Overbrook Farms

Railroad capitalists founded Overbrook Farms in 1892 as the first planned community along the main line of the Pennsylvania Railroad. The partners envisioned and developed a new community model on farmland purchased from the John M. George estate. Visionary and innovative amenities included independent on-site steam-heat plants and a dedicated water supply. The grand homes were built in a range of styles designed by some of Americas most celebrated architects. Overbrook Farms name derives from the stream that originally flowed under the tracks of the Overbrook train station. Today, Overbrook Farms is a residential neighborhood in Philadelphia and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. More than 100 years later, nearly all of the 400-plus original Overbrook Farms structures remain intact through the efforts of the community as well as those of the Overbrook Farms Club, Americas oldest continually operating neighborhood association.

Images from the collections of the Overbrook Farms Club, the Radnor Historical Society, the Athenaeum of Philadelphia, and Overbrook Farms homeowners, combined with narratives from knowledgeable residents, have been compiled here to present a history of this significant community.