History

                                                                                                                                    

The 1913 Property Atlas on file at the Radnor Historical Society shows that the 40-acre plot which we now know as Millridge was at that time part of the 275-acre estate of John R. Valentine and called “Highland Farm”.  Laurier, the property to the north, was then known as Alta Vista and was home to the Walter J. Hallahan family.  Before that it had been part of George Childs Drexel’s 297-acre estate called “Wootton”, the present home of St. Aloysius Academy.  Across the road from Alta Vista lay the 47-acre estate of Robert E. Strawbridge, which was called “Meadow Lodge”. 

 

     The 1926 Property Atlas shows that the Millridge property was owned by John Jacobs, Sr., president of the Philadelphia Paper Manufacturing Company and later an investor in Collins and Aikman, whose Philadelphia plant made fabrics for the auto and airplane industries.  The Manor House is said to have cost Mr. Jacobs $1,000,000 when it was built in 1926.  According to specs drawn up by the architect, John L. Coneys, materials and artisans were imported from France and Italy to work on the house.

 

     The living room is patterned after the master room in the Davanzati Palace in Florence.  The ceiling was completely hand-painted just as we see it today. The music room is a replica of the Venetian Room in the Metropolitan Museum.  The dining room, with its hand-carved paneling, hand-carved stone fireplace, and windows stretching almost to the ceiling, is one of the most handsome rooms to be seen anywhere. Many feel that the ceiling in that room is even more commanding than the ceiling in the living room.

 

     Casa Mia, as the house was originally christened, featured such amenities as its own squash court, tennis court, swimming pool, extensive green houses, chauffeur’s cottage with heated garage for five cars, and a household staff of seven plus three full-time gardeners.  The family in residence consisted of John and his wife Dorothea, one daughter, and one son.

 

     In 1939 Mr. and Mrs. Jacobs separated and left Casa Mia, never to return.  Both moved to New York City. John deeded his interest in Casa Mia to Dorothea as part of their property settlement. The estate remained unoccupied for eleven years, though from 1945 to 1950 it was cared for by a local policeman and his wife. 

 

     In 1950 Casa Mia became the property of the Sisters of St. Francis who changed the name to Casa Maria.  The Manor House was first used as a home for retired Sisters and as a retreat house.  After that it was used by Sisters attending Villanova University.  From 1954 to 1968 it was the residence for lay students in the Villanova Nursing Program.

 

     In 1966 ten acres of the 40-acre plot were sold off by the Sisters of St. Francis to the Catholic Archdiocese to establish the Church of Blessed John Neumann. Three years later, in 1969, the remaining 30 acres were sold to builder James H. McClatchy for a reported $200,000; he then proceeded to build the community which we now know and enjoy as Millridge.