Crier in the Country
For years, everyone knew the Crier in the Country was haunted. Sadly, it fell to a wrecking ball about 2018. There were many stories about the place, most centered on two of the former owners, Lydia Powel and Henry Saulnier. As a side note, most references to the Crier in the Country list Lydia Pennell as one of the ghosts, but that is a case of mistaken identity, as we shall see.
Who Owned the Crier in the Country?
About 1740, Thomas Pennell built the house for his family. Thomas and his wife Ann had a daughter named Catherine. Catherine married Davis Powel in 1810 and their eldest son, Thomas Pennell Powel, was born the following year.
Thomas P. Powel married Lydia Garriques on February 3, 1852. She was 26 at the time, and he was 41. Their only child, William Garriques Powel was born that November. Thomas and Lydia inherited the Pennell family home when Davis Powel died in 1866 and made it their home. William would have a family of his own and only lived with his parents until his marriage.
When Thomas died in 1872, Lydia had to move out of the home, and she was no doubt, quite upset. By Thomas’ will, Lydia and their son William each owned half of the property. Perhaps Lydia didn’t feel up to taking care of the large house by herself or maybe could not afford to buy our her son’s half of the estate. Regardless, Lydia sold the property to Henry Saulnier shortly after her husband’s death. Lydia also remarried a few years after Thomas died, to a man named Robert McCall whose wife has died in 1875. The 1880 census finds Robert and Lydia living in Bethel township in Delaware county, along with her widowed mother, Mary Ann Garriques.
Meanwhile, back at the future home of the Crier, Henry and Harriet Saulnier are, no doubt, adjusting to life in their new home. Henry was very active in the local fox hunting scene and served as president of the Rose Tree Hunt Club for many years. At some point, the property became known as ‘Hurricane Hill’ as shown in this article below:
Foxhunter, 96, Saw Son Married
Special to the Inquirer, Jan. 7 After participating in fox hunting for seventy-five years Henry E. Saulnier, president of the Rose Tree Fox Hunting Club, celebrated his ninety-sixth birthday yesterday at “Hurricane Hill,” Ivy Mills, surrounded by his children and grandchildren. The event was a double one, his son T. P. Saulnier, and Mrs. Anna Bertha Saulnier being married at noon in the presence of the aged fox hunter, Rev. A. M. Strayhorn performing the ceremony.1The Philadelphia Inquirer, 1/8/1907
The picture of Henry to the right appeared in a newspaper article in 1900. Since Henry is one the Crier in the Country spirits, perhaps a picture might help jog someone’s memory if they ever saw him there. He and his wife Harriet rest eternally at the Media cemetery.
Many Business Owners
After Henry Saulnier died in 1907, the property had a number of different owners. William and Alice McNeal turned it into a convalescent home during the 1940’s. Jimmy Devereaux opened Devereausx’s Fox Crest Inn there in 1968. Ten years later, it became Fortunato’s Inn, an Italian style restaurant. Finally, in 1981, the Iannucci family purchased the property and it became The Crier in the Country. The Iannucci family sold the business in 1995 to Joseph and Robert Jackson. Sadly, the restaurant began to lose its reputation for fine dining. In 2007, the business closed down for good and the building sat unused for quite a few years. Demolition began on the premises in 2017.
Ghosts in the Crier
Both Lydia and Henry haunt the Crier in a gentle sort of way. But there is unpleasant spirit on the third floor that attracts the most attention. Laurie Hull, in her book, Brandywine Valley Ghosts, gives some details. She tells of sensing a young girl savaged by a very large man in a bedroom on the third floor. She mentions that her image included seeing the young girl being buried on the property with her belongings. The real mystery now becomes identifying this pair. That will probably be a much harder task than finding Lydia and Henry.