The following is a reprint of a special article to The Courier by Ed Dybicz.
Henderson Station is now a busy area of Upper Merion
KING OF PRUSSIA- Only a few houses remain in the old village of Henderson Station, around Church and Henderson Roads, but today, this area is a thriving commercial center.
When the Pennsylvania Railroad constructed its line and station here, they honored the Henderson family in 1982 by calling their facilities “Henderson Station”. And, a village began to grown around this area.
Also, the Hendersons are honored with Henderson Road which originates at Gulph Road and extends all the way to the Schuylkill River at Abrams.
Records show that for many years, the Hendersons were a leading family in Upper Merion, participating in many business enterprises. One of their number was Samuel Henderson who had the distinction of providing many lively political battles with his township neighbor, United States Senator Jonathan Roberts. The two were “friendly” Republican foes.
Reecords reveal that Samuel Henderson was a native of England where he was born in 1764. He came to America at the age of 18 years with his father, John Henderson.
They settled in Upper Merion and the family became associated with the operation of the marble quarry, this area now occupied by H.B. Frazer Electrical Company, Dockside Ale house, part of Gulph Mills Village Apartments and other buildings.
Henderson Family Burial Ground (Photo courtesy of Michael Morrison)
Samuel Henderson dies on Nov. 17 1841. He was buried in the family burial grounds on his farm. This small private cemetery, located on Henderson Road is adjacent to the upper Merion school bus garage and near the Merion Office building, the former Upper Merion High School. In this burial plot, also are the graves of John Henderson, his son David, and about 50 other family members. The Henderson monuments are of marble and thus the inscriptions have been preserved.
The old majestic Henderson homestead, located on Shoemaker Road, was restored by Dominick Pasquale and Co. developers of Renaissance Business Center. It is now used as an office building. There is a large stone marker on the front wall which reads “M.S.H. 1792”. The late Joseph K. Shoemaker, who served as Upper Merion supervisor for 30 years, once lived in the house.
The Henderson Mansion on Shoemaker Road has a date stone of 1792.
The Henderson family name was perpetuated in the early 960s when a development on Henderson Road near DeKalb Pike was called Henderson Park. Henderson Station was made famous by the large plants of the Ellis Concrete Block Works which flourished for many years. Today, some commercial establishments are located at Henderson Station which include the Thriftway Co., NTW Tire Warehouse, Sid Harvey, Kunda Beverage, Franklin Map Co., Penn state Textile manufacturing Co., Storage Inn and others.
Henderson Station never had a post office but was served by the Bridgeport Post Office until 1957 when the area was placed under the King of Prussia postal designation.
Intersection of Henderson Rd and Church Rd looking north.
The following interesting account was recorded in the Norristown Register “August 22, 1828-the barn of Col. Henderson of Upper Merion was consumed by fire Friday last, with all of its harvest crop. The fire originated from shooting pigeons on the roof of the barn.”
In 1932, a tablet was found near an old barn along Henderson Road which read “1829-Davis and Margaret Henderson.”
One of the biggest fires in Upper Merion occurred at Henderson Station in 1947 when three frame dwellings burned to the ground. At that time, there were no fire bydrants in that area. Fire companies from Swedeland, Swedesburg, No. 1 and Goodwill of Bridgeport, George Clay of West Conshohocken and Wayne of Radnor Township had to pump water from neighborhood wells to quell the blaze. Fortunately, no one was injured.
The greatest change at Henderson Station came recently when Church and Henderson Roads were reconstructed with an underpass to correct a dangerous railroad crossing.