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Upper Moreland Historical Association scrapbook and ledger collection
Notifications
Held at: Upper Moreland Historical Association [Contact Us]117 Park Avenue, Willow Grove, PA, 19090
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Upper Moreland Historical Association. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
The Upper Moreland Historical Association was established in 1996 by local residents. "The role of the Upper Moreland Historical Association in the community is the collection, preservation and stewardship of [Upper Moreland, Pennsylvania] history, folklore, and culture. [The Upper Moreland Historical Association's] mission includes the commitment to foster an appreciation for local history, to promote an interest in the area's past events, people and unique cultures, and to instill a sense of pride in the heritage of [its] community." (Upper Moreland Historical Association, "The Association")
"William Penn presented the tract of land including present day Upper Moreland to Nicholas More in 1682. At the time, the area was referred to as the "Manor of Mooreland." Moreland Township was first used to describe the tract in the 18th century but the present day boundaries were not fixed until 1916 when a line was drawn through the valley of the Pennypack Creek and two municipalities were created: Upper and Lower Moreland Townships. In 1930, Upper Moreland was formally organized as a Township of the First Class." (Upper Moreland Township)
One of the major attractions of the Upper Moreland area was Willow Grove Park. Opened in 1896, it was an amusement park built by the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company to entice customers to the end of the trolley line. The park was famous for its musical performances: John Philip Sousa appeared at Willow Grove Park almost every year from 1901 to 1926. The park's popularity began to decline in the 1940s, and in 1976 it was demolished. (Upper Moreland Historical Association, "Willow Grove Park")
Bibliography:
Upper Moreland Township. "About Our Township." Accessed July 5, 2012. http://www.uppermoreland.org/information/about.aspx.
Upper Moreland Historical Association. "The Association." Accessed July 5, 2012. http://www.umha.com/pages/association.html.
Upper Moreland Historical Association. "Willow Grove Park" Accessed July 10, 2012. http://www.umha.com/pages/willowgrovepark.html.
This collection is comprised of scrapbooks and ledgers collected from various donors by the Upper Moreland Historical Association. The scrapbooks relate to the history and residents of Upper Moreland Township and surrounding areas, especially Willow Grove Amusement Park.
There are six scrapbooks and loose scrapbook pages in the collection:
Upper Moreland Women's Club scrapbook, "My Fair Ladies," (incredibly elaborate and beautiful scrapbook with photographs, ephemera, and captions,) 1959-1960
Max Hankin scrapbook of Willow Grove Park photographs and ephemera, 1910-circa 1960
Willow Grove Park scrapbook pages, 1933-1936
Willow Grove Park scrapbook, 1926 advertisements
Willow Grove Park scrapbook, 1948 advertisements
Willow Grove Park scrapbook, black prints
Willow Grove Park scrapbook, park tickets
There are six ledgers in the collection:
Names and addresses of all registrants inducted in the Armed Forces of the United States for Upper Moreland Township, 1943
Third Ward Improvement Association of Upper Moreland Township cash book, 1944-1946
Unidentified ledger (possibly maintenance log for township properties), 1931-1933
Upper Moreland Township Board of Road Supervisors minute books (2 volumes), 1917-1929
Willow Grove Annex Booster's Association, minutes, roll of members, and accounts (one volume), 1927-1932
Gifts of various donors.
Summary descriptive information on this collection was compiled in 2011-2012 as part of a pilot project conducted by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania to make better known and more accessible the largely hidden collections of small, primarily volunteer run repositories in the Philadelphia area. The Hidden Collections Initiative for Pennsylvania Small Archival Repositories (HCI-PSAR) was funded by a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
This is a preliminary finding aid. No physical processing, rehousing, reorganizing, or folder listing was accomplished during the HCI-PSAR project.
In some cases, more detailed inventories or finding aids may be available on-site at the repository where this collection is held; please contact Upper Moreland Historical Association directly for more information.
Organization
Subject
Place
- Publisher
- Upper Moreland Historical Association
- Finding Aid Author
- Finding aid prepared by Celia Caust-Ellenbogen and Michael Gubicza through the Historical Society of Pennsylvania's Hidden Collections Initiative for Pennsylvania Small Archival Repositories
- Sponsor
- This preliminary finding aid was created as part of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania's Hidden Collections Initiative for Pennsylvania Small Archival Repositories. The HCI-PSAR project was made possible by a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
- Access Restrictions
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Contact Upper Moreland Historical Association for information about accessing this collection.