Chicken House
Academy Farm
Benjamin Powell (son of A.H. Powell) standing in front of the chicken house.
Powell Family Papers
Academy of the New Church
c. 1930
Vera Powell Glenn
ANC
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English
image
2010_01_12_0004
Bryn Athyn, PA
Aerial view of Bryn Athyn
Academy Farm
In the end of the 19th century, a group of Philadelphians who were members of the Swedenborgian Church (the New Church) moved their church community to the “country” near the area known as Bethayres. Industrialist John Pitcairn purchased more than 500 acres of farmland on which to build a school (now the Academy of the New Church Secondary Schools) and homes for church members. Pitcairn hired the architectural firm of Carrere and Hastings to build his Beaux Arts style home, Cairnwood, completed in 1895. Around the same time, plans were designed by the famous landscape design firm of Olmsted & Eliot for the school and residential areas. Part of the land given by John Pitcairn to create the Academy of the New Church was a 68 acre farm, which they rented out.
In this photo, circa 1940, the trees from the Academy Farm orchard can be seen center-right.
ANC Photo Collection
Academy of the New Churchc
c. 1940
ANC
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English
image
2011_10_17_0001
Bryn Athyn, PA
Academy Farmhouse 3
Academy Farm
Academy Farmhouse from the east, with wagon/carriage shed and chicken house.
In addition to the house and barn, there were several other outbuildings on the property. One was this wagon/carriage shed (on right). The family chickens lived in the left side of this. The large chicken house on the left was only temporary.
Powell Family Papers
Academy of the New Church
circa 1940
Vera Powell Glenn
ANC
Academy Photo Collection
.jpg
English
image
2011_12_12_0004
Bryn Athyn, PA
<h2>Academy Farmhouse</h2>
Academy Farm
Even after Solly Brothers ended the business relationship and the Academy reclaimed most of the orchards for athletic fields and abandoned the rest, David and Edith remained. Edith passed away in 1992. David Powell died in 1999, having lived most of his 92 years in the farmhouse that still stands on Tomlinson Road. This house was lived in by the Powell Family from 1914 until 1999. It is now the home of Orchard Artworks, a local artists' cooperative. <a title="Orchard Artworks" href="http://www.orchardartworks.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">http://www.orchardartworks.org</a> The barn now houses the Bryn Athyn Thrift Shop (BATS), a popular spot for browsers and bargain hunters. Proceeds help support the Bryn Athyn Church elementary school. <a href="http://brynathynthriftshop.org">http://brynathynthriftshop.org</a>
Powell Family Collection
Academy of the New Church
c. 1940
Vera Powell Glenn
ANC
ANC Photo Collection
.jpg
English
image
2011_12_12_0002
Bryn Athyn, PA
Spring House
Academy Farm
The springhouse stood beside the small stream, which was fed from a different spring several hundred feet to the west. The spring house was divided into a wet side and a dry side. Ironically, the dry side was closest to the little stream and the spring was under the far side. After the property was abandoned as a farm, the roof of the spring house fell in and the walls are currently falling down as well. There is currently no plan to rebuild the structure
Powell Family Collection
Academy of the New Church
1957
Vera Powell Glen
ANC
ANC Photo Collection
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English
image
2011_12_12_01
Bryn Athyn, PA