Drexel Hill is a neighborhood and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) located in

Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania Upper Darby Township, often shortened to Upper Darby, is a Home Rule Municipality (Pennsylvania), home rule Township (Pennsylvania), township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the township had a total popul ...

, United States. The population was 29,181 at the 2020 census, an increase over 28,043 in 2010, and accounting for over one-third of Upper Darby Township's population.

Geography

Drexel Hill is located in the western part of Upper Darby Township at (39.949962, -75.301841). The neighborhood is eight miles from

Center City, Philadelphia Center City includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It comprises the area that made up the City of Philadelphia prior to the Act of Consolidation, 1854, which extended the ci ...

and is bordered to the north by

Haverford Township Haverford Township is a home rule municipality township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States.Lansdowne, to the south by the borough of Clifton Heights and the Westbrook Park neighborhood of Upper Darby Township, and to the southwest by Springfield Township. Darby Creek forms the southwestern/southern border of the CDP.

U.S. Route 1 U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, ...

(Township Line Road) runs through the northwestern corner of the CDP and forms most of its northern border with Haverford Township. The CDP has a total area of , all land.

Historic sites

The Lower Swedish Cabin on Creek Road alongside Darby Creek is possibly the oldest log house in North America. The cabin is believed to have been built by early Swedish settlers who were part of the

New Sweden New Sweden () was a colony of the Swedish Empire between 1638 and 1655 along the lower reaches of the Delaware River in what is now Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Established during the Thirty Years' War when Sweden was a g ...

colony. The cabin was most likely built between 1638 and 1655, but the exact year is not known.

Log cabin A log cabin is a small log house, especially a minimally finished or less architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first-generation home building by settl ...

architecture was a major contribution of the colonial Swedes. European settlers from other countries copied this style of housing, and the log cabin became popular all across America.

Collen Brook Farm Collen Brook Farm, also known as Collenbrook, is a historic home and associated buildings located in Upper Darby Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The complex includes three contributing buildings: a farmhouse, a granite spring house (c ...

is a historic home and associated buildings located at the end of a lane off Mansion Road at Marvine Avenue in Drexel Hill. The original house and barn were built about 1710 by Abraham Lewis. It was most recently acquired by Upper Darby Township in 1989. It is open to the public on Sundays from May through October. Thornfield Delco

Thornfield Thornfield (foaled 1994 in Ontario) is a Canadian Thoroughbred Champion racehorse. Background Thornfield was bred by Steve Stavro's Knob Hill Farm, he was sired by Eclipse and Sovereign Award and Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee Sky ...

, the estate of famed

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

and Quaker

Thomas Garrett Thomas Garrett (August 21, 1789 – January 25, 1871) was an American abolitionist and assisted in the Underground Railroad movement before the American Civil War. He helped more than 2,500 African Americans escape slavery. For his effort ...

, lies on Garrett Road (named for his family, who were among the earliest settlers of that part of the township) and Maple Avenue in Drexel Hill. Garrett resided here before 1822 and would later work as a station master in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

, the last stop on the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...

. In 1956, the Thornfield estate was purchased by Caroline and

Walter Isard Walter Isard (April 19, 1919 – November 6, 2010) was a prominent American economist, the principal founder of the discipline of regional science, as well as one of the main founders of the discipline of peace studies and Peace economics. Life ...

, active

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...

who moved to the area when Walter founded the

Regional Science Regional science is a field of economics concerned with analytical approaches to problems that are related specifically to regional and international issues. Topics in regional science include, but are not limited to location theory or spatial eco ...

department at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

. Caroline went on to found the

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.9% were non-families. 32.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.19. In the CDP, the population was distributed with 24.3% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 32.4% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.4 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $48,765, and the median income for a family was $65,862 . Males had a median income of $42,841 versus $31,904 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $25,471. About 3.5% of families and 4.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.6% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

SEPTA

SEPTA SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly four million people througho ...

operates two trolley lines through Drexel Hill: Route 101- a few stops in Drexel Hill are Irvington Rd, Drexel Hill Junction, School Lane, Aronimink, Drexelbrook, Drexel Park, Garrettford, Huey Avenue, School Lane,

Anderson Avenue Anderson Avenue may refer to: *Anderson Avenue (Hudson Palisades), north–south avenue which is the major commercial district for Fairview, Cliffside Park, and Fort Lee in New Jersey *Anderson Avenue (SEPTA Route 101 station), stop along the SEPTA ...

, Drexeline, Drexel Manor,

Marshall Road Marshall Road is an east–west road in the northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia. It is continuous with Beach Road. Route description Marshall Road starts off at a roundabout with Isoodon Street and Dayton Boulevard in a suburban deve ...

, and Creek Road, stations to

Media Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inter ...

and Route 102 Sharon Hill, both lines begin at the

69th Street Transportation Center 69th Street Transit Center is a SEPTA terminal in the Terminal Square area of Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania. It serves the SEPTA Metro L, M, D, and multiple SEPTA bus routes. It is located at the end of 69th Street, a major retail corr ...

. Several SEPTA bus routes also operate via Drexel Hill, including routes , , , and .

Major roads

The major roads running through Drexel Hill are Township Line Road (

US 1 U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway System, United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort ...

), State Road, Burmont Road, Garrett Road, Lansdowne Avenue, Marshall Road, Drexel Avenue, Edmonds Avenue and Shadeland Avenue.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

The

Upper Darby School District Upper Darby School District (UDSD) is a large public school district of approximately 12,000 students in Upper Darby Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. It consists of an area including Upper Darby Township, Clifton Heights borough, ...

is the school district covering all of Upper Darby Township, Drexel Hill included. The school district operates the following public schools in the Drexel Hill census-designated place:
- Compare the maps to the full addresses of the following schools. *Upper Darby Kindergarten Center *Aronimink Elementary School *Garretford Elementary School *Charles Kelly Elementary School **The school property, previously used as the St. Charles School, is leased from the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia The Archdiocese of Philadelphia () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in southeastern Pennsylvania in the United States. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia originally included all of Pennsylvania and Dela ...

. *Drexel Hill Middle School Two schools, Hillcrest Elementary School, and

Upper Darby High School Upper Darby High School (UDHS) is a four-year public high school located in Upper Darby Township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Upper Darby School District. Established in 1895, it is the oldest high school in Delaware Count ...

, are adjacent to the Drexel Hill CDP and use Drexel Hill postal addresses. The elementary schools that include Drexel Hill CDP in their catchments are Aronomink, Garretford, and Hillcrest. While Kelly is physically in Drexel Hill CDP, its catchment does not include any portion of the CDP. Drexel Hill Middle School is the sole middle school with catchments in Drexel Hill CDP. ;Parochial schools in Drexel Hill These belong to the

*Saint Andrew the Apostle School *Saint Bernadette School *Saint Dorothy's School *

Bonner & Prendergast Catholic High School Monsignor Bonner and Archbishop Prendergast High School is located in Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania. The school, which is part of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, was originally two schools on one campus. In February 2012, the Archdiocese ...

has a Drexel Hill postal address, but is outside of the CDP ;Non-parochial private schools *Holy Child Academy

Emergency services

As an Upper Darby neighborhood, Drexel Hill is served by the Upper Darby Police Department, Crozer-Keystone Paramedics, based out of Delaware County Memorial Hospital, and the Upper Darby Township Fire Department, a combination paid and volunteer department personnel at five stations: *Company 20 - Garrettford-Drexel Hill (which is the only full-time volunteer station), housing two pumpers (engines), one ladder truck, and one rescue truck *Company 26 - Highland Park, housing one squad, and one rescue truck *Company 36 - Cardington-Stonehurst, housing one pumper, one squirt, and one air/light unit *Company 37 - Upper Darby, housing one ladder truck, and one utility truck *Company 74 - Primos-Secane-Westbrook Park, housing one quint, one pumper (including a foam pumper) and one tower ladder truck Companies 26, 36, 37, and 74 are staffed from 7 am Monday until 7 am Saturday by career personnel from IAFF Local 2493. They are supplemented by volunteers during the weekdays and fully staffed by volunteers on weekends.

Notable people

Television personality

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American television and radio personality and television producer who hosted ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 1989. He also hosted five incarnations of the Pyramid (game show), ...

lived from 1954 to 1956 at the Drexelbrook Apartment complex while hosting Barr's Diamond Theater and a radio show on

WFIL WFIL (560 AM) is a radio station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, with a Christian radio format consisting of teaching and talk programs. Owned by Salem Media Group, studios and transmitter facilities are shared with co-owned ...

, before he was hired to host ''

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'' (AB) is an American Music television, music performance and dance television series that aired in various iterations from 1952 to 1989. It was hosted by Dick Clark who also served as the program's Television producer, pr ...

''. Television personality

Ed McMahon Edward Leo Peter McMahon Jr. (March 6, 1923 – June 23, 2009) was an American announcer, game show host, comedian, actor, singer, and combat aviator. McMahon and Johnny Carson began their association in their first TV series, the American Bro ...

also lived at the Drexelbrook before teaming up with

Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, and writer best known as the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson is a cultural phenomenon and w ...

on '' Do You Trust Your Wife?'', then ''

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has been broadcast on NBC since 1954. The program has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2 ...

''. Children's author

Lloyd Alexander Lloyd Chudley Alexander (January 30, 1924 – May 17, 2007) was an American author of more than 40 books, primarily fantasy novels for children's literature, children and young adults. Over his seven-decade career, Alexander wrote 48 books, and ...

lived in Drexel Hill with his wife and several cats. 1970s folk/pop singer-songwriter

Jim Croce James Joseph Croce (; January 10, 1943 – September 20, 1973) was an American Folk music, folk and rock singer-songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, he released five studio albums and numerous singles. During this period, Croce took a series of o ...

grew up in the Bywood and Drexel Hill sections of Upper Darby. Croce graduated Upper Darby Sr. High in 1960, and attended

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Saint Thom ...

1961–1965. He married Ingrid Jacobson of Wallingford. Her family is believed to have bought the house Dick Clark sold upon leaving for the west coast when ''Bandstand'' left WFIL in the early '60s. Croce was the first to be inducted on

's "Wall of Fame" in April 1976. Former United States Representative

Pat Meehan Patrick Leo Meehan (born October 20, 1955) is a former American Republican Party politician and federal prosecutor from Pennsylvania who represented parts of Delaware, Chester, Montgomery, Berks, and Lancaster counties in the United States Hou ...

of the Seventh Congressional District of Pennsylvania lives in Drexel Hill. Alan Graham MacDiarmid ONZ (April 14, 1927 – February 7, 2007), one of three recipients of the

Nobel Prize for Chemistry The Nobel Prize in Chemistry () is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outst ...

in 2000, died in 2007 after falling in his Drexel Hill home. He is buried at Arlington Cemetery in Drexel Hill.

Nancy Meyers Nancy Jane Meyers (born December 8, 1949) is an American filmmaker. She has written, produced, and directed many critically, commercially successful films. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for '' Private Benja ...

, producer and director of movies including '' The Parent Trap'' (1998), ''

What Women Want ''What Women Want'' is a 2000 American romantic fantasy comedy film written by Josh Goldsmith, Cathy Yuspa, and Diane Drake, directed by Nancy Meyers, and starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt. The film was released on December 15, 2000 by ...

'' (2000), '' Something's Gotta Give'' (2003), ''

The Holiday ''The Holiday'' is a 2006 American romantic comedy film written, produced and directed by Nancy Meyers. Co-produced by Bruce A. Block, it was filmed in both California and in England and stars Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz as Iris and Amanda, ...

'' (2006), '' It's Complicated'' (2009) and '' The Intern'' (2015) was raised in a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

household in the Drexel Hill area. Drexel Hill resident

Gregore J. Sambor Gregore J. Sambor (February 22, 1928 - September 15, 2015) was an American Police Commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department from 1984 to 1985. He had a major role in the 1985 bombing of MOVE Move or The Move may refer to: Brands and ...

was a former commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department best known for his role in the 1985 bombing of MOVE, in which six adults and five children died after he told firefighters to stand down and "let the fire burn".

References

External links

Upper Darby Township
{{authority control Census-designated places in Delaware County, Pennsylvania Census-designated places in Pennsylvania