Welsh Place Names in Pennsylvania
Bangor or West Bangor, to differentiate it from its immediate neighbor East Bangor, is a borough located in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located 32 miles (51 km) north of Allentown. It had a population of 5,187 as of the 2020 census.
The borough was settled about 1760 and first incorporated in 1875. The founder and first Chief Burgess of Bangor was Robert M. Jones, an emigrant from Bangor, Wales. He was the prime mover in the establishment of the slate industry in Northampton County. Slate quarries pepper the area, but only a few are still functioning. A life-sized statue of him, dedicated on September 24, 1914, remains in the town center. The influence of Bangor, Wales is visible in the stone walls, square gardens, flowers, and greenery that mirror those of its Welsh namesake. Also like Bangor, Wales, Bangor, Pennsylvania has piles of slate residue and shale reminiscent of the area.
Bala Cynwyd lies in the Welsh Tract of Pennsylvania and was settled in the 1680s by Welsh Quakers, who named it after the town of Bala and the village of Cynwyd in Wales. The Cynwyd Heritage Trail is a 1.8-mile rail trail in Lower Merion, Pennsylvania, on Philadelphia’s Main Line. It follows the former SEPTA Cynwyd Line railway line from Cynwyd station to Belmont Avenue, with a branch to Philadelphia’s Manyunk neighborhood via the Manayunk Bridge over the Schuylkill River. Cynwyd Heritage trail, also depicting the roads of Pencoyd Avenue, Snowden, Llandrillo Road, Clwyd Road, Bala Avenue, Montgomery Avenue, Colwyn Lane, Rhyl Lane, Llanberris Road, Barmouth Trailhead, just a small example of the Welsh Heritage exemplified.
Berwyn is a census-designated place (CDP) in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. Berwyn is located in Tredyffrin and Easttown townships. The area is part of the Philadelphia Main Line suburbs.
Brecknock Township named after the cathedral town of Brecon, capitol of Breconshire (or Brecknockshire), Wales, was founded in 1740 as a part of Lancaster County. The Township was divided at the founding of Berks County in 1752.
Bryn Athyn is a home rule municipality in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It was formerly a borough, and its official name remains “Borough of Bryn Athyn”. The population was 1,375 at the 2010 census. It was formed for religious reasons from Moreland Township on February 8, 1916. Bryn Athyn is surrounded by Lower Moreland Township. “Bryn Athyn” was intended to mean “Hill of Unity” by its founders. “Bryn” is Welsh for “hill”; the source of “athyn” is unclear
Bryn Mawr is named after an estate near Dolgellau in Wales that belonged to Rowland Ellis, a Welsh Quaker who emigrated in 1686 to Pennsylvania to escape religious persecution. Until the construction of the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Main Line in 1869, the town, located in the old Welsh Tract, was known as Humphreysville, named for early settlers of the Humphreys family. The town was renamed by railroad agent William H. Wilson after he acquired on behalf of the railroad the 283 acres (1.15 km2) that now compose Bryn Mawr.
Caernarvon Township is a township in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,252 at the 2020 census. It is often referred to as Morgantown, the township’s largest village. Caernarvon was so named by Welsh settlers after the town of Caernarfon in North Wales.
Cambria was a Welsh-American farming colony in Pennsylvania, founded during the 1790s by 50 immigrants from the village of Llanbrynmair on land purchased by Baptist minister Morgan John Rhys.