# Overbrook Farms, Philadelphia

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United States historic place

Overbrook Farms U.S. National Register of Historic Places U.S. Historic district Show map of Philadelphia Show map of Pennsylvania Show map of the United States Location Roughly bounded by City Line Ave., 58th St., Woodbine Ave. and 64th St., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Coordinates 39°59′11″N 75°15′13″W / 39.98639°N 75.25361°W / 39.98639; -75.25361 Area 168 acres (68 ha) Built 1893 Architect Keen & Mead et al. Architectural style Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals [2], Late Victorian NRHP reference No. 85000690[1] Added to NRHP March 21, 1985

House on Overbrook Avenue

Notable residents included the Benton family descendants of former king Joseph Napoleon Bonaparte

**Overbrook Farms** is a [neighborhood](/source/Neighborhood) that is situated on the western edge of the [West Philadelphia](/source/West_Philadelphia) section of [Philadelphia, Pennsylvania](/source/Philadelphia%2C_Pennsylvania), United States. It is roughly bounded by City Avenue ([U.S. Route 1](/source/U.S._Route_1_in_Pennsylvania)), 58th Street, Woodbine Avenue, and 66th Street at Morris Park.

The neighborhood is bisected by Lancaster Avenue ([U.S. Route 30](/source/U.S._Route_30_in_Pennsylvania)) and the original Pennsylvania Railroad ["main line"](/source/Main_Line_(Pennsylvania_Railroad)). Today, the rail line is used by both [Amtrak](/source/Amtrak) passenger service and [SEPTA](/source/SEPTA)'s commuter [Paoli/Thorndale Line](/source/Paoli%2FThorndale_Line).

## History

This region of Philadelphia and its suburbs were originally settled by [Welsh](/source/Welsh_people) immigrants, who purchased land from William Penn. Two of these farms contributed land for what became the Overbrook Farms neighborhood, which was developed beginning in 1892. The neighborhood is often incorrectly considered to be a sub-section of the larger and densely developed [Overbrook](/source/Overbrook%2C_Philadelphia%2C_Pennsylvania) neighborhood.

Overbrook Farms was the first of several planned communities at were established along the Main Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad. The Overbrook Farms Company was the developer; its officers had links to directors of the Girard and Drexel banks and the Penn Railroad. This planned community includes some of the first residential projects by the first graduating class of the University of Pennsylvania's architectural program.[2]

Overbrook Farms maintains the oldest continually operating neighborhood association in the United States, the Overbrook Farms Club (OFC). OFC sponsors an annual house tour each Spring. The neighborhood was designated as a [National Historic District](/source/National_Register_of_Historic_Places_property_types#Historic_districts) and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its description and statement of significance can be found at ["Overbrook Farms"](http://www.uchs.net/HistoricDistricts/overbrook.html), Historic Districts. *Overbrook Farms, Its Historical Background, Growth and Community Life* (1936) by Tello J. d'Apery, M.D. also provides a complete history of the area.

A more recent development of smaller homes with modern incursions, called Greenhill Farms, is not included within the historic district. This development extends from 66th Street to 72nd Street. Bordered on three sides by Morris Park and on the west by City Avenue, it includes some original mansions built on [Wistar Morris](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wistar_Morris&action=edit&redlink=1)' [gentleman's farm](/source/Gentleman's_farm). The [City Line Avenue Bridge](/source/City_Line_Avenue_Bridge) was listed on the [National Register of Historic Places](/source/National_Register_of_Historic_Places) in 1988.[1]

## Public libraries

The [Free Library of Philadelphia](/source/Free_Library_of_Philadelphia) operates the Wynnefield Branch nearby.[3]

## References

- [Philadelphia portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Philadelphia)

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-nris_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-nris_1-1) ["National Register Information System"](https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP). *[National Register of Historic Places](/source/National_Register_of_Historic_Places)*. [National Park Service](/source/National_Park_Service). January 23, 2007.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-nom_2-0)** Edith L. Willoughby (1984). [National Register of Historic Places Registration: Pennsylvania SP Overbrook Farms](https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997188). National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved January 8, 2026. (Downloading may be slow.)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [\[1\]](http://libwww.library.phila.gov/branches/branch.cfm?loc=WYN), Free Library of Philadelphia

## External links

- [*Overbrook Farms* history](http://apps.libraries.psu.edu/digitalbookshelf/bookindex.cfm?oclc=28053876) *Overbrook Farms its historical background, growth and community life.* This entire book is available free for download from Penn State's Digital Bookshelf.

- [National Register - Inventory](https://gis.penndot.gov/CRGISAttachments/SiteResource/H082616_01I.pdf)

v t e Communities of Philadelphia Former municipalities are below. Sections and Neighborhoods Center City Avenue of the Arts Broad Street Chinatown Fitler Square Franklin Square Jewelers' Row Logan Square Old City Penn's Landing Rittenhouse Square Society Hill South Street Washington Square West South Bella Vista Central South Philadelphia Devil's Pocket Dickinson Square West East Passyunk Crossing Fabric Row FDR Park Girard Estate Grays Ferry Greenwich Hawthorne Italian Market Little Saigon Lower Moyamensing Marconi Plaza Moyamensing Newbold Packer Park Passyunk Square Pennsport Point Breeze Queen Village Southwark Southwest Center City Sports Complex West Passyunk Wharton Whitman Wilson Park Southwest Angora Bartram Village Clearview Eastwick Elmwood Park Hog Island Kingsessing Mount Moriah Paschall Southwest Schuylkill West Avenue of Technology Belmont Village Carroll Park Cathedral Park Centennial District Cedar Park Cobbs Creek Dunlap Garden Court Haddington Haverford North Mantua Mill Creek Overbrook Overbrook Farms Overbrook Park Parkside Powelton Village Saunders Park Spruce Hill Squirrel Hill 30th Street Station University City Walnut Hill Woodland Terrace Wynnefield Wynnefield Heights North Lower North Badlands Belfield Brewerytown Callowhill Cecil B. Moore El Centro de Oro / Fairhill Fairmount Francisville Hartranft Ivy Hill Ludlow N3RD Street North Central Northern Liberties North Philadelphia East North Philadelphia West Poplar Sharswood South Lehigh Spring Garden Stanton Strawberry Mansion Yorktown Upper North Allegheny West Badlands Franklinville Glenwood Hunting Park Nicetown–Tioga Olde Kensington Swampoodle West Kensington Olney-Oak Lane East Oak Lane Feltonville Fern Rock Koreatown Logan Ogontz Olney West Oak Lane Northwest Lower Northwest Andorra East Falls Manayunk Parkland Roxborough Wissahickon Upper Northwest Beggarstown Cedarbrook Chestnut Hill Germantown Morton Mount Airy Wister Northeast Near Northeast Burholme Castor Gardens Crescentville Fox Chase Frankford Holme Circle Holmesburg Juniata Lawndale Lexington Park Mayfair Oxford Circle Rhawnhurst Ryers Tacony Wissinoming Far Northeast Academy Gardens Ashton-Woodenbridge Bustleton Byberry Crestmont Farms Millbrook Modena Park Morrell Park Normandy Parkwood Pennypack Somerton Torresdale Upper Holmesburg Winchester Park River Wards Bridesburg Fishtown Harrowgate Kensington Olde Richmond Port Richmond Former Municipalities Cities Philadelphia (Center City) Boroughs Aramingo Bridesburg Frankford Germantown Manayunk West Philadelphia Whitehall Districts Belmont Kensington Moyamensing Northern Liberties Penn Richmond Southwark Spring Garden Townships Blockley Bristol Byberry Delaware Germantown Kingsessing Lower Dublin Moreland Northern Liberties Oxford Passyunk Penn Roxborough Footnotes As a consolidated city-county Philadelphia is its own county seat.

v t e US National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Topics Contributing property Keeper of the Register Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places National Park Service Property types Lists by county Adams Allegheny Armstrong Beaver Bedford Berks Blair Bradford Bucks Butler Cambria Cameron Carbon Centre Chester East North South Clarion Clearfield Clinton Columbia Crawford Cumberland Dauphin Delaware Elk Erie Fayette Forest Franklin Fulton Greene Huntingdon Indiana Jefferson Juniata Lackawanna Lancaster Lawrence Lebanon Lehigh Luzerne Lycoming McKean Mercer Mifflin Monroe Montgomery Montour Northampton Northumberland Perry Philadelphia Pike Potter Schuylkill Snyder Somerset Sullivan Susquehanna Tioga Union Venango Warren Washington Wayne Westmoreland Wyoming York Lists by city Pittsburgh Lancaster Philadelphia Center City North Northeast Northwest South Southwest West Other lists European archaeological sites Native American archaeological sites Bridges covered National Historic Landmarks Philadelphia Category NRHP portal

Authority control databases International VIAF WorldCat National United States Israel

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Overbrook Farms, Philadelphia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overbrook_Farms%2C_Philadelphia) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overbrook_Farms%2C_Philadelphia?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.