Pirates return to raise money in Marcus Hook

As blasts from cannons filled the air, dozens of 18th-century reenactors swarmed Marcus Hook on Saturday, harking back to an era when the Delaware River community was a haven for plundering pirates, including the notorious Blackbeard.

Hundreds turned out under sunny skies for the sixth annual Pirate Festival, a daylong waterfront event to raise money to preserve the Marcus Hook Plank House, a 1700s property that, according to legend, belonged to one of Blackbeard's mistresses, Margaret.

Did Blackbeard really rendezvous there? It's doubtful.

The house, constructed of hand-sawn log planks, was built in the mid-1700s, and Blackbeard, whose real name was Edward Teach, died in 1718, said archaeologist Katie Cavallo, a Temple University graduate student who hosted tours of the property.

A 19th-century history book mentioned that Blackbeard had visited Marcus Hook and "the house of a Swedish woman." The Plank House is the oldest-known house in Marcus Hook.

"I think people took two different stories and put them together," said Cavallo, who is writing her master's thesis about the house. "They said, 'If this is the oldest house, this must be where Margaret lived.' "

In 2004, Marcus Hook resident and Borough Council member Michael Manerchia and his wife, Patty, bought the house, then-Cape Cod style, at 221 Market St. When they began renovating it, they discovered planked logs that had been covered over.

After pieces of china from the 1730s were found under the kitchen floor, archaeologists and historians flocked to the site, including volunteers from Temple, who were digging in the backyard Saturday.

"To date, we have over 30,000 artifacts with less than 20 percent of the property excavated," said Manerchia, a pirate reenactor who portrays Blackbeard.

The couple donated the house to the Marcus Hook Preservation Society, whose goal is to eventually turn it into a museum that would showcase the historical artifacts found there, including ceramics, glass, and animal bones. Some are at Temple, and others are kept under lock and key at the house, Cavallo said.

A crowd-pleaser at Saturday's festival was the "singing pee-wee pirates" - a couple of dozen children in kindergarten through fourth grade from Marcus Hook Elementary School. Dressed in full pirate regalia, they sang two songs.

Kevin McDonough, 5, sporting a mustache, bandanna, and kerchief around his neck, said the inflatable bounces and games in the park were his favorite things.

"It's a great event for the kids and the families who all come together and see how it was back in the day," said Kevin's mother, Amanda. "We go to Philadelphia to visit the historic places. I like to show him history."

The festival also featured a pirate encampment with period tents, demonstrations of firearms, cannons, and beer-making, as well as food, music, face painting, pony rides, a petting zoo, and more than 40 crafters.

Cindy Perouty, a reenactor with a Baltimore living history group called the Vigilant Crew, said she loved the Marcus Hook pirate festival and had attended every year.

"It's a way to help the town," said Perouty, a ship's cook. "The refinery is closed. The people here have found a way to bring attention to the town and bring money in.

"We walk into a restaurant or a bar, and people are just so happy to see us, and everybody is so friendly and nice to us," she said.

In the early 18th century, Marcus Hook was under British rule and was a bustling market town. William Penn in 1701 called for a public market to be built there. It was a maritime community and a haven for pirates to sell their plundered goods. Second Street was originally called Discord Lane "because of all the taverns and fighting on the street," said Cavallo, the Temple archaeologist.

In the 20th century, Marcus Hook became an industrial town. Sun Oil Co. in 1901 established a refinery, which closed in 2011. The refinery today is being "repurposed" by Sunoco Logistics Partners as a terminal to transport Marcellus Shale ethane and propane to Marcus Hook.