History
The Merion Civic Association was founded by Edward Bok in 1913.
The Lower Merion Historical Society contains many useful links to our history. Also see Living History, interviews discussing Lower Merion and Narberth.
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Theodore Roosevelt wrote "Model Merion" in 1917. PDF 73KB
Merion Civic Association Year Books
| Year | No | Pages | KB | Notes | Year | No | Pages | KB | Notes | |
| 1914 | 01 | 26 | 0496 | First Year | 1928 | 15 | 29 | 0818 | Fifteenth | |
| 1915 | 02 | 33 | 0770 | Second Year | 1929 | 16 | 30 | 1065 | Sixteenth | |
| 1917 | 04 | 25 | 1305 | Fourth Year | 1930 | 17 | 26 | 0855 | Seventeenth | |
| 1918 | 05 | 45 | 0553 | Fifth Year | 1931 | 18 | 52 | 0675 | Eighteenth | |
| 1919 | 06 | 33 | 1054 | Sixth Year | 1932 | 19 | 26 | 1108 | Nineteenth | |
| 1921 | 08 | 21 | 0809 | Eighth Year | 1935 | 20 | 26 | 1037 | Twentieth | |
| 1923 | 10 | 33 | 0410 | Tenth Year | 1936 | 23 | 11 | 0526 | Twenty-Third | |
| 1924 | 11 | 40 | 0658 | Eleventh | 1937 | 21 | 32 | 0925 | Twenty-First | |
| 1927 | 14 | 43 | 0707 | Fourteenth | 1938 | 25 | 10 | 0558 | Twenty-Fifth |
Merion War Tribute House Architect's Notes. 1923-1924 PDF 140KB
| Year | Event |
| 1695 | Merion Meeting House built |
| 1871 | St. Charles Borromeo Seminary moved to Wynnewood. |
| 1884 | Mater Misericordiae Academy (Merion Mercy) opened History |
| 1913 | Merion Civic Association founded. See Year Books above. |
| 1914 | Merion train station construction started Merion (SEPTA station) |
| 1917 | Merion Station Post Office and Train Station opened |
| 1917 | Merion Red Cross House opened Philadelphia Inquirer |
| 1920 | League of Women Voters organized. About Us |
| 1921 | Episcopal Academy moved to Merion. EA Facts |
| 1922 | Barnes Foundation established. About the Barnes Foundation |
| 1924 | Merion Tribute House built History |
| 1925 | Merion Elementary School opened. History |
| 1927 | Saint Joseph's University moved to 54th and City Avenue |
| 1944 | Merion Botanical Park created Montgomery County: The Second Hundred Years |
| 1947? | Saint Joseph's University acquired land in Merion |
| 1953 | Adath Israel built History |
| 1956 | Akiba Hebrew Academy moved to Merion. History |
| 1968 | Mater Misericordiae Academy renamed Merion Mercy Academy and Waldron Mercy Academy History |
| 1991 | Senator John Heinz killed in plane crash at Merion Elementary School. Two first grade students were also killed. See New York Times article. |
| 2008 | Jack M Barrack Hebrew Academy (was Akiba) moved to Radnor, PA. |
| 2008 | Episcopal Academy (EA) moved to Newtown Square, PA. EA site bought by Saint Joseph's University for Maguire Campus. |
| 2010 | Kohelet Yeshiva High School starts classes (former Akiba site). |
| 2011 | Merion Station Post Office back-office operations moved to Bala Cynwyd Post Office |
| 2011 | Barnes Foundation closes Merion Galleries on July 1 |
Where are they now?
Akiba Hebrew Academy (1956-2008)
Arrived in Merion in 1956. This school educates students in grades 6-12.
In 2007, it was renamed the Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy.
In the fall of 2008, it moved to the former American College Campus in Bryn Mawr, PA.
The Buten Wedgewood Museum Collection (1957-1988)
This 8,000 piece collection of Wedgewood pottery was first displayed in The Buten Wedgewood Museum in Merion in 1957.
The collection was moved to Nassau County, NY in 1988.
In 2009, it has been moved to the Birmingham Museum of Art in Alabama.
Episcopal Academy (1921-2008)
Founded in 1785, this school serves grades Pre-K through 12.
In 2008, it relocated to Newtown Square, PA.
Red Cross House (1917-1919)
An article in the Philadelphia Inquirer states "Under the auspices of the Merion Civic Association, the Main Line suburb will shortly open what is said to be the first distinctly Red Cross house in the United States." The work done at the Red Cross House was described in the Fifth and Sixth Year Books of the Merion Civic Association, and was also cited in a Philadelphia Inquirer article of January 22, 1919. However, it is not mentioned in the Eighth Year Book, in 1921, so we conclude that it was closed by then.
Von Trapp Family (1939-1943)
The Trapp Family emigrated to the U.S. and settled in Merion, PA in 1939.
The family moved to Stowe, Vermont in 1943.
They now run the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, VT.
Excerpt from The First 300: The Amazing and Rich History of Lower Merion
Main Line Times
04/03/2011 Merion's last historic streetlight restored after storm damage