Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Huntingdon Valley
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Village
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Lady Washington Inn on Huntingdon Pike
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 Huntingdon Valley
Location in Pennsylvania
Huntingdon Valley
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Pennsylvania |
| County | Montgomery, Bucks |
| Elevation | 223 ft (68 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP code |
19006
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| Area codes | 215, 267 and 445 |
Huntingdon Valley is a village, as well as a suburban mailing address located in Lower Moreland Township, Upper Moreland Township and Abington Township all in Montgomery County, and in small sections of Upper Southampton Township and Lower Southampton Township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania bordering the Fox Chase section of Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, United States.
History
The village of Huntingdon Valley is located along Huntingdon Pike (Pennsylvania Route 232). The Lady Washington Inn was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. The inn is believed to have held first lady, Martha Washington while George Washington was at Valley Forge. The region saw early settlements and mills along the Pennypack Creek. The Fetter's Mill Village Historic District is located in the valley through which the Pennypack Creek flows. The area surrounding the original village was very rural up until the latter half of the 20th Century.
Living standards
Originally referred to as "Goosetown," Huntingdon Valley boasts some of the highest standards of living in the Greater Philadelphia area with 90% of the Township being single-dwelling homes and having one of the highest per capita incomes in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
Lorimer Park
Located within Huntingdon Valley is Lorimer Park, 213 acres (0.86 km2) of woods and meadows connected to Pennypack Park of the Fox Chase section of Philadelphia County. The park borders Fox Chase Farm, one of the two remaining active farms in Philadelphia County.
Passenger trains
Huntingdon Valley had regularly scheduled passenger train service until January 14, 1983 via SEPTA's Fox Chase-Newtown Rapid Transit Line; service ended due to failing diesel train equipment resulting in low ridership. Although rail service was initially replaced with a Fox Chase-Newtown shuttle bus, patronage remained light. The traveling public never saw a bus service as a suitable replacement for a rail service, and the Fox Chase-Newtown shuttle bus service ended in 1999. With no rail or bus service, residents had to use either the Fox Chase train station or the Bethayres train station when traveling to Center City Philadelphia.
In the ensuing years, there was interest in resuming the long-dormant passenger service. In September 2009, the Southampton-based Pennsylvania Transit Expansion Coalition (PA-TEC) began discussions with township officials along the railway, as well as SEPTA officials, about the realistic possibility of resuming even minimal passenger service to relieve traffic congestion in the region.
All plans for resuming the train service were dropped in 2014 when Montgomery County officials decided to extend the Pennypack Trail over the derelict rail bed.
Valley Swim Club
In July 2009, a nationally publicized incident occurred at the Valley Swim Club in Huntingdon Valley. A group of mostly African-American children from a day care center were removed from the club due to the children's race. On July 15, 2009, the day care center successfully filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the club. In September 2009, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission found probable cause that racism was involved. The swim club filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on November 15, 2009, and has since gone out of business. United States Chief Bankruptcy Judge Steven Raslavich has jurisdiction over the case and the assets of the club are being administered by United States Trustee Terry P. Dershaw. Financial documents were filed on December 1, 2009. The Valley Swim Club was sold at auction for $1.46 million on Thursday, 13 May 2010.
Notable people
- Bryan Cohen (born 1989), American-Israeli basketball player
- Joseph Thurman Pearson Jr. (1876-1951), painter and PAFA instructor
- John Pitcairn Jr. (1841-1916), founder of Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company and builder of Bryn Athyn Cathedral
- Alice Kent Stoddard (1883-1976), portrait and landscape painter
- Nancy Spungen (1958-1978), girlfriend of musician Sid Vicious who famously died under mysterious circumstances in the Hotel Chelsea in 1978
