Before the Gwynhurst was a hotel, it was originally a home.
The Kent Place
The home was located on the site of the Evans' Family tract. It was originally owned by Owen Evans in 1739. Later on, his property was sold to William Foulke, the descendent of the original members of the Foulke Family and the owner of the Foulke Mansion during the 18th century.
In 1772, William detached 60 acres, from the original 100 acres, to George Maris, a well-known land spectator during the Revolutionary War era.
In 1793, the home was later owned by Reverend Jacob Van Buskirk, of Hackensack, New Jersey, who preached at the St. Peter's Church, which is currently located in North Wales after the spilt of Lower and Upper Gwynedd. He became a pastor at St. Peter's the same year he purchased the home. He died suddenly on August 5th, 1800.
The home was taken over by his widow after his death. She remarried to Philip Hanh who ended up selling the property in 1802. In 1806, another member of the Foulke family, Cadwallader Foulke, purchased the property and the home remained within the family for 40 years.
During his occupancy, Cadwallader built a stone house that stood for 40 years, and was described as "very elegant and commodious." Unfortunately, that home was demolished when Rodolphus Kent purchased the property in 1854. He replaced the former Foulke home with his own home. In 1881, before his death, Rudolph's sold his property to Charles Roth who was originally from the Italian section of Switzerland, possibly Ticino.
Fun Fact #1: In 1877, this site was planned to be the place where the newly state insane hospital would be. The commission involved was selected by Pennsylvania Governor John Frederick Hartranft. The site of the hospital was then changed to Norristown, known then as the State Lunatic Hospital at Norristown.
The House That Turned Into a Boarding House
Ever since Charles Roth sold his property, it immediately became a first-class boarding house where people from mostly Philadelphia rent the place for a few days, months or at least a year. Boarding houses were popular during the 19th and 20th century for people from poor communities who move into the city. New York was the primary example of boarding houses. Its boarding houses housed minority communities and immigrants as well as students, single women, and sailors.
In this case, it was mostly Philadelphians who come to rural communities like Gwynedd, and lived and rented at the hotel to simply get away from the city life.
"At one point, as many as half of all urban Americans would have either boarded themselves or taken boarders into their own homes. For citizens of an agrarian republic moving into the new urban landscape, the boarding house provided an intermediate step of community. Shared meals and common areas facilitated the feeling of home in a large family, and proprietors often were charged with maintaining a certain standard of morality for those coming under their care."
- Jonathan Coppage, "The Boarding House the Built America"
Some time around the early 1900s, the name of the hotel was changed from the Adrian Hotel, to the Gwynhurst.
Bibliography
Coppage, Jonathan. "The Boarding House the Built America." The American Conservative. Last modified May 23, 2016. https://www.theamericanconservative.com/urbs/the-boarding-houses-that-built-america/.
Etherington, Cat. "The boarding house’s long history of hosting single New Yorkers." 6sqft. Last Modified September 12, 2017. https://www.6sqft.com/the-history-of-new-york-city-boarding-house-and-where-you-can-still-find-them/.
"Google Maps Area Calculator Tool." DaftLogic. Accessed January 24, 2023. https://www.daftlogic.com/projects-google-maps-area-calculator-tool.htm.
Jenkins, Howard Malcolm. Historical Collections Relating to Gwynedd, a Township of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Settled, 1696, by Immigrants from Wales, with Some Data Referring to the Adjoining Township, of Montgomery, also Settled by Welsh. (Philadelphia: Howard Malcolm Jenkins, 1897): 377.
"Local History. Historical Facts Regarding Two Well-Known Places at Gwynedd Station--Williams Farm--Davis Property--Kent Homestead." Ambler Gazette. July 21, 1898. Page 2. http://digitalcollections.powerlibrary.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/wivp-gazett/id/1200/rec/1.
"Wissahickon Valley Public Library's Ambler Gazette Collection." POWER Library: Pennsylvania's Electronic Library. Accessed November 27, 2021. http://digitalcollections.powerlibrary.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/wivp-gazett.