17th and 18th centuries on SEPTA's
Paoli/Thorndale Line after renovations in 2010 The Main Line region was long part of
Lenapehoking, the homeland of the
Lenape Native Americans. Europeans
arrived in the 1600s, after
William Penn sold a tract of land, called the
Welsh Tract, to a group of
Welsh Quakers in
London in 1681. This accounts for the many Welsh place names in the area. However, what might be termed the "Celtification" of many Main Line place and street names occurred long after colonial times. So, for instance, as a marketing device to attract wealthy new residents, the area once awkwardly named Athensville became the more culturally glamorous
Ardmore (
Ardmore is a place name found in Ireland and Scotland) in 1873.
19th century The state of Pennsylvania built its main line during the early 19th century as part of the
Main Line of Public Works that spanned Pennsylvania. Later in the century, the
Pennsylvania Railroad, developed much of the land surrounding the tracks to defray the cost of major improvements, encouraged the development of this picturesque environment by building
way stations along the portion of its track closest to Philadelphia. The benefits of what was touted as "healthy yet cultivated country living" attracted Philadelphia's social
elite, many of whom had one house in the city and another larger "country home" on the Main Line.
20th century In the 20th century, many wealthy Philadelphia families moved to the Main Line suburbs. Part of the national trend of suburbanization, this drove rapid investment, prosperity, and growth that turned the area into greater Philadelphia's most affluent and fashionable region. Estates with sweeping lawns and towering maples, the
débutante balls and the
Merion Cricket Club, which drew crowds of 25,000 spectators to its matches in the early 1900s, were the setting for the 1940
Grant/
Hepburn/
Stewart motion picture
The Philadelphia Story. The railroad placed stops about two minutes apart, starting with Overbrook. The surrounding communities became known by the railroad station names which started at
Broad Street Station in Center City Philadelphia and went on to 32nd Street Station, replaced by
30th Street Station in 1933, the
52nd Street Station (decommissioned), and then the Main Line stations:
Overbrook,
Merion,
Narberth,
Wynnewood,
Ardmore,
Haverford,
Bryn Mawr,
Rosemont,
Villanova,
Radnor,
St. Davids,
Wayne,
Strafford,
Devon,
Berwyn,
Daylesford,
Paoli, and
Malvern. At least five of these station buildings, along with the first Bryn Mawr Hotel, were designed by
Wilson Brothers & Company. A branch line of the Main Line (currently known as SEPTA's
Cynwyd Line) extended to the communities now known as
Bala and
Cynwyd (via Wynnefield Station in Philadelphia), then proceeded to the
West Laurel Hill Cemetery, where there was once a station, and crossed back into Philadelphia over the
Schuylkill River via the famous
Manayunk Bridge. Broad Street Station was replaced with
Suburban Station in 1930, and 30th Street Station replaced 32nd Street three years later. Suburban service now extends west of the Main Line to the communities of Exton, Whitford, Downingtown, and Thorndale. The railroad line then continued on to
Chicago, with major stations at
Lancaster,
Harrisburg and
Pittsburgh. The railroad, since taken over by
Amtrak, is still in service, although its route is slightly different from the original. It also serves the
Paoli/Thorndale Line of the
SEPTA Regional Rail system. Tredyffrin Township was 13.5% Black; another 15% had been born in Europe. The two largest countries of origin were Italy and Ireland. The corresponding figures for Lower Merion Township were 6% Black and 15% born in Europe; almost 11% were from Ireland. Another dimension of this story is illustrated by the community of Mount Pleasant, in Tredyffrin Township just north of Wayne. This is a community that became predominantly Black in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As of the
1920 census, most of the Black residents in the Mount Pleasant region, or their parents, had come from the
South. Many of the men in this neighborhood, along Henry Avenue and Mount Pleasant Avenue, were employed by the railroad, as quarry workers, or as chauffeurs and gardeners by private families. The occupations often given for women were cooks and laundresses. This remains a predominantly Black community to the present day.
21st century in front of Anthony Wayne Theater with AT&T tower in background Today, the Main Line is another name for the western suburbs of Philadelphia along
Lancaster Avenue (U.S. Route 30) and the former main line of the Pennsylvania Railroad and extending from the city limits to, traditionally, Bryn Mawr and ultimately
Paoli, an area of about . The upper- and upper middle-class enclave has historically been one of the bastions of "
old money" in the Northeast, along with places like Long Island's
North Shore (AKA: "Gold Coast");
Westchester County, New York;
Middlesex County, Massachusetts; and
Fairfield County, Connecticut. Neighborhoods along the Main Line include nineteenth and early twentieth-century
railroad suburbs and post-war subdivisions, as well as a few surviving buildings from before the suburban development era. The area today is known primarily for several educational institutions as well as robust suburban life. ==Geography==