Before leaving the Country for good we took a side trip to the East Coast. We had a special occasion to attend to: my cousin Brianna’s wedding! However before going to Boston, where the ceremony was taking place, we made a couple of stops along the way. One was at Lorimer Park in Pennsylvania.
This park has a special meaning to me since it was donated by my great-grandfather George Horace Lorimer to Montgomery County at his death, in 1936. He wanted to give others the chance to enjoy it as much as he did during his life. The land was dedicated in memory of his mother and daughter.
We came to this park for the first time 3 years ago and absolutely fell in love with it. Can you believe it, I had never been here before then?! It is such a peaceful place with trees all over, a creek and many spots where you can just stop and enjoy the sounds and beauty of nature.
One of our kids favorite spots this time was the Knight Covered Bridge. One of the smallest covered bridges all painted in bright red, so it is impossible to miss! They were running in and out of it, posing for me from the little window and then throwing rocks in the water flowing under it. I think they entertained themselves there for at least 30 minutes. Once they started getting a little too adventurous, it was clearly time to move on to the next spot!
We walked up a trail and stopped at the same tree trunk where we had taken a family picture 3 years ago and finally updated it with our new family member Luca this time!
More about the park
Let me give you a little more technical information about this beautiful place. Lorimer Park is a 230-acre (0.93 km2) public park along the Pennypack Creek in Abington Township, Pennsylvania. It has a series of steep rock formations that look over the creek. The highest one is also known as “Council Rock”. This was a historical site for Lenape Indian meetings and also has picturesque views of the surroundings (one of my great-grandfather’s favorite spots on the property). There are trails that bring up to the rock as well as along.
People of all ages can fish from the banks of the creek. The creek runs through the central and north sections of the park, flows past the picnic area, and follows near the trail for just over a mile of its length. There is large picnic area along the creek that takes advantage of the pretty views of the cliffs and is a great place to rest after you explore the woods and meadows of the park.
Owners of the land
As I mentioned before George Horace Lorimer donated the land to Montgomery County at his death. But he wasn’t the only owner of this piece of land. Prior to 1683, the land was occupied by the Lenni Lenape tribe. Locals say the tribe would meet on top of Council Rock.
In 1683, William Penn purchased the land from the Lenni Lenape and in 1729 Penn sold it to Edmund McVeagh II. George H. Lorimer purchased the land in 1915 and it became Lorimer Park after his death in 1936.
About George Horace Lorimer
To help you understand better why he donated his land, I need to share a little more about my great-grandfather. Who he was and what he did during his lifetime.
He was well-known at the time for his role as editor-in-chief at the The Saturday Evening Post from 1899 to 1937. At the time the magazine was struggling but once he became editor the magazine’s circulation increased dramatically, from two thousand to over three million copies a year. He also started a business relationship with the all-American art icon Norman Rockwell, who painted more than 300 covers for the magazine. Click here to see some of the awesome covers!
For who doesn’t know, The Saturday Evening Post, is one of the oldest magazines in the United States. It originated in Philadelphia in 1821 as a four-page weekly newspaper. In 1870 it switched to a magazine format. Over the years it published national news, moral commentary, and human interest articles. It became best known, however, for popular and literary fiction, and its pages featured a number of literary icons, including Edgar Allan Poe, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Agatha Christie and many others. The magazine became also well-known for its illustrations. It featured the work of a number of the nation’s top cartoonists, but the most popular was Norman Rockwell.
When my great-grandfather donated the land, he wanted to share with everyone a place that gave him peace and joy. He clearly believed that certain forms of happiness should not be kept for oneself but actually shared with the world. He hoped of spreading a bit of that happiness.
For our little family, Lorimer Park has become very special, also if we have been only a couple of times. First of all, of course for our family legacy, which gives it an even deeper meaning. Secondly, every time we have been here we have been able to enjoy 100% the moment and the sense of peace that nature can bring to you. This is one feeling we really don’t want to give up. We don’t know where we will be in the future, but whenever we stop in Philadelphia, we won’t miss out on our visit to Lorimer Park!
If you want to see more about our travels in the United States click here!
Lorimer Park
183 Moredon Road
Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006
Phone: 215-947-3477
Fx: 215-947-9708
website: https://www.montcopa.org/872/Lorimer-Park
email: LorimerPark@montcopa.org