I love this picture!!. This picture from about 1940 shows the intersection of Rt. 320 aka Sproul Rd and Rt. 252 aka Providence Rd. You are looking north on Rt. 320 toward Swarthmore. The little road in the center of the picture branching off is Rt. 252 going toward Wallingford.
Note: Shakespearean scholar, Horace Howard Furness [1833-1912] a longtime resident of Nether Providence at his estate "Lindenshade" wanted to contribute money for a library in Nether Providence, A committee was organized and a small library was started in 1902, named for Horace Howard Furness Free Library. Furness wanted to donate more money but the committee refused to except it. Furness was embarrassed that the library was named after him being a quiet reserved man. When his will was probated in January 1913 it was found he had left $5000.00 dollars to the library to have a building built. There was one condition though, that the name of the library be changed to that of his wife, Helen Kate Furness. The library trustees did so. Dr. William H. Furness, 3rd, son of Horace, donated the land for the library for free.
CHESTER TIMES November 25, 1913
LIBRARY FOR WALLINGFORD
Valuable Lot of Ground Deeded For the Purpose by William Henry
Furness, 3rd
There
has been recorded at the office of the Recorder of Deeds in Media a deed which
proves that the interest in education and culture displayed by the past
generations of the Furness family has not abated in the present generation of
that family. By the deed William Henry Furness,
3rd, conveyed to The Helen Kate Furness Free Library “in
consideration of his desire for a free public library in the Township of Nether
Providence,” a lot of land just north of the Wallingford Bridge and fronting on
the Providence Road, having a frontage of eighty-eight feet and a depth of
three hundred and sixty-five feet. The
lot is one of the most valuable in Wallingford and its location and
surroundings make it most fitting for a library.
Frank Miles Day, the distinguished architect of Philadelphia who designed many of the University of Pennsylvania buildings, is preparing plans and specifications for a library building which it is hoped to have completed early in the coming spring, when the library will be moved from the present location in the Wallingford High School.
The
library was organized and incorporated in the year 1902 under the name of The
Horace Howard Furness Free Library. Dr.
Furness at first hesitated in consenting to the use of his name owing to his
desire to avoid publicity. His consent
was finally obtained, the organizers insisting that he should contribute no
more to the running expenses than any other resident of the township. He made a liberal contribution at the
organization and while he presented many books to the library kept his promise
regarding the running expenses than any other resident of the township. He made a liberal contribution at the
organization and while he presented many books to the library kept his promise
regarding the running expenses. Without
the slightest hint to anybody he bequeathed the library the sum of five
thousand dollars upon condition that the name be changed to its present name,
thus showing further the love and esteem in which he held his wife. The members of his family requested that the
gift be accepted and the condition in the will be compiled with, and the name
was changed to comply with the provisions of the will. The directors passed a resolution that the
legacy should be used only for the erection of a library and with the generous
gift of the son, Dr. William Henry Furness, 3rd. Wallingford will have a library which will be
an honor to the community and a monument to those who have contributed by their
labor and their substance.
The
movement for the library has stirred up local pride and awakened community
interest among the people; and if it is found that the bids for the library
building exceed the money in hand a generous public will undoubtedly respond by
further contributions. The constitution
provides that no charge shall ever be made to residents of Nether Providence
for the use of books and therefore the library has been and must be supported
entirely by voluntary contributions.
The
officers and directors of the library are as follows: Dr. Williams Henry Furness, 3rd,
president; Wm. M. Wylie, Jr., secretary; A. B. Geary, treasurer; Mrs. Emma B.
Palmer, Mrs. Susan Brown, James E. Miller, Powell Stackhouse. John F. Murray and David Jayne Bullock,
directors.
Dr.
Furness at first hesitated in consenting to the use of his name owing to his
desire to avoid publicity. His consent
was finally obtained, the organizers insisting that he should contribute no
more to the running expenses than any other resident of the township. He made a liberal contribution at the
organization and while he presented many books to the library kept his promise
regarding the running expenses than any other resident of the township. He made a liberal contribution at the
organization and while he presented many books to the library kept his promise
regarding the running expenses. Without
the slightest hint to anybody he bequeathed the library the sum of five
thousand dollars upon condition that the name be changed to its present name,
thus showing further the love and esteem in which he held his wife. The members of his family requested that the
gift be accepted and the condition in the will be compiled with, and the name
was changed to comply with the provisions of the will. The directors passed a resolution that the
legacy should be used only for the erection of a library and with the generous
gift of the son, Dr. William Henry Furness, 3rd. Wallingford will have a library which will be
an honor to the community and a monument to those who have contributed by their
labor and their substance.
The
movement for the library has stirred up local pride and awakened community
interest among the people; and if it is found that the bids for the library
building exceed the money in hand a generous public will undoubtedly respond by
further contributions. The constitution
provides that no charge shall ever be made to residents of Nether Providence
for the use of books and therefore the library has been and must be supported
entirely by voluntary contributions.
The
officers and directors of the library are as follows: Dr. Williams Henry Furness, 3rd,
president; Wm. M. Wylie, Jr., secretary; A. B. Geary, treasurer; Mrs. Emma B.
Palmer, Mrs. Susan Brown, James E. Miller, Powell Stackhouse. John F. Murray and David Jayne Bullock,
directors.
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aka Delaware County Historic Preservation Network
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ReplyDeleteKeith,
ReplyDeleteWhile the Helen Kate Furness Library building was designed by Frank Miles Day the year after Frank Furness's death, I believe that there are one and maybe two Frank Furness houses just just north of the Library on either side of Purdy Lane. These properties were all owned by Horace Howard Furness. The northern house built between 1882 and 1889, while having had exterior alterations over the years, retains several typical Furness hallmarks in the wood trim and chimney. The southern house appears from the maps to be an earlier 19th century farmhouse with a rear addition that has a slim shed-roof dormer that is seen in other Frank Furness houses of the same period. I would guess these were either housing for employees of Horace Furness and/or income-generating summer rental cottages.
To my knowledge, neither of these houses are noted in the existing published works on Furness. Pretty amazing that there are theoretically unknown Furness designs hiding in plain sight, in seemingly the most obvious of places associated with the Furness family.
It's worth noting that the nondescript library wing of Horace Furness' Lindenshade mansion is the only surviving portion, now part of a smaller house on Furness Lane to the east of the library.
Lindenshade's sister "cottage", Sub Rosa, was built for Horace Furness' daughter and son in law Dr. & Mrs. Horace Jayne in 1896 likely also by Uncle Frank. It was located between it and Wallingford Road in what is now Furness Park, but is gone completely. The Jayne's town house in Philadelphia designed by Furness in 1895 still stands though.