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BHistory
History · Bryn Athyn

Bryn Athyn’s post office opened in 1902, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 62% of U.S. towns. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Bryn Athyn Historic District, a National Historic Landmark, and a historic district with 14 buildings. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1920.

1902first post office
4on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Bryn Athyn’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Bryn Athyn began

When was Bryn Athyn founded?

1902

The Bryn Athyn post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1916.

First census: 392 in 19202020 census: 1,272124 years

How historic is Bryn Athyn?

B

More historic than 62% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Bryn Athyn post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1916.
History grade

What drives Bryn Athyn’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bryn Athyn is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bryn Athyn’s overall grade.
Founding era1902, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194023.9% of homes (±8.0) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register4 listings, 19 historic buildings, 166 per 10,000 residents · typical PA town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 62%
NewerOlder

Pennsylvania towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Pennsylvania town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Bryn Athyn’s 166 sits above most of its state (91% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 19 historic buildings outnumber those of 79% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1916 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Bryn Athyn’s past

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

On the map since 18936 editions of the USGS map, 1893 to 1999. Watch Bryn Athyn change.A National Historic Landmark4 places on the National Register, including Bryn Athyn Historic District, a National Historic Landmark.
★ What stands out · On the map

Bryn Athyn on the map, 1893 to 1999

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

Bryn Athyn on the 1893 USGS mapBryn Athyn on the 1952 USGS mapBryn Athyn on the 1966 USGS mapBryn Athyn on the 1973 USGS mapBryn Athyn on the 1983 USGS mapBryn Athyn on the 1999 USGS map1893Germantown sheet · 1:62,500

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

On the National Register

4 listings protect 19 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
4
National Historic Landmark
1
Bryn Athyn Historic District
historic buildings protected
19
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Glencairn
GlencairnBryn Athyn-Lower Moreland BridgeCairnwoodBryn Athyn Historic District★
BuildingsDistrictsStructures★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Beaux Arts2
Late Gothic Revival1
Romanesque Revival1
Bungalow/Craftsman1
Romanesque1
★ Landmark
Bryn Athyn Historic DistrictLate Gothic Revival
GlencairnRomanesque
Bryn Athyn-Lower Moreland BridgeStructure
CairnwoodBeaux Arts

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

The story so far

Bryn Athyn, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Bryn Athyn yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Bryn Athyn is a home-rule borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It was formerly a borough, and its official name remains "Borough of Bryn Athyn". As of the 2020 census, Bryn Athyn had a population of 1,272. It was formed for religious reasons from Moreland Township on February 8, 1916. Bryn Athyn is surrounded by Lower Moreland Township. "Bryn Athyn" was intended to mean "Hill of Unity" by its founders. "Bryn" is Welsh for "hill"; the source of "athyn" was the 1889 edition William Spurrell's An English-Welsh Pronouncing Dictionary. Spurrell, in turn, apparently got the word from William Owen Pughe, who seems to have coined the term for his Dictionary of the Welsh Langua…

Its first post office opened in 1902. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,375 to 1,272 (-7%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Bryn Athyn, 1893 to 2008

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1893On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1897Born hereHarold Frederick Pitcairn is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1902Post officeThe Bryn Athyn post office opens
  6. 1921In the archiveBryn Athyn train wreck
  7. 1930In the archiveHarold F. Pitcairn estate
  8. 1932Born hereHugo Salinas Price is born here
  9. 21st century
  10. 2008LandmarkBryn Athyn Historic District named a National Historic Landmark
By decade

Bryn Athyn, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1920s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s–1930s3 items
Bryn Athyn train wreck1921Bryn Athyn train wreckHarold F. Pitcairn estate1930Harold F. Pitcairn estateHarold F. Pitcairn estate1930Harold F. Pitcairn estate
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
Date unknown2 to date
Bryn Athyn Cathedral, 1001 Cathedral RoadDate?Bryn Athyn Cathedral, 1001 Cathedral RoadGlencairn, 1001 Cathedral RoadDate?Glencairn, 1001 Cathedral Road
Today20 recent
Pennypack Trail between Bryn Athyn station and Paper Mill Road2026Pennypack Trail between Bryn Athyn station and Paper …Pennypack Creek south of Pennypack Trail bridge2026Pennypack Creek south of Pennypack Trail bridgePennypack Creek south of Paper Mill Road2026Pennypack Creek south of Paper Mill RoadBryn Athyn, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States (CAPELLA C10 SP GEO HH 202412131659522024Bryn Athyn, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United S…Bryn Athyn, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States (CAPELLA C10 SP GEO HH 20241213165952 20241213170000 preview)2024Bryn Athyn, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United S…Bryn Athyn, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States (CAPELLA C10 SP GEO HH 202412121725292024Bryn Athyn, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United S…Bryn Athyn, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States (CAPELLA C10 SP GEO HH 20241212172529 20241212172554 preview)2024Bryn Athyn, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United S…Mason Mill2017Mason MillMason Mill II2017Mason Mill IIBryn Athyn Montgomery County2017Bryn Athyn Montgomery CountyPennypack Trail south of Bryn Athyn station2016Pennypack Trail south of Bryn Athyn stationPennypack Trail bridge north of Bryn Athyn station2016Pennypack Trail bridge north of Bryn Athyn stationLordsNewChurch BrynAthyn RightSide2014LordsNewChurch BrynAthyn RightSideLordsNewChurch BrynAthyn LeftSide2014LordsNewChurch BrynAthyn LeftSideRaytharn Farm2013Raytharn FarmRaytharn Farm VI2012Raytharn Farm VIPERT Wilderness Trail2012PERT Wilderness TrailCairnwood, Bryn Athyn, PA 012012Cairnwood, Bryn Athyn, PA 01Bryn Athyn2012Bryn AthynBrynathyn62001Brynathyn6
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.

Bryn Athyn train wreck
Retake this viewBryn Athyn train wreck, 1921

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Bryn Athyn, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,400192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,375

Between 392 and 1,375 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Bryn Athyn’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Bryn Athyn

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

See all →
Harold Frederick PitcairnAmerican aviation pioneer · b. 1897
Hugo Salinas PriceMexican business magnate · b. 1932
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Bryn Athyn’s post office has been open since 1902.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Paper Mills
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Bryn Athyn
Bryn AthynLords New Church

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Start Bryn Athyn’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bryn Athyn’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewBryn Athyn train wreck: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Lower Moreland Township3 historic placesBUpper Moreland TownshipIts storyC

Questions about Bryn Athyn’s history

What year was Bryn Athyn founded?

The Bryn Athyn post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1916.

How does Bryn Athyn rank for history?

Bryn Athyn is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Bryn Athyn?

4 listings: 2 buildings, among them the Glencairn (listed 1978, the first), 1 historic district, the Bryn Athyn Historic District, with 14 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 19 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Bryn Athyn?

24% of Bryn Athyn’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.0 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1971.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (21), the Library of Congress (4), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.