People | Horsham Preservation and Historical Association

Memories of Sue Bibus

Memories of Sue Bibus as told to her daughter Susan Gilbert: Sue Bibus was born Sophie Halata in 1923 in rural Springhouse and moved to the western corner of Horsham shortly after. Her father, Michael Halata, was from Ukraine and worked as a gardener on some of the estates nearby. The Halatas moved from Springhouse to Melody Lane off Lower State Rd., just above Welsh Road sometime in the mid 1920s. Sue’s father built their home with help from a cousin. It had a barn, corn crib, chicken coup, and other small out buildings, which were there for years. She was one of nine children...

Isaiah Lukens

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“Lukens was the town clock maker and general machinist. No man of that period better known or held in higher esteem” George Escol Sellers171 Isaiah Lukens was born August 24, 1779 in Horsham and is known for many fine clocks he made for notable buildings such as Loller Academy in Hatboro, PA, the State House/Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Germantown Academy, and many others. Less well known is his interest in air guns and medical equipment He was also one of the founders of the Franklin Institute, and a member of American Philosophical Society and...

Samuel and Sarah Penrose

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Graeme Park in Horsham, PA was established in 1720 by the Deputy Governor of Pennsylvania, Sir William Keith. Keith called his plantation Fountain Low. Originally about 1,800 acres, parcels were sold off in the 1730s after Keith returned to England. His son-in-law, Dr. Thomas Graeme acquired 835 acres of Fountain Low in 1737 and renamed this parcel Graeme Park. Graeme turned his park into a summer retreat and during the period of the 1760s it became a stop for many of the more prominent people in Philadelphia. Dr. Graeme’s daughter, Elizabeth, inherited the property in 1772 upon her father’s...

Morris and Mary Penrose

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Not much is known of Morris Penrose. He was born on March 14, 1860, the second child of Abel and Sarah Penrose. Morris never married but did become the fourth generation of Penroses to farm Graeme Park. His sister Mary Penrose married William Carothers on April 16, 1913. Carothers was 23 years older and died two years later. Mary returned to Graeme Park following his death. She died in 1953. When Morris’ father Abel Penrose died on July 10, 1893, his will directed that the property could be purchased by his two sons, Morris B. or William Penrose, either jointly or individually, for...

Samuel Carpenter

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Samuel Carpenter Samuel Carpenter was born in Horsham, Sussex, England. He was baptized in the Church of St. Mary’s in Horsham on November 20, 1649. He purchased 5,000 acres of land from William Penn, probably on August 4, 1684. 4,200 acres of this lie in what is now Horsham Township, which was established as a municipal entity by a vote of the people in 1717 and named after Carpenter’s birthplace. Carpenter was the youngest son of John Carpenter, the Sheriff of Horsham, who was murdered while on duty in Horsham on August 9, 1671, and his second wife Sarah (maiden name unknown). Samuel was...

Howard T. Hallowell

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Howard T. Hallowell Howard T. Hallowell, a native of Horsham, founded the Standard Pressed Steel Company, now known as SPS Technologies. Mr. Hallowell was born on June 30, 1877, at Hallowell, Pa. Hallowell was working as a draftsman at the American Pulley Company in Philadelphia in 1900 when he witnessed an industrial accident where a brittle cast iron shaft hanger broke. He designed a better hanger from pressed steel and patented it in 1901. The Franklin Institute of Philadelphia115 awarded Hallowell the John Scott Legacy Award for this same invention in 1906. In 1903 Hallowell left American...