Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania

Cheltenham Township
Home rule municipality First Class Township
Richard Wall house in Elkins Park, the second-oldest house in Pennsylvania
Flag Seal
Nickname:  Cheltenhood
Motto(s):  "Salubritas et Eruditio" (Health and Education)
Location of Cheltenham Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Coordinates: 40°04′00″N 75°06′59″W / 40.06667°N 75.11639°W / 40.06667; -75.11639
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Philadelphia (1682–1784) Montgomery (1784–present)
Founded First Class Township Home Rule Municipality	March 22, 1682 1900 1976
Area [1]
• Total	9.03 sq mi (23.4 km2)
• Land	9.03 sq mi (23.4 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	157 ft (48 m)
Population  (2020)[2]
• Total	37,452
• Density	4,100/sq mi (1,600/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern Standard Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (Eastern Daylight Time)
Area code(s)	215, 267 and 445
FIPS code	42-091-12968
Sister city	Cheltenham, United Kingdom
Commissioners	Morton J. Simon Jr. Daniel B. Norris Irv Brockington Baron B. Holland Brad M. Pransky Ann L. Rappoport J. Andrew Sharkey
Website	www.cheltenhamtownship.org

Cheltenham Township is a home rule municipality and Township of the First Class located in the southeast corner of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It borders Philadelphia to the south and east, Abington Township and Jenkintown to the north, and Springfield Township to the west.

Cheltenham was founded in 1682, and its early history was defined by mills, which used Tookany Creek to power gristmills, manufacture shovels, hammers, and spades, and later carpentry products such as doors, window frames, and shutters. The development of regional railroads in the early 19th century helped power the American Industrial Revolution, connecting heavy industry factories in Philadelphia with the steel mills and other mining and heavy manufacturing industries in the Lehigh Valley to its north.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Cheltenham transitioned to a community of wealthy industrial and merchant Philadelphians, who built large estates in what was still rural land. The 20th century and Great Depression established Cheltenham as one of Philadelphia's inner ring and streetcar suburbs, and attracted high density housing construction that continued into the postwar years and the 21st century. The Reading Railroad tracks in Cheltenham Township were electrified in 1931, which offered faster passenger service. In 1983, following the Reading Railroad's acquisition by Conrail, the rail lines became part of the heavily-traveled SEPTA Main Line.

In the 21st century, historic homes and buildings designed by Frank Furness, Horace Trumbauer, and Frank Lloyd Wright coexist with split level, twin, row, and other forms of high-density housing, along with parks, arboretums, recreational and educational facilities, tree-lined streets, and commercial corridors.