Approaching the West boat launch parking area
Welcome to a brief history of Milford Mills, a resort town that used to be a "Vacation Spot" in its hey day... My dad used to deliver "Bond" bread there when a young man, and I was there with the Chester County Trail Club as the area was being prepared for the future lake and State Park. The basis of this cache is to show you parts of the park you normally would not visit. One of those is the "Race Track" found in the north west area. The other would be the area near the "overflow" in the south east section of the park.
As you look for the first five stages of this cache and end at the sixth and final stage, I will be bringing you to what remains of the "Guthrie Farm". The trails there are hunter's trails and are not blazed, however they are readilly visable if you follow my hand drawn map above. The event that took place there in 1937, one year before my birth, was a much taked about story during my youth and there are many locals who still talk about it. The following story, taken from a book about "MILFORD MILLS" and found in the Chester County library system will give you a little more details about this event....
..........ALEX MEYER..........
.....A sad and unfortunate part of Milford’s history, one that is still recalled by residents today, took place in what has long been known as the “Guthrie Manson.” The ruins of the mansion are still evident in a secluded section of the Marsh Creek State Park.
.....On February 12, 1937 the teenage son of a respected Milford Mills resident, Alex Meyer, threw the body of a sixteen year old Modena girl down an abandoned well and tried to detonate it, without success, with several sticks of dynamite.
.....A few hours earlier, the nineteen year old Meyer had intentionally hit the girl in his green pickup truck as she walked home from school along a deserted road in southern Chester County. An autopsy revealed that the girl, Helen Moyer, a Coatesville High School student, had been alive prior to being thrown down the well.
.....Meyer pleaded guilty to the crime within weeks, and even brought the police to the site. “Come, I’ll show you.” He reportedly calmly said – as if proving an accomplishment.
.....Reporters often pointed out how unfortunate it was for such a prominent family to have a son like Meyer, deemed “mentally sub-normal.” Meyer’s father, O. Jackson Meyer, was a wealthy Philadelphian coal broker, who also owned a chicken farm in Milford Mills. His Uncle, Oscar Meyer, later founded the hot dog company.
.....Alex Meyer was the first in the county to be electrocuted and the first to be held as an example of a slack parole system. Two years earlier, in 1934, Meyer had been sent to the Huntington Reformatory for attempting to shoot two Philadelphia twenty-two year olds who had declined his offer to ride in his car.
.....Reports of the disappearance of Helen Moyer, last seen walking along a “cement” road near Modena, caused an intensive, all-night search in southern parts of the county.
.....The local papers reported that Helen Moyer was “definitely believed dead” but speculated whether she was killed intentionally or died on the way to the hospital, causing the “panicky” driver to hide her body. Some believed that she was kidnapped by a member of a “white slave gang.”
.....A nicked concrete highway post, scraped with green paint, and a witness’s account of a green paneled truck with a smashed headlight were initial clues. A Main Line garage man reported repairing a green truck’s damaged fender.
.....Meyer was arrested on a Saturday morning, a week after the murder. At the time he was delivering milk to a roadside station near Wayne, but dutifully let police take him into custody. Meyer admitted to his crime fifteen minutes after questioning. He recalled he was out to get a girl, “any girl,” and that he deliberately swerved to strike Helen Moyer.
.....Meyer received death by electrocution at the Western State Penitentiary, near Beilefonte at 12:35 a.m. on July 12, 1937, four months after his arrest.
.....On February 12, 1937 the teenage son of a respected Milford Mills resident, Alex Meyer, threw the body of a sixteen year old Modena girl down an abandoned well and tried to detonate it, without success, with several sticks of dynamite.
.....A few hours earlier, the nineteen year old Meyer had intentionally hit the girl in his green pickup truck as she walked home from school along a deserted road in southern Chester County. An autopsy revealed that the girl, Helen Moyer, a Coatesville High School student, had been alive prior to being thrown down the well.
.....Meyer pleaded guilty to the crime within weeks, and even brought the police to the site. “Come, I’ll show you.” He reportedly calmly said – as if proving an accomplishment.
.....Reporters often pointed out how unfortunate it was for such a prominent family to have a son like Meyer, deemed “mentally sub-normal.” Meyer’s father, O. Jackson Meyer, was a wealthy Philadelphian coal broker, who also owned a chicken farm in Milford Mills. His Uncle, Oscar Meyer, later founded the hot dog company.
.....Alex Meyer was the first in the county to be electrocuted and the first to be held as an example of a slack parole system. Two years earlier, in 1934, Meyer had been sent to the Huntington Reformatory for attempting to shoot two Philadelphia twenty-two year olds who had declined his offer to ride in his car.
.....Reports of the disappearance of Helen Moyer, last seen walking along a “cement” road near Modena, caused an intensive, all-night search in southern parts of the county.
.....The local papers reported that Helen Moyer was “definitely believed dead” but speculated whether she was killed intentionally or died on the way to the hospital, causing the “panicky” driver to hide her body. Some believed that she was kidnapped by a member of a “white slave gang.”
.....A nicked concrete highway post, scraped with green paint, and a witness’s account of a green paneled truck with a smashed headlight were initial clues. A Main Line garage man reported repairing a green truck’s damaged fender.
.....Meyer was arrested on a Saturday morning, a week after the murder. At the time he was delivering milk to a roadside station near Wayne, but dutifully let police take him into custody. Meyer admitted to his crime fifteen minutes after questioning. He recalled he was out to get a girl, “any girl,” and that he deliberately swerved to strike Helen Moyer.
.....Meyer received death by electrocution at the Western State Penitentiary, near Beilefonte at 12:35 a.m. on July 12, 1937, four months after his arrest.
Site of a Water Tower for a local hotel_____________
You will be close to this Oak Tree at stage #2
___________________________
You will be close to this Oak Tree at stage #2___________________________
Near the beginning of the "OVERFLOW TRAIL"
these ruins are visible
The Overflow Trail passes to the right of this old chimney__________________________
The final will be close to the ruins of the Guthrie house above and the barn below
Road approaches to Marsh Creek S.P.