In 2025, Pennsylvania’s 308-acre Crebilly Farm was preserved after five years of local campaigning and a $24 million conservation effort

Crebilly Farm lies in Westtown Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, near the junction of Routes 202 and 926. That part of the county has filled steadily with roads, shopping centers, and subdivisions. Natural Lands describes Crebilly Farm as “an oasis of green” in a rapidly developing part of Chester County, with rolling fields, woodlands, and streams. The Robinson family has owned the land since 1937, according to Philadelphia Magazine. In 2016, developer Toll Brothers proposed building 319 homes on the property, and Westtown Township’s Board of Supervisors denied the application. The dispute went to court, and in December 2019 the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court upheld the denial on most grounds. Today, most of the land is becoming a township park, and the rest is protected by conservation easements.Crebilly’s place in the Battle of Brandywine, September 1777Natural Lands describes the Battle of Brandywine as the first major battle in Britain’s campaign to capture Philadelphia. The same account records that on September 11, 1777, Continental Army General Adam Stephen spotted Hessian troops crossing the property from his lookout at Sandy Hollow. The 2012 Brandywine Battlefield Preservation Plan of Chester County identifies more than 200 historic resources in the battlefield area. Brian O’Leary, executive director of the Chester County Planning Commission, stated in 2016 that Crebilly is located within the study boundary of the plan and that the troops probably marched across the farm.A 319-home plan and five years of volunteer oppositionSupervisor Richard Pomerantz of Westtown stated in the township's release in December 2024 that the other option available for the site was developing 319 houses. According to Natural Lands, “volunteers waged a five-year battle against the sale to Toll Brothers during meetings in the township, on the web, and in court.” The struggle drew enough media attention to become a “David vs. Goliath” story across the area. On October 2, 2017, O. James Lighthizer, then president of the Civil War Trust, which is now the American Battlefield Trust, sent a statement to the Westtown Township Planning Commission urging the preservation of Crebilly Farm because of its significance to the Brandywine Battlefield.The statement cited the National Park Service’s [hyperlink] 2007 Report to Congress on the Historic Preservation of Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Sites in the United States. The report examined 243 battlefields and found that nearly 70% were located in urban areas and that 141 were lost or extremely fragmented, with residential and commercial development identified as the main threats.The 2022 agreement and the November referendumIn 2022, the project moved forward after the developer’s agreement expired and the Robinson family agreed to conservation. On April 4, 2022, Westtown Township’s Board of Supervisors approved an agreement to purchase 208 acres of Crebilly Farm for $20.8 million, according to the township’s referendum FAQ. In early 2022, the township hired Natural Lands to pursue public funding for a price tag of more than $22 million. The November 2022 referendum passed by a two-to-one margin, creating a township open-space fund.How the $24 million for preservation and stewardship was assembledThe $24 million total combines about $7.5 million from Westtown Township’s open-space fund and $16.5 million raised by Natural Lands through public and private grants and gifts from individual donors. The township closed on about 206 acres for $20 million, and the rest of the total covers costs beyond the land purchase, including long-term stewardship. On August 16, 2024, Natural Lands launched the final phase of the Save Crebilly Campaign. By then, more than $20 million had been committed from public funding and private donations, and another $2.5 million was needed to reach the fundraising goal.The campaign announcement also mentions a $2 million challenge from Mt. Cuba Center and an anonymous donor, who will match gifts dollar for dollar. The township's Dec. 9, 2024 statement says that the closing was made with the help of grants made at federal, state, and county level, referendum revenues, Natural Lands' fundraising, and the Delaware River Watershed Protection Fund managed by the Open Space Institute, with a lead grant from the William Penn Foundation.What the land holds today, from park plans to headwater streamsCrebilly was declared preserved forever in May 2025. Conservation easements protect 102 acres of Crebilly Farm, while Westtown Township owns the remaining 206 acres. Natural Lands reports that the township is in the early stages of developing the township-owned land into a passive-use park with walking trails. Three tributaries to Radley Run Creek, totaling 5,600 feet, begin on the property, and the creek drains into Brandywine Creek about one mile away. The 102 acres under easement remain in private hands. The privately held land is divided into four lots, which the Philadelphia Business Journal reported were unsold in March 2025 with an asking price of $11.2 million. Each estate would hold one main house and related structures, and the conservation easements limit development rather than prohibit all building.As of December 2025, local news reports indicated that park development was moving more slowly than anticipated. The 2012 Brandywine Battlefield Preservation Plan calls for better protection of open spaces and historic landscapes in the battlefield area. The plan itself does not protect the property, but the township’s planned park would help preserve the farm within the battlefield study area.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.