Visitors to Ingersoll Park may have taken notice of the house at the corner of Old Penllyn Pike and Wister Avenue.  To many, this property is known as the McCormick house, in recognition of the last owners.  

Before the property was known as the McCormick house, it served as one of the original one-room schoolhouses in Lower Gwynedd.  The Penllyn/Gwynedd School was in service from approximately 1888-1923 and was attended by both black and white students.  While the school’s history as an early point of integration is significant, the current structure does not resemble the original schoolhouse, nor does it provide any mechanism for telling the structure’s rich story. 

The Township now owns the property. With input from local residents who are descendants of students that attended the school and Township officials, Alloy5 Architecture developed concepts to recognize the school’s place in our Township’s history that would fit into the park, including:

• A memorial play area that will incorporate some of the existing structure’s foundation into a custom playground that resembles a schoolhouse. 
• A mural telling the school’s story on one wall of the playground structure. 
• A walking path with “looking glass” memorial markers that show what the original schoolhouse looked like on the site, as well as text to explain the site’s significance; and
• A picnic area with visibility to the park’s baseball fields and this play area.  

Representatives from Alloy5 presented these concepts at the March 24, 2026, Board of Supervisors meeting.  Their presentation may be found here: Alloy5 Presentation 

The Township asks for help from residents to locate photos, documents, stories, transcripts, and other artifacts that can help document the school's history.  Historical documentation will be accepted until a final design is approved.  These may also be sent to John Farrell, Project Manager, at jfarrell@lowergwynedd.org.