Historic Quaker Houses of Montgomery County, PA
Glendower Farm
Built by the Evans Family, Welsh Quakers
Above: The farmhouse at Glendower Farm. Image source: Lee J. Stoltzfus
Glendower Farm in Gwynedd grew out of one of the first Welsh settlements in Pennsylvania. In 1698 a group of families from Wales bought land in what became Gwynedd Township. One of these settlers was Cadwalader Evans (1664 - 1745).
William Penn granted Cadwalader Evans 609 acres of land here. Evans erected a log cabin on this site. A fieldstone house later replaced that structure. The house was enlarged in 1750. Evans passed this land to his son John Evans (1689 - 1756). John Evans was a Quaker preacher. He passed this land to his children. The farm stayed in the Evans family for more than 100 years.
Above: Sycamore trees tower over the farmhouse at Glendower Farms. Image source: Lee J. Stoltzfus
. The original Evans family of Gwynedd were the Evans brothers: Thomas, Robert, Owen, and Cadwalader. The oldest Evans brother, Thomas Evans, helped represent these immigrants in Wales to purchase the "Welsh Tract." They named this land “Gwynedd.”
The Evans brothers purchased land near each other. The Gwynedd Friends Meeting House was located between their properties.
The Evans family were deeply tied to Quaker life in early Pennsylvania. Cadwalader Evans was known locally as a devout Friend and preacher. The house that became known as Glendower Farm represents not just early colonial architecture but also the Quaker roots of Gwynedd’s first settlers.
Symmetrical Georgian Facade:
Front entry of the farmhouse at Glendower Farms. Image source: Lee J. Stoltzfus
The Georgian details of this house include a side-gabled roof and a symmetrical facade with a central door having a transom window. There are pedimented dormers and paired chimney on the gable ends.
Pemberton Hollingsworth bought the home around the turn of the 19th century and named it Glendower Farm. The Hollingsworth family owned this farm for nearly 100 years.
The Landscape:
The landscape of Glendower Farm. Image source: Lee J. Stoltzfus
A Painting of Glendower Farm
By Ed Harrigan:
Above: Painting of Glendower Farm by Ed Harrigan. Image source: Paintings by Harrigan.
An Evans Family Tree:
Above: Image (revised) and research source: Yen Ho / Wissahickon Valley Historian
This family tree shows descendants of Welsh patriarch Evan ap Evan. He was a Welsh farmer in Merionethshire, Wales, and was the father of Cadwalader Evans of this Glendower Farm property. Evan ap Evan lived on a farm called "Nantgau" in Ucheldre, Wales. He had four sons and a daughter, Sarah. He died in Wales in 1690. After this all five of his children emigrated to Gwynedd.
A 1912 Photo of
Gwynedd Friends Meetinghouse:
Gwynedd Monthly Meeting was established in 1714 by Philadelphia Quarterly Meeting from Radnor Monthly Meeting. The first meeting was in late 1714 or early 1715. This meetinghouse is dated 1823. Image source: Tricollege Libraries
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