From a tipping teapot to a Y-shaped sauerkraut fork, the Delaware County Historical Society has a diverse mix of items in its Lewis Collection at its Chester museum.

The Lewis name is monumental in county history as the family owned and operated the Lewis Paper Mills along the Crum Creek.

One of the family, J. Howard Lewis Sr., was also founder of the Rose Tree Fox-Hunt Club. He built his house on the area that has become Smedley Park and is occupied by the Penn State Cooperative Extension Center.

In 1923, Aimee Cochran Baker loaned the historical society a pewter teapot, which is placed with this collection.

One of the teapots in the collection can be placed onto a metal holding contraption, which allows heated water to be poured into cups by a slight tip – preserving the hands of anyone touching it.

A 16-inch Y-shaped piece of wood harkens from the Strath Haven Inn and may have been used for sauerkraut.

A pair of rusted fireplace tongs was dug up on the old Haddock Farm at 11th and Flower streets in Chester. It came to the Delaware County Historical Society via T.J. Edmunds by a donation made on May 9, 1924.

Two smoking pipes are also part of the Lewis Collection – one is ceramic and has been labeled “Short Derry, Germany” and the other is a corncob.

There’s a small dinner bell used by Ms. Lewis Ladomus between 1850 and 1874 and a bottle marked “Hughbert J. Wiley Droveyard Hotel, Ches, Pa”

A 19th century ironstone gravy boat that was made in England was donated to the society by Samuel Newsome.

These items from the Lewis Collection and more are among the treasures stored at the Delaware County Historical Society Museum, Library & Research Center. The museum is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday and Friday; 1 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday; and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. The museum’s telephone number is 610-872-0502. Parking is free on the society lot behind the building or across the street in the municipal lot.

Membership in the Delaware County Historical Society ranges from $10 for students, $27 for individuals to $250 at the patron level. It includes free admission to the society’s Chester museum and library at 408 Avenue of the States, the society newsletter and preferred reservations and discounts for lectures and events. To join, please visit www.padelcohistory.org or call 610-359-0832.

Pictures are items from the Lewis Collection, including the tipping teapot at left and the Y-shaped fork on right.