William Penn (1644-1718)

The founder/proprietor of Pennsylvania, (Penn’s Woods) and the creator of Philadelpia, the City of Brotherly Love. Penn based the governance of his colony on the Quaker idea of respect for all men. While he likely never set foot in what would become Horsham, many of the early settlers were Quakers who came to Pennsylvania based on his promise of freedom of religion. (more…)

Samuel Carpenter (1649-1714)

Samuel Carpenter was an early investor in the new Pennsylvania and among his extensive holdings were 5,000 acres that included most of what would become Horsham Township. It is believed that the township was named for Carpenter’s birthplace in Horsham, Sussex, England. (more…)

Early Landowners

The district which later became known as Horsham Township had been allotted to four individuals: George Palmer, Jospeh Fisher, Samuel Carpenterand Mary Blunston. A member of the family later settled on the Palmer tract; the other three purchasers lived elsewhere, and sold off their land as rapidly as opportunity offered. (more…)

Governor Sir William Keith (1680-1748)

Sir William Keith (1680-1748) was the deputy governor of the province of Pennsylvania under William Penn’s widow, Hannah Callowhill Penn. The Keith House at Graeme Park. in Horsham is a National Historic Landmark (more…)

Dr Thomas Graeme (1688-1772)

Dr Thomas Graeme was the son-in-law of Sir William Keith, and the prominent port physician of Philadelphia. He purchased the remainder of what had been Fountain Low Estate in Horsham. Graeme transformed what was likely a failed attempt at a brewery/distillery in the middle of the forest into a working farm and country estate that he renamed Graeme Park. (more…)

Elizabeth Graeme Fergusson(1737-1801)

Elizabeth Graeme Fergusson was the youngest daughter of Dr Thomas Graene and Ann Diggs Keith Graeme. She moved in the highest levels of Philadelphia society, is credited with introducing the literary salon to America, and has been called the most learned woman in America. (more…)

Archibald McLean (Sr & Jr)

Horsham’s history includes two men of prominence named Archibald McLead: Archibald McLead Sr (1699-1773) who was a justice of the peace and his son Dr. Archibald McLean Jr (1740-1791), a noted physician and Surgeon of the First Battalion of Philadelphia County militia.

Neither apparently showed up for picture day. (more…)

Colonel Robert Loller

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Isaiah Lukens

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Seneca Lukens

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The Penroses (1801-1920)

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Justinian Hallowell (1855-)

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Henry Pratt Mckean(1866-1922)

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Howard T Hallowell (1877-)

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Harold Pitcairn

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Welsh and Margaret Strawbridge

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Dorothea Hughes Simmons

Dorothea Hughes Simmons (1891-1962) was a remarkable woman – nurse, teacher, organizer and philanthropist – who spent her life and her fortune helping others, mainly in Greece, Poland and Jamaica. She is remembered in Horsham for donating land in 1932 for a new school on Limekiln Pike, now known as Limekiln Simmons. (more…)

Charles Harper Smith (1878-1946

Charles Harper Smith was a teacher and historian who wrote a family genealogical history and numerous articles and several books on local Horsham and Hatboro history. He and his wife purchased the Kenderdine Mill complex in 1926 and called it Millbrook. (more…)

Al Schmid

Al Schmid, the Pride of the Marines, was awarded the Navy Cross for his heroism in WWII. Before the war he worked summers in Horsham. (more…)

Lt. Joseph C Park II

Lt. Joseph C Park, of Horsham, was serving as a platoon leader on a search-and-destroy operation in the vicinity of An Phu, Vietnam when they encountered the Viet Cong force. Park immediately moved to an open area where he could place effective fire upon the enemy. Only 16 days after leaving the United States for Vietnam, Park was killed in action on March 28, 1968. (more…)

PFC William Walls

PFC William Henry Walls USMC was killed in Vietnam on January 24,1966 at the age of 19. A portion of Blair Mill Road has been renamed in honor of him. (more…)

PFC Joseph J. Lannon Jr.

Joseph J. Lannon Jr. was born on May 10, 1949, and grew up on Park Avenue in Hatboro Gardens. He graduated from St. John Bosco School, and from Hatboro-Horsham High School in 1967. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps after graduation and was deployed to Vietnam in July 1968. Pfc. Lannon was killed in combat in Quang Nam, South Vietnam on October 1, 1968 at the age of 19. (more…)

PFC William Paul Mason

William Paul Mason was born on April 12, 1947. He enlisted in the US Army and served as a combat medic with HHC of the 173rd Airborne Brigade until the armored personnel carrier he was riding in was hit with a rocket on March 4, 1968. (more…)

MSgt Larry Glemser USAF

Larry Glemser was well known in Horsham as proprietor – with his brother Jimmy – of Glemser Brothers Auto Service in Prospectville and long-time member of the Horsham Lions. But Larry also served over 31 tears in the US Navy and Air Force, retiring in 2005 as Master Sergeant (more…)

Spec Jimmy Glemser US Army
Distinguished Service Cross Medal

Jimmy Glemser was well known in Horsham as proprietor – with his brother Larry (above) – of Glemser Brothers Auto Service in Prospectville. Jimmy was a great mechanic but also a highly decorated Vietnam veteran. (more…)

Archie Ashley

Mr Ashley and hie wife Clare was a great friend and supporter of Horsham History. He also served in the US Navy for 20 years and earned over 40 medals including the Navy Cross, the Silver Star, the Bronze Star and four Purple Hearts. (more…)

Clare Ashley

Clare and her husband Archie were great friends and supporters of Horsham History. Clare was a direct descendent of Richard Kenderdine, one of the first Quaker settlers in Horsham Township and a US Navy WWII Veteran. (more…)

Herb Levy FAIA, Chevalier – French Legion of Honor

Herb Levy was an esteemed architect, architectural historian, preservationist and decorated WWII veteran. (more…)

Civil War