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History · Wynnewood

Wynnewood’s post office opened in 1882, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 5 old photos and papers and maps from 1967 on.

1882first post office
0on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Wynnewood’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Wynnewood began

When was Wynnewood founded?

1882

The Wynnewood post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name.

144 years
Founding year: the first Wynnewood post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Wynnewood’s past

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

Old housesHalf of Wynnewood’s homes were built before 1957.
★ What stands out · The story so far

Wynnewood, in brief

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

Wynnewood is a suburban unincorporated community, located west of Philadelphia, straddling Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania and Haverford Township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The community was named in 1691 for Dr. Thomas Wynne, William Penn's physician and the first Speaker of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Wynnewood is one of many neighborhoods on the historic Philadelphia Main Line, and is the home of institutions such as Lankenau Medical Center, St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, Palmer Theological Seminary, All Saints' Episcopal Church, and Friends' Central School.

Its first post office opened in 1882.

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

Timeline

Wynnewood, 1897 to 1987

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1897In the archiveRedleaf 1897
  3. 20th century
  4. 1906In the archiveModerne Bauformen JG 5 - 0107
  5. 1906Born hereLiz Whitney Tippett is born here
  6. 1930In the archiveRaymond P. Scott, Inc., where shoppers stop... and buying begins (82612)
  7. 1946Born hereJohn Langdon is born here
  8. 1967On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1971Born hereRebecca Rutstein is born here
  10. 1973In the archiveWynnestay (cropped)
  11. 1987Born hereWayne Ellington is born here
By decade

Wynnewood, decade by decade

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

1890s–1930s4 items
Redleaf 1897c. 1897Redleaf 1897Moderne Bauformen JG 5 - 01071906Moderne Bauformen JG 5 - 0107A driveway entrance residence at Wynnewood, Pa1909A driveway entrance residence at Wynnewood, PaRaymond P. Scott, Inc., where shoppers stop... and buying begins (82612)c. 1930Raymond P. Scott, Inc., where shoppers stop... and bu…
1940s–1960snothing 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
1970s1 item
Wynnestay (cropped)1973Wynnestay (cropped)
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
Today1 recent
Stacy Levy - Watermap - Friends' Central School2003Stacy Levy - Watermap - Friends' Central School
On the map

Wynnewood on the map, 1967 to 1994

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

Wynnewood on the 1967 USGS mapWynnewood on the 1973 USGS mapWynnewood on the 1994 USGS map1967Lansdowne 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 Wynnewood.

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.

Redleaf 1897
Retake this viewRedleaf 1897, c. 1897

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

4 famous people were born in Wynnewood

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

See all →
Wayne EllingtonAmerican basketball player · b. 1987
J
John LangdonAmerican typographer · b. 1946
L
Liz Whitney TippettAmerican philanthropist · b. 1906
Rebecca RutsteinAmerican visual artist · b. 1971
Help out

Finish Wynnewood’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewRedleaf 1897: 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.

Narberth1 historic placeA+Ardmore1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPenn WynneIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMerion Station3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Wynnewood’s history

What year was Wynnewood founded?

The Wynnewood post office opened in 1882, 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 (5), the Library of Congress (1), 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.