Old Fiddlers’ Picnic at Hibernia Park

This from this morning's Daily Local News:

Musicians perform on stage and in the crowd Saturday afternoon at the 83rd annual Old Fiddlers’ Picnic at Hibernia Park.

Known originally as the Chester and Delaware Counties’ Old Fiddlers’, the picnic began at Crystal Springs Park outside Parkesburg and later moved to Lenape Park south of West Chester. When Lenape Park closed in 1980, Chester County Parks and Recreation offered to sponsor the picnic at Hibernia County Park, according to the county’s official website for the event.

Parkesburg Yesterday

By guest contributor Gerry Treadway

Located north of town along Route 10, Crystal Springs Park opened in 1910 on July 4^th and quickly became an area attraction for many years.

Folks came to Crystal Springs by trolley and automobile to dance in the ballroom, picnic in the grove, boat on the lake, stroll on the promenade or get drinking water from the spring.

The park was the original site of the annual Old Fiddlers’ Picnic now hosted at Hibernia Park north of Coatesville.  Thousands of visitors came to the picnic every year.

In later years the park became the site of weekly flea market and farmers market and a roller skating rink.

Today the area where the park once sat is the location of the Crystal Spring Apartments built in the early 1970’s.