Christian C. Sanderson Museum Collection

Christian Carmack Sanderson (also known as “Chris” and “Christy”) was born in Port Providence, Pennsylvania, on January 7, 1882, to Robert M. and Hanna Carmack Sanderson.

Sanderson graduated from the West Chester Normal School in 1901. In 1905, he came to Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, to teach in the area’s one-room schools. Two years later, Sanderson and his mother moved into George Washington’s original headquarters on the Brandywine Battlefield, where they resided for sixteen years. Sanderson was an instrumental force behind the declaration of the Brandywine Battlefield as a state park in 1949. His passion for history and preservation was one held throughout his lifetime. Both of Sanderson’s grandfathers, Robert M. Sanderson and Christian Carmack, were officers in the Civil War. On July 3, 1913, Christian accompanied the 50th anniversary charge of eighty-seven survivors across the field at Gettysburg.

Sanderson became regionally famous as a local personality in the Brandywine Valley. A popular history lecturer, his favorite topic was “The Joy of Living” and he was known to incorporate a rhyme of his own composition entitled “Back East on the Brandywine” into his talks. A natural performer, Sanderson taught classes in square dancing and acted in many local theatrical productions. He was especially noted for his appearances as Rip Van Winkle and Sandy Flash in The Story of a Kennett at Longwood Gardens. Sanderson was a fiddler who led the Pocopson Valley Boys Orchestra and played at numerous folk festivals, such as the August Old Fiddlers’ Day at Lenape Park, and for USO functions at the Philadelphia Central City YMCA. Sanderson additionally enjoyed a long radio career that began in 1923 on Philadelphia’s WFI for the Boy Scouts of America, and ended on Coatesville’s WCOJ in October 1966--less than a month before his death.

Honors conferred upon Sanderson included a citation from the Industrial Editors of the Delaware Valley and a special Freedom Leadership Award from the Freedom Foundation in 1963. His eightieth birthday in 1962 was a grand affair at the Downingtown Inn with over 700 guests. A commemorative plate, designed by Henry T. MacNeill and Jamie Wyeth, was manufactured for the event by Kettlesprings Kilns of Alliance, Ohio, and states: “beloved patriot, teacher, philosopher, lecturer and apostle of the American heritage.”

Sanderson was beloved by many in the Chadds Ford region, including the renown Wyeth family of artists. Illustrator N.C. Wyeth (1882-1945) helped support Sanderson and his mother when they were struggling during the Great Depression, bringing them food and paying their rent when they were threatened with eviction. Sanderson was the subject of several works by N.C.’s son Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009), including the portraits Chris (1937), The Country Schoolmaster (1939), and an illustration in Henry Seidel Canby’s The Brandywine (Rinehart, 1941) that depicts Sanderson ice skating. In 1937 Sanderson and Andrew Wyeth collaborated on a Map of Historical Chester County and an accompanying booklet.

More information about Sanderson and the Wyeth's can be found on the Sanderson Museum website (https://sandersonmuseum.org/bob-duggan/).

Chris Sanderson held a life-long interest in American history and was a passionate collector of a wide variety of objects and artifacts. His collection included, but was not limited to: stuffed animals, musical instruments, cannonballs dug up from the Brandywine Battlefield, period clothing, authenticated letters and autographs (such as United States presidents, from Theodore Roosevelt to Lyndon D. Johnson, whose inaugurations Sanderson attended), a bottle of water melted from the South Polar ice cap, a military duffle bag that belonged to one of his former students, a lock of hair from George Washington’s wig, and a purse owned by Jennie Wade, who was the only civilian killed at the Battle of Gettysburg. Sanderson saved many of his own personal items as well, such as a burnt match from a birthday candle and a pair of pants he wore when he was seven. Andrew’s wife, Betsy James Wyeth 1921-2020, is quoted as saying in 1966, “I can see now why Chris died. He just didn’t have room to collect anymore.”

Chris Sanderson began setting up little exhibits in his house, which he dubbed his “Sanderson Museum,” in 1959. It was typically open only on Sunday afternoons and advertised on his 1 p.m. radio show. Following his death on November 19, 1966, it was discovered that the contents of Sanderson’s house had been left to his good friend Thomas (Tom) Roberts Thompson 1918-2014. Thompson and Sanderson met through Tom’s brother Jack Thompson, drummer for the Pocopson Valley Boys. Tom worked through the painstaking process of reviewing and organizing what he deemed the “total disaster” he inherited. Unfortunately, approximately 60% of Sanderson’s treasures were discarded due to poor condition.

In 1970, Sanderson’s friends Tom Thompson, Andrew Wyeth, Arthur Beard, William Hoffman, and Frank Rich formed a nonprofit with the goal to establish Sanderson’s home and prized possessions as an official museum. Andrew Wyeth served as founding president and was shortly succeeded by Tom Thompson.

Tom Thompson’s Sanderson biography, simply entitled Chris, was published by Dorrance Publishing Co. in 1973.

Today, the Christian C. Sanderson Museum continues to offer eight rooms of over 200 years of American history and original Wyeth family artwork. The museum is run almost entirely by volunteers.