Nether Providence

by Davidson, Michele S.

• ISBN13: 9780738572635
• ISBN10: 0738572632
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-06-30
• Publisher: Arcadia Pub

Summary

In 1682, John Sharpless settled in Nether Providence Township on a 1,000-acre tract of land along Ridley Creek that had been granted to him by William Penn. Other settlers soon followed, establishing Nether Providence as a small, successful, farming community. Over the next two centuries, Nether Providence grew into a thriving manufacturing center with 14 operating mills along the township's two creeks. At the turn of the 19th century, Nether Providence became a summer resort area rivaling the Main Line of Philadelphia, with such famous residents as Dr. Horace Howard Furness, a well-regarded Shakespearean scholar and the brother of architect Frank Furness, and Alexander Kelly McClure, the owner of the Philadelphia Times and an assistant adjunct general appointed by Pres. Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. In 2007, Wallingford, the largest community in Nether Providence, was named by Money Magazine as the ninth best place to live in the United States.

Author Biography

Michele S. Davidson, a Pennsylvania attorney and current Nether Providence resident, has gathered images from the Nether Providence Historical Society, the Delaware County Institute of Science, and various other local organizations and individuals to document Nether Providence's fascinating growth and development over the last three centuries.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. 6
Introduction	p. 7
The Early Settlers	p. 9
The Growth of Manufacturing	p. 29
Educating the Children	p. 43
The Development of Community Services	p. 53
Transportation	p. 67
Recreation and Religion	p. 81
A Summer Retreat for the Wealthy	p. 93
The Arts and Crafts Community	p. 107
The Developers Arrive	p. 117
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