Allendale Road Was Named For Large Farms
By Ed Dybicz 14 JAN 1969
An inquiry was received from an Upper Merion resident who wanted to know “How did Allendale Rd. receive its name?”
Allendale Rd. travels from Valley Forge Rd. to DeKalb Pike and is one of the township’s arterial highways serving the King of Prussia Industrial Park.
Allendale Rd. received its name from the large farms [550 acre estate] of George Allen. A most interesting history was obtained from the Norristown Daily Herald of Feb. 1, 1921 which stated:
“News has been received here of the death of George Allen, owner of the “Allendale Farms” in Upper Merion Township which embrace agricultural land extending along the Chester Valley from Bridgeport to King of Prussia with the exception of one or two farms.
“Death occurred on Sunday on board the “Imperator of Southampton, England.” Mr. Allen was stricken with heart trouble. With him was Mrs. Allen a bride of less than a year with whom he planned a tour of Southern France.
“They had intended to leave the stationer at Cherbourg (France), but Mr. Allen became too ill to leave the vessel, and on advice of Dr. McKenzie who was a fellow passenger, decided to proceed to England. Mrs. Allen will bring the body back on the next steamer leaving Southampton.
Irish Native
“Mr. Allen was 71 years old and has long been head of the millinery house of George Allen, Inc. in Phila. He came to this country from Ireland as a young man after having tried the life of a seaman, and entered the millinery business with an uncle more than 40 years ago.
“His first wife died almost 15 years ago and in April of last year (1920) he married Miss Lillian Krauss, 26 years old, from Spring Lake, N.J. He is survived by four daughters who live on his estate in Merion, Lower Merion Township. He had a summer home in Spring Lake besides his ancestral home in the North of Ireland.
“Although he did not remain long periods of time at his Upper Merion farms, Mr. Allen was well known here especially among the residents of his district. In addition to being a wealthy farmer, he was an extensive sheep raiser.”
George Allen was noted for many new innovations and one concerned the employment of women “farmerettes” on his many farms in Upper Merion.
A report of June 4, 1920 read: “Again this year women will be engaged on the Allendale Farms in Upper Merion conducted by George Allen. Last year a half-dozen or more farmerettes proved a great help . . . so much that the manager of the extensive farms decided to engage them again this summer. These female farm workers are mostly recruited from the ranks of school teachers who found the work not only profitable . . . in a financial way . . . but also beneficial to their health after being in the school room for an entire term.”
George Allen lived at 1725 Spring Garden Street, in a substantial white marble-front winter home. Since Allen was one of Philadelphia’s foremost retail merchants, it occupied a choice location on the north side of what was one of the city’s main residential thoroughfares. (From “King’s Views of Philadelphia”, by Moses King, New York, 1900)
