Pre European
Lenni Lenape (c15,000 years ago)
The Lenni-Lenape are the oldest known nation in the Northern Hemisphere, crossing from Asia as long as 15,000 years ago. They are the first known settlers in the Philadelpha area and may have come here about 10,000 to 15,000 (Eden) years ago. The Lenape lived in the area we now call Horsham Township. Although we do not have specific stories or accounts or land records – they did not ‘own’ land, we do have accounts of Lenape artifacts being found throughout the area including at Graeme Park and at the Penrose-Strawbridge farm, and many of our roads including Welsh Road and Limekiln Pike follow old Lenape trails. (more…)
Colonial Period
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 (1716?-1773)
The senior Archibald McLean was for sixteen years a justice of the peace in Horsham, and in 1772 was elected to the Pennsylvania Assembly. (more…)
Dr. Archibald McLean Jr (1740-1791)
Dr. Archibald McLean was the son of Archibald McLean, the justice of the peace. a noted physician and Surgeon of the First Battalion of Philadelphia County militia (more…)
Colonel Robert Loller
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Isaiah Lukens
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Seneca Lukens
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20th Century
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…)
Folks We Miss
Margaret Choate
Margaret and her husband Peter founded the Horsham Preservation and Historical Society and Margaret was the driving force in this organization and the restoration of the Penrose Strawbridge House until her death in 2017. (more…)
Peter Choate
Peter Choate was the cofounder, with his wife Margaret, and long-time leader of HPHA. Both Pete and Margaret committed the latter parts of their lives to our group, preserving the history of Horsham Township, the restoration of the Penrose-Strawbridge House and service to our community. Margaret passed away April 5, 2017. Pete passed away January 13, 2025. (more…)
Al Edling
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Al Edling
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Archie Ashley
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Claire Ashley
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John Stayt
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Leon Clemmer
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Joseph “Buck” Penrose Jr
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Mary Jane Clemmer
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Tom Ambler
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Thomas Kent
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Wayne Watson
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Mary Dare
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Daniel Alverado
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