Valley Forge Rd, Warren Ave. and Lancaster Pike, facing east towards Wynburne Inn, Berwyn
Description: This 1908 Sampson image faces eastward from Francis Avenue toward its intersection with the Lancaster Turnpike. To the right of the image is the main line of the Pennsylvania Railroad and the northside of the viaduct known as the “Lower Bridge.” The busy Lancaster Pike, shown with a heavily-laden freight wagon hauling railroad ties, and a small buggy, continues eastward up the gradual hill toward the horizon. The land to the right of the Pike was the former Joseph Smith dairy farm that since 1885 served as a well-known local summer boarding house and hotel called the Wynburne Inn. Between the tall conifers in the middle of the image, a keen-eyed observer can see the crown of the gazebo atop the Inn. On the left side of the Pike a white springhouse extends over a tributary of Darby Creek as it flows under the railroad near the viaduct. The details of the large house behind the springhouse are unknown. - Herb Fry and Roger Thorne
