It prospered as a railroad town when railroad service began in 1868. The Perkiomen Railroad followed the Perkiomen and Hosensack Creeks to reach the suburbs of Allentown, PA.
The Hosensack Creek takes it name from the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect, "Hussa-sock" translates to "pants pocket" in English. Those crazy "Dutchmen"!
When the railroad reached Rudy, the town was renamed Salford Station. When I saw this old black and white picture of the station (taken around 1932) in a recent newspaper article, I decided to see where it stood along the trail. Note the (presumably) black car next to the general store in the left distance.
The train stopped going past Salford Station in the 1970's.
I walked back and forth, trying to find the exact same spot the old picture was taken from.
Today, the rails and the station are long gone, but the red-painted general store (to the far left) and the mansard-roofed Salford Station Hotel (to the far right) still stand -
This 1932 view of the Perkiomen Creek was taken from the summer vacation spot there. The area was known as Camp Rest-A-While and people from Philadelphia would come on the train to stay there.
Some of the families owned summer houses there and some rented them. There was a refreshment stand and a dock where you could get a canoe.
There is a property with cabins on it not far from the station. I don't know if these were a part of Camp Rest-A-While. People still swim in the creek there - usually during the hot summer days during the annual weeklong Philadelphia Folk Festival.
23 comments:
Nice post. I loved the comparison of the photos. What caught my eye was that the general store building is still standing and still looking much like it did back in the 30s.
One question...what does the sign that reads "Slow Bollards Ahead" mean?
A bollard is a short post that they have put in the middle of the trail to prevent people from turning onto it from the street with their cars.
The signs are warn the clueless bikers to be careful and not run into them even though they are painted bright yellow.
I've seen them run into any number of times.
The bollards are "removable"/"moveable" and are padlocked into place so that the park rangers can drive their vehicles down the trail if need be.
Like Alice Kay mentioned, I LOVE how you compare older photos with modern ones. I think that is just so cool!!
I've said it before, but you take the BEST walks!!!
The name of that area is great. Camp Rest-A-While. We have those arms across the Katy Trail here, but there are no warnings for the clueless bikers, and they are made of natural wood rather than painted a bright color. Now that I think about it, I'm surprised there aren't law suits all over the place!
I, too, like the photo comparisons. Good job!
Thanks as always you share the most interesting info. Love the then and now pix!
I wish I could find old pictures like that of my town. All I see are pictures of people, but I'd like to see old pictures of buildings and see if they're still around! :)
I love the history of this area! It's so fun to see buildings that have stood the test of time. The clueless bikers kind of ruin the Perkiomen Trail for me. Way too many zipping around. It makes riding the horses on the trail really interesting. I need to get out hiking now that the nicer weather is upon us.
You make me want to do some research about my town.
I love the comparison pics and think it is so cool that those buildings are still standing. The newer pics are so pretty, with all the bright colors, but there is just something romantic about black and white photos.
Lovely post. You can't go wrong with Black and white photos.
=)
Iggy I absolutely loved loved loved this post I love before and after pics of places and you did a fantastic job...you also have good eyes to spot that lil ole car in that pic lol..thanks so much for sharing hugssss you tight!!
that is such a pretty town/area; I would love to go and Camp and rest awhile there too! gorgeous area! and interesting piece of history too :)
betty
I love the way you get out and explore your world. I do too, but I usually forget to take my camera. I love looking at old buildings while idly walking in tame nature.
that was really neat...such a pretty little town.
west still has our old depot and they fixed it all up and made a little museum out of it..plus 2 cabooses that went thru the middle of town back in the day..but our tracks are still there and trains go thru eleventy six times a day.
what an adorable looking town! very quaint. but "pants pocket" creek? weirdos...
Iggy, I always enjoy your history lessons, especially the ones around here. I would have done the same thing trying to take a picture from the same exact spot.
Ahhh. Now see, I love this type of stuff. I love walking through old towns and seeing then and now pics. I think it is so interesting. Just as Yankee Girl said, I would love to see what you think about my hometown. It is a beautiful place with quite a bit of history tucked into each corner. Awesome! You would love it out in Germany, too.....soooooo much history.
So cool.
That town looks nice.
Love the comparison!
Great post! :)
You can see where the buildings still stand. Funny how other buildings and even railroad tracks can vanish into thin air over time. :)
Love this..I am quite interested in historical background on certain places and loved the old pics especially.
So neat how you photographed the same spot from so long ago. I would love to do that with some of the historic things here in my area. Excellent Iggy :-)
I LOVE with a passion 'then and now' photos..... I often click through books in our library that do the then and nows :)...
and I LOVE that most of the buildings in the original photo still stand today....
x
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