Penn Valley is an unincorporated community located within Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania. Penn Valley residents share a zip code with Merion, Narberth, or Wynnewood because the town does not have its own post office. However, Penn Valley is a distinct community with a civic association that helps local residents and visitors demarcate the town’s boundaries with an iconic sign (featuring William Penn before a farmhouse and smokestack in blue or red on white) that dates from the town’s incorporation in 1930.
Lower Merion was settled in 1682 by Welsh Quakers and in 1713 became a township with about fifty residents. In 1930 the areas known as “Fairview,” “Crow’s Hill,” and “Bowler’s Woods” were incorporated to become Penn Valley.
Penn Valley was formerly a farming community. It became more residential in 1939 when the 539-acre farm and mansion known as Penshurst Farm was demolished. Other farms in Penn Valley included “Crow’s Hill”, which was sold in 1921; “The Grove of the Red Partridges” on Old Gulph Road; and Charles W. Latch’s 41-acre family farm. Today, silos can still be found in Penn Valley on Fairview Road.
