Upper Dublin: The Making of a 21st Century Suburb ← All Chapters

1945 as a Tranformative Year for Upper Dublin

Wikipedia describes Upper Dublin’s transition as follows: “Until the 1950s, Upper Dublin was mostly farmland and open space, but it transitioned to a residential suburb during the postwar population boom. The population went from just over 6,000 residents in the early 1950s to just under 20,000 by 1970.” Similarly, the 2020 obituary of the 30-year tenure of Upper Dublin Supervisory Principal and School Superintendent Dr. Clair (“Bud”) Brown, Jr. Ed. D., similarly describes the transformation: “During his tenure at Upper Dublin, Dr. Brown presided over the District's transformation from a farmland-covered, rural community to a high-profile suburban school system.” Hedwig & Rowland Funeral Home, 2020.13

And, a year before Dr. Brown’s obituary Upper Dublin was still being described by one local reporter as “a pastoral slice of Montgomery County….” Vinny Velia, Contested Upper Dublin library project gets $1 million in state grant money, Phila. Inquirer (Sept. 10, 2019), at p. B2.

Notes

  1. 13.And, according to at least one State official in Harrisburg, as recently as August 2023, Upper Dublin was still regarded as rural, at least with respect to traffic calming: “For example PennDOT’s Traffic Calming Handbook suggests that the 85th percentile speed should be 10 MPH over the posted speed limit before considering traffic calming measures. I think that’s a bit high, but a Township can establish (continued) whatever threshold they want. For traffic volume, Publication 383 suggests that volumes should be over 1,000 vehicles per day – again probably high for a rural Township. Once your thresholds and procedures are established in a policy, the Supervisors have objective criteria to follow and can better respond to resident concerns.” Response of Mark Hood (PSATS) to Request 22047 from Michael A. Ciuffetelli, Upper Dublin Township (Aug. 8, 2023) (emphasis added).