Back in 2023, the New Hope Historical Society sent the Historical Society of Montgomery County, PA a map. The map was the Historical Map of the Old York Road in Pennsylvania. It was designed and drawn by Howard Kohlbrenner in 1941 for the Old York Road Historical Society. In 1932, Dr. John B. Carrell read a paper before the Historical Society of Montgomery County entitled “Four Miles of Historic Road.” Within this paper, Carrell claimed that Old York Road was “one of the most historic roads in America.” This map supports Carrell’s claim. While many historic places and events are listed on the map, only a few will be touched upon in this blog post. Note that all topics could have their own dedicated blog post, so just a small paragraph accompanies each one.
Hatboro
Starting at the top of the Montgomery County section of the road, there is the Borough of Hatboro “formerly Crooked Billet.” This callout on the map notes some historic places like the Crooked Billet Tavern, and events, like the Battle of Crooked Billet.
Willow Grove Park
Presently (2026), Willow Grove Park is known as a shopping mall, but starting in 1896 it was an amusement park. The park hosted many attractions such as an electric fountain with changing lights, a four-acre large lake, a roller coaster, a toboggan ride, a restaurant that could seat 500 patrons, a candy store, a mirror maze, a carrousel, and a Ferris wheel. There was also a small hospital with a physician in permanent residence. Starting in 1897, the park instituted regular music programs in the bandstand. Probably the most famous was John Philip Sousa’s band which performed annually in the late summer.
Home of Stephen Jenkins (founder of Jenkintown)
The map claims that Stephen Jenkins was the founder of Jenkintown. However, other sources say it was his father, William, who was the founder. Despite how one may look at it, it is certain that most of the central hub of Jenkintown belonged to the Jenkins’ family.
Jenkins Town Lyceum
The American Lyceum movement came before any boards of education. They were educational institutions serving as a means of increasing community education and self-improvement. In 1838, the Jenkins Town Lyceum was organized. By the end of December 1839, Lyceum Hall was completed with its own library and scientific displays. The following year, it was incorporated as a non-profit organization. Eventually the need for Lyceums dwindled, and the organization disbanded. Before doing so, they sold the building to Abington Library in 1908. It is now the Jenkintown Library.
Richard Wall and George Shoemaker
William Penn gave Richard Wall 600 acres of land. His grandson-in-law was George Shoemaker, who later owned a portion of the land. Richard bequeathed 6 acres to Abington Meeting to use as a graveyard. The Wall house and mill passed to the Shoemakers. The mill was active until it was torn down in 1927.
Lucretia Mott
Lucretia Mott was an abolitionist well known by our founding members. She was also a force for women’s rights. You can read more about her here: Lucretia Mott.
Benjamin Lays’ Cave
Benjamin Lays was born in England in 1677. At four feet seven inches, the Quaker was noted to have a fiery temper. He and his wife set sail to Barbados and lived there from 1718-1731. While there, Lays witnessed the atrocities of slavery and became a staunch supporter and advocate for abolition. He and his wife moved next to Philadelphia and then to the Abington area. He would end up building two caves to live in. He was a vegetarian and refused to own anything made by an enslaved person or from an animal. In trying to get his fellow Quakers on the side of abolition, he often played pranks at Meetings to get their attention and represent the unfair treatment of the enslaved people.
John Wanamaker
John Wanamaker was the founder of Wanamaker’s Department Stores. As his business became more successful, he bought an old farmhouse on Old York Road near Jenkintown in the Chelten Hills area. He purchased the property from Isaac Mather in 1868 and later replaced the farmhouse with a grey stone building in the Queen Anne style with a roof of rich red tile. He called the dwelling “Lindenhurst.” In 1907, “Lindenhurst” burnt down in a fire. A new “Lindenhurst” was built, this one in the French Renaissance style.
John B. Stetson
The name Stetson might sound familiar. A certain kind of cowboy hat is called a Stetson. That hat was created by John B. Stetson who lived in Elkins Park after the success from his design. Stetson Avenue, in that area, is named after him.
