History
The area comprising Main Line was once home to the Lenni Lenape Indians. The Main Line was settled by Europeans in the 1600s, when William Penn sold a tract of land (the Welsh Tract to a group of Welsh Quakers for ten cents an acre. The Main Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad was constructed during the nineteenth century and traveled through the area from Philadelphia to Harrisburg and Pittsburgh. The railroad, since taken over by Amtrak, is still in service. At the time, the Railroad owned much of the land surrounding the tracks and encouraged the development of this picturesque environment. The construction of sprawling estates attracted Philadelphia elite, many of whom had one house in the city and another larger "country home" on the Main Line.
The Main Line Today
Today the Main Line is another name for the western suburbs of Philadelphia along Lancaster Avenue (U.S. Route 30) and the former Pennsylvania Railroad Main Line, extending from the city limits to approximately Paoli, Pennsylvania comprising an area of approximately 200 square miles. The upper/upper middle class enclave outside of Philadelphia is often believed to be the setting for the classic Hepburn/Grant/Stewart film "The Philadelphia Story". The principal municipalities comprising the Main Line are (from east to west) Lower Merion Township, Narberth Borough, Haverford Township, Radnor Township, Tredyffrin Township, Easttown Township, Village of Paoli. With diverse topography, steep cliffs along the Schuylkill River, rolling hills, and open meadows, the Main Line has benefited from the early planning of William Penn. The Main Line is known for its multimillion-dollar Stone Colonial homes, exclusivity, and upscale shopping. The Main Line is also home to some of the best public and private schools in the state, and many small private colleges.
Communities on the Main Line
The Main Line proper is a line of communities extending northwest from the City of Philadelphia. From Philadelphia, the stations on what is now referred to as the R5 train line are: Overbrook,[1] Merion, Narberth, Wynnewood, Ardmore, Haverford and Bryn Mawr, which inspired the mnemonic "Old Maids Never Wed And Have Babies". The other rail line communities extending past Bryn Mawr are Rosemont, Villanova, Radnor, St. Davids, Wayne, Strafford, Devon, Berwyn, Daylesford, and Paoli.
In recent years, the R5 train service has extended to the west of Paoli.
Other communities, most notably Bala Cynwyd, Gladwyne are included in what is commonly accepted as the Main Line, as they both are typical Main Line communities and are adjacent to Main Line towns. Neither, however, is located on the rail line for which the area is named and therefore they may be considered culturally rather than geographically on the Main Line.
A list of communities on the Main Line follows:
Colleges and universities
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