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History · Rosemont

Rosemont’s post office opened in 1881, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and old-book passages.

1881first post office
1on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Rosemont’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Rosemont began

When was Rosemont founded?

1881

The Rosemont post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 3,507145 years
Founding year: the first Rosemont post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Rosemont’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.On the map since 18947 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1992. Watch Rosemont change.Old housesHalf of Rosemont’s homes were built before 1960.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Rosemont’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Rosemont’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 viewBrynhild 1875 Hotchkin Rural PA p.182: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Rosemont on the map, 1894 to 1992

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

Rosemont on the 1894 USGS mapRosemont on the 1943 USGS mapRosemont on the 1952 USGS mapRosemont on the 1966 USGS mapRosemont on the 1973 USGS mapRosemont on the 1983 USGS mapRosemont 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 Rosemont.

The story

How Rosemont came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Rosemont.

Read it all →

The Joseph Sinnott Mansion was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

The neighborhood of "Beaupre" in Rosemont was once the 200-acre estate of the same name, built for Alexander Cassatt's son, Robert. The original mansion now is part of The Mansion at Rosemont, a senior living community that is part of the nonprofit organization Human Good. The original French iron gates flank entrances from Conestoga Road and South Ithan Avenue.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Rosemont in 1884

Passages that mention Rosemont, cut from the printed page as they were published.

the formation of this parish divine services had been frequently held at " Woodfield," and a Sunday-school opened at the house of Mrs. Supplee (both half a mile west of Rosemont Station on Pennsylvania Railroad) in 1868-69. The parish was organized at a meeting of residents, held in old Wayne Hall,…
History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania1884 · page 691Read the page →
Read the text

the formation of this parish divine services had been frequently held at " Woodfield," and a Sunday-school opened at the house of Mrs. Supplee (both half a mile west of Rosemont Station on Pennsylvania Railroad) in 1868-69. The parish was organized at a meeting of residents, held in old Wayne Hall, July 7, 1869, when the following gentlemen were elected vestrymen, viz. :

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Rosemont, 1870 to 1977

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870Born hereCaroline Peart is born here
  3. 1883Born hereEleanora Knopf is born here
  4. 1894On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1897In the archiveBrynhild 1875 Hotchkin Rural PA p.182
  6. 20th century
  7. 1902Born hereRae Crowther is born here
  8. 1935Born hereRobert F. Kelly is born here
  9. 1968In the archiveBrill "Bullet" 203 arriving at Rosemont station in 1968
  10. 1977In the archiveACME Super Market
By decade

Rosemont, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s2 items
Brynhild 1875 Hotchkin Rural PA p.1821897Brynhild 1875 Hotchkin Rural PA p.182Chetwynd from Rural Pennsylvania 18971897Chetwynd from Rural Pennsylvania 1897
1900s–1950snothing 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
1960s–1970s2 items
Brill "Bullet" 203 arriving at Rosemont station in 19681968Brill "Bullet" 203 arriving at Rosemont station in 19…ACME Super Market1977ACME Super Market
1980s–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
Amtrak Pennsylvanian TR432011Amtrak Pennsylvanian TR43Amtrak Keystone Corridor Rosemont Curve2011Amtrak Keystone Corridor Rosemont Curve
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.

Brynhild 1875 Hotchkin Rural PA p.182
Retake this viewBrynhild 1875 Hotchkin Rural PA p.182, 1897

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Rosemont

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
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

4 famous people were born in Rosemont

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

See all →
Eleanora KnopfAmerican geologist · b. 1883
Rae CrowtherAmerican football player and coach · b. 1902
R
Robert F. KellyUnited States federal judge · b. 1935
Caroline PeartArtist · b. 1870
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

VillanovaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBryn Mawr4 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Rosemont’s history

What year was Rosemont founded?

The Rosemont post office opened in 1881, 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, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.