Tag: Charles Harper Smith

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

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...

A painting of the Limekiln toll house painted by Leon Clemmer

Limekiln Pike

Posted in Roads.

Limekiln Pike was dedicated in 1737. Its present course was laid out in 1855, when the road was moved about one-fourth mile to the west at the upper end of the township. It was also known for a time as Whitehall Turnpike. Thomas Fitzwater sailed from England with William Penn on the Welcome. He was granted 1,000 acres in what is now Upper Dublin. Fitzwater later added to these holdings. Fitzwater’s rich limestone deposits became one of the most important area sources for limestone (the others located in Lower Merion) and led to construction of the first road “into the...