Old York Road Historical Society – Giving Our Past a Future

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Old York Road Historical Society

Giving Our Past a Future

ABOUT
PROGRAMS
COLLECTIONS
- PROPERTY ATLASES & MAPS
  - Atlas of the County of Montgomery and the State of Pennsylvania, G. M. Hopkins, 1871
- Obituary / Death Notice Research Request
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Old York Road Historical Society covers the history of the communities along and adjacent to Old York Road from Philadelphia to New Hope with special emphasis on eastern Montgomery County. The society is the major historical repository for the townships of Abington, Cheltenham, Lower and Upper Moreland, and the boroughs of Bryn Athyn, Hatboro, Jenkintown, and Rockledge.

Visit

Monday 7PM - 9PM
Tuesday 11AM - 2PM
Wednesday 11AM - 3PM

Contact

(215) 886-8590

oldyorkroadhistory@gmail.com

Location

515 Meetinghouse Road
Jenkintown, PA 19046

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Don’t forget - Discovering Philadelphia lecture tonight at the new lecture venue. See you tonight at 7:30pm!

Join us next week on Wednesday, November 13th at 7:30 pm for the next lecture. David Traub will present Discovering Philadelphia: Places Little Known.

Happy Halloween from the Old York Road Historical Society! We hope you have more treats than tricks this evening like the servicemen and women can be seen having at the Church Door Canteen Halloween party. The Church Door Canteen operated out of The Episcopal Church of Our Saviour in Jenkintown during WWII. Its purpose was to entertain servicemen and women from the Willow Grove Naval Station. Dances were held on the weekends, celebrations were hosted on the holidays, and there was even a wedding! The Historical Society recently received a donation of additional material on the Church Door Canteen from the Episcopal Church of Our Saviour which is being added to the current collection.

How is it the last week of October already? Time has really flown by and we haven’t even had a chance to share with you all the fun things we’ve been doing this month! It all started with the return of the lecture series on October 10th. Historian and OYRHS Board Member Jim Rubillo gave an insightful look at the life of Benjamin Lay. Lay, sometimes referred to as the “Quaker Comet,” spent his life speaking out against slavery. Born in England, Lay spent most of his life there. However, due to his outspoken nature he moved several times, having lived in Massachusetts and Barbados before settling in Philadelphia. Lecture attendees received an extra treat, as the talk was moved from the Barnes Room to the Meeting Room. Even with four renovations over the years, efforts have been made to retain the appearance of the 1790s space. And while we sat in this historic space, listening about the life of one of its Friends, one could only wonder what the space may have actually looked like while Lay was sitting in the pews. And just last week - a group of us went on a field trip to both the Union League and the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts to artwork by Glenside artists Xanthus and Russell Smith. The Union League exhibit features Xanthus Smith's characteristic Civil War naval battles scenes, while his son Russell’s landscapes were shown at PAFA. It was truly a pleasure and we were grateful to Dr. Robert W. Torchia and Marita Krivda Poxon for their respective tours.

The lecture starts in less than 30 minutes, but there’s still time to join us and hear OYRHS Board Member Jim Rubillo speak on Benjamin Lay.

Tomorrow is the first lecture of the 2019-2020 season! Come hear all about Benjamin Lay at the new location. See you at 7:30PM in the Barnes Room!