Paoli in Chester County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

The Paoli Inn

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., August 31, 2023

1. The Paoli Inn Marker

Inscription.
On this spot, Joshua Evans built his tavern in 1769 and named it for Corsican patriot General Pasquale Paoli. The Inn, an important early gathering place, was briefly occupied by British soldiers September 20th 1777 during the Battle of Paoli. The "Paoli" served as an essential hostelry on the Philadelphia & Lancaster Turnpike and later the Philadelphia & Columbia Railroad. Fire destroyed the structure in May 1899.

Erected by Paoli Business and Professional Association.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Patriots & Patriotism • War, US Revolutionary. A significant historical date for this entry is September 20, 1777.

Location. 40° 2.547′ N, 75° 29.082′ W. Marker is in Paoli, Pennsylvania, in Chester County. It is on Paoli Plaza west of North Valley Road, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 5 Paoli Plaza, Paoli PA 19301, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Southeast Pennsylvania and in Greater Philadelphia.

It is also in the American Northeast

and in the Mid-Atlantic.

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Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

New Netherland,

and one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Gen. Anthony Wayne (approx. 0.4 miles away); Historic Waynesborough (approx. one mile away); Site of Paoli Massacre (approx. 1.7 miles away); Rear of the Camp (approx. 1.7 miles away); “Remember Paoli!” (approx. 1.8 miles away); The Land on Which the Battle of Paoli was Fought (approx. 1.8 miles away); Camp Life (approx. 1.9 miles away); "Losing a wheel and crashing into a gap in the fence line"... (approx. 1.9 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Paoli.

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., August 31, 2023

2. The Paoli Inn Marker

The General Paoli Inn image. Click for full size.

Photographed by David Johnston Kennedy (illustrator), circa 1800s

3. The General Paoli Inn

Kennedy, David Johnston, 1816 or 1817-1898 - Artist, Castner, Samuel, Jr., 1843-1929 - Compiler. The General Paoli Inn, Lancaster Pike. Scrapbooks. Free Library of Philadelphia: Philadelphia, PA. https://libwww.freelibrary.org/digital/item/46952. (accessed Aug 31, 2023)

The Paoli Inn Photo image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Julius Sachse, 1888

4. The Paoli Inn Photo

Description: Looking northeast, this image of the Paoli Inn, taken by Julius Sachse in 1888 and used in his classic The Wayside Inns on the Lancaster Roadside Between Philadelphia and Lancaster, shows the pre-Revolutionary structure standing abandoned. One of scores of hostelries scattered along the 62-mile Lancaster Turnpike from Philadelphia to Lancaster, the Paoli Inn (or Paoli Tavern, or most frequently, just the “Paoli”) was one of the most important stopping places on this early thoroughfare. With the advent of the Philadelphia and Columbia Railway (the predecessor of the Pennsylvania Railroad), the importance of the Paoli only grew, and it was said that “The activity and bustle at the Paoli was probably not equaled at any similar establishment in the State.” But in its last years the inn had run into hard times. Investors calling themselves the “Paoli Improvement Company” remodeled the Paoli in an attempt to create a fashionable resort, but the decline could not be stemmed. By 1886 the old inn had been closed and the grounds deserted. The Paoli Inn burned in 1899, and what remained was razed. In 2014 the site is occupied by the Paoli Village Shoppes. - Herb Fry and Roger Thorne (Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society Facebook entry, 2017)

Credits. This page was last revised on October 25, 2024. It was originally submitted on August 31, 2023, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 2,715 times since then and 362 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on August 31, 2023, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.