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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Ferguson's North Glenside

In my last post on Using Maps, the 1937 map I shared was the most colorful. Let's take a look at that one again:

The varying colors apply to different land subdivisions. A subdivision is exactly what it sounds like-- a much larger piece (tract) of land, usually farmland or the property of a large estate, has been divided into much smaller parcels for the purposes of development. You are probably most familiar with residential subdivisions, and you have likely seen a plethora of subdivisions get developed during your lifetime with "clever" marketing names like Willow Ridge or Regal Court. In fact, even if you own an older home, you probably live in a subdivision without even realizing it.

North Glenside (Ferguson) Subdivision

On the 1937 map, you can see the names "Ardsley Estates" (blue) and "Remlu Heights" (grey) on the left half of the map. The blue subdivision is slightly curious as it is spread out and separated into several groups throughout Remlu Heights. I am inferring that the overall Remlu Heights was subdivided first, and later a different developer came along and bought many of the still-undeveloped lots, grouping them into a new subdivision. To the right side of the map, a large pink subdivision is labeled "North Glenside (Ferguson)" (some of the text is cut-off in the image) and our subject house is located at the edge of it. This is the Spear tract of land mentioned in the last post, seen in the two older maps. Furthermore, the subdivision also has some letters and numbers after it-- "B 732 P 600".

The Deed

Remember when I said that on Day 1 I had some additional information sitting right under my nose? Let's re-examine the Deed from when the house was purchased last year. A few paragraphs in, we find this:

We now know that "B 732 P 600" on the map refers to the Deed Book and Page Number on record at the appropriate County department (in this case, the Recorder of Deeds-- the office name varies by state/county) where the original survey of the subdivision can be found. Note: sometimes Deed Books are referred to as "Volumes" and Pages are sometimes referred to as "Folios"-- it depends on the nomenclature used in your county.

So, this larger tract of land, owned in 1897 by Dr John C. Spear and in 1916 by Emma L. Spear, was officially subdivided on July 12, 1919. Whoever owned the tract at this time (Hmmm, could it be someone named Ferguson?) hired William T. Muldrew to survey the land, draw up a plat plan subdividing the land, and record it with the County. Presumably then, one of two things could happen-- the owner/developer could build homes himself and sell them individually, or he could sell the land parcels to individuals upon which they could build their own homes.

What Does This Mean?

Our very first "assumed" construction date of 1920 for the subject house may still be accurate, but further research is needed. We can now narrow the timeframe to 1919-1927 based on the date the land was subdivided (1919) and when it first shows up on a map (1927). Although one option for the subdivider would have been to build houses and sell them, a large percentage of homes in this subdivision are clearly from the 1940's and 1950's, so he instead likely sold off the individual land parcels after subdividing, most of which were not developed for some time. And, again, we have the neighbor's anecdote that the subject house was one of the first built. An interesting side note, looking again at the 1937 map, is that the new subdivision contains lots which are not as deep as those to the southwest (left of image), resulting in the residential roads being closer together in the new subdivision. This is the cause of the curve in all the roads at the point where the two subdivisions come together.

What's Next?

One thing I did do next was to order the listing for this survey from the Recorder of Deeds (noting that I wanted the listing that starts at Book 732 and Page 600). In the mail I received some photocopied sheets of the listing-- 3 pages total. Unfortunately, page 1 noted "Missing page from source documents", but pages 2-3 are portions of the plat map drawn by William Muldrew for "Ferguson's North Glenside".

Unfortunately again, the parcels where our house is located is either on the missing page 1 or just barely cut off of the left edge of page 2. However, all is not lost. At some point, I can see if it is possible to view the original Deed Book. I can also try getting in touch with a currently-practicing civil engineering firm in town which has William Muldrew's plan records, and who may even be able to tell me more details about this document and those like it. Looking at the document itself, it is dated March 26, 1918-- it is interesting to note that this may have been when the survey was started, as it would have been a lengthy job to subdivide 194 acres and likely needed to be approved by the client before recording it with the County the following year.

Although Google searches are sometimes fruitful, searches for "Ferguson's North Glenside" and similar yielded some current and recent listings of homes within the Ferguson's North Glenside subdivision, but little else of relevance. Mostly just links for comedian Craig Ferguson's upcoming show at the nearby Keswick Theatre (you're welcome Craig), or to the Ferguson Plumbing showroom over on Easton Road. The search will continue.

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