Swarthmore College property records
Scope and Contents
The Swarthmore College property records, 1687-1993, include real estate and building appraisals; deeds, mortgages, and leases; blueprints, maps, and plans; reports by Swarthmore committees and external consultants; administrative documents such as budgets and correspondence; and other records pertaining to college buildings and grounds, construction and maintenance, and utilities and resource use. There is a large amount of material pertaining to the College's opposition to the "Blue Route" (Mid-County Expressway, I-476).
Dates
- Creation: 1687-1993
Creator
- Swarthmore College (Organization)
Limitations on Accessing the Collection
Collection is open for research.
Copyright and Rights Information
Copyright has not been assigned to Friends Historical Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in to the Director. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Friends Historical Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by reader.
Biographical / Historical
Swarthmore College was founded on April 1, 1864, by the Religious Society of Friends (Hicksite), by Act of Incorporation of the Pennsylvania State Legislature. Once $50,000 was raised, land was purchased in the Westdale section of Springfield Township (now Swarthmore), Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The first building constructed by the college, now known as Parrish Hall, was completed in time for classes to begin in the fall of 1869. The oldest building on campus, however, is the Benjamin West House, built in 1724, the birthplace of influential early American painter Benjamin West (1738-1820). As of 2015, the Swarthmore College campus includes over 50 buildings.
Extent
65 Linear Feet
Language
English
Overview
The Swarthmore College property records include real estate and building appraisals; deeds, mortgages, and leases; reports by Swarthmore committees and external consultants; administrative documents such as budgets and correspondence; blueprints, maps, and plans; and other records pertaining to college buildings and grounds, construction and maintenance, and utilities and resource use.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Deposit, 1972 and on-going
Processing Information
A large portion of this material was received circa 1972 and processed as part of Swarthmore College Archives, Series 2, Official Records of the College.
In 2018, when the Service Building was renovated, the Facilities Department scanned all of their blueprints and then sent the paper copies to FHL. In 2018-2019, FHL staff processed the blueprints, reorganizing by building ID number, and consolidating the blueprints from 8 flat file cases into 4.
Subject
- Swarthmore College -- Buildings (Organization)
- Swarthmore College -- Administration (Organization)
- Title
- Finding Aid for the Swarthmore College Property Records, 1687-1993
- Author
- FHL staff
- Date
- 2018
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
Find It at the Library
Most of the materials in this catalog are not digitized and can only be accessed in person. Please see our website for more information about visiting or requesting reproductions from Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College Library
