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A+History
History · Lower Merion Township

Lower Merion Township dates to 1682, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 98% of U.S. towns · #67 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

19 places in town are on the National Register, among them 4 National Historic Landmarks and six historic districts with 546 buildings between them. Below: maps from 1894 on and the census since 1900.

1682founded
19on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
9famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Lower Merion Township began

When was Lower Merion Township founded?

1682

Lower Merion Township dates its founding to 1682 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 13,271 in 19002020 census: 63,633344 years

How historic is Lower Merion Township?

A+

More historic than 98% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1820.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Lower Merion Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lower Merion Township is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns, #67 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. All 2 inputs put Lower Merion Township near the top nationally; its National Register listings ranks highest.

A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lower Merion Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194030.5% of homes (±2.1) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register19 listings, 576 historic buildings, 89.8 per 10,000 residents · typical PA town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 98%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 94%

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 Lower Merion Township’s 89.8 sits above most of its state (88% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 576 historic buildings outnumber those of 98% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1682.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±2.1 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Lower Merion Township’s past

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

A historic districtThe Overbrook Farms takes in 377 historic buildings.A National Historic Landmark19 places on the National Register, 4 of them National Historic Landmarks.Lost villages7 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Lower Merion Township, and 33 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Lower Merion Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

19 listings protect 576 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. 4 are National Historic Landmarks, the highest tier. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed
19
National Historic Landmarks
4
Merion Cricket Club
historic buildings protected
576
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
Bryn Mawr
Bryn MawrGeneral Wayne InnBryn Mawr Hotel, built 1888Bryn Mawr College Historic DistrictJoseph Sinnott Mansion, built 1889Gladwyne Historic DistrictMill Creek Historic DistrictWhitehall ApartmentsIdlewild Farm ComplexWest Laurel Hill CemeteryLower Merion Academy-Cynwyd Elementary School-Bala Cynwyd Junior High School ComplexSeville TheatreGreen Hill Farms, built 1919Overbrook FarmsHarritonMerion Cricket Club, built 1865★Thomas, M. Carey, Library, Bryn Mawr College★Merion Friends Meeting House★Woodmont★
BuildingsDistricts★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Georgian4
Federal4
Colonial Revival3
Victorian2
Gothic2
Dutch Colonial Revival2
★ Landmark
Merion Cricket ClubVictorian · Built 1865
★ Landmark
Thomas, M. Carey, Library, Bryn Mawr CollegeLate Gothic Revival
★ Landmark
Merion Friends Meeting HouseWelsh/American Vernacular
★ Landmark
WoodmontFrench Renaissance
Bryn MawrElizabethan
General Wayne InnBuilding
Bryn Mawr HotelFrench Chateau · Built 1888
Bryn Mawr College Historic DistrictVictorian Gothic
All 19 listings
Joseph Sinnott MansionBuilding · listed 1980Gladwyne Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1980Mill Creek Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1980Whitehall ApartmentsBuilding · listed 1983Idlewild Farm ComplexBuilding · listed 1984West Laurel Hill CemeteryDistrict · listed 1992Lower Merion Academy-Cynwyd Elementary School-Bala Cynwyd Junior High School ComplexBuilding · listed 2002Seville TheatreBuilding · listed 2005Green Hill FarmsBuilding · listed 2011Overbrook FarmsDistrict · listed 1985HarritonDistrict · listed 1985

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Seven other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Merion
1820–1882
Lower Merion
1830–1890
Bryn Mawr
1871–today
Ardmore
1874–today
Merion Station
1880–today
Rosemont
1881–1958
Wynnewood
1882–today
Bala Station
1884–1886
Bala
1886–1921
Cynwyd
1890–1921
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AcademyvilleArdmoreBalaBala-CynwydBelmont HillsBryn MawrCynwydCynwyd EstatesGladwyneHamilton CourtHaverfordHollow WoodsLafayetteLatches LaneMcMoran ParkMechanicsvilleMerionMerion GardensMerion ParkPencoyd ParkPenn ValleyPenn WynneRosemontSutton Terrace
Gone or out of use
Belmont ParkparkFlat Rock AirportairportT N Ward Airportairport
19cemeteries and burying grounds inside Lower Merion Township
All Saints' Church ColumbariumBryn Mawr College Burial GroundsBryn Mawr Presbyterian Church Memorial GardenCalvaryChurch of the Good Shepherd ColumbariumChurch of the RedeemerGladwyn United Methodist ChurchGladwyne Jewish MemorialHarriton FamilyLower Merion Baptist ChurchMerion FriendsMerion Memorial ParkOdd FellowsSaint Asaph ChurchSaint Christopher ChurchyardSaint Paul's LutheranSisters of MercyWest Laurel HillWestminister
See all 19

All Saints' Church Columbarium · Bryn Mawr College Burial Grounds · Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church Memorial Garden · Calvary Cemetery · Church of the Good Shepherd Columbarium · Church of the Redeemer Cemetery · Gladwyn United Methodist Church Cemetery · Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery · Harriton Family Cemetery · Lower Merion Baptist Church Cemetery · Merion Friends Burial Ground · Merion Memorial Park · Odd Fellows Cemetery · Saint Asaph Church Cemetery · Saint Christopher Churchyard Cemetery · Saint Paul's Lutheran Cemetery · Sisters of Mercy Cemetery · West Laurel Hill Cemetery · Westminister Cemetery

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

The story

How Lower Merion Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lower Merion Township.

Read it all →

Lower Merion Township was first settled in 1682 by Welsh Quakers, who were granted a tract of land, the Welsh Tract, by William Penn. In 1713, Lower Merion was established as an independent Township with about 52 landholders and tenants. In 1900, the Township was incorporated as a Township of the First Class. Lower Merion is home to the oldest continuously used place of worship in the United States, the Merion Friends Meeting House, used continuously since 1695.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Lower Merion Township, 1682 to 1998

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

  1. 17th century
  2. 1682
    FoundingLower Merion Township is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1804Born hereJoseph Fornance is born here
  5. 1817Born hereHenry Grow is born here
  6. 1820Post officeThe Merion post office opens
  7. 1830Post officeThe Lower Merion post office opens
  8. 1865BuiltMerion Cricket Club is built
  9. 1871Post officeThe Bryn Mawr post office opens
  10. 1882Post officeThe Merion post office closes
  11. 1888BuiltBryn Mawr Hotel is built
  12. 1889BuiltJoseph Sinnott Mansion is built
  13. 1890Post officeThe Lower Merion post office closes
  14. 1894On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  15. 20th century
  16. 1919BuiltGreen Hill Farms is built
  17. 1981Born hereTaylor Buchholz is born here
  18. 1987LandmarkMerion Cricket Club named a National Historic Landmark
  19. 1988Born hereGarett Williamson is born here
  20. 1991LandmarkThomas, M. Carey, Library, Bryn Mawr College named a National Historic Landmark
  21. 1998LandmarkMerion Friends Meeting House named a National Historic Landmark
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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On the map

Lower Merion Township on the map, 1894 to 1992

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

Lower Merion Township on the 1894 USGS mapLower Merion Township on the 1943 USGS mapLower Merion Township on the 1952 USGS mapLower Merion Township on the 1966 USGS mapLower Merion Township on the 1973 USGS mapLower Merion Township on the 1983 USGS mapLower Merion Township on the 1992 USGS map1894Norristown 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 Lower Merion Township.

People over time

Lower Merion Township, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00045,00050,00055,00060,00065,00070,000190019201940196019802000202063,633

Grew from 13,271 people in 1900 to 63,633 in 2020, 4 times over.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Lower Merion Township’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

9 famous people were born in Lower Merion Township

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

See all →
G
Garett WilliamsonCanadian basketball player · b. 1988
Taylor BuchholzAmerican baseball player · b. 1981
Henry GrowAmerican architect · b. 1817
J
Joseph FornanceDemocratic member of the U.S. House of Represen… · b. 1804
B
Brenda BorghAmerican swimmer · b. 1960
Chad F. KenneyUnited States federal judge for the Eastern Dis… · b. 1955
Help out

Start Lower Merion Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lower Merion Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Philadelphia615 historic placesA+Haverford Township8 historic placesABala Cynwyd2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRadnor Township12 historic placesA+West ConshohockenIts storyB−Penn WynneIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWhitemarsh Township12 historic placesAUpper Merion Township7 historic placesA−Bryn Mawr4 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townConshohocken1 historic placeA

Questions about Lower Merion Township’s history

What year was Lower Merion Township founded?

In 1682, according to Wikidata. Lower Merion Township’s post office opened in 1820, and the census of 1900 counted 13,271 people here.

How does Lower Merion Township rank for history?

Lower Merion Township is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns, #67 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. 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 Lower Merion Township?

19 listings, 4 of them National Historic Landmarks: 13 buildings, among them the Merion Cricket Club (a National Historic Landmark since 1987) and the Bryn Mawr (listed 1973, the first), and 6 historic districts with 546 contributing buildings. 576 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Lower Merion Township?

31% of Lower Merion Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.1 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1955.

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 Wikidata (5), the National Register of Historic Places (19), Wikipedia, 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.