-century Marco Polo looked no further than the 200-acre farm across the road from his boyhood home in Kennett Square. He dubbed his estate Cedarcroft in honor of the trees on the property. He even buried Views A-Foot, the account of his European travels, in a time capsule beneath the cornerstone.
More than 160 years later, Cedarcroft is about to embark on the
next leg of a long and storied journey that has already included stints as a gathering place for the literary elite, a prep school for boys and the pet preservation project of a DuPont executive. Having stood empty now for 33 years, Cedarcroft awaits a new owner. “We think it’s the most spectacular house in Chester County,” says realtor Holly Gross, who’s listing the manor and its remaining 3.7 acres for $1.38 million.
By EilEEn Smith DallaBriDa | PhotoS By Jim Graham
