Built in 1914, "Woodcrest Lodge" was the home Paul Denckla Mills and his wife Ellen Drexel Paul. The work of the Architect Charles Barton Keen, "Woodcrest Lodge" was built in the Georgian Colonial style with an exterior of rough buff-colored stucco.
"Woodcrest Lodge" sat atop a steep hillside. A raised terrace ran the length of the house, accessed by paired French doors from the hall, drawing, and dining rooms.
Delicate detailing in the Adam style could be found throughout the house in the form of decorative cornices and doorways and carved white marble fireplace mantels.
The dining room had dark mahogany paneling, Hepplewhite furnishings, and a Waterford crystal chandelier.
A native of Philadelphia, Paul Denckla Mills and his wife spent much of their later life in New York, where Mills was a partner in the banking and brokerage firm of Dewing, Ruggles & Mills. In 1928 Mills sold "Woodcrest Lodge" and its surrounding 30 acres to a developer who owned the property until the 1950's. Later it was purchased by the Valley Forge Military Academy. The former "Woodcrest Lodge" was destroyed by arson in 1973.
The couple also owned "Windsor Plantation" on the Black River in the Georgetown, South Carolina area.
Follow THIS LINK to see an aerial from 1948 showing "Woodcrest Lodge" and the surrounding area. wikimapia site where estate stood. Outbuildings still survive. BING.
Built on a section of the estate of James W. Paul's "Woodcrest", father of Ellen Drexel Mills.
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| ENTRANCE GATES HOUSE OF PAUL D. MILLS, ESQ., ST. DAVIDS, PA. MR. CHARLES BARTON KEEN, ARCHITECT |
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| "WOODCREST LODGE" HOUSE OF PAUL D. MILLS, ESQ., ST. DAVIDS, PA. MR. CHARLES BARTON KEEN, ARCHITECT |
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| DETAIL OF ENTRANCE FRONT HOUSE OF PAUL D. MILLS, ESQ., ST. DAVIDS, PA. MR. CHARLES BARTON KEEN, ARCHITECT |
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| DETAIL OF ENTRANCE FRONT HOUSE OF PAUL D. MILLS, ESQ., ST. DAVIDS, PA. MR. CHARLES BARTON KEEN, ARCHITECT |
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| DETAIL OF PRINCIPAL ENTRANCE HOUSE OF PAUL D. MILLS, ESQ., ST. DAVIDS, PA. MR. CHARLES BARTON KEEN, ARCHITECT |
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| TERRACE FRONT HOUSE OF PAUL D. MILLS, ESQ., ST. DAVIDS, PA. MR. CHARLES BARTON KEEN, ARCHITECT |
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| TERRACE FRONT HOUSE OF PAUL D. MILLS, ESQ., ST. DAVIDS, PA. MR. CHARLES BARTON KEEN, ARCHITECT |
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| DETAIL OF ENTRANCE, TERRACE FRONT HOUSE OF PAUL D. MILLS, ESQ., ST. DAVIDS, PA. MR. CHARLES BARTON KEEN, ARCHITECT |
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| FIRST FLOOR PLAN HOUSE OF PAUL D. MILLS, ESQ., ST. DAVIDS, PA. MR. CHARLES BARTON KEEN, ARCHITECT |
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| THE HALL HOUSE OF PAUL D. MILLS, ESQ., ST. DAVIDS, PA. MR. CHARLES BARTON KEEN, ARCHITECT |
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| THE SKYLIT MAIN HALL AND ROOM-LENGTH STAIRCASE HOUSE OF PAUL D. MILLS, ESQ., ST. DAVIDS, PA. MR. CHARLES BARTON KEEN, ARCHITECT |
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| MANTEL IN HALL HOUSE OF PAUL D. MILLS, ESQ., ST. DAVIDS, PA. MR. CHARLES BARTON KEEN, ARCHITECT |
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| DRAWING ROOM HOUSE OF PAUL D. MILLS, ESQ., ST. DAVIDS, PA. MR. CHARLES BARTON KEEN, ARCHITECT |
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| DINING ROOM HOUSE OF PAUL D. MILLS, ESQ., ST. DAVIDS, PA. MR. CHARLES BARTON KEEN, ARCHITECT |
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| DINING ROOM MANTEL HOUSE OF PAUL D. MILLS, ESQ., ST. DAVIDS, PA. MR. CHARLES BARTON KEEN, ARCHITECT |
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| LIBRARY HOUSE OF PAUL D. MILLS, ESQ., ST. DAVIDS, PA. MR. CHARLES BARTON KEEN, ARCHITECT |
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| SECOND FLOOR PLAN HOUSE OF PAUL D. MILLS, ESQ., ST. DAVIDS, PA. MR. CHARLES BARTON KEEN, ARCHITECT |
A native of Philadelphia, Paul Denckla Mills and his wife spent much of their later life in New York, where Mills was a partner in the banking and brokerage firm of Dewing, Ruggles & Mills. In 1928 Mills sold "Woodcrest Lodge" and its surrounding 30 acres to a developer who owned the property until the 1950's. Later it was purchased by the Valley Forge Military Academy. The former "Woodcrest Lodge" was destroyed by arson in 1973.
The couple also owned "Windsor Plantation" on the Black River in the Georgetown, South Carolina area.
Follow THIS LINK to see an aerial from 1948 showing "Woodcrest Lodge" and the surrounding area. wikimapia site where estate stood. Outbuildings still survive. BING.
Built on a section of the estate of James W. Paul's "Woodcrest", father of Ellen Drexel Mills.
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| 1907 Portrait of Paul Denckla Mills(1877-1954) Adolphe Borie |
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| Charles Barton Keen, Architect |