Places | Horsham Preservation and Historical Association

Bloodgood Nurseries est 1790

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Bloodgood Nurseries est 1790 Author: Kevin Winters Published: November 17. 2019 Updated: Arpil 28, 2026 Bloodgood Nurseries has been a fixture in Horsham since the 1970s when Al Edling moved the existing business from Doylestown. But its roots go way back – claiming to be America’s oldest nursery, established in 1790! The earliest records of the Bloodgood name associated with nurseries relate to 1790 in Flushing (now Queens) New York. The name Bloodgood can be traced to Francis Bloctgoct, one of the earliest setllers in the village of Vlissingen (anglicized to...

Larry Glemser

Posted in Places.

Larry Glemser By: Kevin Winters Published: April 26, 2026 MSgt Larry GlemserVietnam Veterans Memorial Fund Larry Glemser is well known in Horsham as co-proprietor, with his brother Jimmy, of Glemser Brothers Auto Repair in Prospectville, and being a founder of the Horsham Lions Club. Larry was born on October 8, 1945 and enlisted in the US Navy at the age of 17. He served as a radioman on sub tenders and submarines from 1963 to 1967, in the Pacific and Vietnam. After this tour he returned home and in 1967 opened Glemser Brothers at the corner of...

PFC Joseph J Lannon Jr USM

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PFC Joseph J. Lannon Jr. USMC By: Kevin Winters Published: April 16, 2016 Updated: April 26, 2026 PFC Joseph Lannon USMCVietnam Veterans Memorial 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. Rep. Tom Murt...

Charter Day

Posted in Events, Places.

Charter Day at the Penrose Strawbridge Farm March 2026 8 1-4 pm Pennsylvania Charter Day Join us for an open house at the Penrose-Strawbridge Farm and free tours at National Historic Landmark Governor Sir William Keith House next door at Graeme Park. Penrose Strawbridge Farm | 900 Governor Road, Horsham, PA 19044 (map) On Sunday, March 8, Pennsylvania Historical Sites and Museums will celebrate Charter Day, the 335th birthday of Pennsylvania, when King Charles II granted William Penn the charter for his “holy experiment” in America. As part...

Penrose-Strawbridge Ice Barn

Posted in Places, Points of Interest.

There are ruins of a small bank barn located on Governor Road right at the the entrance to what was Graeme Park and is now on the current Penrose-Strawbridge Farm. The structure, dating to about 1735, is surrounded on three sides by the hillside. The front of the building, facing Governor Road, is open. An earthen ramp leads to what would have been a second floor and is located on the back side opposite the side facing the road. There do not appear to be any windows or doors cut into the stone. This structure was used by the Penroses and Strawbridges as an ice house to store ice...

Horsham Road

Posted in Roads.

Horsham Road was laid out in 1735, from Montgomeryville to Norristown Road, along one of the parallels of Thomas Holme’s map. Holmes ran parallel lines northwestward from the Delaware River at intervals of one and one-half miles; each alternate line established a division line between townships. The intervening lines formed median or base lines within the townships, from which individual grants of land were measured. County Line forms the township border on the north and Welsh Road on the south. Horsham Road runs through the middle. Horsham Road was originally known as the Montgomery...

Welsh Road

Posted in Roads.

Welsh Road forms the southern border of Horsham Township and follows one of the parallels first laid out by Thomas Holme in his 1687 map of Pennsylvania. It is one of the earliest roads in the township. Many of the area’s earliest settlers were Welsh Quakers. A first wave arrived in 1683 and settled in Lower Merion, Radnor and Haverford Townships, followed a few years later by settlement of a second “Welsh Tract” in an area they called Gwynedd (Welsh for “white” or “fair land”), which today encompasses both Upper and Lower Gwynedd. Some Welsh property owners held parcels that...

Davis Grove Road

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Davis Grove Road today is a short road of 1.2 miles from Horsham Road on the western end to Babylon Road on its eastern end. It parallels Horsham Road for about three-quarters of its length. Davis Grove Road was originally built in 1735 as a private road by the Kenderdines known as “Kenderdine’s Lane” to offer access to their mill from Babylon Road. Babylon Road existed at that time but was not dedicated until much later. “The Davis Grove Road from Davis Grove to the intersection of Horsham Road, was laid out in 1745. The original petition and draught were presented to the December...

Keith Valley Road

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Keith Valley Road, which currently extends north from Horsham Road to County Line Road, is a central artery in Horsham. It was originally a path connecting Sir William Keith’s Fountain Low (Graeme Park) to the Kenderdine Mill.48 An 1893 map of Horsham shows Keith Valley Road either as a road or a path going from Davis Grove Road across the Kenderdine Mill Stream and across Park Creek near Governor Road and extending to County Line Road. It was extended from Davis Grove Road to Horsham Road sometime in the 1990s. The Kenderdine Mill at what is now Keith Valley Rd and Davis Grove Road was...