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58-594: Originally known as Oak Lane Country Day School , Oak Lane was established in 1916 and for 44 years was located in Cheltenham Township just north of Philadelphia on Oak Lane Road (not to be confused with a nearby but discontiguous Philadelphia street named Oak Lane). The school's founders used the model of the Progressive Education Movement to support a religiously, racially and economically diverse student population. Oak Lane's first head of school

116-708: A U.S. government program established to preserve historic communities throughout the United States. It is also a Tree City USA member, a program dedicated to forestry management. In 2013, Cheltenham Township was named a "Classic Town of Greater Philadelphia," for being "one of the most diverse, unique, and livable communities in our region" and "truly at the center of it all." There are at least four books about Cheltenham Township's history: Cheltenham Township has ten districts: Glenside, Laverock, Edge Hill, Wyncote, Cedarbrook, Chelten Hills, La Mott, Elkins Park, Melrose Park, and Cheltenham Village. The seal of Cheltenham

174-456: A family in Cheltenham in the 2010 Census was $ 72,584. According to the 2010 Census, 30.4% of the townships households had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.4% were headed by married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.8% were non-families. 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.5% had someone living alone who

232-447: A family in Cheltenham was $ 138,731 and for a married couple family it was $ 158,275 vs $ 136,304 and $ 152,228 respectively for Montgomery County as a whole. In 2022, the median income for a household in the township was $ 102,589, up from $ 61,713 in 2010. In 2010, males had a median income of $ 50,564 versus $ 36,439 for females. The per capita income for the township in 2010 was $ 31,424 (~$ 43,906 in 2023). About 3.0% of families and 8.4% of

290-585: A few streams flowing through it, most notably the Tookany Creek . The highest elevation is 411 feet (125 m), at the intersection of Sunset and Lindley Roads. The lowest elevation is 63 feet (19 m), in the southeasternmost part of the township, where Tookany Creek flows into Philadelphia. It includes the census-designated places of Arcadia University , Glenside , and Wyncote . Other communities include Cheltenham , Elkins Park , Melrose Park , La Mott and Laverock , Edge Hill , and Cedarbrook . All of

348-461: A grand parade before leaving for war, but Philadelphia was partially a racist community at that time and the government believed that a parade might cause a riot, so it was cancelled. The leader of the Camp (Colonel Louis Wagner) was furious and made sure the next regiment to come through would have a parade. In the late 19th century, Cheltenham established itself as one of the most prominent communities in

406-451: A large retinue of teachers, many of them family. His wife, Mrs. Curry, taught nursery school, her sister, Miss Magaret Isherwood, taught English, and another relative, Miss Dorothy Cowley, was the librarian. Curry later became head of Dartington Hall School , one of the early progressive schools in England. While at Oak Lane, Curry hired Boris Blai, who was a student of Auguste Rodin , to become

464-891: A major highway. It goes through multiple counties and ends up in PA 29 in Monroe Township in Wyoming County . Pennsylvania Route 152 starts in Cheltenham Township and is known as 'Limekiln Pike.' It ends on the north end of Pennsylvania Route 309 in Telford . Pennsylvania Route 611 starts in Philadelphia and runs through Cheltenham Township as Old York Road. It is the main access road to Willow Grove in Abington and Upper Moreland Townships. George Howe (architect) George Howe (1886–1955)

522-676: A mayor. Rather it is governed by a Board of Commissioners , who are elected one from each of the township's seven wards for a four-year term. A President of the Board is elected by these commissioners for a one-year term to serve as the head of the government. Daniel B. Norris is the current Board President. A school board is in charge of the school district. The township is in the Fourth Congressional District (represented by Rep. Madeleine Dean ), and Pennsylvania's 154th Representative District (represented by Rep. Napoleon Nelson ). It

580-468: A number of private schools. Public schools include Cheltenham Elementary School (k-4), Myers Elementary School (k-4), Glenside Elementary School (k-4), Wyncote Elementary School (k-4), Elkins Park School (5–6), Cedarbrook Middle School (7–8), and Cheltenham High School (9–12). [1] Bishop McDevitt High School (9–12) under the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia ,

638-399: A township of the first class in 1900. In 1976, it passed a home rule charter that took effect in 1977. Cheltenham was the former home of Cradle of Liberty Council Breyer Training Area . Henry W. Breyer Jr. used property formerly owned by Cheltenham resident John Wanamaker . It closed in 1990 and is now the home of Salus University . Cheltenham was named a Preserve America community ,

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696-622: Is a home rule municipality and Township of the First Class located in the southeast corner of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania , United States. It borders Philadelphia to the south and east, Abington Township and Jenkintown to the north, and Springfield Township to the west. Cheltenham was founded in 1682, and its early history was defined by mills, which used Tookany Creek to power gristmills, manufacture shovels, hammers, and spades, and later carpentry products such as doors, window frames, and shutters. The development of regional railroads in

754-570: Is a major thoroughfare for SEPTA Regional Rail . All trains going north of Center City (with the exception of the Trenton Line) pass through Cheltenham. This includes the Airport Line , Lansdale/Doylestown Line , West Trenton Line , Warminster Line and the Fox Chase Line . Following Cheltenham, many of the lines split to their respective destinations, which makes Cheltenham stations some of

812-569: Is across the street from Greenleaf at Cheltenham , which attracts many shoppers from North Philadelphia . Several other buses run throughout other major streets in the township, as well as residential streets. The following routes are in Cheltenham: Cheltenham ranked in the top three municipalities in Montgomery County for percentage of population who uses Bus/Trolley and Regional Rail. In addition, Cheltenham Township partners with

870-565: Is also home to Arcadia University (formerly known as Beaver College), Salus University (formerly known as The Pennsylvania College of Optometry), Westminster Theological Seminary , Gratz College and Reconstructionist Rabbinical College , the only seminary affiliated with Reconstructionist Judaism . Cheltenham was also the former home of the Oak Lane Day School for 44 years until it moved to its current home in Blue Bell . Cheltenham

928-471: Is also in Pennsylvania's 4th Senatorial District (represented by Sen. Arthur L. Haywood III ). Cheltenham is currently a very Democratic heavy community, winning by large margins in each of the past six presidential elections. The only municipality in Montgomery County in the 2012 election that had a higher Democratic voting percentage was Norristown's 82.99%, compared to Cheltenham's 80.85%. Cheltenham

986-469: Is cool and comfortable. Winters are cold, most days hovering around the freezing mark with nights dipping to the teens. Spring is pleasant with often not too much precipitation. The hardiness zone is 7a. The largest snowstorm as of late was in 2010, when the first storm came on February 5–6 and nearly 30 inches (76 cm) of snow fell. Just two days later, a second storm came and dropped another 20 inches (51 cm). Cheltenham Township does not have

1044-455: Is now modern Cheltenham neighborhoods. The first gristmill was built by Richard Dungworth in 1690. After changing ownership several times, the Rowland family eventually made the mill the second-largest producer of shovels in the United States. The site was demolished in 1929. The U.S. Colored Troops 3rd Regiment were the first to be trained at Camp William Penn . It is tradition that soldiers have

1102-500: Is one of only seven Townships in Pennsylvania, and of 29 municipalities in the entire state, to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity by executive order. The following is a table of the current commissioners of Cheltenham Township along with their Wards and the areas of the township they serve: The Cheltenham Township School District serves the township. There are seven public schools and

1160-476: Is one of seven municipalities in Montgomery County that borders Philadelphia and is 5 miles (8.0 km) northeast of the Center City . It also borders Abington Township and Jenkintown on the north side and Springfield Township on the west side. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the township has a total area of 9.0 square miles (23 km ), all land. The area consists of rolling hills and also features

1218-653: The Cheltenham College . The silver cross in the middle represents religion. The two pigeons represent the flock that would gather at the spas. Finally, the Oak tree represents the many Oak trees that line the streets of Cheltenham and promenades. Cheltenham is a residential township in the southeasternmost part of Montgomery County, which is in Southeastern Pennsylvania (locally known as the Delaware Valley ). It

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1276-587: The Depression , Oak Lane began to experience financial difficulties and diminishing enrollment which opened the door for Temple University to consider acquiring the school. Temple, on the lookout for opportunities to develop a laboratory-demonstration school, learned of Oak Lane's situation and it was not long before a merger between the two became official in April 1931. Oak Lane's new name, Oak Lane Country Day School of Temple University , confirmed this affiliation. Part of

1334-525: The European avant-garde . Their collaboration yielded the landmark PSFS Building in Philadelphia. The partnership was dissolved in 1932. After leaving Howe & Lescaze , Howe designed several private residences in the Philadelphia area. Throughout the late 1930s, Howe collaborated with Louis Kahn at the Philadelphia Housing Authority ; and again in 1940, along with Oscar Stonorov , on

1392-521: The Fountain Valley School of Colorado . Progressive education was a movement begun in the late 19th century in reaction to the influence of the industrial revolution on education. The Oak Lane catalog of 1924 stated that the school "is a protest against a system of education which apparently considers that children can be properly educated by factory methods." It also explained that the school "is not experimental, but accepts and puts into practice

1450-474: The Great Depression hit the country, many of the estates and mansions were destroyed and made way for the building of houses in their place. Many of the communities that were formed in the early stages of Cheltenham remained, and still exist to this day. As the 20th century progressed, many people moved out of the city and into the first community over the city line, Cheltenham. With the population increase,

1508-695: The Park School of Baltimore that was founded in 1912 by his father, Professor Hans Froelicher of Goucher College . Professor Froelicher was one of the leaders of the Progressive Education movement in America and served as a consultant to Oak Lane's founders in 1915. Francis Froelicher was elected president of the Progressive Education Association of America while he was Oak Lane's headmaster, and upon his departure in 1927, he went on to found

1566-489: The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and 97.21 miles (156.44 km) were maintained by the township. There are several major roads in Cheltenham Township. Cheltenham Avenue is a major roadway and is an easy access point to many of the other roadways like Pennsylvania Route 611 and Pennsylvania Route 309 . It is also the border between Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania and

1624-466: The 4th-6th grades at Oak Lane learned French , the language of their overseas friends. Niemeyer left Oak Lane to become President of Bank Street College in New York . In June 1960, Temple University determined that it could no longer support Oak Lane Country Day School because of mounting debt and other issues, and the property on which it stood was sold to a developer. Now existing on its own merit due to

1682-551: The City of Philadelphia , Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. Cheltenham Avenue ends on the westside at Paper Mill Road in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania which is part of Springfield Township. Pennsylvania Route 73 is one of the major roadways in Cheltenham Township, known as 'Church Road' and 'Township Line Road' because it is the border line between Cheltenham and Abington Townships. Pennsylvania Route 309 starts in Cheltenham Township and serves as

1740-736: The Department of Public Instruction of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. In 1929, funds provided by Mr. and Mrs. Leopold Stokowski , world-renowned orchestra conductor and Oak Lane parents, allowed the construction of a nursery school wing. Architects George Howe and William Lescaze were hired for this building project, which was the first of many under their new firm. Its "International Style" attracted worldwide acclaim. Many building concepts appropriate to young children were incorporated in its plans, such as smaller doorways and steps, cork flooring, special furniture and protected outdoor areas. During

1798-615: The Graduate School of Education at Harvard University ; Eugene Randolph Smith, former Headmaster of the Park School; and Ambrose Suhrie, Dean of the School of Education in Cleveland. From 1927 to 1931, William Burnlee Curry, a native of England and graduate of Oxford University, was headmaster. He had previously taught at Bedales School , a progressive school in England, and brought to Oak Lane

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1856-788: The Montgomery County-sponsored Suburban Transit Network, Inc. (TransNet) to subsidize free transportation for residents ages 65 and older anywhere in the Township on Mondays through Fridays from 9 am to 3:30 pm. As of 2016 Taiwanese airline EVA Air provides a private bus service to and from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City for customers based in the Philadelphia area. It stops in Cheltenham. As of 2019, there were 124.14 miles (199.78 km) of public roads in Cheltenham Township, of which 26.93 miles (43.34 km) were maintained by

1914-594: The Philadelphia area. Railroad tycoon Jay Cooke was one of the first to build his mansion in Cheltenham. His 200-acre estate was eventually converted to a school in 1883 and was later demolished. John Wanamaker built his mansion Lindenhurst, which was destroyed by a fire in 1907. His second Lindenhurst was destroyed by another fire in 1944. Henry Breyer Jr. eventually bought the land from Wanamaker. Other notable mansions built include Abraham Barker 's "Lyndon," Cyrus H. K. Curtis 's " Curtis Hall ," George Horace Lorimer 's "Belgrame," and John B. Stetson 's "Idro." Perhaps

1972-511: The United States. He was born in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1886 to James and Helen Howe. He received his Bachelor of Architecture from Harvard in 1908, and graduated from the École des Beaux-Arts in 1912. He worked for the Philadelphia firm of Furness, Evans & Co. from 1913 to 1916. In 1916, he joined the partnership of Walter Mellor & Arthur Ingersoll Meigs . He served in

2030-571: The agreement was the recognition of Oak Lane as an educational enterprise for the purpose of developing the best progressive method of education, and for use as an observation school to train teachers. Under John H. Niemeyer's eleven-year tenure from 1945 to 1956, Oak Lane became part of the School Affiliation Program of the American Friends Service Committee . An exchange of pen pal letters and group projects formed

2088-439: The base of the affiliation program between Oak Lane and La Maison d'Enfants de Sèvres , France , a school just outside Paris whose purpose was to help children orphaned during World War II or whose parents were no longer able to care for them. Members of the faculties of the two schools exchanged visits and gave the children an opportunity to help understand better the world in which they lived. In conjunction with this program,

2146-617: The busiest in Montgomery County . The stations carry the names of the neighborhoods in which they are located: Elkins Park , Glenside , and Melrose Park . Jenkintown-Wyncote and Cheltenham straddle the township's border. Cheltenham is served by many SEPTA City Division buses. Many of the buses originate at the Cheltenham-Ogontz Bus Loop, which is located at the northwest corner of the intersection of Ogontz Avenue ( Pennsylvania Route 309 ) and Cheltenham Avenue . The loop

2204-411: The communities form a border with Philadelphia along Cheltenham Avenue . Edge Hill, Laverock, and Cedarbrook's exact populations and land area are uncertain. As of the 2010 census , Cheltenham Township was 56.6% White, 32.8% Black or African-American, 0.2% Native American, 7.7% Asian, and 2.5% were two or more races. 3.9% of the population were of Hispanic or Latino ancestry. The median income for

2262-533: The early 19th century helped power the American Industrial Revolution , connecting heavy industry factories in Philadelphia with the steel mills and other mining and heavy manufacturing industries in the Lehigh Valley to its north. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Cheltenham transitioned to a community of wealthy industrial and merchant Philadelphians , who built large estates in what

2320-584: The fine arts teacher. Blai went on to found Tyler School of Art in 1935. Blai took with him another Oak Lane art teacher, Furman Finck, who later in his career painted a portrait of President Eisenhower. In 1927, Oak Lane became accredited with the Secondary School Commission of the Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools of the Middle States and Maryland. Oak Lane also became recognized by

2378-531: The intent to move to a yet-to-be-determined location following the 2009–10 school year. However, in October 2009, it was announced that the board of trustees decided that it would not be feasible to keep the school going beyond the 2009–10 school year and it would close at the end of the school year. The last graduates presented a gift of running the school website for the ten years after the school closed. Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania Cheltenham Township

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2436-517: The middle to late part of the twentieth century. Cheltenham and Lower Merion are of the few townships in Montgomery County who had a large population prior to the postwar population boom and thus whose majority of houses, communities, and streets have remained virtually unchanged since the early 20th century. Cheltenham has 13 listings on the National Register of Historic Places , the most of any municipality in Montgomery County. Cheltenham became

2494-440: The military from 1917 to 1919, during World War I . Mellor Meigs & Howe 's commissions were mostly residential and minor commercial buildings, with Bryn Mawr College 's Goodhart Hall (1926–29), a Neo-Gothic auditorium, being their largest commission of the 1920s. He left in 1928, and in 1929 formed a partnership with William Lescaze , a younger Swiss architect who had studied at ETH Zurich , and had first hand knowledge of

2552-458: The most diverse municipalities in the Delaware Valley . By the 2000 census , Cheltenham Township was one of two municipalities in Montgomery County that had a non-white population exceeding 20 percent; the other was Norristown . Cheltenham and other early communities in the Philadelphia area, including Upper Darby Township, Haverford , Lower Merion , and Jenkintown have retained their distinct identities while being surrounded by suburbia over

2610-531: The most famous mansions that still stand to this day are the prominent Widener family mansion Lynnewood Hall , the Elkins Estate which was home to William Elkins , and Grey Towers Castle which was home to William Welsh Harrison. The latter is a National Historic Landmark and was designed by famed architect Horace Trumbauer , who designed many buildings and homes in Cheltenham. As the Gilded Age ended and

2668-404: The population were below the poverty line, including 6.5% of those under age 18 and 3.2% of those age 65 or over. Cheltenham is located on the borderline of the humid subtropical climate ( Cfa ) and the hot-summer humid continental climate ( Dfa ) zones. As with most Northeast townships, Cheltenham has four distinct seasons. Summers are warm and have occasional heat waves. Autumn

2726-617: The principles established by those working in the field of educational psychology." The 1924 school catalog listed the following as members of Oak Lane's Advisory Board: Felix Adler , of the Ethical Culture School in New York; David Werner Amram , professor of law of the University of Pennsylvania; John Dewey , Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University ; Frank Graves , New York State Commissioner of Education; Henry Holmes, Dean of

2784-450: The rail lines became part of the heavily-traveled SEPTA Main Line . In the 21st century, historic homes and buildings designed by Frank Furness , Horace Trumbauer , and Frank Lloyd Wright coexist with split level, twin, row, and other forms of high-density housing, along with parks, arboretums, recreational and educational facilities, tree-lined streets, and commercial corridors. Cheltenham

2842-571: The strength of trustees, faculty and parents, the school became incorporated as Oak Lane Day School and reconvened in the fall in a former public school building at Springhouse Lane and Easton Road in Glenside, Pennsylvania . Niemeyer served as Board of Trustees chair and school spokesman. Proceedings were begun in 1963 to purchase a permanent site for the school on the former John Cadwalader estate in Whitpain Township, Pennsylvania . In 1964, ground

2900-621: The township's identity evolved from being largely a community of prominent Philadelphians and their mansions to several distinct communities. One of the major groups to come to Cheltenham was Koreans. The original Koreatown was located in the Olney section of Philadelphia , but eventually was moved north to Logan . Large pockets of Koreans were eventually established in Cheltenham, and also in Upper Darby Township and West Philadelphia . Other immigrants migrated to Cheltenham, making it one of

2958-408: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.05. The age distribution was 22.8% under 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 18.6% who were 65 or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.0 males. In 2022, the median income for

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3016-758: Was Francis Marion Garver who later became director of the elementary division of the School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania . The first chairman of Oak Lane's board of trustees was Dr. Morris Jastrow, Jr. , the great scholar of Middle East languages and librarian of the University of Pennsylvania . Other trustees included members of prominent Philadelphia families in the early 1900s: Milton Sloss; Jay F. Schamberg, M.D.; Jerome J. Rothschild; Maurice Fleisher; Samuel Simeon Fels ; Albert M. Greenfield ; Lessing J. Rosenwald ; Joseph Snellenburg; Alice Fleisher Liveright ; and Judge Horace Stern . In 1921, Francis Mitchell Froelicher became headmaster. Froelicher came from

3074-425: Was a private Catholic high school open from 1958 until its closure in 2021. Other current day private schools include Wyncote Academy, Perelman Jewish Day School, Ancillae-Assumpta Academy , Presentation B.V.M. School and Gospel of Grace Christian School. The section of Elkins Park in Cheltenham is the former home of Tyler School of Art , a conceptual fine-arts school that is part of Temple University . Cheltenham

3132-481: Was adopted from the seal of the namesake and sister city, Cheltenham , England. It appears on all formal documents, resolutions, proclamations, and all legal records or documents. The pigeon on top of a blue sphere represents the founding of the fountain spa which made Cheltenham famous. They are placed above a wreath of Oak leaves. The two books represent Education, in particular, the Pates Grammar School and

3190-466: Was an American architect and educator, and an early convert to the International style . His personal residence, High Hollow (1914-1917), established the standard for house design in the Philadelphia region through the early 20th century . His partnership with William Lescaze yielded the design of Philadelphia's PSFS Building (1930–32), considered the first International style skyscraper built in

3248-689: Was broken on the old apple orchard on the grounds of the estate for a building known as the Perch Hankin Classroom Building. In 1965, the School moved to its current location, and as much as possible, the existing structures and ground were utilized in a manner consistent with the school's educational philosophy. In 2002 and 2003, the Leah Cutler Gymnasium was designed and built. James Bradberry Architects received an AIA Honor Award for their architectural design. In April 2009, Oak Lane announced that it would be selling its property with

3306-519: Was established in 1682 as part of Philadelphia County by 15 Quakers from Cheltenham , England, including Richard Wall and Tobias Leech, who purchased 4,070 acres (1,650 ha) of land from William Penn . Upon creation of Montgomery County in 1784, Cheltenham became the smallest township in the new county. Cheltenham Township's 15 original founders were: Cheltenham was fueled by the development of various mills along Tookany Creek . Communities and villages grew around these mills and formed what

3364-505: Was still rural land. The 20th century and Great Depression established Cheltenham as one of Philadelphia's inner ring and streetcar suburbs , and attracted high density housing construction that continued into the postwar years and the 21st century. The Reading Railroad tracks in Cheltenham Township were electrified in 1931, which offered faster passenger service. In 1983, following the Reading Railroad's acquisition by Conrail ,

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