The Hoopes Family and Pimbrook
- Yen Ho
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
There were two big lots in Whitpain Township that were owned by members of the prominent Rex family. It wasn't until the 1890s new, wealthy families moved into the Whitpain community. Who would live next-door to the descendants of Abraham Dawes?
The Rex Family
The Rex family were known in the Broad Axe section of Whitpain Township, particularly with the Broad Axe Tavern. The tavern became a well-known name from John Rex (1771- 1839) who moved to Raleigh, North Carolina from Philadelphia where he established the first tannery in the state and bequeathed the remainder of his estate to. the endowment of a hospital that was named after him: The Rex Hospital and Peace Institute.
He was never married, and didn't have many family members near him. When he died, the only family he had were from his home state of Pennsylvania. His namesake nephew John Rex (1800-1852) bequeathed 50 acres of land where the Broad Axe Tavern currently stands. John's the son of his uncle's cousin Levi Rex (1763-1828). He remained in Pennsylvania where he became a wheelwright by trade and a farmer and hotel keeper by occupation. He lived in Chestnut Hill until his death.
John came to Whitpain in 1828 and remained there until 1851 when he moved to Norristown. In Whitpain, he raised his family that included his son Jacob L. Rex (1829-1912). He quit school to pursue in farming until 1887 he moved to Norristown where he retired.
In 1855, he married Sarah Slingluff (1834-1914) of Norristown. She was a student at the Oakland Female Institute and later took editorial charge of the floral department of The Farmers' Friend and Grange Advocate. She became passionate in writing about flowers and their origins and care in hopes to share her knowledge to fellow farmers' wives and families.
This marked the beginning of the "great grange movement." She became president of the "Home Department" of the East Pennsylvania and the Montgomery County Societies. She was then honored as Flora of the Pennsylvania State Grange, Patrons of Husbandry. In 1885, Sarah became a member of the Finance Committee of the State Grange and also Deputy-at-Large for the State of Pennsylvania.
Barton Hoopes, Jr. and the Hoopes & Townsend Company
Since Jacob left Whitpain in 1887, there was a new owner who took over his property. HIs name was Barton Hoopes, Jr. (1855-1936). He was the son of Barton Hoopes (1827-1895), who was born in West Goshen Township, Chester County. He was educated at the Westtown Boarding School, and then went to Wilmington, Delaware to learn the trade of machinist with J. Morton Poole. In 1851, he partnered with S. Sharpless Townsend, forming the firm name of Hoopes & Townsend in Wilmington. A year later, they moved their plant to Philadelphia on the east side of Broad at Buttonwood Street. At their factory, they manufactured mainly nuts, bolts, washers, wood screws, and rivets, but also boilers and iron work for bridges.
When Townsend passed away in 1879, Barton purchased his interest and admitted his sons (Clement, Barton, Jr., and Dawson) into the company.
Fun Fact # 1: Barton Hoopes, Jr. owned the Pinetown Golf Club in Fort Washington for 35 years.
Bibliography
Ashe, Samuel A'Court, Stephen Beauregard Weeks, and Leonard Charles Van Noppen. Biographical History of North Carolina from Colonial Times to the Present, Volume 5. (Greensboro: Charles L. Van Noppen, 1906): 339-341.
"Barton Hoopes Demise Recalls Hoopeston." Ambler Gazette. August 6, 1936. Page 1. https://digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/papd/islandora/object/papd%3Awivp-gazett_21805.
Bean, Theodore Weber. History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Volume 1. (Philadelphia: Everts & Peck, 1884): 446-447.
Mueller, A. H. Atlas of the North Penn Section of Montgomery County, Pa., Plate 28, 1916.
Philadelphia and Popular Philadelphians. (Philadelphia: The North American, 1891): 129.
Scharf, John Thomas and Thompson Westcott. History of Philadelphia, 1609-1884
Volume 3. (Philadelphia: L.H. Everts & Co., 1884): 2267.
Scott, J. D. Montgomery County 1877, Whitpain, Rahn Sta., Grater's Ford, 1877.
Smith, J. L. Montgomery County 1893, Whitpain and Worcester Townships, Bethel Hill, Fairview, Cedar Hill, Washington Square, Broad Axe Left, 1893.
Stafford, Hartwell. Who's who in Philadelphia, Volume 2. (Philadelphia: Stafford's National News Service, 1925): 127.
"The Hoopes Mansion." Friends of Matthias Baldwin Park. Accessed June 16, 2025. https://www.baldwinparkphilly.org/the-hoopes-mansion.
Wiley, Samuel T. Biographical and Portrait Cyclopedia of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Containing Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens of the County, Together with an Introductory Historical Sketch. (Philadelphia: Biographical Publishing Company, 1895): 142-143.
Comments