In 2013, John Murphy, a history buff with a keen interest in the Revolutionary War, and his wife Vicki purchased Squire Thomas Cheyney’s estate – a house and 11.9 acres – in Thornbury for $80,000.

Now, after three years of restoration aimed at preserving its authenticity, it’s on the market for $2.199 million, writes Alan Heavens for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

According the Inquirer, “in 1777, Thomas Cheyney, a Thornbury farmer, rode on horseback through the British lines and dodged musket balls to alert Gen. George Washington that the Redcoats were about to outflank his army at Brandywine Creek. Though the Americans were routed that day and the British occupied Philadelphia, historians have dubbed Cheyney the ‘Paul Revere of the Brandywine.’”

The estate had been part of Orleans Homebuilders’ Preserve at Squire Cheyney, a development of single-family homes ranging from $633,990 to $710,990, but it and the buildings on it were returned to the township.

The main house was built in 1797 – the Murphys found a barely legible board with the words “Thos. Cheyney, 1797, my home,” scratched on it – though neighbors and the Thornbury Historical Society maintain that the year was 1748.

Two additions were made, in 1815 and 1850.

The Murphys completed another addition, thus pushing the total square footage to about 4,600.

“We bought it to save it, not to live in it,” said John, an estimator for a construction company.

Restoration, including work on the barn, was done in partnership with the Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia.

For architect Brett Hand of Downingtown, “it was a great project, especially being able to mold something that we could keep as authentic and original as possible while making the interior space flow and work with the way we live nowadays.”

Click here to read more about the restoration of Squire Cheyney’s estate in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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Editor’s Note: This post first appeared on DELCO Today in July 2016.