Daniel Walker

The son of a Scottish immigrant Daniel Walker who had a large tract in the Great Valley (Tredyffrin) see: http://the2nomads.org/18CTredyffrin/OriginalPurchasersMap.html run the cursor over the map… just above Route 202 is the Lewis Walker Tract; on the Valley Stream a parcel owed by John Potts is indicated

In 1730, Daniel Walker, Stephen Evans, and Joseph Williams purchased 175 acres †† and this partnership soon became the "Mount Joy Forge," later becoming more commonly known as "Valley Forge." This was a complete ironworks: finery, chafery, bloomery, and a slitting mill. Pig iron was converted to billets; iron billets into bars; cast iron into wrought iron; and manufactured finished metal products. In the 1750's a sawmill was added and in 1757, the entire property was purchased by a prominent Quaker ironmaster, John Potts †. John Potts was no stranger to the Walker family: John is Daniel Walker's sister-in-law's brother. John eventually added a gristmill to the property several years later. Unlike the forge burnt by British forces, that grist mill survived the Revolution. It burned in 1848.

{~• note John Potts is the father of Isaac Potts {vis. Washington's Head Quarters} and David Potts

Iron working, as a profession was shared by many in-laws. See, for instance: Anna Walker and her father and brother, who were both named Samuel.

partner

Stephen Evans, the same person as https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/105355623/person/3...
Stephen Evans
BIRTH 26 DEC 1694 • Philadelphia, Montgomery, Pennsylvania, United States
DEATH 12 JUN 1754 • Tredyffrin, Chester, Pennsylvania, USA

now on geni at Stephen Bevan (aka Evans)(later Stevens)

The earliest forge, supposedly was up the creek between today's location of the Knox Covered Bridge and POS of A building. The "newer" forge was located approximately 3/4 of a mile up the creek from the Schuylkill River. December 13, 1742 — the parcel of land which eventually would become the Valley Forge was purchased by Stephen Evans, Daniel Walker and Joseph Williams. The three, in partnership, developed the "Mount Joy Forge" which of course, became known as the "Valley Forge." The forge was more than just a blacksmith shop. . .it was a full-fledged ironworks containing a bloomery, chafery, finery, slitting mill, converted irons, made bars as well as manufacturing and finishing metal products.

Additionally, iron was mined in the surrounding hills including on the old Stephens aka Evens land grant which was once approx. 2,000 acres.

Records show that Walker sold out his share around 1751 and the other two, Evans and Williams, added a sawmill. They sold out by 1757 to John Potts and a gristmill was later added. It was a pretty state of the art facility by then.

The forges and all the buildings in the complex were burned to the ground by the British in September of 1777, three months before the troops went into winter quarters there.

Louis DuPortail, in his map of the encampment during the winter of 1777-1778, included the ruins of the buildings at the foot of Mt. Misery.

Most of the buildings in Valley Forge (the "community") were built after the Revolution. A lot of the early nineteenth century buildings are no longer surviving. Most of the farmhouses used as quarters for the officers during the encampment are in the hands of the Valley Forge National Historical Park. If you are interested in learning more about the buildings, you can contact them. They have done fairly comprehensive studies over the years and have a lot more information than we do.

SAS, Courtesy The Valley Forge Historical Society

another account of the Walker/Evans Forge

† of interest: Daniel Walker's brother Joseph was married to a Potts. So when the forge was sold it went to John Potts, there was a relationship by marriage: John Keurlis Potts is Daniel Walker's sister-in-law's brother. .
†† The real estate transfers are covered in: https://www.jstor.org/stable/20083559?seq=4#metadata_info_tab_contents