Places | Horsham Preservation and Historical Association

Davis Grove Road

Posted in Roads.

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

Posted in Roads.

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...

Prospectville Needlework Guild

Posted in Places.

According to the National Giving Alliance, The Needlework Guild began in England in 1882 following a mining disaster in nearby Wales. Lady Diana Wolverton gathered a group of people together to make clothing (one to wear, one to wash) for children whose parents had died in the disaster. She “glimpsed the fact that old garments might pauperize, but new garments equalize.” In 1885, Mrs. Harpence of Philadelphia was impressed with the work that was being done and shared the concept with her niece, Laura Safford, who in turn told six of her friends. They agreed to help her sew for the...

Penblair School

Posted in Places.

The Penblair Elementary School was built in 1909 on Schoolhouse and Cedar Hill Roads in an area known as Scrapple Hill. Wesley Mullin was the architect, George Zeitler the builder, and Cy Hoffman the mason. Charles S Mann named the school combining two Celtic words meaning “upland plain.” The school was closed in April 1932 and was soon auctioned off. Dr Walter and Mary Webb bought the school and converted it into a home. It has been a private home since 2018. — From Images of America: Horsham Township118 by Leon Clemmer and HPHA, Arcadia Publishing, 2004. The girls’ and...

Abel and Sarah Penrose

Posted in Places.

Abel Penrose married Sarah L. Beisel of Allentown on Christmas Day, 1856. He was 39 and she was 20. Sarah’s father, Daniel Beisel, was a prominent farmer in the Lehigh Valley and a member of the Reformed Church. Sarah probably became a member of the Society of Friends since she is buried at the Horsham Friends Cemetery. 2 We believe this photo shows Abel and Sarah on the front porch of the Penrose-Strawbridge House sometime in the 1870s. The second half of the 19th century was a turbulent time in the U.S. Although the civil war was over, the Indian wars continued in the...

Governor Road

Posted in Roads.

Governor Road Governor Road is the original entrance to Graeme Park and the Penrose-Strawbridge House. It currently exists as a gravel road extending only a short distance from Keith Valley Road southeast to Gate 9 of the former Willow Grove Naval Air Station, but its history dates back almost 300 years. Governor Sir William Keith authorized a road to be built from Philadelphia to his “new building” (Graeme Park) in Horsham from Round Meadow (now Willow Grove) in 1722. The road became known as The Governor’s Road Governor Road ran north from the Horsham...