Cheltenham Township is a home-rule township 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 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 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, 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.
Contents
History
17th century
Cheltenham 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 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.
18th century
The U.S. Colored Troops 3rd Regiment were the first to be trained at Camp William Penn. It is tradition that soldiers have 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.
19th century
In the late 19th century, Cheltenham established itself as one of the most prominent communities in 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 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 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, 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 the most diverse municipalities in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. 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 the middle to late part of the twentieth century.
Books
There are at least four books about Cheltenham Township's history:
A History of Cheltenham Township by Elaine Rothschild
Images of America Cheltenham Township by Old York Road Historical Society
Remembering Cheltenham Township by Donald Scott Sr.
Making Marathon: A History of Early Wyncote by Thomas J. Wieckowski
Unincorporated districts
Cheltenham Township has ten districts: Glenside, Laverock, Edge Hill, Wyncote, Cedarbrook, Chelten Hills, La Mott, Elkins Park, Melrose Park, and Cheltenham Village.
Township seal
The seal of Cheltenham 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 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.
Geography
Cheltenham is a residential township in the southeasternmost part of Montgomery County, which is in Southeastern Pennsylvania (locally known as the Philadelphia metropolitan area). It 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 km2), all land. The area consists of rolling hills and also features 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 the communities form a border with Philadelphia along Cheltenham Avenue.
Communities in Cheltenham
Edge Hill, Laverock, and Cedarbrook's exact populations and land area are uncertain.
Demographics
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 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 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 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 (~$46,395 in 2025). About 3.0% of families and 8.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.5% of those under age 18 and 3.2% of those age 65 or over.
Weather
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 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).
Politics and government
Cheltenham Township does not have 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 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 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.
Commissioners
The following is a table of the current commissioners of Cheltenham Township along with their Wards and the areas of the township they serve:
Education
The Cheltenham Township School District serves the township. There are seven public schools and a number of private schools. Public schools include Cheltenham Elementary School (k-5), Myers Elementary School (k-5), Glenside Elementary School (k-5), Wyncote Elementary School (k-5), Cedarbrook East - temporary (6th), 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, 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 is also home to Arcadia University (formerly known as Beaver College), Drexel University Elkins Park Campus (formerly known Salus University, and before that 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.
Infrastructure
Transportation
Cheltenham 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 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 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:
6 – connects Cheltenham-Ogontz with Olney Transit Center via Broad Street.
16 – connects Cheltenham-Ogontz with Center City at 15th and Market (Suburban Station) via Broad Street.
18 – third busiest bus route in the SEPTA system, connects Cedarbrook Shopping Center with Fox Chase via Olney.
22 – connects Willow Grove and Warminster to Olney Transit Center via Easton Road.
24 – connects Rockledge and Southampton with Frankford Transit Center via Huntingdon Pike.
28 – connects Fern Rock Transit Center with Torresdale-Cottman via Rhawn Street.
55 – connects Willow Grove and Doylestown with Olney Transit Center via Easton and Old York Road.
Government services
Fire services
The Cheltenham Township Fire Department consists of five all volunteer fire companies.
Glenside Fire Company
La Mott Fire Company
Elkins Park Fire Company
Cheltenham Hook & Ladder Company
Ogontz Fire Company (Closed and decertified by the Township Commissioners on December 16, 2020)
Police
The Cheltenham Police Department was founded in 1903. In 2008, the department responded to over 25,000 calls. With 73 full-time sworn officers in 2016, the department is the third largest in Montgomery County.
In 2016, a member of canine unit, Odie, was the top-ranked explosives detection dog in the United States.
Libraries
Cheltenham Township has four libraries, which are the East Cheltenham Free Library, Elkins Park Free Library, La Mott Free Library, and the Glenside Free library.
Notable people
Jay Ansill, composer and folk musician
Eddie Applegate, actor
Samuel Arbuckle, California politician, served on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
Abraham Barker, soldier during the Civil War, U.S. House of Representatives member
Chris Bartlett, activist and executive director of William Way Community Center
Michael Baylson, Senior Federal Judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Brandon Bing, professional football player for the New York Giants
Robert Hood Bowers, composer and conductor
Michael Brecker, saxophonist
Randy Brecker, jazz, rock, and R&B trumpeter
Justin Brown, NFL wide receiver
Michael Stuart Brown, physician, geneticist, and Nobel laureate
Jim Callahan, NFL player, writer, and member of the Temple University Hall of Fame
Ibraheim Campbell, Cleveland Browns safety, Northwestern football alumni
George Castle, son of J.R. Castle, professional lacrosse player for the Philadelphia Wings
J.R. Castle, former lacrosse player
Fictional residents
Betty Draper, Mad Men character who was raised in the "tiny Philadelphia suburb of Elkins Park, Pennsylvania."
Danny and Maeve Conroy, characters in the book "The Dutch House" by Ann Patchett. The novel is set in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania.
Miscellaneous
Cheltenham has its own Public-access television cable TV channel, Channel 42 (Cheltenham School District/Township) on Comcast Cablevision and Channel 1960 on Verizon FiOS.
The Fox sitcom 'Til Death is set in Cheltenham.
The movie The in Crowd was filmed partly at Cheltenham High School.
Cheltenham, England
Cheltenham is officially twinned with their namesake, Cheltenham, England.
Points of interest
Pennsylvania Historic Site
Camp William Penn
Other points of interest
Lynnewood Hall
Elkins Estate
Holy Sepulchre Cemetery
Tookany Creek