Tanglewood - WCU of PA

History of Tanglewood

Formerly the home of the Darlington family, Tanglewood has been the home of West Chester State College (later West Chester University) presidents since 1931. It was built in 1787 as a stone farmhouse and named for the weeping beech trees surrounding the property. The West Chester Normal School, which later became West Chester University, bought the property in 1916 from the N. Cresson Walters family for $7,000. During the early years of WCU’s ownership, the property was a working farm supplying the campus with meat, vegetables, and fruit and served as the outdoor farm “laboratory,” offering students the opportunity to observe the latest agricultural techniques (Sturzebecker, 1971). During World War I, in response to government requests to ration food, the farm was a source of food for the school’s dining room (Krulikowski, 2021).

Tanglewood is home to several important artifacts and artwork, including Benjamin Franklin’s grandfather clock and a portrait of then-general George Washington by Charles Willson Peale which were gifted to the West Chester Normal School by the Chester County Cabinet of Natural Science, Chester County’s first natural sciences museum established by William Darlington (Krulikowski, 2021).

The first president to live in the home was Dr. Norman W. Cameron. It was renovated in 1930 to make it more livable for the president’s family. The present living room and informal dining room were added to the original structure and the stone was covered with stucco. A 2008 renovation included a new kitchen and roof.

Having recently undergone a beautiful renovation to its exterior, this historic property is used by the president and others (by request) to host receptions, exhibits, and donor events.