2007 Wetherill Reunion in Pennsylvania
August
of 2007 marked the first time in nearly nine
decades
the Western and
Eastern branches of the Wetherill families were united. The reunion took place in
Philadelphia with several families in attendance. The
families were the descendants of brothers, Robert Henvis Wetherill b.1827
and
Benjamin Kite Wetherill b.1831. Rulon Wetherill, great great
grandson of Robert Henvis Wetheill organized the reunion, escorting the
Western Wetherill's throughout the Philadelphia area and arranging the
various events and tours.
The reunion included an evening get together and dinner. The next day members of the family visited the Robert Wetherill factory site, home and, Wetherill Mausoleum near Chester Pennsylvania. Several days were spent visiting Philadelphia and surrounding historical sites. One notable excursion was to the Rough and Tumble Museum to view a running Wetherill Corliss 350 HP Steam Engine, manufactured in 1894. This engine was in perfect running condition and was a very quite machine considering it's weight of several tons.
Click here to view a photo album of the event.
Wetherill 350 HP Corliss Steam Engine
Built in 1894 by Robert Wetherill & Co., Pa, this engine was used for instructional purposes at Swathmore College , Swathmore, Pa. When the engine no longer served any educational purposes at the college it was donated to save it from being sold for scrap.
A gift to the Rough & Tumble Museum by Swathmore College in 1960.
Click here to see the engine running. Use only a high speed connection. It may take a minute to download as it is a 750 KB file. Don't try this with a 56K connection.