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- The Erwin Stover House
- History of the Site
- The (Erwinna) Stover Family
- The Erwinna Stovers - Henry and Barbara Stover
Henry Stover was the first-born son of Jacob and Catherine Stover. Born in 1786 he attended Doylestown Union Academy with his brothers and went to work for his father at his Point Pleasant Mill.
Barbara was born in 1789, the daughter of Isaac Stout, of Williams, Northampton County. Pa. She was a Moravian and received a fine education being able to read and speak both English and German fluently. She was known for her knowledge of home remedies and her refined palate for cooking.
Henry married Barbara in 1810 and moved into the house across from the mill. The couple attended the Pt. Pleasant Baptist Church. Together Henry and Barbara had 5 daughters and 4 sons: Salome, Anna, Eliza, Jacob, Isaac, Henry, Jr., Catherine, Emeline, and Jordan.
Henry bought both the house and mill in 1816 from his father. Henry then began to purchase other mill sites in the Delaware River Valley including the Thomas Kennedy property near Erwinna in 1832.
In 1833 he built a large flour mill on this site and a two story home nearby for his family. Henry later replaced the millwheel with a turbine for this mill, one of the first millers to make the change in the country. Four years later he added a large sawmill to the site.
As a prominent businessman it is no surprise the Henry was one of the first commissioners of the Alexandria Delaware Bridge Company which raised funds to build the first covered bridge across the Delaware just north of Erwinna and petitioned the state on May 8th, 1841 for permission to construct the bridge. The bridge was completed in 1844 connecting Tinicum Township to the growing community in Frenchtown on the Jersey side of the river, at a fee of 2 cents per foot passenger up to 75 cents per four horse drawn vehicles.
In 1846, Henry Stover purchased the Erwin property at public auction. A miller by trade, Henry intended to continue using the property as a tenant farm. Henry added the northern section of the house in the 1850s, updating the front façade and interiors with Victorian details. He added a porch and built a new barn and carriage house.