Town Tradition: In March, Community Celebrates “Father Of New Hope"

NEW HOPE, PA — Once a year, in a tradition dating back close to two decades, New Hope gathers at the Parry Mansion to celebrate Benjamin Parry Day.

Known as the “Father of New Hope,” Parry was a community leader during the late 18th and early 19th Centuries who transformed the sleepy riverfront village into an industrial powerhouse and essentially put New Hope on the map.

“He was the man to go to to get things done,” said New Hope historian Roy Ziegler and the author of the book, “The Parry’s of Philadelphia.”

As a young apprentice, Parry arrived in Coryell’s Ferry in the late 18th century after purchasing the local flour mill at the site of the present day Bucks County Playhouse. Not long afterwards, in 1790, the Hope Mill burned to the ground. Undeterred, he rebuilt the mill in one year and renamed it the New Hope Flour Mill. The name quickly became synonymous with the village and later replaced the town’s former name, Coryell’s Ferry, in 1837.

“They call him the Father of New Hope not only because he changed the name of the town, but his work expanded industry in town,” said Ziegler. “He expanded the Grist Mill. And he invented a process for preserving the grain and corn for shipping overseas. That made local farmers happy because they could send their products as far as the West Indies and it made their crops more valuable.”

A few years later, Ziegler said Parry got the idea that the ferry operations was inadequate and he originated the idea for the first bridge across the Delaware to Lambertville.

“He plunked down the first few bucks - I think it was $7500 - and he got all the big guys in town to contribute. They financed the bridge and got it done in a few years. By 1814 it was open and ready to go.

“He established a saw mill, a lumber mill, a flax seed oil mill and a blacksmith. He expanded Farley’s Book Store. And all that brought more industry and business to town. He wasn’t a founder. The town was founded 300 years ago, but when he arrived here be brought vitality to the town and put it on the map.”

To celebrate Parry and his contributions to the town, the New Hope Historic Society holds a birthday party every March at Parry’s namesake mansion on South Main Street.

This year’s event takes place on Sunday, March 5 beginning at 2 p.m. with a docet-led tour tracing Parry’s footsteps through town. Pre-registration is required by contacting the society.

Following the tour, a reception takes place at the Parry Mansion around 3 p.m. that will include drinks, cake, some history and a chorus of happy birthday.

There is a fee for the tour and the reception. Watch for an announcement at the society’s website - newhopehistory.org.

“We celebrate him as a person and also what he did to grow the town,” said Ziegler. “He came to town as a kid essentially and within a matter of 10 to 15 years he was not only the chief guy in town to go to, he had the idea to build the bridge, he helped finance the Delaware Canal, he was involved in building the Union Paper Mills. He was pretty much involved with everything contributing to the growth of the town, turning it into the industrial capital of Bucks County.”

Parry lived long enough to see the town incorporated as a borough in 1837 and his nephew, John Childs Parry, become the first Burgess (mayor) of New Hope Borough. Benjamin Parry died two years later in 1839.

For those eager to learn more about Mr. Parry, the society is compiling an exhibit which is scheduled to open in April inside the mansion’s new exhibition space. It will document Parry’s impact on the town and his extensive family history and its influence both in New Hope and in Philadelphia.