Lower Merion, Pennsylvania, United States

🇺🇸 Lower Merion Township is a township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Philadelphia Main Line. The township's name originates with the county of Merioneth in north Wales. Merioneth is an English-language transcription of the Welsh Meirionnydd.

Lower Merion Township, along with Upper Darby, Haverford, and Cheltenham, are major suburbs of Philadelphia, the United States sixth-most populous city. Lower Merion Township is the ninth-most populous municipality in Pennsylvania as of the 2020 U.S. census.

The centre of Lower Merion Township is located 11.9 miles (19.2 km) north-west of the centre Philadelphia, the state's largest city. Parts of the township border the north-western section of the city.

History Lower Merion Township was first settled in 1682 by Welsh Quakers, who were granted a tract of land, the Welsh Tract, by William Penn. In 1713, Lower Merion was established as an independent Township with about 52 landholders and tenants. In 1900, the Township was incorporated as a Township of the First Class. Lower Merion is home to the oldest continuously used place of worship in the United States, the Merion Friends Meeting House, used continuously since 1695.

On April 4, 1991, U.S. Senator John Heinz died while as a passenger in a Piper Aerostar propeller aircraft when it collided with a Bell 412 helicopter over the Merion Elementary School in the Merion air disaster. The other four people in both aircraft also died, and the falling debris from the aircraft also caused the death of two elementary students and injured five others.

The Mill Creek Historic District, and Seville Theatre are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Green Hill Farms was added in 2011.

In 2010, the township received national media attention when a student filed a lawsuit, Robbins v. Lower Merion School District, after a school administrator used the webcam of a school-issued laptop to spy on the student while the student was in his home. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed an amicus brief in support of the student.

In 2012, the Federal Highway Administration modified the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices in a way that would have required the replacement of Lower Merion Township's historic street signs, some of which date back to the early 1910s. After some campaigning by local residents and by Senator Pat Toomey, the Lower Merion Board of Commissioners declared, via an ordinance, the entire Lower Merion as a historic district and received a waiver from Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood.

Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 23.9 square miles (61.8 km²), of which 23.7 square miles (61.4 km²) is land and 0.2 square mile (0.4 km²) (0.67%) is water.

The township is bounded by the Wynnefield Heights, Belmont Village, Wynnefield, and Overbrook communities in the city of Philadelphia; the Boroughs of Conshohocken and West Conshohocken, and the townships of Upper Merion and Whitemarsh in Montgomery County and by the townships of Haverford and Radnor in Delaware County. The borough of Narberth, a separate political entity of one-half square mile, is completely surrounded by the township.

Forming the township's southern border is City Avenue separating it from Philadelphia. Along City Avenue, starting with the Schuylkill Expressway and continuing on to Lord & Taylor at Belmont Avenue in Bala Cynwyd is what is sometimes referred to as the "Golden Mile" which also includes the radio and television studios of WCAU, the Exxon Building, the Fox Building and the Germantown Savings Bank Building. Behind those buildings are the One-Ninety-One Condominiums and the Bala Cynwyd Plazas.

The township's eastern border is along the Schuylkill River.

Before European settlement, Lower Merion's dense forest was home to bears, cougars, wolves, rattlesnakes, otters, beavers, weasels, turkeys, grouses, woodland bison, trout, and bald eagles. When Europeans arrived, they began cutting down the forests, chasing away much of the wildlife. After World War II, Lower Merion transformed from a farming township to a suburban area, and wildlife changed accordingly. Today, red foxes, white-footed mice, horned owls, skunks, raccoons, crayfish, songbirds, butterflies, and white-tailed deer populate the township.

Unincorporated communities • Ardmore (also in Delaware County) • Bala Cynwyd • Belmont Hills • Bryn Mawr (also in Delaware County) • Gladwyne • Haverford (also in Delaware County) • Merion • Overbrook Hills • Pencoyd • Penn Valley • Penn Wynne • Roseglen • Rosemont (also in Delaware County) • Villanova (also in Delaware County) • Wynnewood.

Transport: Road As of 2018, there were 240.08 miles (386.37 km) of public roads in Lower Merion Township, of which 35.14 miles (56.55 km) were maintained by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and 204.94 miles (329.82 km) were maintained by the township.

Several major highways traverse Lower Merion Township, including the Schuylkill Expressway (Interstate 76), "Blue Route" (Interstate 476), U.S. Route 1, U.S. Route 30, Pennsylvania Route 320, and Pennsylvania Route 23. The Schuylkill Expressway follows a northwest-southeast route along the north-eastern border of the township, adjacent to its namesake river, while I-476 and PA 320 both clip the far north-west corner of the township. US 1 follows City Avenue along the south-eastern border of the township, while US 30 follows Lancaster Avenue across southern portions of the township. Finally, PA 23 follows Conshohocken State Road through the heart of Lower Merion Township.

Transport: Public Lower Merion Township is the heart of the affluent Philadelphia Main Line series of suburban communities, named after the "Main Line" of the former Pennsylvania Railroad that runs through the township. Now known as SEPTA Regional Rail's Paoli/Thorndale Line, the rail line has station stops in Lower Merion in the following communities within the township: • Merion Station in Merion • Wynnewood Station in Wynnewood • Ardmore Station in Ardmore (also served by Amtrak's Keystone Service) • Haverford Station in Haverford • Bryn Mawr Station in Bryn Mawr • Rosemont Station in Rosemont

SEPTA Regional Rail's Cynwyd Line, with weekday service, has stops at: • Bala Station • Cynwyd Station (both in Bala Cynwyd)

SEPTA operates the Norristown High Speed Line between Norristown Transportation Center and 69th Street Transportation Center through the western part of Lower Merion Township with stops located at Matsonford and County Line, with additional stops located just outside the township in Delaware County. SEPTA provides bus service to Lower Merion Township along City Bus routes 1, 44, 52, 65, and G and Suburban Bus routes 103, 105, and 106, serving points of interest in the township and offering connections to Philadelphia and other suburbs.

Economy: Top employers According to a Lower Merion Township bond document, the top employers in 2018 were: 1 Main Line Health (Lankenau Medical Center and Bryn Mawr Hospital); 2 Lower Merion School District; 3 Susquehanna International Group; 4 Bryn Mawr College; 5 Maxim Healthcare Services; 6 Saint Joseph's University; 7 Great Valley Health; 8 Maguire Insurance Agency; 9 Township of Lower Merion; 10 365 Health Services, LLC.

Education Pupils living in the Lower Merion Township attend schools in the Lower Merion School District unless they go to a private school. The educational roots of the township stretch back to the Lower Merion Academy, one of the first public schools in the country.

There are six elementary schools, three middle schools, and two high schools, Lower Merion and Harriton High School. Students are split between schools depending on location of residence.

Private schools Rosemont School of the Holy Child, located in Rosemont and in Lower Merion Township, is affiliated with but not governed by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The school is adjacent to Rosemont College.

Other private schools in the area include The Shipley School, The Baldwin School, Waldron Mercy Academy, The Haverford School, The Agnes Irwin School, Friends Central School, French International School of Philadelphia, Kohelet Yeshiva High School, The Mesivta High School, Caskey Torah Academy, and other schools outside the area.

Education: University Bryn Mawr College, Harcum College, Rosemont College, and St. Charles Borromeo Seminary are located in Lower Merion Township. The campus of Saint Joseph's University straddles the city line between Lower Merion and Philadelphia, while Haverford College straddles the lines between Lower Merion and Haverford Townships.

Other education The Japanese Language School of Philadelphia, a supplementary Japanese school, holds its classes at the Friends Central School (FCS) in Wynnewood and in Lower Merion Township. Residents are also serviced by the Lower Merion Library System.

NRHP Historic Districts • Bryn Mawr College Historic District • Gladwyne Historic District • Mill Creek Historic District

Notable buildings and structures • 1690 House (1690), part of Mill Creek Historic District • Arboretum of the Barnes Foundation (1922) • The Baldwin School (1890–91), NRHP listed • Black Rock Dam (1825) • Bryn Mawr Hospital (1893) • Bryn Mawr Theater (1926), NRHP listed • Dolobran (1881) • Flat Rock Tunnel (1838–40) • Green Hill Farms (1695), NRHP listed • Harriton House (1704), NRHP listed • Idlewild Farm Complex (1740), NRHP listed • Lankenau Medical Center (1953) • Lower Merion Academy (1812), NRHP listed • Manayunk Bridge (1918) • Merion Cricket Club (1897), NRHP listed • Merion Friends Meeting House (1714), NRHP listed • Merion Tribute House (1924) • Pencoyd (c.1690, demolished 1964) • Philadelphia Country Club (1890) • Rathalla, Rosemont College (1889–91), NRHP listed • St. Charles Borromeo Seminary (1871) • Suburban Square (1928) • M. Carey Thomas Library (1901–07), NRHP listed • General Wayne Inn (1704), NRHP listed • West Laurel Hill Cemetery (1869), NRHP listed • Whitehall Apartments (1925–26), NRHP listed • Woodmont (1891–94), NRHP listed • Yorklynne (1899-1902, demolished 1974), former campus of Episcopal Academy, removed from NRHP 1974.