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Lansdale Historical Society

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Lansdale Historical Society

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It has its headquarters in a two-building complex, located on Jenkins Avenue in the center of Lansdale, Montgomery County, PA.

The Lansdale Historical Society was founded in 1971, and its purpose is to preserve the history of the Borough of Lansdale and the greater North Penn area, and to share its collection of material and resources with the greater community, particularly the youth. The buildings are owned by the Borough of Lansdale. The complex includes the Jenkins Homestead, a 1770-era Federalist-style farmstead that is the oldest building within the original borders of Lansdale. Portions of the Homestead have been restored and are open for public tours. The Lansdale Historical Research Center, located less than 60 feet from the Homestead, was acquired by the Borough in 2000 and has undergone extensive renovations to make it computer and Internet friendly and a repository for the Society's vast collection of documents and artifacts related to Lansdale and the surrounding North Penn area. The building is handicapped accessible. LOCATION: The complex is located one block off Lansdale's Main Street on Jenkins Avenue between Chestnut and Line Streets. On-street parking is available on Jenkins Avenue.

11/02/2026

BACK THEN by DICK SHEARER

The baseball diamond in Memorial Park was named Weaver Field in 1963 in honor of Joseph K. “Dobbie” Weaver. He was generally credited as the founding coach of interscholastic sports at Lansdale High School, primarily during the 1920s.
Back in those days, one person (usually a man) coached all the teams, including baseball, football, basketball and track. Lansdale fielded girls' and boys' teams in the latter two sports. Some of the coaches were faculty members, others like Weaver were not. Dobbie’s business interests included real estate, property development and a little journalism thrown in on the side. Coaching paid a pittance.
Lansdale High was located on Main Street during his tenure. His baseball, football and track teams competed at the Memorial Park ballfield. Basketball was played in the dingy gym at the school. All of his teams were competitive in what became the Bux-Mont League, but his track squads were probably the best, winning frequently at regional events at Franklin Field.
Dobbie’s high school coaching career came to an abrupt end in the late 1920s when the newly-formed statewide athletic association (PIAA) declared that all coaches had to become faculty members. He made too much money on the outside for that, so he quit and later coached at Delaware Valley College.
The photograph shows Weaver, at right, with his 1927 football team in front of the Main Street High School.

11/01/2026

BACK THEN by Pat Rieker

In the 1920s, real estate was booming, and in Lansdale there was no more desirable neighborhood than Elm Terrace. Built by Metz & Rossell, each of the new homes was unique in design and constructed of stone or brick.

The development was beginning to get established when the Great Depression put an end to dreams of a new home for most families. New construction in Elm Terrace was suspended in the fall of 1930.

By 1935, with the economic outlook improving, Metz & Rossell resumed building homes in Elm Terrace. This full page flyer featured 20 houses that were available for sale around that time. We’ve made an effort to identify the addresses of these homes, but we’re not sure we have all of them right. We hope our readers will help us to verify the locations.

10/31/2026

Don’t forget to come out the the Halloween History Hunt today at the Lansdale Cemetery! We’ll be here for about another hour!

10/31/2026

BACK THEN by Pat Rieker

The following is a 1963 column written by “The Old Timer” from an interview with a local fellow who recalled Halloween in Lansdale of long ago.

“Halloween was a wonderful time here in Lansdale,” recalled one of those who lived through a lot of them. ”Downtown was really crowded with people all evening, streets and sidewalks.

“Not just kids, either. Grown-ups and young people all got dressed up and paraded up and down in the street. Not a formal parade, that is, but just general jollification, and everybody having a good time, trying to recognize his friends.

“Maybe things got a little rough, because I know you would never see a horse and carriage on the street while the crowd was out. When the trolleys started, they had trouble, too, getting the pole pulled down every time the conductor turned his head.

“One reason the carriages weren’t out,” inserted another party, “was that everybody either had his carriage hidden out in the country somewhere, or padlocked in his shed. Nobody wanted kids to get hold of one, or even know where it was, or he’d wake up the next morning, and find it wasn’t there at all."

Ah, those were the good old days— makes a body feel downright nostalgic about standing on the slanting roof of a barn and dismantling a buggy the neighbors’ boys had put up there in the dark.

Happy Halloween!

10/30/2026

BACK THEN by Pat Rieker

The grand prize winner of the Halloween window painting contest in 1963 was this unsettling image titled “Portrait of the Stranger.” North Penn High School senior, Joan McCall painted the formidable portrait on the window of Feldi’s Furniture Store at Main & Green Sts. The picture, which was a departure from the usual scenes of pumpkins, scarecrows and black cats, created a bit of a stir among the observers on the street. The judges, impressed by McCall’s artistry, were unanimous in awarding her the grand prize.

10/29/2026

BACK THEN by Linda Evans

Gwynedd has a very old history (for this area), so it’s not surprising that there may be a few ghosts in the closet.
A 1986 newspaper article details the haunted happenings of a home in Gwynedd, near the William Penn Inn. The occupants reported seeing “an old man in a long coat”, with a mustache and glasses. The man was also smoking a pipe and beckoning to the child who saw him. Also sighted was a young woman with long blonde hair, who followed someone up the stairs. None of these apparitions made the occupants fearful. Other unusual happenings included a painting falling off the wall, and the thermostat resetting to 90 degrees.
One hundred years previously, in 1886, right down the road from this house, another unusual event occurred. The Worley family suddenly began experiencing some very supernatural occurrences. Glass jars, dishware, lamps and crockery began falling off shelves and shattering. Some items flew out of the windows and doors. This would happen during the day when the family was present, but no explanation could be found. The items included mirrors, picture glass, windows – anything that could shatter.
The Worley’s had a young teenage girl living with them and soon people began to suspect that she was the cause – as in poltergeist. Others said the cause was blasting for the Gwynedd tunnel on the North Pennsylvania Railroad. Crowds gathered from miles around in hopes of seeing the phenomenon. The confusion lasted for a week, and then ceased. Again, no explanation was found.

10/28/2026

BACK THEN by Pat Rieker

These Girl Scouts of Troop 1020 were ready to march in the annual Hatfield Halloween Parade in 1963. The theme of their unit was “Little Ladies Make Believe,” as they emulated their moms’ generation in dress and actions. Some of them brought their dolls along to march with them. The Halloween Parade was an annual tradition in Hatfield from 1946 until 2005.

10/26/2026

BACK THEN by DICK SHEARER

News that the Exton Square Mall closed recently reminds us that our own Montgomery Mall is only a shadow of its former self. Empty storefronts and pedestrian-less walkways dominate the same space that was once packed with shoppers, the curious or just those who got together to meet at the mall.
It was a big Main Street with a roof to shield folks from the weather and a place where you knew you could find a parking space even if you had to walk a bit.
It killed many communities’ downtown districts – Lansdale’s took a big hit.
But that was in the 1960-1990 era. Just as the malls ate up downtowns, e-commerce (Amazon and the like) is killing the malls in the 21st century. If you know what you want it’s easier to order on-line.
The cycle will likely continue in the future with something coming along to replace e-commerce. But the malls will always be a part of history. They brought people together in a way a computer screen or QR code can’t do.

The photos show two scenes at the Montgomery Mall food court. In the out-of-focus 1980 shot, shoppers had to wait to sit at a table. The second picture, taken three years ago, shows few tables and no shoppers.

10/25/2026

BACK THEN by Pat Rieker

Today’s post is the third in a series about Red Top Farm on White’s Road.

Part 3: The Racetrack

Francis W. McDowell (1837-1907) owned a paper manufacturing company along the Schuylkill River in Manyunk. He lived in a fine home in Germantown, and in 1880 he purchased Red Top Farm southwest of Lansdale as a summer home.

For more than 25 years, McDowell and his family spent the months of June thru September at Red Top or at another nearby farm he owned on the east side of S. Broad St. near Allentown Road. McDowell hired a farm manager and farmhands to grow crops and tend livestock while he entertained his friends and hobnobbed with Lansdale businessmen. In 1897, several of these men decided to build a racetrack on McDowell’s 40-acre Red Top property.

The Lansdale Driving Park opened on a Saturday in June, 1897. About 500 people paid the entrance fee, while a few hundred more parked their carriages and watched the harness races free of charge from nearby roads. The half-mile racetrack was situated along Valley Forge Rd. roughly between White’s Rd. and Mt. Vernon St. Today’s residential streets had not yet been developed at that time.

The Lansdale Driving Park continued to host races every year throughout the summer months until about the start of WWI. After the war, auto racing became more popular, and local racing fans shifted to the racetrack at Hatfield. The high-banked turns of the Lansdale Driving Park remained through the 1930s, but were eventually leveled as the area was developed.

10/24/2026

Come see our table today during the Harvest Heritage Day at Morgan Log House! 🍂

Address

137 Jenkins Avenue
Lansdale, PA
19446

Opening Hours

Wednesday	11am - 3pm
Thursday	11am - 3pm
Saturday	9:30am - 12pm

Website

https://lansdalehistoricalsociety.org/

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