Tucked between a neighborhood in Andorra and Houston Meadow is a place for people who love horses. The trail next to Courtesy Stable serves as an inviting entrance to Wissahickon Valley Park both for locals taking a walk and for those arriving by car (bikes are not permitted to enter here, they must enter at Houston Playground). The property is approximately three acres and contains a barn, spring house, three turnout spaces, and a riding arena. Depending on the time of day, you may see horses grazing, socializing in their turnout, or being ridden in the arena.
The history of Courtesy Stable begins with the first inhabitants of the land, the Lenape Native Americans. Although it is thought the Lenape did not live in the Wissahickon Gorge, but hunted and fished there, the flatter land upon which Courtesy Stable is located was possibly where they farmed. Since 1959, Courtesy Stable has been in what is now called the Andorra section of Philadelphia. Both before and after 1854, when the various townships of Philadelphia County were consolidated into the City of Philadelphia, it was in Germantown Township, separated from Roxborough Township by Wissahickon Avenue. Not being near a source of water power or transportation, the Courtesy Stable area probably remained farmland.
In a book by Carole Boynton, Andorra: Diary of a Community, it is stated that Courtesy Stable was originally a cattle barn. The first time a structure which could have been a barn appears in maps is in the 1862 Philadelphia Atlas on land owned by William McFadden. Eventually the land in the area was owned by George B. Bonnell and Samuel F. Houston. Bonnell was the brother-in-law and Samuel Houston was the son of Henry Howard Houston. The Houston Estate was largely responsible for expanding the borders of Wissahickon Valley Park beyond the narrow ribbon park the city of Philadelphia established in the 1860’s to protect its drinking water.
Courtesy Stable was donated to the city, becoming part of the Wissahickon Valley Park in 1959, although the actual deed transfer might not have occurred until 1975. Being part of Wissahickon Valley Park protected it from being sold for development, a fate some other stables in Roxborough suffered. Together with the neighborhood horse owners and riders who lived nearby, horses played an integral part in making sure that cars were really forbidden on Forbidden Drive. The Philadelphia Riders and Drivers, formed circa 1920, reorganized as the Riders of the Wissahickon in 1952, coordinated the protest in 1921 that finally ended the question of whether cars should be allowed on the main thoroughfare of the park. Years later, the Riders of the Wissahickon used Courtesy Stable as a headquarters for a time. Although the Riders of the Wissahickon no longer exists as a group, riders from Courtesy Stable participate to this day in the Wissahickon Day Parade which celebrates when cars were no longer allowed on Forbidden Drive.
The stable barn is a bank barn, many of which were built in the United States between 1790 and 1900. A bank barn is a two-story barn built into the side of a hill, allowing ground access for both floors from the front and back of the building. Wagons could then drive onto the upper floor to unload food and supplies for the livestock kept below. The barn also has an overshoot or forebay, typical of a Pennsylvania bank barn, at the front of the lower level, which shields the stable from rain and snow and also provides extra space on the upper level. Today the horses are kept below and food and equipment above. The barn manager at the time of this article pointed out that a barn built as a horse stable would normally have higher ceilings than Courtesy does, which supports the fact that it was originally built to house cows, not horses.
Since 2006 Courtesy Stable has been maintained by the non-profit “The Boarders and Stewards of Courtesy Stable.” The folks who come daily are volunteers dedicated to the care and wellbeing of the horse and its environment. They help to educate the public and encourage a healthy relationship between the horse, the community and the environment. They have made a special effort to reduce conflict between horses and bikes. (See Metropolitan Paradise, pages 600-601.) Besides having space to board 12 horses, the stable offers lessons, service days, a summer camp, and hosts barn days where groups learn all about horses and their care. There are various tasks available for volunteers of all skills. The stable also hosts two yearly fundraisers- during the winter holidays and in the spring. Courtesy Stable has strong partnerships with the Friends of the Wissahickon, the Pennsylvania Equine Council, and the Roxborough community.
So the next time you visit Wissahickon Valley Park, consider parking on Cathedral Road off Wissahickon Avenue, and take a look at Courtesy Stable as you enter Houston Meadow at the trail marker. It is a place for people who love horses as well as a remnant of the area’s past as a farm.
Written by Debbie Hoellein, Trail Ambassador
Sources
- Interview and tour of Courtesy Stables with Cynthia Turecki, barn manager and FOW trail ambassador
- Boynton, Carole. “Courtesy Stables.” Andorra: Diary of a Community, pp 71-73, Andorra Homes Civic Association (2000)
- Information from and powerpoint presentation from Georgie Gould, Roxborough Manayunk Wissahickon Historical Society
- Information from Alex Bartlett, Germantown Historical Society and Chestnut Hill Conservancy
- Information from Theresa Stulhman, Preservation and Development Administrator, Philadelphia Parks and Recreation
- http://www.courtesystable.org
- Bank barn, Wikipedia, accessed 5/12/22
- Pennsylvania barn, Wikipedia, accessed 5/12/22
- Contosta, David and Franklin, Carol. Metropolitan Paradise, pp 319, 600, 601
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You probably don’t need us to tell you how special Wissahickon Valley Park is. Its 2000+ acres provide habitat to wildlife, refuge & recreation to over a million visitors per year, and protect the drinking water for one-third of Philadelphians. The park can’t take care of itself, however. It needs responsible park users and stewards to keep this special place clean and sustainable for generations to come.