Fetter's Mill Village Historic District | |
Location | Fetter's Mill Rd. and Pennypack Ln., Bryn Athyn and Lower Moreland Township, Pennsylvania |
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Coordinates | 40°7′55″N75°4′18″W / 40.13194°N 75.07167°W Coordinates: 40°7′55″N75°4′18″W / 40.13194°N 75.07167°W |
Area | 7 acres (2.8 ha) |
Built | c. 1740 |
Architectural style | Georgian, Colonial |
NRHP reference No. | 05001212 [1] |
Added to NRHP | August 16, 2006 |
Fetter's Mill Village Historic District is a national historic district located in Bryn Athyn and Lower Moreland Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It encompasses five contributing buildings and three contributing structures. They are a wagon shed / John Conner studio (1751), Alnwick Grove Train Station (c. 1870), Bryn Athyn Train Station / Post Office (1902), farmhouse (c. 1790), stone barn, two iron bridges (1883, 1916-1917), and a milk platform (c. 1900). Located in the district is the separately listed Fetter's Mill, built about 1740. [2]
The area inspired parishioners of The New Church in Philadelphia to migrate to the countryside in order establish and practice as a religious community. They began coming to the area for church excursions or picnics to Alnwick Grove, a park served by the Alnwick Grove Station (Now a private residence, on the Lower Moreland side of the train tracks). After visiting the area, wealthy church member, John Pitcairn, Jr bought the first plots of land, then known as Knights Farm. This area is now the site of Bryn Athyn Cathedral, Cairnwood, Cairncrest, and Glencairn (the latter three all Pitcairn family estates).
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. [1]
Montgomery County is the third-most populous county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the 73rd-most populous in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the county was 856,553, representing a 7.1% increase from the 799,884 residents enumerated in the 2010 census. Montgomery County is located adjacent to and northwest of Philadelphia. The county seat and largest city is Norristown. Montgomery County is geographically diverse, ranging from farms and open land in the extreme north of the county to densely populated suburban neighborhoods in the southern and central portions of the county.
Bryn Athyn is an affluent home rule municipality in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It was formerly a borough, and its official name remains "Borough of Bryn Athyn". The population was 1,375 at the 2010 census. It was formed for religious reasons from Moreland Township on February 8, 1916. Bryn Athyn is surrounded by Lower Moreland Township.
Lower Moreland Township is a township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 12,982 at the 2010 census.
Upper Moreland Township is a township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 24,015 at the 2010 census. Upper Moreland Township is primarily a residential community with distinctive neighborhoods that are complemented by several thriving business, industrial, and commercial districts.
Bryn Athyn Cathedral is the episcopal seat of The General Church of the New Jerusalem, a denomination of Swedenborgianism. The main building is of the Early Gothic style, while the adjoining structures are of a transitional period reflective of a combination of both Gothic and Norman styles. The exterior appearance of the Cathedral itself is reminiscent of Gloucester Cathedral in England.
Pennypack Creek is a 22.6-mile-long (36.4 km) creek in southeastern Pennsylvania in the United States. It runs southeast through lower Bucks County, eastern Montgomery County and the northeast section of Philadelphia, before emptying into the Delaware River.
Bryn Athyn station is a former railroad station in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania. Built by the Reading Railroad, it later served SEPTA's Fox Chase/Newtown Line. It is located on Fetters Mill Road near the Pennypack Creek. The station is a contributing property to the Fetter's Mill Village Historic District.
Pennsylvania Route 232 (PA 232) is a 25.2-mile-long (40.6 km) state highway located in southeastern Pennsylvania. The southern terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 1 (US 1)/US 13 at the Oxford Circle in Philadelphia. The northern terminus is at PA 32 in the borough of New Hope, Bucks County, on the banks of the Delaware River. The route passes through the urban areas of Northeast Philadelphia as two-lane undivided Oxford Avenue, serving the Lawncrest, Burholme, and Fox Chase neighborhoods. Upon entering Montgomery County, PA 232 becomes a two- to four-lane road called Huntingdon Pike that passes through suburban areas, serving the communities of Rockledge, Huntingdon Valley, and Bryn Athyn. The route passes through more suburban development in Bucks County as Second Street Pike, running through Southampton and Richboro. In Wrightstown Township, PA 232 enters rural areas and becomes Windy Bush Road as it heads north to New Hope.
G. W. & W. D. Hewitt was a prominent architectural firm in the eastern United States at the turn of the twentieth century. It was founded in Philadelphia in 1878, by brothers George Wattson Hewitt (1841–1916) and William Dempster Hewitt (1847–1924), both members of the American Institute of Architects. The firm specialized in churches, hotels and palatial residences, especially crenelated mansions such as Maybrook (1881), Druim Moir (1885–86) and Boldt Castle (1900–04). The last was built for George C. Boldt, owner of Philadelphia's Bellevue-Stratford Hotel (1902–04), G.W. & W.D. Hewitt's most well-known building.
Glencairn is a castle-like mansion in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, that was home to the Pitcairn family for more than 40 years. Now the Glencairn Museum, it contains a collection of about 8,000 artworks, mostly religious in nature, from cultures such as ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, the Roman Empire and medieval Europe, as well as Islamic, Asian, and Native American works. The museum is affiliated with The New Church, and the building is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Bryn Athyn College is a private Christian liberal arts college in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania. It is affiliated with the General Church of the New Jerusalem.
Huntingdon Valley is a village, as well as a suburban mailing address located in Lower Moreland Township, Upper Moreland Township and Abington Township all in Montgomery County, and in small sections of Upper Southampton Township and Lower Southampton Township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania bordering the Fox Chase section of Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, United States.
Harold Frederick Pitcairn was an American aviation inventor and pioneer. He played a key role in the development of the autogyro and founded the Autogiro Company of America. He patented a number of innovations relating to rotary wing aircraft.
John Pitcairn Jr. was a Scottish-born American industrialist. With just an elementary school education, Pitcairn rose through the ranks of the Pennsylvania railroad industry, and played a significant role in the creation of the modern oil and natural gas industries. He went on to found the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, an early industry innovator which quickly grew into the largest manufacturer of plate glass in the United States, and amassed one of the largest fortunes in the United States at the time.
The Bryn Athyn School District is a public school district in Montgomery County. While it is designed to serve residents of the small Philadelphia suburb of Bryn Athyn, it has never contained a school. 90% of students in the affluent and highly religious community attend private schools operated by the General Church of the New Jerusalem, which has its global headquarters in the borough. The remaining students attend Lower Moreland Township School District. The Bryn Athyn School District is one of just four in the state to not operate a high school; Midland Borough School District in Beaver County and Saint Clair Area School District in Schuylkill County have avoided consolidation by continuing primary education only, while Duquesne City School District, which features the lowest test scores in the state, in Allegheny County had its high school closed by state mandate.
The Bryn Athyn Historic District is a National Historic Landmark District encompassing an important collection of Arts and Crafts movement architecture in Bryn Athyn, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Designated in 2008, it includes three residential properties associated with the Pitcairn family who supported the movement, as well as Bryn Athyn Cathedral, all built by craftsmen employed by the Pitcairns.
Cairnwood is a 26,000 square feet (2,400 m2) historic home located adjacent to the Glencairn Museum in Bryn Athyn, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It was designed by the architectural firm of Carrère and Hastings and built in 1895. The surrounding grounds were designed by Olmsted, Olmsted and Eliot. It was built for John Pitcairn, Jr. (1841–1916), President of Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company. It is a 2½-story, Roman brick and limestone French country estate home in the Beaux Arts style. The L-plan house has 28 rooms, plus a chapel in the third story turret. Also on the property are a contributing stable and garden house built contemporary to the main house, and garage complex (1911). A contributing structure is the estate wall. The property is now owned by the Academy of the New Church and serves as a special events facility, specifically hosting weddings, corporate functions, fundraising and social events of all kinds.
Bryn Athyn-Lower Moreland Bridge is a historic stone arch bridge located between Bryn Athyn and Lower Moreland Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The bridge was built in 1828 and in 1858. It has two 12-foot-long (3.7 m), semi-circular spans with an overall length of 75-foot (23 m). The bridge crosses a branch of Pennypack Creek.
Fetter's Mill, also known as Louis Ewald Studio—Residence, is a historic grist mill located on Pennypack Creek at Bryn Athyn in Lower Moreland Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It was built about 1740, and is a five level, stucco over stone building of post and beam construction. It has an end gabled roof. It was enlarged about 1860, and in 1920 was converted to a residence and studio for decorative artist Louis Ewald. Adjacent to the mill is the contributing tail race.
The Pennypack Trail is a rail trail located in eastern Montgomery County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The trail runs 6.2 miles (10.0 km) from Rockledge north to the County Line Road border with Bucks County in Huntingdon Valley along the former alignment of SEPTA's Fox Chase-Newtown Line. The trail is maintained by the Montgomery County Division of Parks, Trails, & Historic Sites.
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