Local History Notes: Landmarks of Tredyffrin Development
The U.S. Census of 1910 showed Tredyffrin's population up 37% in the decade to just over 4,000 residents, a rate of gain not encountered again until the 1960s. Development followed the railroad along the spine of South Valley hill. Paoli, especially, added residents. A number of influences at work in the societal ferment of the day contributed to the influx of newcomers.

The process we call suburbanization was at work, aided by the Pennsylvania railroad which promoted suburban living and commuting. Wealthy Philadelphians increasingly wanted to live outside the city during the hot weather months. Devon had been created as a summer resort, but other local destinations also
drew city folks. The railroad offered encouragement to its own executives to build new residences in the suburban areas. Electrification of the Paoli Local in 1915 attracted still more commuters. The new residential areas were superimposed upon a society that already included small farmers, artisans, shopkeepers and mill hands. In addition, suburbanization attracted a middle class of professional men, service tradesmen, and shopkeepers who served the wealthy. The needs of the affluent also created a new under class of domestic servants, cooks, coachmen, and waiters. Thus, while the early suburbs were composed of a population drawn from all social strata, they were dominated socially and economically by the wealthy residents. To a considerable extent that social pattern prevailed until after World War II.

Immigration also played a role. Many workers who built the P & W Railway electric car line to Strafford were of Italian origin. After the line was completed in 1911, some workers and their families settled here. The villages of Howellville and Cedar Hollow also attracted immigrant laborers who worked in the nearby quarries.

Agriculture waned and the size of Tredyffrin farms diminished after several generations, but land subdivision began to be replaced by consolidation into larger estates. Chesterbrook Farm assembled by A. J. Cassatt in 1881 was a portent of suburbanization. P. C. Knox acquired Valley Forge Farm in 1903, followed by John R. K. Scott at Glenhardie, Frank Thompson at Brookmead, S. Laurence and Susanna Bodine at Valley Brook, Richard Haughton at Valley Mill, and Thomas Royal at Cressbrook Farm. The land held by these seven families totaled over 2,800 acres, almost a quarter of the township!

 
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