Laverock HillThe Springfield Township Historical Society will present its sixth annual History in Motion event on Thursday, Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. at the Ambler Theater. The subject of the program will be Laverock Hill, an estate that straddled Springfield and Cheltenham townships, and was once home to the Sims, Starr and Lloyd families.
Program presenters Ed Zwicker III, a historical society archives volunteer, and Ed Zwicker IV, an archive volunteer and former historical society president, will trace the history of the property. They will go from the latter half of the 19th century, when it consisted of a modest house on 23 acres of land, to 1892, when it was sold to John Clarke Sims, Jr., who added additional acreage and commissioned an architectural firm to build a Jacobean-style residence.
The history of the property will continue to a later owner, Isaac Tatnall Starr, who remodeled and enlarged the main house and renamed it Laverock Hill. Outbuildings and greenhouses were built, the stable and barn remodeled, formal gardens created and additional acres purchased. The Starrs’ daughter, Hope, her husband, Morris Lloyd, and their family were the last residents of the estate, which is today owned by a developer. It is slated for redevelopment as a housing community. The main house was demolished recently.
Tickets are limited and are $25 each. They may be purchased online by visiting the historical society website, SpringfieldHistory.org, or send a check payable to the Springfield Township Historical Society to the historical society at P.O. 564, Flourtown, PA 19031. For more information, you can call the historical society at 215-233-4600.
