The Schools and the Churches that Began Them

Old churches in Delaware County, and others not so old, have been enumerated in the last two issues of this column, along with a brief listing of many of them. The seven major denominations in the county have been the Lutheran, Quaker, Episcopalian, Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist and Catholic. Among the churches of the last-named denomination which have not already been named are two of more than passing interest locally. These are the interesting old St. Thomas of Villanova on Lancaster Pike and . The latter was established about 60 years ago in 1890, with the cornerstone of the church edifice laid on June 9, 1895.

Two church denominations of these seven have been responsible for the establishment of three of Delaware County’s colleges, one of them in Radnor township. history began in 1842 with the purchase of a tract of land by the Augustinian Fathers, a teaching order of the Catholic Church. This tract of more than 200 acres, located on Lancaster avenue, was then known as Belle Atre, on which was located the old Rudolph mansion.  It was here that classes were opened in the fall of 1843. The following year a building program was instituted. In 1848, the Fathers had incorporated by an act of legislature as the “Augustinian College of Villanova in the State of Pennsylvania.” THe institution was then given power to grant and confer degrees.

Haverford College and Swarthmore College were both established by the Society of Friends, the former in 1830 and the latter in 1864. Haverford stands as the oldest institution of higher learning in Delaware county and has ranking among the best academic colleges in America. Founders Hall, the first building on the campus, was erected in 1833. The college now has some 25 buildings on a site of 216 acres, with an endowment fund of several million dollars.

Swarthmore College was founded on a site in the community of Westdale, named for one of its famous citizens, Benjamin West, the painter. The town later assumed the name of the College. A co-educational institution, it now has more than 237 acres of land and 32 buildings. Its endowment is more than $7,000,000.

Read this March 1951 column in its entirety here.