Willow Grove is located 37 miles (60 km) southeast of Allentown and 13 miles (21 km) north of Philadelphia.
History
The place was on the route of an old Lenape trail to New York and developed into a typical colonial crossroads, with inns, stables, blacksmiths, and wheelwright shops. William Penn granted land to physician Nicholas More and the tract became known as the "Manor of Moreland" and later, Moreland Township. The place dates to the year 1711 when the Old York Road was laid out from Philadelphia to New Hope where the Delaware River was crossed at Coryell's Ferry. In 1792, mapmaker Reading Howell was said to remark upon the abundance of "willow trees in the marshy land" and the name "Willow Grove" stuck. During the American Revolution, inn keeper Joseph Butler, proprietor of the Red Lion Inn at Willow Grove tended to wounded American soldiers. He was later arrested by the British and held prisoner in Philadelphia.[8]
By 1850, the village was a major crossroads and stage coach stop with five stage lines a day. George Rex, a blacksmith from Germantown, had developed the Mineral Springs Inn in the early 19th century. The springs contained a high concentrate of minerals, like iron and sulfur, which had a reputation of curative powers. There was a recreational park with walking trails and gardens, mineral spring water baths and stables for 100 horses.
By 1850, they are living in the center of the village, in a log cabin on the corner of the Manor of Moreland, a few doors down from the noted blacksmith Mennonite Isaac Lippin Rittenhouse (1795-1876), who likely contracted with the Mineral Springs Inn.[10]
Atlas of the Properties Along the North Pennsylvania, Bound Brook, and Pennsylvania Railroads, William Baist, 1891
Case study
The Carolans were rare in rural Montgomery County, where the Irish-born population was just 5% of the total in 1850, while across the border to the immediate south, in Philadelphia, the Irish-born population was more than 17%.[11]
The Carolans were clearly the beneficiaries of a relationship with an elderly couple who were members of the Society of Friends. The Quakers George Spencer (1787-1876) and his wife Mary Thomas (1800-1889) took the Irish Catholic family in over the next two decades. The couple may have connected with the family through charity networks when they arrived in New York City. The Spencers helped enslaved people on the Underground Railroad.[12]
"George was an estimable and cultured man, whose home, for more than sixty years, was a center of Friendly hospitality," according to a genealogy. "George took the homestead in 1814. He and his wife Mary had no issue."[13][14]
Quakers were at the center of regional relief efforts, as early as November 1846, through the Philadelphia Society of Friends Famine Relief Committee (and the non-denominational Philadelphia Irish Famine Relief Committee), both of which were formed to collect food, money, and clothing.[15][16][17] In fact, the ship on which the Carolans arrived in America, the Patrick Henry, was used during the relief effort with shipments to Ireland from U.S. cities including Brooklyn, New York.[18][19][20][21]
In the 1860s and into the 1870s, Carolan children were living with the elderly couple in the original Spencer farmhouse, which still stands about a mile northwest of the center of Willow Grove. It was erected by George's grandfather Jacob Spencer in 1744.[13][22]
The Carolans' second son was named "Spencer" to honor George and Mary for their generosity with the family when they first arrived in the region.
George Spencer left the Carolan's daughter Anna Elizabeth Carolan (1858-1930) $50 in his will. He left the same amount to Pennsylvania-born Elizabeth C. Moore (1842-), a "mulatto," who lived with the family in the 1860s and 1870s.[23] That amount would be worth more than $1,500 in "real price" today.[24][25]
Today, the Spencer homestead is the American Legion Post 308 and was featured on the television series, Ghost Hunters, as the site of paranormal activity.[26]
The Carolans likely joined a Catholic Church in Philadelphia. One of the closest parishes was St. Vincent de Paul in Germantown, about nine miles southwest of Willow Grove. It opened in 1851, amidst still simmering nativist tensions; stones were thrown at the masses during the groundbreaking ceremony in 1849.[27] Another church, about the same distance, was in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood and opened in 1855. Called Saint Mary's-Our Lady of Consolation, it was the project of John Middleton, a wealthy Quaker who had converted to Catholicism.[28] Another already-established church was 13 miles away, to the southeast, in Frankford. St Joachim opened in 1845, the year after the nativist riots. It began a "mission," which was much closer to the Carolans. Called Saint Mary’s Congregation of Jenkintown, it formed in 1863 and organized into Immaculate Conception Catholic Church a few years later, the Carolans' first church-home of record.[29][30]
In 1865, the Carolans, including parents and the younger brother, left the Spencer farm outside of Willow Grove for Fitzwatertown, nearly two miles due south, where eldest son Michael Carolan (1844-1906) began his first shop on the Garrett Kendrick farm, north of the Tyson lime kilns. On August 22, 1869, Michael married Annie Larner (1852-1901) at Immaculate Conception.[31] The youngest daughters stayed in the Spencer farmhouse with George and Mary. Michael is a "blacksmith" with no real estate and a personal estate of $600 a few doors down from Kendrick whose personal estate and real estate is valued at $34,000.[32] Michael's 16-year-old brother, Thomas Spencer Carolan (1852-1915), is a laborer but likely helping his older brother out in his shop.
Michael's father, Thomas, died at the new home in February 1870, of consumption.[33] He was 64 years old. That June, Michael and Annie's first child Kate was born. She died two months later, the first of 11 deaths of the couple's children, many of them perishing from infant disease.
In 1876, after Michael's mother Elizabeth died, the family moved to the center of Fitzwatertown.[34] They lived a few doors from Samuel Conrad, who owned the gristmill in the center of the village.
The Carolan brothers, Thomas and Michael, inherited the father's ancient trade: Michael purchased land for a shop in Dreshertown and then moved to Franklinville; Thomas Spencer purchased land, opened a shop and built row houses in West Oak Lane.[35]
In 1896, Willow Grove Park was established by the owners of the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company as an escape from the hot summers in Philadelphia. The Pennsylvania & Reading Railroad erected a station in Willow Grove. Soon it became a popular music venue where band leaders like John Phillip Sousa drew as many as 50,000 people a day to the concerts. The park later featured amusement rides and, for a time, was referred to as the “Music Capital of the World."[8]
Demographics
As of the 2010 census, the CDP was 81.4% White, 8.2% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 4.9% Asian, 1.1% were Some Other Race, and 2.3% were two or more races. 3.5% of the population were of Hispanic or Latino ancestry.[36]
As of the census[37] of 2000, there were 16,234 people, 6,389 households, and 4,255 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 4,485.7 inhabitants per square mile (1,731.9/km2). There were 6,582 housing units at an average density of 1,818.7 per square mile (702.2/km2). The racial makeup of the CDP was 88.57% White, 6.58% African American, 0.09% Native American, 3.06% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.48% from other races, and 1.21% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.57% of the population.
There were 6,389 households, out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.3% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.4% were non-families. 28.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.05.
In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 22.9% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 31.7% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 17.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.5 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $50,378, and the median income for a family was $62,163. Males had a median income of $40,393 versus $32,451 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $24,740. About 2.8% of families and 4.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.5% of those under age 18 and 4.0% of those age 65 or over.
Willow Grove is served by the Willow Grove Interchange (exit 343) along the east–west Pennsylvania Turnpike (Interstate 276), which connects to Pennsylvania Route 611. Major roads serving Willow Grove are Pennsylvania Route 611 (Old York Road/Easton Road), Pennsylvania Route 263 (York Road), Pennsylvania Route 63 (Moreland Road), Fitzwatertown Road, Terwood Road, Davisville Road, Easton Road, and Old Welsh Road.[43]
Jefferson Health–Abington operates the Jefferson Health–Willow Grove (formerly Abington Health Center–Willow Grove) health center in Willow Grove. The health center, which was founded in 1983, consists of four buildings and offers outpatient hospital services including healthcare programs, medical and administrative offices, and conference and educational facilities.[53]
The area Catholic school is Queen of Angels Regional Catholic School in Willow Grove and Upper Moreland Township. Queen of Angels was formed in 2012 by the merger of St. David in Willow Grove and Our Lady Help of Christians in Abington.[55]
History
The place was on the route of an old Lenape trail to New York and developed into a typical colonial crossroads, with inns, stables, blacksmiths, and wheelwright shops. William Penn granted land to physician Nicholas More and the tract became known as the "Manor of Moreland" and later, Moreland Township. The place dates to the year 1711 when the Old York Road was laid out from Philadelphia to New Hope where the Delaware River was crossed at Coreyell’s Ferry. In 1792, mapmaker Reading Howell was said to remark upon the abundance of "willow trees in the marshy land" and the name "Willow Grove" stuck. During the American Revolution, inn keeper Joseph Butler, proprietor of the Red Lion Inn at Willow Grove tended to wounded American soldiers. He was later arrested by the British and held prisoner in Philadelphia.[8]
By 1850, the village was a major crossroads and stage coach stop with five stage lines a day. George Rex, a blacksmith from Germantown, had developed the Mineral Springs Inn in the early 19th century. The springs contained a high concentrate of minerals, like iron and sulfur, which had a reputation of curative powers. There was a recreational park with walking trails and gardens, mineral spring water baths and stables for 100 horses.
It was likely at these stables that the Irish emigrant Thomas Carolan (1806-1870) found work as a blacksmith and farrier. In 1847, he and his wife, Elizabeth Smyth (1817-1876) and children had fled the Great Hunger in Ireland aboard the Patrick Henry.[56] They came from a village in County Meath, Ireland, called Drumbaragh, next to Balrath, in the orbit of Kells to South Street Seaport, New York, and then to Willow Grove. By 1850, they are living in the center of the village in a log cabin on the corner of the Manor of Moreland, a few doors down from the noted blacksmith Mennonite Isaac Lippin Rittenhouse (1795-1876), who likely contracted with the Mineral Springs Inn.[57]
The Carolans were the beneficiaries of Quaker George Spencer (1787-1876) and his wife Mary Thomas (1800-1889), who may have connected with them through charity networks when they arrived in New York City. The Spencers helped enslaved people on the Underground Railroad.[58] The Philadelphia region's Quakers were at the center of relief efforts, as early as November 1846, and through the non-denominational Philadelphia Irish Famine Relief Committee that was formed to collect food, money, and clothing.[59][60]
In the 1860s and into the 1870s, Carolan children were living with the elderly couple in the original Spencer farmhouse, which is west of the center of Willow Grove, and was erected by George's grandfather Jacob Spencer in 1744.[61][62] Upon his death in 1876, George Spencer left Anna Elizabeth Carolan (1858-1930) and Pennsylvania-born Elizabeth C. Moore (1842-), a "mulatto," $50 each, which is worth more than $15,000 in compensation today.[63][64] The Carolans' second son, born in 1852, was named "Spencer" to honor George and Mary for their generosity with the family when they first arrived in the region.
Today, the Spencer farmhouse is the American Legion Post 308 and was featured on the television series, Ghost Hunters, as the site of paranormal activity.[65]
In 1869, Michael (1844-1906), first-born son of Thomas and Elizabeth (three-years-old when he emigrated from Ireland with them), moved most of the family, including his parents, to a farm 2.5 miles south of the Spencer Farm, just to the east of Fitzwatertown, Montgomery County. There, 25-year-old Michael worked beside his 16 year-old brother, Thomas Spencer Carolan (1852-1915), "apprentice to blacksmith," in the shop that Michael established. Their father died on the farm in February 1870 of consumption at age 63. The brothers inherited his ancient trade: Michael purchased land for a shop in Dreshertown and then moved to Franklinville; Thomas Spencer purchased land, opened a shop and built row houses in West Oak Lane.[66]
In 1896, Willow Grove Park was established by the owners of the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company as an escape from the hot summers in Philadelphia. The Pennsylvania & Reading Railroad erected a station in Willow Grove. Soon it became a popular music venue where band leaders like John Phillip Sousa drew as many as 50,000 people a day to the concerts. The park later featured amusement rides and, for a time, was referred to as the “Music Capital of the World."[8]
In the song "Please Don't Tell My Father That I Used His 1996 Honda Accord To Destroy The Town Of Willow Grove, Pennsylvania In 2002", by pop punk band Pet Symmetry, Evan Weiss (also of Into It. Over It.) describes his actions vandalizing Willow Grove as a teenager.
In the American comedy-drama "The Goldbergs", the main cast visits the Willow Grove Park Mall in numerous episodes.
The television series Ghost Hunters filmed an episode in the American Legion Post 308 to the west of Willow Grove in an episode titled "Unexplained Phenomena," which aired in Season 5, Episode 24 on December 9, 2009. "The team probes an 18th-century farmhouse in Willow Grove, Pa., where spirits allegedly play with the lights and cast large, dark shadows."
^U.S. Census, Pennsylvania, Montgomery County, Moreland Townland, Thos. Carolan family Dwelling No. 189, Isaac Rittenhouse family Dwelling No. 182. For a while Rittenhouse followed farming in Montgomery County near Hatborough; later he moved to Germantown again, where he died; his children were Sarah, Susanna, Elizabeth, Peter, Mary, Charles and Samuel. Isaac was a descendent of William Rittenhouse, a papermaker who established the first papermill in the North American colonies. Isaac "possessed a great deal of ingenuity; he was the inventor of and made the first swelled ax to force out chips in felling trees.".
^ 1850 US census, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
^George Spencer was the son of John b 1746, who married Lydia Foulke, and was the son of Jacob b 1724, who married Hannah Jarrett, who was the son of Samuel b 1699 who married Mary Dawes.
^A September 1847 shipment contained: "70 barrels of flour; 34 barrels of meal; 5 boxes barley; 5 barrels of wheat; 51 barrels of rye flour; 3 barrels of beans; 1 barrel of peas; 14 packages of clothing; 179 barrels of corn; 2 barrels of pork; and 8 barrels of sundries."
^Strom, Harvey. Famine relief from an ancient Dutch city. The Hudson River Valley Review, 2006.
^1860 U.S. census, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Population schedule, Upper Moreland Township. George Spencer household.
^There were 50 black residents in Abington Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, 1870 US census. There were about 26 black residents and three mulatto in the 1860 census.
^measuringworth.com. Measured as production workers compensation it equals more than $15,000 today.
^Pennsylvania, U.S. Wills and Probate Records, 1683-1993, ancestry.com. Will and Last Testament of George Spencer, 1876.
^United States Census, 1880; Upper Dublin Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
^Research by Michael Charles Carolan. The Carolans' first son Michael, born in 1844 at Springville, Kells, County Meath, was named for his paternal great-grandfather, a flax weaver and farmer. He also has the name of his uncle, who remained in Ireland during the Great Hunger.
^U.S. Census, Pennsylvania, Montgomery County, Moreland Townland, Thos. Carolan family Dwelling No. 189, Isaac Rittenhouse family Dwelling No. 182. For a while Rittenhouse followed farming in Montgomery County near Hatborough; later he moved to Germantown again, where he died; his children were Sarah, Susanna, Elizabeth, Peter, Mary, Charles and Samuel. Isaac was a descendent of William Rittenhouse, a papermaker who established the first papermill in the North American colonies. Isaac "possessed a great deal of ingenuity; he was the inventor of and made the first swelled ax to force out chips in felling trees.".
^Research by Michael Charles Carolan.
The Carolans' first son Michael, born in 1844 at Springville, Kells, County Meath, was named for his paternal great-grandfather, a flax weaver and farmer, and his uncle who remained in Ireland during the Great Hunger.
