Kathleen Farm - Spring House, PA
- Yen Ho
- 6 days ago
- 4 min read
The Kathleen Farm was located north of Spring House near the Horsham Township line and on the left side of Bethlehem Pike. And, it was part of the Foulke family tract. One of the original tracts, to be exact besides Penllyn! Last time I discussed how Joseph Foulke established a school across from the Kathleen Farm. This time, I will discuss more on the property's history from his younger brother, Hugh, Jr.
The Foulke Homestead
"The surface is partly level, but mostly rolling, and through the meadow valley flow the springs and rivulets forming the Trewerryn. In fact, a portion of the estate is a summit level, from which the water is drained in opposite directions both to the Delaware and the [Schuylkill]."
- E.M.
The land where the Foulke estate was was part of the 579 acres of John Humphrey in 1699. In 1705, he sold 129 acres to Hugh Griffith for the sum of 30 pounds. It was his daughter Margaret who married a member of the Foulke family: Edward Foulke (1707-1770). Edward was actually living on his property after his marriage to Margaret, and they were considered tenants. Hugh lived with them after his wife passed away. Margaret became the sole possessor of the property after Edward passed away, and then their son, Hugh Foulke (1751-1831), was given 180 acres from Margaret's will.
Hugh lived on the property until his death in 1831. Since his death the property was divided between his two youngest sons: Joseph (1786-1863) and Hugh, Jr. (1788-1864). Joseph took the eastern side of the property while Hugh, Jr. maintained the family's homestead on the west side of Bethlehem Pike. By 1879, Hugh gave the property to his son Thomas S. Foulke (1829-1884), and then it was passed onto his wife Phoebe. In 1900, the property was transferred to Catharine B. Dougherty with 78 acres for $10,500.
"A portion of this house is quite old, bearing the date of 1817, and here is suppos'd to have stood a habitation since 1706. Here was the natural location for an old-time homestead--the meadow bank and the spring of lasting water. A long while after its selection the great road was laid out, first to 'Perquasie,' and afterwards to Bethlehem, dividing the property diagonally in twain."
- E.M.
Fun Fact # 1: Phoebe was the sister in-law of Henry Jones of Ambler, an abolitionist and poet who wrote The Wissahickon and Other Poems.
Colonel Louis J. Kolb
In 1906, the Foulke estate was purchased by Colonel Louis J. Kolb (1865-1941) for $15,500, and renovated the homestead. Born in New York City, Louis attended Rugby Academy prep school in Philadelphia and later at the University of Pennsylvania where he graduated in 1887. He then inherited his father’s baking business, and turned it into one of the largest businesses in Philadelphia.
Fun Fact # 2: Colonel Kolb’s military title was honorary due to his appointment as a lieutenant colonel on the staff of PA Governor Martin G. Brumbaugh.
"He invented a new type of bakery oven and entered the yeast production business. Louis was responsible for the successful Philadelphia advertising campaign, as one early 1899 publication states that 'Advertising has been his recreation as well as his lifework. Selecting the mediums which interested him the most, Mr. Kolb has gradually improved his advertising as well as his bread and now both are known to all Philadelphians, as well as to all the citizens of the towns for several miles around.'"
- Jordan Keiffer
Louis eventually sold the baking company, and became president of the General Baking Company. He was also a philanthropist, contributing in many ways to the cultural, medical, and academic communities in Philadelphia:
Vice President of the Real Estate Trust Company and the Pennsylvania Sugar Company
Director of Philadelphia Manufactures Fire Insurance Company and several hospitals including University of Pennsylvania Hospital, Hannaman Hospital, St. Luke’s Hospital and Children’s Hospital
Fun Fact # 3: Louis was a collector of historical artifacts and had one of the most extensive private collections of Lincolniana. Hence, the Kolb Foundation at the Penn Museum was founded in his honor.
Fun Fact # 4: Governor Brumbaugh was a guest at Kolb's Kathleen Farm.
Bibliography
"About the Society." Louis J. Kolb Society of Fellows. Accessed July 23, 2026. https://web.sas.upenn.edu/kolbsociety/about/.
"Ambler, Yesterday: History and Fact Behind Ambler of Today By Dr. Mary P. H. Hough.: Henry Jones, Part No. 1." Ambler Gazette. February 24, 1938. Page 4. https://digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/papd/islandora/object/papd%3Awivp-gazett_23611.
"Descendants of Edward FOULKE: Generation Four." Gwynedd Friends Meeting. Accessed July 22, 2026. https://www.friendsjournal.org/legacy/abington/gwynedd/foulkefour.htm.
Franklin Survey Company. Montgomery County 1934 Vol A, Plate 14, 1934.
Friends' Intelligencer 72, no. 28 (1915): Page 443.
Herman, Andrew Mark. Along the Wissahickon Creek. (Charleston: Arcadia Publishing, 2004): 25.
Keiffer, Jordan. "Ghosts Signs of Philadelphia: Machines and Bread in Olde Kensington." Hidden City Philadelphia. Last modified October 30, 2023. https://hiddencityphila.org/2023/10/ghosts-signs-of-philadelphia-machines-and-bread-in-olde-kensington/.
"LOCAL HISTORY. The Foulke Homestead, Bethlehem Turnpike--John Humphrey and Hugh Griffiths--Interesting Characters." Ambler Gazette. May 31, 1900. Page 7. https://digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/papd/islandora/object/papd%3Awivp-gazett_3153.
Morris, William E, and Smith & Wistar. Map of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania: from original surveys. [Philadelphia: Smith & Wistar, 1849] Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/2012590207/.
Report of Convention National Association of Master Bakers. (Philadelphia: National Association of Master Bakers, 1911): 76.
Scott, J. D. Montgomery County 1877, Gwynedd, North Wales, Ambler, Royer's Ford, Limerick Station, 1877.
Smith, J. L. Montgomery County 1893, Upper and Lower Gwynedd Townships, Lansdale, North Wales, Spring House, Ambler Right, 1893.
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