What Local History Has to Say About Ardsley vs North Hills

My house may have a slight bit of an identity crisis in terms of the neighborhood to which it belongs. It sits at the nexus of two communities within Greater Glenside-- Ardsley and North Hills. The larger subdivision containing my land, Reginald Ferguson's "North Glenside", eventually became known as "Ardsley". Today, Ardsley is largely considered to be bounded at its south end by the main thoroughfare of Jenkintown Road, stretching north to Susquehanna Ave between North Hills Ave and Hillside Cemetery). We, however, are located to the south of Jenkintown, part of a small 6-7 block portion of Ferguson's subdivisions, in what is now commonly known as North Hills. North Hills covers generally between Mount Carmel Ave to the south, North Hills Ave to the west (and extending even a few blocks further west into Upper Dublin Township), Jenkintown Road to the north, and Edge Hill Road to the east. By the literal definition of these boundaries, the house is located in North Hills; and, although the construction date of my home in the 1920's post-dates many earlier homes to the south more firmly in North Hills, it more closely aligns to the development of this neighborhood than Ardsley, where a majority of homes were built in the 1950's and 1960's.

Ardsley station (Wikimedia Commons)

North Hills, corner of Mount Carmel Ave & Limekiln Pike (Wikipedia)

Currently, I'm making my way through reading a comprehensive history written about Glenside, The Story of Greater Glenside by Robert S. Camburn (1977). There are several interesting nuggets of information in here on these two neighborhoods, and interestingly enough, the map included at the very end of the book allows the name of "Ardsley" to ever-so-slightly overlap Jenkintown Road at its east end:

Map of Glenside, as published in Robert S. Camburn's The Story of Greater Glenside (1977).

A few excerpts from Camburn's description of Ardsley-North Hills begins with this clarification, despite the label on the later map:

     "Because the names of Ardsley and North Glenside were used rather freely for development plans, we will state at the outset of our consideration of the North Hills area that it is regarded as lying between Jenkintown Road and Mount Carmel Avenue, while the Ardsley of today runs northward from Jenkintown Road."

In discussing North Hills further, Camburn describes various subdivision developments in the neighborhood across multiple historical maps, some of which I have seen (but some I haven't and can seek out!) spanning from before 1893 up to the late 1920's. My portion of Ferguson's subdivision is not mentioned here, but both the 1893 and 1909 atlas maps label the area directly south of my property. My house is at the absolute extreme southern boundary of Ferguson's later subdivision, and thus the area described here ends quite literally at my southern neighbor's property.

Portion of 1893 atlas map, highlighting the future location of my house, directly adjacent to the development of the Wm. Penn Real Estate Co. Map courtesy of Franklin Maps (note: map oriented with north to the right of the image)

Most of the Cape Cod-style houses on my block, however, were not actually built until the 1940's. Camburn's presentation of the several blocks directly to my south:

     "Plan maps which the author has seen for the earliest development of the North Hills community do not carry any dates. However, the 1893 local atlas map indicates a development here by the Wm. Penn Real Estate Company. (Somewhat later it has been called the Wm. Penn Realty Co.) The local atlas map of 1909 designates the same area as Remlu Heights (the developer, Ulmer, using the reverse spelling of his name). Parry says that this designation was attached only briefly to the locality."

Portion of 1927 atlas map, highlighting my house in Ferguson's North Glenside, with "Remlu Heights" directly to the south (left side of map). The name "Ardsley Estates" is also sprinkled throughout pockets of Remlu Heights. Map courtesy of Franklin Maps. (note: map oriented with north to the right of the image)

And later, more specifics of the location:
     "The earliest plan map mentioned above largely agrees with the 1893 local atlas map, boundaries being half-way above Spruce Avenue (to Jenkintown Road)... These maps all indicate Wm. Penn Real Estate Co. as owner."
     "On the 1909 local atlas index map, the area is designated Remlu Heights... but only to about halfway between Spruce Avenue and Jenkintown Road..."

This spot, halfway between Spruce Ave and Jenkintown Rd, is the location on the map where the northeast/southeast avenues take a slight curve, a product of Reginald Ferguson's layout being misaligned from the streets of Remlu Heights (now North Hills). This occurs directly in front of my house on Central Avenue, and also results in diagonal property lines at the front and back of my lot.

Camburn has another interesting footnote, speaking to his earlier allusion to the fast and loose use of the name "Ardsley" to different subdivisions:
     "An undated sales map, similar in coverage to the early maps showing the Remlu or Wm. Penn Real Estate Co. subdivision, bears the title of "Ardsley Estates." A separate plan map of 1923 shows Ardsley Estates owned by Edge Hill Realty Corp."

This name of Ardsley-- I had wondered about its origins since the early days of my research. However, rudimentary searches had only yielded the existence of another village called Ardsley, just outside of New York City which was supposedly named by a large landowner there after his ancestor's birthplace, the village of East Ardsley in England. Also, being an English placename, it supposedly means "home-lover's meadow."

Perhaps this is an image William T.B. Roberts (1850-1936) had in mind in 1905. Roberts, a business associate of the likes of Philadelphia magnates Peter Widener and William Elkins, came to rapidly develop several sizable developments in Glenside at the turn of the 20th century. According to Camburn:

     "Under plan dated March 10, 1905, Roberts prepared to develop what he called Ardsley. The area covered by this plan was within the limits of Jenkintown Road, Sylvania Avenue, Edgecomb Avenue and Tyson Avenue. Then, under plan designated Ardsley No. 2, dated June 1905, development north of Edgecomb Avenue to Bradfield Road was undertaken.
     Between these "Ardsley" areas and the area presently known as Ardsley from Jackson Avenue west, Roberts established Ardsley Burial Park in 1906 (which was bought out by Hillside Cemetery in 1953 and placed under the latter's management). The Roberts' family burial plot is located here."

This being the earliest chronological reference by Camburn of the use of the name Ardsley, it appears that the name was coined locally by Roberts, and referred to the neighborhood to the east of the current Ardsley, on the other side of the railroad tracks. This other area presently has an Ardsley Avenue where my wife and I made an offer on a house before finding the one we ultimately bought.

When Camburn finally comes to speak of the neighborhood currently known as Ardsley, we learn further of its origins, which consist primarily of the history I have learned through my independent research and presented on this blog:

     "...this area was called Tyson's Gap at the time of the Revolution and that this later became Tyson. Tyson was the name of Ardsley station on the rail line until about 1897. It is so named on the 1897 local atlas map.
     A development plan map of March 26, 1918, with later additions, is labeled "Ferguson Tract of North Glenside #1 - North Glenside Land Co.," and covers the area from Penn Avenue to Maple Avenue, north from above Spruce Avenue to Susquehanna Street. (The township line runs just west of Penn.)
     The Ferguson tract of North Glenside #2, as shown on plan map dated November 21, 1919, covers the area from Jackson Avenue to Maple, and from Jenkintown Road to Spear Avenue.
     Ardsley also includes the area west of Penn Avenue in Upper Dublin Township from Jenkintown Road to Fitzwatertown Road, north to Susquehanna Street."

Camburn was certainly right in claiming that the name Ardsley was used quite freely by developers. My own cobbling together of the timeline of the name's use locally, based on Camburn's history, is somewhat speculative in filling in the gaps as follows:

-1905: W.T.B. Roberts first uses the name Ardsley locally for his development east of the railroad tracks, north of Jenkintown Rd
-c. 1905-1909: The nearby Tyson train station adopts Ardsley as its new name.
-1918-1920: Reginald Ferguson lays out his North Glenside subdivision. I speculate that the name of the train station to its east, and the lack of common reference to the "original" Ardsley, causes residents and leaders to come to use this name for the burgeoning development close to the station in the 1920s. Thus, the name effectively jumps across the tracks.
-1923, 1927: Maps include "Ardsley Estates" amongst the area of North Hills to the south of Jenkintown Rd.
-1929: The Glenside Manor Civic Association of North Glenside, with its Civic Hall located on Hamel Avenue, changes its name to Ardsley Civic Association and Ladies Auxiliary, further cementing the name association with the neighborhood.

Current Google map aerial view, with boundary overlays indicating the migration of the name "Ardsley" from Roberts' subdivision east of the train station, to its present-day boundaries west of the station.

If it wasn't painfully clear by now, the message of this post is to SEEK OUT WRITTEN LOCAL HISTORIES. You are far from the first person to be interested in the origins of your micro-neighborhood and of your town or city at large. Even though my specific neighborhood is not the main focus of this written history by Robert Camburn, it was included by the author as a part of the larger history of Glenside as a whole.

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Anatomy of the 1920 Deed from Reginald Ferguson to Frederick Brandes

Today we take a detailed look at the June 4, 1920 property deed which conveyed the land on which my home was later built, from Reginald T. Ferguson to Frederick A. Brandes. If you'll recall from some of my previous posts, Reginald Ferguson was a jeweler by trade in North Philadelphia, and had purchased a sizable tract of land in Abington from a Mrs. Emma Spear a few years prior. He then hired a surveyor to subdivide the land into individual home-building lots, a subdivision recorded with the name "Ferguson's North Glenside". Rather than hire a builder to construct new homes in the subdivision, Ferguson instead profited by selling off the individual lots in order for owners to build their own homes.

I do not know the exact circumstances of how Frederick Brandes came to acquire this particular land parcel from Ferguson. However, in piecing together a biographical sketch on Brandes, I do know that he had an older brother in the jewel trade and perhaps came upon Ferguson's development through that connection.

 

What follows here is the transcribed text of the actual property deed which gave Brandes ownership of two lots of Ferguson's North Glenside. Sometime within the next several years, my house was erected on the property, although not by Brandes. I find this particular deed more interesting than many of the others in my property's title chain. As it is the first deed in the chain conveying the parcel out of subdivider Ferguson's possession, it specifies all of the restrictive covenants on the property which are only alluded to in future deeds (such as restricting how close houses are built to the streets, prohibiting manufacturing and tavern uses, and even specifying fences and/or trees which must be built around any outdoor latrines). Here, I will also demonstrate the various clauses and important portions of a typical deed. Thank you to Laws for filling in gaps of my own knowledge about the specific parts of a property deed.

June 4, 1920 Deed from Reginald T. Ferguson to Frederick A. Brandes

Here follows the transcription (in italics, including typos in the recorded document) of this particular deed, along with anything in particular I've learned from the deed as it relates to my property (in bold):

DEED

REGINALD T. FERGUSON

ET UX

TO

FREDERICK A. BRANDES

ET UX

The beginning of the deed is called the "premises", and it is here where the Grantors and Grantees are specified, as well as the date of execution. In this particular case, I learn that both Ferguson and Brandes were residents of Philadelphia and not of Abington or Glenside, where the land is. Ferguson's occupation as "jeweler" is also listed:

THIS INDENTURE MADE THE fourth day of June in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and twenty (1920)

BETWEEN Reginald T. Ferguson, of the City of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, Jeweler, and katherine E., his wife, (hereinafter called the Grantors), of the one part, and Frederick A. Brandes and Bertha C., his wife, of the said City and State (hereinafter called the Grantees), of the other part:

Next is the "granting clause". Here, it is made clear that a specific parcel of land is being conveyed from one party to the other. The amount of consideration (if specified in the deed) is included in this section, followed by a legal description of the property being transferred. In this deed, we learn that the consideration is merely a nominal amount ($1) but that "other good and valuable consideration" is a part of the transaction. It is not clear what profit Ferguson gained here, as it is not specified. Further, no corresponding mortgage document was found in Brandes' name. I would imagine that unless the two men knew each other previously and that Ferguson was using the land to pay some debt owed to Brandes (a possibility), that in actuality Brandes gave Ferguson some considerable value, which was not documented here, in exchange for the building lot:

WITNESSETH, That the said grantors for and in consideration of the sum of ONE DOLLAR and other good and valuable consideration lawful money of the United States of America, unto them well and truly paid by the said Grantees at and before the sealing and delivery of these presents, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, have granted, bargained, sold, aliened, enfeoffed, released and confirmed, and by these presents do grant, bargain, sell, alien, enfeoff, release and confirm unto the said Grantees, their heirs and assigns as tenants by entireties

Part of the granting clause is the legal description of the propety being conveyed. The description can be performed in a number of ways but must make clear specifically what land is being conveyed. In this deed, Brandes is buying two of the lots that Ferguson's surveyor laid out. If I compare this description to the one in the 2014 deed conveying the land to me, it is identical. Note that one "mystery" I need to investigate further is that I've been told that my current neighbor's lot was originally owned by the Cantlins, the long-time owners of my house. I will be investigating the assumption that this neighboring lot came to be owned separately from the two lots described here, since the legal description of my current property is the same two lots described in this 1920 deed. Note that in the first paragraph here, the survey information (as well as where it can be found in the Deed books) is included, having been recorded at the County the previous year in 1919:

ALL THAT CERTAIN lot or piece of ground situate in the Township of Abington, County of Montgomery and State of Pennsylvania. Described according to a survey thereof made by William T. Muldrew, Surveyor and Regulator, Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, and recorded at Norristown, Pennsylvania, on July 12th, 1919, in Deed Book 732, page 600, as follows:-

BEGINNING at a point in the center line of Avenue "C" at the distance of four hundred and fifty-five and thirteen one-hundredths feet Southwest of the intersection of the center lines of Avenue "C" (as laid out forty feet wide) and Jenkintown Road (as laid out fifty feet wide); thence along the center line of said Avenue "C" on a curve to the left radius one hundred and twenty-three and sixty-six one-hundredths feet, arc twenty-one and fifty-eight one-hundredths feet; thence by lot numbered2224 North forty-three degrees twenty-five minutes, West one hundred and eighty and thirty-three one-hundredths feet to a corner; thence by lot numbered 2206 North eighty degrees fifty-five minutes, East twenty-four and twenty-two one-hundredths feet to a corner; thence by lot numbered 2222 South forty-three degrees twenty-five minutes East one hundred and seventy-four and seventy one-hundredths feet to the place of beginning. being lot numbered 2223 on the said survey.

AND ALSO ALL THAT CERTAIN lot or piece of ground situate in the Township, County and State aforesaid, and described according to the said survey as follows:-

BEGINNING at a point in the center line of Avenue "C" at the distance of four hundred and seventy-six and seventy-one one-hundredths feet Southwest of the intersection of the center lines of Avenue "C" (as laid out forty feet wide) and jenkintown Road (as laid out fifty feet wide); thence along the center line of said Avenue "C" on a curve to the left, radius one hundred and twenty-three and sixty-six one-hundredths feet, arc thirty-five and seventy one-hundredths feet; thence by land of the North Glenside Land Company North forty-two degrees twenty-three minutes, West one hundred and and seventy-five feet to a corner; thence by lot numbered 2207, North forty-six degrees thirty-five minutes, East thirty-two and one one-hundredths feet to a corner; thence by lot numbered 2223 South forty-three degrees twenty-five minutes, East one hundred and eighty and thirty-three one-hundredths feet to the place of beginning. Being lot numbered 2224 on the said survey.

As with most deeds in my county, the granting clause includes reference to the last recorded conveyance of this land (including the Deed Book and Page information). In this case, here it is described that the land is part of the larger tract of land Ferguson purchased from Emma Spear three years prior:

BEING a part of the same premises which Emma L. Spear, by identurebearing date the fifth day of October, A.D. 1917, and recorded at Norristown, Pennsylvania, in Deed Book No. 763, page 82, &c., granted and conveyed unto the said reginald T. Ferguson in fee.

TOGETHER with all and singular the improvements, ways, streets, alleys, passages, waters, water-courses, rights, liberties, privileges, hereditaments and appurtenances whatsoever thereunto belonging, or in any wise appertaining, and the reversions and remainders, rents, issues and profits thereof, and all the estate, right, title, interest, property, claim and demand whatsoever of the said Grantors, in law, equity, or otherwise howsoever, of, in, and to the same, and every part thereof.

Next is the "habendum clause" which usually begins with the term "to have and to hold". Here it is stated the duration of the conveyance as well as any further clarification of the new owner's rights to the land. In some cases, the new owner may only be receiving rights to the land "during his/her natural life", and this clause should go on further to declare what is to happen after this point. The most straightforward and least restrictive conveyance is in "fee simple", which gives the new owner all rights to the land indefinitely. This is what has occurred here in this 1920 deed, as exhibited by the reference to "heirs and assigns" of the Grantees, as well as use of the term "forever" at the end. "Heirs and assigns" allows the Grantee to give all or some claim to whomever he wishes in the future, and allows for inheritance of these land rights in the event of the new owner's death. Of course, in many cases, this new owner will at some point transfer and relinquish the claim to the land to yet a new owner. Thus, the "forever" means forever until that person gives up the claim to someone else:

TO HAVE AND TO HOLD the said lots or pieces of ground above described hereditaments and premises hereby granted, or mentioned and intended so to be, with the appurtenances, unto the said Grantees, their heirs and assigns to and for the only proper use and behoof of the said grantees, their heirs and assigns as tenants by entireties forever.

Here begins the clause which spells out any restrictive covenants on new development for the land being conveyed. This is the most interesting portion of this particular deed to me. Reginald Ferguson has now successfully subdivided the Emma Spear land tract into individual building lots, and with these deed restrictions he is laying out a standard for new development which will protect the value of the entire development at large (including lots which Ferguson has not yet sold). Several references to other pieces of land not involved in this particular conveyance, but part of the North Glenside subdivision, are included, as this entire section of restrictive covenants would have been included verbatim in all deeds involving Ferguson's North Glenside lots. The first paragraph restricts certain uses on the property-- no cemeteries, manufacturing, taverns, or any "other building for offensive occupations or business, shall be erected". Again, Ferguson is protecting the value of the entirety of his holdings as a desirable residential community. Thus, no bone-boiling and no piggeries!

UNDER AND SUBJECT to the express conditions and restrictions: That said premisesshall not be used for cemetery or burial purposes. That no bone-boiling or fat rendering establishment, soap, glue, candle, varnishing factroy, brick manufactory, or any manufacturing business, slaughter house, piggery, tannery, tavern/drinking saloon or any building for the manufacture or sale of spirituous or malt liquors or wine of any kind or description whatever, or other building for offensive occupations or business, shall be erected on any part thereof, and that sidewalks shall be eight feet wide. That all lots are conveyed to the center of the road or avenue, and that all roads or avenues are forty feet wide, except Jenkintown Road and Susquehanna Road.

The next restrictive covenant essentially amounts to an easement allowing for the creation of Township-managed roads fronting the property:

That the grantee will without consideration dedicate such portion of the above premises as now forms the bed of any road or avenue, whenver said road or avenue shall be taken by the Township or County.

Next, further regulation on outhouses: 

Any privy wall used or maintained upon the premises above described or any part thereof shall be subject to the inspection and approval of the Board of health. Any outside water closet erected on said lot or lots shall be enclosed by an arbor or fence built at least three feet distant from the said water closet on all sides, and at least the full height of same.

The following covenants amount to the equivalent of zoning setbacks and density restrictions, despite the fact that Abington Township would not have its own formalized zoning code until later in the decade. Note the reference to Ferguson's lots numbered 2062 to 2094, despite their being located elsewhere in the subdivision:

That the house or building line on all roads or avenue shall be always at least twenty feet from the front road or avenue line and no part of any building such as porches, verandas, bay-windows or property area, exclusive of steps, shall be erected more than twelve feet beyond the said building line.

That the building line of all stables, garages or our-buildings of any kind hereafter erected upon any lot, shall recede from the front road or avenue line, so that the building line of such stable, garage or out-building shall not be nearer than sevnety-five feet from the said front road or avenue line, except that stables, garages or out-buildings of any kind hereafter erected on lots 2062 to 2094 inclusive shall only be built on the rear twenty feet of said lots.

That no more than one house shall be erected on each lot of ground until the year A.D. 1930.

And finally, Ferguson places actual minimums on the construction cost of houses to be built in his subdivision, even those not being conveyed in this deed. My house is located in the area described as "on any other avenue to the Southwest of... Jenkintown Road", which is a considerably small percentage of the subdivision, bearing a minimum cost of $2,500. Thus, if this deed restriction was adhered to (and it would be difficult to prove that it was), then I have a pretty good idea that it cost at least $2,500 to construct the house a few years later. I will be interested to search deeds for properties east of Jenkintown Road, in what is more traditionally known as the Ardsley neighborhood. As described in my post exploring the larger development of Ardsley, most of those houses were built in the 1950's or later, decades after these restrictions were written. In addition to investigating what happened to all of Ferguson's unsold land upon his death in 1924, I'll be curious to see if these restrictions differed in the later phases of development:

That any house erected on lots fronting on either side of Jenkintown Road on Avenues "E" and "F" to the Southwest of Jenkintown Road shall cost not less than Three Thousand Dollars; that any house erected on lots fronting on any other avenue to the Southwest of lots fronting on Jenkintown Road shall cost not less than Twenty-five hundred dollars; and that any house erected on any other lots shown on the said plan shall cost not less than Eighteen Hundred Dollars.

This next clause is among the most important in the entire document from a legal perspective, and it is called the "warranty clause". The Grantor, Reginald Ferguson, is essentially giving Brandes, the new owner, a guarantee that this land is free of any other claims. He further agrees to defend against any other third-party claims on the property which may arise. This is the most protective form of warranty for the new owner and involves the least risk for him. Not all deeds are general warranty deeds as this one is; some warrant to a lesser degree than implied here (i.e. "special warranty" deeds). "Quitclaim deeds" carry even more risk for the buyer, as they do not carry any warranty against third-party claims on the property-- they might be more often used in conveyances within a family:

AND the said Reginald T. ferguson, for himself and his heirs, executors and administrators, doth by these presents covenant, grant and agree, to andwith the said Grantees, their heirs and assigns that he, the said Reginald T. Ferguson, and his heirs, all and singular the hereditaments and premises herein described and granted or mentioned and intended so to be, with the appurtenances, unto the said Grantees, their heirs and assigns against him the said Reginald T. Ferguson and his heirs, and against all and every other person and persons whomsoever lawfully claiming or to claim the same or any part thereof, by, fromm or under him, them, or any of them, shall and will subject as aforesaid, warrant and forever defend.

Finally is the testimonial section or "execution clause". Appropriate signatures of the Grantors are included, including those of witnesses and the notary public:

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the said parties to these presents have hereunto interchangeably set their hands and seals. Dated the day and year first above written.

   SEALED AND DELIVERED

Reginald T. Ferguson (SEAL)

Katherine E. Ferguson (SEAL)

in the presence of us:

N.H. Ritter

Chas. F. Myers (.50 cancelled stamp)

RECEIVED on the day of the date of the above indenture of the above-named Grantees the full consideration therein mentioned.

   WITNESS AT SIGNING:

A.F. Ritter Reginald T. Ferguson

Chas. F. Myers

On the fourth day of June Anno Domini 1920, before me, the subscriber, a Notary Public for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, residing in the City of Philadelphia, personally appeared the above-named Reginald T. Ferguson and katherine E., his wife, and in due form of law acknowledged the above indenture to be their and each of their act and deed, and desired the same might be recorded as such.

WITNESS my hand and official seal the day and year aforesaid.

Chas. F. Myers (N.P.)

Notary Public (SEAL)

My commission expires Jan. 21, 1923.

Recorded June 30, 1920. H.L.N.

The deed was recorded at Norristown, the county seat, on June 30, less than a month after the actual conveyance took place on June 4. I've not yet been able to locate a list of previous Recorders of Deeds for the County, but I presume that "H.L.N." were the initials of the current Recorder of Deeds in 1920.

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Perusing Your Municipality's Archive of Annual Reports for Neighborhood History

This tip may take some digging or some asking around at your local municipality government office, historical society, or library. However, it might be a source you did not previously consider, and can provide you with local historical information which can further enrich your house history. I'm speaking of Annual Reports for your local government entity. Yay! Sound dry? Well, they certainly can be, but if you look past the blocks of financial stats and scan for relevant information, you just may find very useful details about the origins and development of your neighborhood or even your particular street.

As with a corporation or any other organized entity, the Annual Report is created to apprise shareholders, residents, or other interested parties of the finances and major efforts of the organization from the previous calendar or fiscal year. While it may be relatively easy to find recent Annual Reports, what you will find most useful for your historical research are those reports from the time period within a decade or two of when your house was built, or when your subdivision was created. There is no one consistent place to find such reports across all types of municipalities, but you should start off by contacting the Town Clerk office, or the staff for the local Board of Commissioners or Supervisors. In larger cities, you might seek out the Annual Report for the city's Planning agency or commission. These older reports might also be housed at a local historical society or the public library.

What Abington Township Annual Reports Told Me

My local municipality is the Township of Abington, a first class township (in Pennsylvania, a township is either a first-class or second-class township). And wow! The Township's official website includes a "History" page which includes every single Annual Report prepared by the Board of Commissioner from the years 1917-1962, plus 1914. Call me lucky.

You should be looking for any information related to your street or your subdivision. Of course, if you are like me, you will probably find most of the information on your entire locality interesting as well. Going back to, say, the 1920's when my house was built, you will be able to learn of how Township leaders dealt with rapid growth. street expansion and repair; grappled with funding police and fire departments properly; and you will likely also see the names of leaders whose legacy may continue on in the form of street or park names.

In Abington Township, by the time the "Roaring 20's" hit town, the exploding use of the automobile in combination with the growth of the suburb made street conditions the topic du jour, and it remained so for several years thereafter. Macadam streets were clearly incredibly worn down, and township leaders had immense trouble keeping up with the costs of repairs. Much effort is made in the reports of the years from 1918 to the early 1920's to convince residents that their tax dollars simply were not sufficient to keep up with the exponentially increasing costs of road work.

A clip from the 1918 report expresses the need to create an ongoing budget for more permanent road reconstruction. Note that auto traffic has doubled in the Township since the year 1916.

A clip from the 1920 report conveys that by this time, auto traffic has now tripled since 1914. Real estate investors are subdividing the township land at an alarming rate, laying out new streets without paving them in any permanent way.

A clip from 1922. Now, although the Township has the power to approve new subdivisions before they can legally be recorded at the County Recorder of Deeds, most development is still occurring without sufficient permanent roads. The Township Commissioners make clear to the newer lot owners that this work will need to be done at their own expense.

Speaking specifically about the immediate area where my house is located, Reginald Ferguson's North Glenside subdivision was filed with the county in 1919, before the Township had the oversight it established in 1921. A significant amount of maintenance and improvements appear to have been performed on Central Avenue in the years 1924, 1925, and 1928. Although it is possible that some work was done to the 400 block (and, if you'll remember from my deed analysis, the house may have been constructed in 1922-1923), I believe it more likely that most or all of this work occurred just to the south, in the stretch from Spruce Street to Limekiln Pike, an older subdivision. During this time period, this block of Central Avenue only housed a handful of homes, and according to the 1927 map, no water service existed on this part of the street. Also by 1927, we are starting to see some road improvements on the north side of Jenkintown Road, in Ardsley proper, the area subdivided by Ferguson.

Description from the 1924 report of road surface treatment on Central Avenue.

A breakdown of 1924 streets spending in the North Glenside section.

A breakdown of 1925 streets spending in the North Glenside section. Notice it has quadrupled from spending there the year before. Most or all of this likely occurred between Spruce St and Limeklin Pike, south of our house.

By 1927, new road construction is beginning to occur in Ardsley just to the north of my house.

As you can see, much of the reports from the decade deal with road construction and improvement. However, as the Township continued to grow, it began to create new regulations and flex more oversight over the increasing construction and development. A building code was adopted in the early 1920's, along with plumbing regulation, increased police forces, and the expansion of public amenities such as the creation of a Parks department.

This clip from 1924 is a testament to how much the Township has grown in such a short time.

By 1922, township leaders sought to preserve some land for public use. As described in this clipping, the southwestern part of the Township, where my house is located, had been nearly completely subdivided.

Yet, by 1930, the Great Depression had hit, and in combination with the fact that not many large tracts of land were left, development had slowed down to a near halt...

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A Walk Through the Ardsley Neighborhood (Ferguson's North Glenside)

Examining the history, growth, and architecture of your home's neighborhood can tell you quite a bit about its own history by providing context, both physical and temporal. We've now been through two posts regarding the subdivision in which my house was built, Ferguson's North Glenside. The first post explained the process of discovering the subdivision's name through historical map exploration. The second post gave a brief history of Reginald T. Ferguson's creation of the subdivision by splitting two larger tracts of land, including that of Emma Spear. Here, we venture off into the residential neighborhood, which gained its name Ardsley in its early days. I'll examine briefly the variety of residential architecture, spanning from the 1920's through present-day. I'll also point out the neighborhood landmarks which provide amenities to residents.

View down the 600 block of Central Ave, with varying home styles. From Left to Right: 1920's Bungalow, 1960's Garrison Colonial, 1920's Bungalow, 1920's Bungalow, 1950's brick Cape Cod variant.

Ardsley vs North Hills

While this greater area of Glenside, including land south and west of that divided by Ferguson, at one point fell under the category of "North Glenside", that name no longer exists today. Ardsley I've already described historically, and lies largely east of Jenkintown Road and even extends slightly into Upper Dublin Township. Present-day North Hills, which includes areas which used to be known as Edge Hill and Remlu, respectively, comprises the western half of the area, roughly along Limekiln Pike, and again extending into Upper Dublin. It was subdivided earlier than Ardsley, and thus its concentration of homes is on the whole a few decades older, with many homes from 1900-1930. Although my house is technically within the subdivision which became Ardsley, you can see that it is right at the western edge of the former Emma Spear land, and with its 1920's construction and location west of Jenkintown Road, my property more associates with North Hills in today's geography.

You've seen this clip from a 1916 map in previous posts, showing location of my house at the western edge of the Emma A. Spear tract. Base map courtesy of Franklin Maps.

Ardsley and North Hills could be considered sister communities, as they blend seamlessly into one another and even share a youth sports organization called Ardsley-North Hills Athletic Association. Although the Upper Dublin portion of North Hills is more lower-middle class these days, Ardsley-North Hills as a whole is solidly middle class, with lot sizes of roughly one acre and modest single-family homes efficiently filling the streetscape.

Residential Architecture of Ardsley

As described previously, Ferguson did not act as a builder or developer with his subdivision, but rather as a land speculator profiting off the sale of individual lots. Thus, individuals built up the neighborhood over time, resulting in an eclectic mix of 20th century home styles. This differs from the classic portrayal of the American suburban subdivision, where developers built homes all in one fell swoop prior to selling the homes to individuals (typical of many post-WW2 developments).

Take a look at these photos from my neighborhood walk and you'll see a wide range of residential architecture: split-level, Craftsman bungalow, Cape Cod, ranch, Dutch Colonial, and other Colonial Revival subtypes. Today, nearly 1,200 houses exist in the various Ferguson North Glenside subdivisions, almost all of which are single-family homes. A few twin homes are sprinkled in, with no 3+ family buildings. The pattern of development here mirrors closely that of American suburban development as a phenomenon, with a larger-scale demand for new housing after WWII.

With the subdivisions established around 1920, roughly 120 or so houses were quickly constructed by various owners, filling in roughly 10-12% of the vacant lots. These houses were to a large extent built close to the main arterial of Jenkintown Road. During this time period, we see the architecture of the time in bungalows, Craftsmans, and Colonial Revivals.

This c. 1923 Craftsman Bungalow on Meyer Ave is one of few in the neighborhood with wood shingle siding appropriate for the time period. It looks great!

This c. 1920 Craftsman Bungalow on Tennis Ave recently replaced the inappropriate vinyl siding. Although I would have liked to see wood or fiber cement siding as well as the brick kept exposed on the chimney, I have to admit the stucco job on this house was pretty well done.

Circa 1930 Dutch Colonial at the corner of Jenkintown Rd and Jackson Ave.

On Maple Ave, a c. 1923 Colonial Revival with Dutch gambrel roof on left, next to a c. 1930 Bungalow on the right.

The Great Depression did slow development in the burgeoning suburb in the 1930's, but still about 60-70 homes were built in Ardsley, typically of the similar style varieties seen in the 1920's. The 1940's saw a similar rate of development as the 1920's, starting to mix in the popular Cape Cod style.

Circa 1948 Cape Cod home on Spear Ave.

A Cape Cod variant with front cross gable from circa 1945, at the corner of Maple Ave and Woodrow Ave.

Then, the real boom came. Although the gradual filling in of all these lots resulted in an eclectic mix of houses, roughly 55% of the current housing stock in the Ferguson subdivisions was built in the 1950's. Thus, there exists today a large number of split-levels, ranchers, and Cape Cod homes which were popular after the second World War. More than 90% of the residential lots were occupied by homes by the end of the 1960's.

On the 900 block of Cricket Ave, from Left to Right: c. 1955 Split-Level, c. 1958 Split-Level, c. 1955 Ranch. These split levels, with the distinctive roof eave projecting out at an angle, popped up all over the subdivision in the late 1950's and early 1960's. It is possible that the same builder spent several years building the same style house here.

Looking east down Meyer Ave towards Maple Ave, from Left to Right: one-half visible of a c. 1955 brick Ranch, c. 1956 Cape Cod, c. 1955 Ranch, and two c. 1961 Split-Levels before the intersection. Even though Meyer Ave deviates from the standard grid of the remainder of Ardsley (due to Sandy Run Creek), the houses are still oriented in the same direction as the other houses in the area, creating a diagonal arrangement with the street line.

C. 1955 Cape Cod on Spear Ave, directly across the street from the Community Center.

A few buildable lots do remain, with many of them incorporated into neighboring lots as side or backyards. Ryan Circle was created as a brand new cul de sac off of Meyer Ave in 1997, with 8 new two-story Colonial Revival houses. There also have been about a dozen new homes built since 2000.

Neighborhood Amenities

Not all of Ardsley is residential lots. For reasons not clear at this time, Reginald Ferguson did not continue Central Ave or Cricket Ave all the way to present-day Meyer Ave as he did with Tennis, Garfield, and Penn. Perhaps there had already been discussions of turning this area into a park or some other use. However this did not actually come to fruition officially until Abington Township purchased the land in 1935, nearly 15 years after the Spear tract was split. Ardsley Park came to be and remains today as an amenity with basketball and tennis courts, playing fields, and a playground.

The entrance to Ardsley Park, from the corner of Maple Ave and Jefferson Ave.

Across Maple Avenue rom the park, the entrance to the Ardsley Wildlife Sanctuary sits as undeveloped land essentially contiguous with neighboring Hillside Cemetery.

Entrance to Ardsley Wildlife Sanctuary, at corner of Maple Ave and Jefferson Ave.

What is today the community hub of the Ardsley Community Center, was originally the Ardsley Elementary School at about the midpoint of the former Spear land, on Spear Ave. It switched over to a community center in 1978 and today houses a daycare facility, acts as a meeting place for community and youth groups, and conducts educational programs. The fields out back also are the location for a number of community events.

Ardsley Community Center, formerly the Ardsley Elementary School, on Spear Ave.

And lastly, a significant stretch of Jenkintown Road, extending from Maple Avenue down to Tyson Avenue past the train station, exists as a commercial corridor. A number of staple businesses, including Joe's Meat Market and Little Rizzo's Pizza, are run along this stretch and several are even in structures originally built as single-family homes.

Joe's Meat and Grocery Market on Jenkintown Road.

Van's Lock Shop, Ardsley Cleaners, and Little Rizzo's Pizza on Jenkintown Road.

Ardsley Bible Chapel at the corner of Harrison Ave and Jenkintown Road.

Relating Neighborhood History to House History

Putting this in the context of my own home's construction at the western edge of the subdivision in the mid-1920's, there were only a few houses surrounding it for a few decades. As I've described previously, my neighbor relayed a story of long-time owner of my house Mrs Catherine Cantlin having been able to see the Ardsley train station 1/2 mile down Jenkintown Road. Although streets were laid out by Reginald Ferguson's subdivisions, roads were not immediately paved until the critical mass of home justified the expense by the township. The municipal sewer system was not constructed until the 1940's. All of these set a picture of the house in these early decades, one quite different than the dense, fully developed surroundings it enjoys today.

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The Origins of Ferguson's North Glenside

In one of the blog's early posts, I explained the process of discovering the subdivision of land on which my house currently sits-- Ferguson's North Glenside. It constitutes what is today known as the neighborhood of Ardsley. Today we will take a look at the origins of the subdivision, which occurred in three successive phases around 1920.

On October 5, 1917, in the later years of her life, Emma L. Spear officially conveyed, to Reginald T. Ferguson, the 217-acre farmland tract which had been owned by her family for the last 50+ years. Reginald Ferguson, born in 1869, was a native Philadelphian, who by this time had become a very successful jeweler in the city. He and his wife, Katherine, had no children, and by all indications Reginald was an astute businessman. Setting his sights on land speculation in the burgeoning suburb of Glenside, he acquired the Spear tract, as well as the neighboring 68-acre land of the late William Unruh shortly thereafter.

Clip of a 1916 map of the Spear and Zoller (formerly Unruh) tracts of land acquired by Reginald T. Ferguson a few years later. Location of my house circle. Base map courtesy of Franklin Maps.

The Spear land stretched from roughly 480 feet southwest of the main artery Jenkintown Rd, all the way to Susquehanna Rd near present-day Roslyn. It was bounded on the west by the border between Abington and Upper Dublin Townships, and on the east by the estate of F.W. Zoller (formerly held by long-time owner William Unruh) as well as by the grounds of the Hillside Cemetery. The 68-acre Unruh tract later expanded the subdivision east to present-day Jackson Ave at the edge of the Ardsley Burial Cemetery. This tract extends half the length of the Spear tract, from Jenkintown Rd to about 400 feet northeast of present-day Spear Ave.

Overlay of Ferguson subdivisions over a current aerial map.

Surveys commissioned by Ferguson after acquiring this land from the former landowners officially subdivided the land into individual home-sized lots, which Ferguson largely sold off with a few exceptions, starting with about 3/4 of the Spear tract, followed shortly thereafter by the Unruh property. The remainder of the former Spear land was less desirable and more difficult to subdivide, due to the Sandy Run creek running through a portion of it. However, the apparent success of the first two splits led Ferguson to divide this remaining Spear land in 1921, with a 10-1/2 acre portion of this area sold to Abington Township in 1935 to became Ardsley Park. 

Ferguson's North Glenside subdivisions also established the street grid we see today. Emma Spear's name survives physically in the form of the NW-SE oriented Spear Ave which roughly bisects her former land. While Ferguson continued the existing street names of Maple Ave, Cricket Ave, Central Ave, Tennis Ave, and Penn Ave from the neighborhood to the southwest (originally labeled Avenues "A" through "E") in the SW-NE direction, he applied the names of former U.S. Presidents to all of the new streets he created: Garfield Ave, Madison Ave, Cleveland Ave, Jefferson Ave, Lincoln Ave, Adams Ave, Monroe Ave, Harrison Ave, Jackson Ave, and Woodrow Ave (after president at-the-time Woodrow Wilson). A few of these streets were later re-named: Adams Ave was changed to Hamel Ave since it closely aligned with the existing Hamel Ave to the southwest. Cleveland Ave was later renamed Meyer Ave.

Ferguson's North Glenside as it existed in 1937, pieced together from different map sections courtesy of Franklin Maps. In the 17-18 years after subdivision, the area is maybe 15% or so developed.

Since being a jeweler was his true profession, and he was not a land developer or builder, his purpose in creating these subdivisions was to profit on the sale of the individual lots, which he did throughout the early 1920's as the population of Abington Township rapidly expanded. Thus, development did not occur immediately with homogeneous architecture throughout, as with many subdivisions of the post-WWII. Comparatively, the paving of streets, extension of public utilities, and construction of homes occurred gradually over the next few decades. There are many homes in Ardsley which date to the 1940's and 1950's.

Reginald T. Ferguson sold off the individual lots as he could (although it is quite likely he employed some sort of an agent to aid him)-- a future research task of mine will be to determine how long he specifically dealt with the selling of thse lots, and if possible, determine approximately how much he may have profited. He died in 1924, so I will be curious to see if he continued to deal in these properties up until his death, as well as how much of the subdivision remained unsold at that time. He is buried in West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd (Montgomery County), however his estate was settled in Bucks County in 1931. The 7-year period it took to settle his estate may mean he died still holding quite a bit of real property to sort out, and/or had numerous debts to settle, either or both of which requiring several years to administer. He may have even dealt in land speculation in other nearby areas-- I will need to search more property records and that estate file to determine more.

In our next non-Saturday Spotlight post, we will take a stroll through Ferguson's North Glenside as it exists today as the Ardsley section of Glenside, examining various homes, their differing architecture over time, and some of the existing landmarks.

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