History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
The "History of Montgomery County" is presented to the public as a memorial of the first century of its corporate existence. Material facts have been diligently sought after and patient labor cheerfully bestowed upon the work. Events are chronicled in narrative rather than in controversial form, and truth, gleaned from a thousand sources, has been condensed in order to make it a valuable work of reference for the present and future generations. It has been prepared with care and liberality and a determination to make it as complete and accurate as possible. It is submitted to a generous and intelligent people, in the belief that it will meet their approval.
The labor of the editor has been shared by William J. Buck, who has devoted many years of his life to the collection of material for the history of the county. Although in enfeebled health, his contributions exceed in number those originally contemplated for the work. His chapter upon Bibliography, the first published in the county, is one of the most valuable contributions to the volume. For assistance furnished him in his present labors, he expresses acknowledgments to John Jordan, Jr., and F. D. Stone, of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania; to Samuel L. Smedley, Howard M. Jenkins, and Prof. O. Seidensticker, of Philadelphia; M. Auge, of Norristown; Dr. George W. Holstein, of Bridgeport; Mark H. Richards and B.M. Schmucker, P.D., of Pottstown; William Henry Cresson, of Conshohocken; Hon. William A. Yeakle, of Whitemarsh; S.K. Grimley, of Upper Salford; A.H. Cassel and James Y. Heckler, of Lower Salford, and Charles Mather, of Jenkintown.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER I.
Topography 1
CHAPTER II.
Gems, Minerals, Geology and Lime 8
CHAPTER III.
The Aborigines 33
CHAPTER IV.
Early Voyagers and Traders First Settlements on the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers 49
CHAPTER V.
The First Swedish Settlements 57
CHAPTER VI.
William Penn The Holy Experiment, a Free Colony for all Mankind 82
CHAPTER VII.
Penn's Arrival in America His Colony Founded on the Delaware 91
CHAPTER VIII.
Material Improvements 102
CHAPTER IX.
The Schuylkill 118
CHAPTR X.
Stage Lines 129
CHAPTER XI.
The Germans 133
CHAPTER XII.
The Welsh 139
CHAPTER XIII.
The Colonial Era 143
CHAPTER XIV.
The Revolution 158
CHAPTER XV.
The War of 1812 and the Mexican War 180
CHAPTER XVI.
The Great Rebellion 195
CHAPTER XVII.
The Grand Army of the Republic 285
CHAPTER XVIII.
Redemptioners, Slavery and the Underground Railway 297
CHAPTER XIX.
Graduates the United Stat« Military and Naval Academies 313
CHAPTER XX.
Montgomery County Established Municipal Government The "Country Squire." 317
CHAPTER XXI.
Railroads 330
CHAPTER XXII.
Manners and Customs Sports and Pastimes Local Superstitions Inns 335
CHAPTER XXIII.
Bibliography 348
CHAPTER XXIV.
Early Poetry 360
CHAPTER XXV.
Religious Denominations - Church History 366
CHAPTER XXVI.
Educational 392
CHAPTER XXVII.
Flora of Montgomery County 423
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Zoology of Montgomery County 435
CHAPTER XXIX.
Agriculture 439
CHAPTER XXX.
Township and Borough Organization Post-Offices Roads 447
CHAPTER XXXI.
Journalism 458
CHAPTER XXXII.
Banks and Banking 470
CHAPTER XXXIII.
Charitable and Benevolent Associations 488
CHAPTER XXXIV.
The Insane Hospital and Poor-House 498
CHAPTER XXXV.
Past and Present Politics of Montgomery County 502
CHAPTER XXXVI.
The Bench and Bar 528
CHAPTER XXXVII.
Manufacturing Industries 563
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
The Medical Profession 636
CHAPTER XXXIX.
Abington Township 678
CHAPTER XL.
Borough of Bridgeport 707
CHAPTER XLI.
Borough of Conshohocken 713
CHAPTER XLII.
Borough of East Greenville 719
CHAPTER XLIII.
Borough of Green Lane 721
CHAPTER XLIV.
Borough of Hatboro 721
CHAPTER XLV.
Borough of Jenkintown 733
CHAPTER XLVI.
Borough of Lansdale 742
CHAPTER XLVII.
Borough of Norristown 747
CHAPTER XLVIII.
Borough of North Wales 777
CHAPTER XLIX.
Borough of Pottstown 784
CHAPTER L.
Borough of Royer's Ford 797
CHAPTER LI.
Borough of West Conshohocken 799
CHAPTER LII.
Cheltenham Township 802
CHAPTER LIII.
Douglas Township 825
CHAPTER LIV.
Franconia Township 827
CHAPTER LV.
Frederick Township 831
CHAPTER LVI.
Gwynedd Township 853
CHAPTER LVII.
Hatfield Township 868
CHAPTER LVIII.
Horsham Township 874
CHAPTER LIX.
Limerick Township 915
CHAPTER LX.
Lower Merion Township 923
CHAPTER LXI.
Lower Salford Township 944
CHAPTER LXII.
Marlborough Township 956
CHAPTER LXIII.
Montgomery Township 958
CHAPTER LXIV.
Moreland Township 972
CHAPTER LXV.
New Hanover Township 992
CHAPTER LXVI.
Norriton Township 998
CHAPTER LXVII.
Perkiomen Township 1019
CHAPTER LXVIII.
Plymouth Township 1028
CHAPTER LXIX.
Pottsgrove Township 1041
CHAPTER LXX.
Providence Township 1044
CHAPTER LXXI.
Lower Providence Township 1044
CHAPTER LXXII.
Upper Providence Township 1056
CHAPTER LXXIII.
Springfield Township 1071
CHAPTER LXXI V.
Towamencin Township 1084
CHAPTER LXXV.
Upper Dublin Township 1092
CHAPTER LXXVI.
Upper Hanover Township 1105
CHAPTER LXXVII.
Upper Merion Township 1116
CHAPTER LXXVIII.
Upper Salford Township 1131
CHAPTER LXXIX.
Whitemarsh Township 1137
CHAPTER LXXX.
Whitpain Township 1162
CHAPTER LXXXI.
Worcester Township 1184
Appendix Centennial Celebration I
Index LXXIII
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Montgomery County, originally a part of Philadelphia County, was created by act of the General Assembly approved the 10th day of September, 1784.
It is bounded on the southeast by the line of the city of Philadelphia, on the northeast by Bucks, on the north and northwest by Lehigh and Berks, and on the west and southwest by Chester and Delaware Counties. It is thirty miles in length from the south- east to the northwest line, and about fifteen miles in breadth from the northeast to the southwest line.
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