The Lower Merion Academy is
located at 501 Bryn Mawr
Avenue in Bala-Cynwyd. The building is situated to the side of the
Bala-Cynwyd Middle School.
So many times parents have gone to outdoor school events and wondered why
someone had a "house" built near the schools.
Rather it was the schools that were built near the "house." The
Academy has stood there since 1812-1813 when it was built by Joseph Price
and Nathan Lewis, who were local carpenters. The elementary and middle
schools and surrounding school areas were built on the same piece of land
as the Academy because by 1914 the Academy became too small to hold the
expanding population of neighborhood children. Today the Academy is still
used for educational purposes.
To understand the history of the Lower Merion Academy, several topics will
be examined. The bequest of Jacob Jones and others gave the impetus to
establish a free school which predated the state laws for public schools
(1834-1836).
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