Headquartered in the Whitpain 1895 Public School, the Wissahickon Valley Historical Society serves to educate the public about the heritage and history of the people, institutions and events that have influenced and shaped the communities of the Wissahickon School District which encompasses Whitpain Township, Lower Gwynedd Township and the Borough of Ambler.
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New Year Request!
Donations are needed for the Franklinville School. In the past two years, WVHS has replaced the electrical panel, added drainage from the crawl space, replaced the front porch floor, repaired the porch roof, and replaced the roof. WVHS has done its best to find and use grant funding. However, water is still causing damage to the Franklinville School’s walls. We need to repair broken windowsills and paint and seal the outside walls.
As 2024 draws to a close, please consider a generous gift to WVHS, marked for the Franklinville School. “Giving Tuesday” approaches. Please make your check payable to “WVHS” and mail to WVHS, P.O. Box 96, Ambler, PA 19002. Or you can donate using Venmo or PayPal at: https://www.wvalleyhs.org/donate/
Thank you!
Please click here to see our new video about the history of the Franklinville School, prepared by the Historical Society of Montgomery County to encourage donations to the renovations there. WVHS appreciates the assistance of the HSMC
Our next meeting will be Monday, February 10 at 7:00 at the 1895 Schoolhouse
Happy New Year! In this issue of The Valley Crier you will find news about WVHS – and about history in the news:
Read about a new use for an old house in the January issue of Stroll Blue Bell
Founded in 1975 as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, the Wissahickon Valley Historical Society’s purpose is to preserve the local historical buildings, artifacts and folklore of the historic Wissahickon Valley.
The Franklinville School c.1858 is a white stucco one-room schoolhouse on an acre of ground, located at 1701 Morris Road, Blue Bell, between Normandy Farms Estates and the Windermere Community. It is the only one-room schoolhouse open to the public in Whitpain Township.
The two-story schoolhouse has a Library containing deeds, wills, photos, books, maps and genealogies, a 19th Century School Room and a Museum of local artifacts, focusing on items, pictures and records from the early farms and our industrial past.