Marlborough Township

Montgomery County, Pennsylvania

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Marlborough Township municipal offices are located at 6040 Upper Ridge Road, Green Lane, PA 18054.
Phone: 215‑234‑9300.

Neighborhoods

Location, Location, Locaation

Marlborough Township [1] is a 12.6 square mile community located in northwestern Montgomery County. Its neighbors in the county are the townships of Salford, Upper Salford, Upper Hanover, and Upper Frederick, and the borough of Green Lane. It abuts Milford Township to the north in Bucks County. Like Marlborough, all of these communities are generally characterized as rural and open, known for their numerous scenic and environmental qualities.

Marlborough's location is approximately 20 miles south of the Allentown / Bethlehem area, 25 miles east of Reading, and 30 miles north of Philadelphia. These areas represent regional population centers and their surrounding urbanized areas offer employment and shopping opportunities. At the local level, Marlborough has easy access to Quakertown and Sellersville-Perkasie in Bucks County and to areas such as Telford and Souderton (where some limited access to public transportation is available), Harleysville, Collegeville, Willow Grove, Norristown, King of Prussia, West Point, Lansdale, and Pottstown within Montgomery County. All of these areas offer employment and shopping on a county-wide scale.

The township is connected to other areas by two major roads. Route 63 runs east-west through much of the county. Route 29 runs north-south between Phoenixville in Chester County, the Upper Perkiomen boroughs (East Greenville, Red Hill, and Pennsburg), and into Berks County.

Also of local significance, the Montgomery Mall (15 miles to the southeast) and Quakertown (eight miles to the northeast) are the two areas where most Marlborough residents shop. The Route 422 corridor, which runs from King of Prussia through Pottstown, should also be mentioned because of the ongoing employment and residential growth in this area. While this corridor is several miles away, it has an impact on growth patterns throughout Montgomery County. Also important to Marlborough’s regional position is its location adjacent to Montgomery County’s Green Lane Park and the accompanying Perkiomen Trail.

While Marlborough sits near major transportation routes and employment and shopping nodes, it is far enough removed from these areas to retain its natural beauty and rural atmosphere. No stop lights yet exist in the township. Marlborough has retained this character because of the long-range planning by elected and appointed officials along with the fact that extensive areas within the township are dominated by unique natural resources that offer minimal development opportunities. On the east side of Upper Ridge Road lie areas of diabase geology, the Unami Creek and its tributaries, steep slopes, wetland soils, and heavy woodlands. The Unami Forest in this area is part of the largest contiguous tract of second growth forest in Southeast Pennsylvania. It is in this area where camps, sporting clubs, and summer retreats, and preserved lands can be found. On a larger scale, this woodland is part of the greater Highlands Region, extending from Connecticut to Maryland.

Brief History[2]

The township of Marlborough is bounded on the northeast by Bucks County, south and east by Upper Salford, southwest by Frederick and the borough of Green Lane and northwest by Upper Hanover. Its greatest length is five miles, and greatest width three miles, with an area of one hundred and fifty square miles, or eight thousand five hundred acres, having been reduced, in 1875, about one hundred and fifty-four acres by the incorporation of Green Lane. The surface is rolling sand and the soil red shale. A rocky elevation commences near Sumneytown, between the East Swamp and Ridge Valley Creeks, and extends northeastwards into Bucks County. The Perkiomen flows along its southwest boundary, and East Swamp Creek through its eastern portion. The latter stream empties into Ridge Valley Creek at Sumneytown, and has been celebrated for its powder and oil mills, which, in 1849, were twelve in number, one-half being powder-mills.

The township is drained by the Perkiomen, East Swamp, Ridge Valley and Macoby Creeks.

Its name is supposed to have been in honor of the Duke of Marlborough, whose military exploits gave him a wide celebrity about the year 1706, and who died 1722. The formation of the township appears to have taken place about 1745. The earliest settlement known within its limits was that of Thomas Mayberry, who purchased a tract of land, in 1730, containing twelve hundred and forty acres, on which he subsequently erected a forge near where the present borough of Green Lane is situated. This forge was in operation for some years prior to 1747.

  1. Marlborough Township Open Space Plan, 2005, www.montcopa.org, accessed November, 2020.
  2. Bean, Theodore W., editor, History of Montgomery County Pennsylvania, Illustrated, 1884,, Everts & Peck, 1884, Philadelphia

Nearby Towns: East Greenville Boro • Franconia Twp • Green Lane Boro • Lower Frederick Twp • Milford Twp • Pennsburg Boro • Quakertown Boro • Red Hill Boro • Salford Twp • Trumbauersville Boro • Upper Frederick Twp • Upper Hanover Twp • Upper Salford Twp • West Rockhill Twp •



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