Rhys ab Owen, a member of the Welsh Parliament, visited Philadelphia in late January to take in the sites – with a twist.
He particularly explored those linked with his native Wales. And he broadened his Sunday afternoon itinerary to the Delta-Peach Bottom region. His countrymen helped shape that part of southeastern York County with their slate work and rich culture from about 1845 to just before World War II.
He visited a Delta church where they worshipped: Rehoboth Welsh Chapel. He toured a cemetery where those quarrying slate on Peach Bottom’s mineral-rich ridge were laid to rest under slate tombstones inscribed in Welsh: Slateville Presbyterian Church’s graveyard.
He toured one of the villages where they lived with its four stone Welsh quarrymen’s cottages: Coulsontown. And he returned to the chapel to worship in the Welsh tongue — in a service following the Book of Common Prayer, designed for use in the Church of Wales.
Welsh visitors have journeyed to southeastern York County many times over the years. For that matter, visits from people elsewhere in York County and beyond are a common occurrence. You could say the Welsh cottages provide an actual cottage industry for the region, with volunteers at the Old Line Museum and others in Delta knowledgeable about the region’s Welsh past acting as guides.