Springfield Township, Montgomery County

Springfield Township, Montgomery County, adjoins the city of Philadelphia on its northern border. The township's six-plus square miles, originally established as "Penn's Manor of Springfield," was a gift from William Penn to his wife, Gulielma Maria Springett, c. 1681. This historic township was home to a major stagecoach line and its associated taverns and inns, considerable activity during the Revolutionary War, summertime residences of Philadelphia's wealthy, and subsequent post-World War II development as a burgeoning community just over the Philadelphia border. Springfield Township's rich history is pictorially represented with a number of previously unpublished photographs from the township historical societ, and wonderful private collections. In these pages, travel through the early colonial and farming settlements of the township's original settlers, the turbulence of the Revolutionary War, the arrival of the iron horse, the excitement of White City Amusement Park, the rise and fall of the great mansions and estates, and the explosion of new development as city residents and businesses moved out to the suburbs.

The Springfield Township Historical Society was established in 1980, in large part as a result of the township and its interested residents losing a battle to save one of its most remembered landmarks, Edward Stotesbury's Whitemarsh Hall. The society's mission is based on the precepts of research, education, and preservation, and it has been instrumental in preventing similar losses of history in the ensuing twenty-plus years. Charles and Edward Zwicker actively research Springfield Township history and conduct presentations on various topics, including Whitemarsh Hall and White City Amusement Park, which are covered in this fine volume.