Wendell & Smith was a development and real estate firm active beginning in the 1880s. They were responsible for building a majority of the homes in Wayne starting around 1883 and continuing into the 1890s, including most of the homes in North and South Wayne. The firm later built large developments in Overbrook Farms and Pelham (West Mount Airy) in Philadelphia.

A large collection of Wendell & Smith’s archives came to the Radnor Historical Society in two batches, courtesy of the descendants of Herman Wendell and Walter Bassett Smith. In 1966 a large collection of photographs and glass plate negatives depicting the development of North and South Wayne was donated by E.J. Wendell, son of Herman Wendell. In 1971 several hundred glass plates, blueprints, and other items were donated by Alan G. Smith, son of Walter Bassett Smith, the majority representing developments outside of Radnor Township.

In 1970-71, Mr. and Mrs. Herbert S. Henderson produced prints from the negatives to be filed in the society’s archive. Starting in 2011, the Radnor Historical Society began digitizing the original glass plates with the assistance of the Athenaeum of Philadelphia. These scans show more detail from the images than could ever have been reproduced by any other means.

Not included in this online archive are several hundred images from the Smith collection showing scenes of Overbrook Farms, Pelham, Ardmore, Wynnewood Manor, and other projects outside of Radnor Township. Please contact us if you are interested in these images.