Fairless Hills

Fairless Hills began its modern life circa 1951 when developer Danherst Corporation began erecting pre-fabricated homes built by Gunnison.

Gunnison Magichomes, Inc. was established in 1936 and enjoyed a moderate success prior to World War II. Early in 1944 US Steel acquired a majority interest in the company, and in 1946 constructed a brand new manufacturing facility.

U.S. Steel financed the development of Fairless Hills with a loan of $50-million. The name was bestowed in honor of Benjamin Fairless, then president of U.S. Steel; he was also the namesake of the "Fairless Works" the plant which employed most of Fairless Hills' new homeowners. Ownership in the Danherst development was not restricted to plant employees.

Median age of Fairless Hills homes is circa 1953. Interior living space ranges from less than 1,000 to more than 4,000 sq. ft., many of the homes having been (and continuing to be) extended over the decades.The median interior living space is approximately 1,250 sq. ft. Lot sizes range from approximately one-tenth to nine-tenths of an acre with a median of approximately 0.18 acre.

One story (unconfirmed) suggests that the homes along Canterbury Rd were built somewhat larger and on roomier lots, intended for purchase by Fairless Works management. (Typical lot in the development was less than 1/4 acre; Canterbury lots seem to almost 1/2 acre.)

Fairless Hills is rougly bounded by Old Lincoln Highway (Business Route 1) and Oxford Valley Road on the North and East, and by the Pennsbury school campus and Levittown's Vermilion Hills on the south and east.

Main thoroughfares through Fairless Hills are Trenton Rd, Olds Boulevard, Oxford Valley Road.

Falls township is home to National Register Properties. The Fallsington Historic District (a well preserved 18th century village) is located in the northeastern part of the township, and the Sotcher Farmhouse (circa 1712) is what remains of Clover Hill Farm, the site of the original 1,500-home (or so) Danherst development. Pennsbury Manor is a 1938 reconstruction of William Penn's "country home" built circa 1680s.

School District: Pennsbury

Street Names: Andover Road, Auburn Road, Austin Circle, Austin Drive, Chelsea Road, Beaumont Road, Bedford Road, Berkshire Road, Blough Court, Cardiff Road, Chatham Court, Chelsea Road, Collingswood Road, Coventry Road, Devon Road, Doone Road, Doone Place, Edgemont Road, Glenmar Road, Gloucester Road, Guilford Road, Hanford Road, Lebbie Lane, Olds Blvd, Oxford Valley Road, Parkway Drive, Tewksbury Road, Trenton Road, Waltham Road, Welsford Road, Wyandotte Road, Yorkshire Lane, Yorksire Road