101 East Park Road
4 Bedrooms, 2 Bathrooms
Built around 1920 in Dutch colonial style
This beautiful home is unique to Llanerch in which it is the only one with a hanging gardens. That's right! An annual cycle occurs in which plants overhang the latticed roof between the garage and the home, creating a unique aesthetic to the property.
Inhabitants
| Names | Years |
|---|---|
| Dooley family | c. 1929 |
| Alexander Johnson Esrey & Dorothy Emma Boehringer Esrey | c. 1940 |
| James Rowe Stewart, Jr. & Constance Isabel Davis Stewart | fl. 1950–1954 |
| James J. Kearney & Mary F. Kearney | 1978–1994 |
| Guenther O. Carrle & Ginger M. Carrle | 1994–? |
History
This home was allegedly built in 1920, but for whatever reason, it is not present on the 1920 or 1930 censuses. It definitely isn't included in the 1913 atlas, and the earliest references I have to the home are the 1929 census, which lists the "Dooley" family as living here, and a 1940 sale to Sloan & Lynch, which was before it was sold to the Esrey family.
1940 census: Traffic superintendent Alexander (who grew up on 305 Davis Road) is living with his family and Virginian maid of African-American descent.
| Name | Age | Relation to Head of Household |
|---|---|---|
| Alexander J. Esrey | 37 | Head |
| Dorothy B. Esrey | 36 | Wife |
| Richard Esrey | 11 | Son |
| Alexander Esrey | 6 | Son |
| Robert Esrey | 1 | Son |
| William Esrey | 2/12 | Son |
| Agnes Alexander | 21 | Maid |
In 1948, the home was listed as "for sale" and was advertized under the presmise that it had been lived in "by a physician", which I have no record of.
1950 census: Electrical salesman James is living with his family.
| Name | Age | Relation to Head of Household |
|---|---|---|
| James R. Stewart, Jr. | 36 | Head |
| Constance Stewart | 35 | Wife |
| James R. Stewart, III. | 10 | Son |
| Barbara Stewart | 7 | Daughter |
| Patricia Ann Stewart | 3 | Daughter |
| Edward T. Davis, Jr. | 70 | Father-in-law |
| John A. Davis | 40 | Brother-in-law |
The home went for sale in 1954 for $26,750. It was described in the listed as a "riot of color". This is perhaps pertaining to the colorful shrubbery, because if not, there would have had to be an old color to the home prior to its current state. The home went on sale in 1978, and was sold for $68,000 to the Kearney family. In 1994, they sold the home to the Carrle family for $260,000.