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Bala Cynwyd LibraryPhoto: Sir Joseph · CC BY-SA 3.0
–Not graded
History · Bala Cynwyd

Bala Cynwyd’s post office opened in 1921, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 4 old photos and papers and maps from 1952 on.

1921first post office
2on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
6famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Bala Cynwyd’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Bala Cynwyd began

When was Bala Cynwyd founded?

1921

The Bala Cynwyd post office opened in 1921, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 9,285105 years
Founding year: the first Bala Cynwyd post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Bala Cynwyd’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Bala Cynwyd’s homes were built before 1960.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bala Cynwyd’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bala Cynwyd’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBirds Eye View of Manayunk, Wissahickon…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Bala Cynwyd came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bala Cynwyd.

Read it all →

The oldest commercial district and the original center of Bala Cynwyd straddles the bridge over the old Pennsylvania Railroad tracks, originally belonging to the Columbia Railroad and now part of SEPTA's Cynwyd Line, along Montgomery Avenue at Bala Avenue. This district, long on the National Register of Historic Places, was settled shortly after William Penn's landing in Pennsylvania in 1682 and contains the village's oldest commercial buildings, some dating to the earliest years of the 19th century. Bala Avenue is an extension of this original town center and comprises a specialized commercial district of its own more than a century old; it has long been known for its children's clothing stores, women's dress and consignment shops, the Bala Theater and a number of small restaurants. The remainder of Bala Cynwyd's original commercial district extends south along Montgomery Avenue as par…

Chapters20th century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bala Cynwyd, 1905 to 1975

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1905Born hereJohn A. Lafore, Jr. is born here
  3. 1907In the archiveBirds Eye View of Manayunk, Wissahickon, Roxborough from West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Phila…
  4. 1907Born hereHardie Scott is born here
  5. 1916Born hereGordon Merrick is born here
  6. 1930In the archiveBala Inn- Dining Room (82986)
  7. 1952On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1975Born hereWill Kohler is born here
By decade

Bala Cynwyd, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1930s4 items
Birds Eye View of Manayunk, Wissahickon, Roxborough from West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania1907Birds Eye View of Manayunk, Wissahickon, Roxborough f…Birds eye view of Manayunk, Wissahickon=Roxborough from West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19071907Birds eye view of Manayunk, Wissahickon=Roxborough fr…Bala Inn- Dining Room (82986)c. 1930Bala Inn- Dining Room (82986)Bala Inn- Grille (82985)c. 1930Bala Inn- Grille (82985)
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today2 recent
Ladder 28 Bala Cynwyd Merion2018Ladder 28 Bala Cynwyd MerionHarry Olsen Trail2012Harry Olsen Trail
On the map

Bala Cynwyd on the map, 1952 to 1997

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bala Cynwyd. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Bala Cynwyd on the 1952 USGS mapBala Cynwyd on the 1967 USGS mapBala Cynwyd on the 1973 USGS mapBala Cynwyd on the 1983 USGS mapBala Cynwyd on the 1997 USGS map1952Germantown sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Bala Cynwyd.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Birds Eye View of Manayunk, Wissahickon, Roxborough from West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Retake this viewBirds Eye View of Manayunk, Wissahickon, Roxborough from West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1907

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Bala Cynwyd’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 listings protect 9 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
9
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

6 famous people were born in Bala Cynwyd

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
G
Gordon MerrickAmerican-born writer of gay romance · b. 1916
Hardie ScottAmerican politician · b. 1907
John A. Lafore, Jr.American politician · b. 1905
W
Will KohlerAmerican soccer player · b. 1975
Delphine Fitz DarbyAmerican art historian · b. 1902
S
Sam MerrickSailor from the United States · b. 1914
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Merion Station3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLower Merion Township19 historic placesA+Philadelphia615 historic placesA+

Questions about Bala Cynwyd’s history

What year was Bala Cynwyd founded?

The Bala Cynwyd post office opened in 1921, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.