An article in the October 15, 1920, Reading Times reported “two deer have been seen along the trolley line between Phoenixville and Valley Forge. At first it was thought that they had escaped from the game preserve of A. D. Irwin, at Port Kennedy, but inquiries from there proved otherwise. The animals are mates and are splendid specimens.”
From one extreme to another – a game preserve in Port Kennedy in the early 1900s to a deer management program at Valley Forge Park a hundred years later.
Check out this 1912 map of the Port Kennedy area. You can see the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad tracks along the river.
Here is more information from Valley Forge Park about their White-tailed Deer Management program. https://www.nps.gov/vafo/learn/management/white-tailed-deer.htm
