Richard Waln, a Quaker merchant from Philadelphia, purchased Walnford as a production source for his import/export business and to establish an estate for his family. During the American Revolution, the mills and farm provided necessary goods. Because he refused military service and declined to declare an oath in keeping with his Quaker beliefs, the Council of Safety expelled him from the colony in 1777. His family remained at Walnford and saw a Hessian soldier lose a spur while fording Crosswicks Creek, and troops led by General Knyphausen marched past on their way to the Battle of Monmouth. Richard Waln was allowed to return by the fall of 1778. Many years later, his son Nicholas found a spur in the creek.