Bondsville Mill Park in Downingtown has been completely transformed into a green oasis, writes J.F. Pirro for Main Line Today.
Sandy Moser and David Culp, both Downingtown residents, have been at the center of the project for the last six years. Together, they have been instrumental in bringing the dead 47-acre industrial canvas back to life. Both Moser and Culp are talented gardeners and community advocates.
Abraham Bond created Bondsville as a factory village in the early 1800s. During its peak, the mill employed three shifts, mostly producing canvas military ware. In 2005, the township acquired the mill using open-space funds. Bondsville Mill Park officially opened to the public in 2015.
Culp got involved with the project when he took over plans to remediate a one-acre cement pad, which is now a two-acre meadow he designed. The excavated concrete was used to pave a new parking lot that can hold 40 cars.
The meadow should be open this fall, filled with sustainable deep-rooted grass and over 1,000 orange butterfly plants.
Moser contributed her talents in the form of the butterfly garden along the roadside. The pollinator garden brings many of the beautiful insects for people to see and photograph. There are additional plans for an outdoor amphitheater.
Read more about the improvements at Bondsville Mill Park at Main Line Today.
______
Editor’s Note: This post first appeared on VISTA Today in November 2024..
