Some time ago, I called up my buddy that lived out of state to go biking and hang out with him for the day. I called him and told him to meet me at the start of the Cynwyd Trailhead. His response was “WHAT trailhead?”
These names—Bala Cynwyd, Bryn Mawr, and Radnor—hint at the area’s lesser-known Welsh heritage. These names serve as reminders of a significant migration of Welsh Quakers to Pennsylvania in the late 17th century
The story of the Welsh in Pennsylvania begins with a group of Quakers from Wales who were seeking religious freedom and better opportunities in the New World. In 1681, William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, granted 40,000 acres of land to Welsh settlers as part of what became known as the “Welsh Tract.” This land stretched from what is now Haverford and Radnor in the south, to Merion and further west. The settlers hoped to create a self-governing “Welsh Barony,” where they could preserve their language, customs, and Quaker faith.
Though their dream of a semi-autonomous Welsh settlement was never fully realized, the Welsh Tract became home to a thriving community of Welsh Quakers. They named the towns they founded after places in Wales, with the intention of bringing a little piece of their homeland to the new land. Of course, many of the names still survive today.
One of the most famous Welsh-named towns is Bala Cynwyd, (pronounced ba-la kin-wood), located just outside Philadelphia along the Main Line. Bala Cynwyd takes its name from two villages in North Wales: Bala and Cynwyd. The area began as two separate communities, with Cynwyd being largely residential and Bala serving as a more commercial area. Today, the town is a unified neighborhood: the only evidence of the two towns’ identity exist as two separate regional rail stations on Septa’s Cynwyd Line.
Another iconic name in the area is Bryn Mawr, (pronounced brin maar), which means “large hill” in Welsh. The town was originally named Humphreysville, after an early settler, but was renamed Bryn Mawr in 1869 by Welsh-born railroad president William H. Wilson. He chose the name to reflect the town’s Welsh roots, and because of its elevated geography.
Today, these places on Main Line serves as a living reminders of the Welsh who sought freedom in “Penn’s Woods”.
