On April 1, 1848, John Smith, a wood dealer purchased 11.5 acres more or less from Haydock Garrigues and his wife Sidney for $1,600. According to the deed, the property included a dwelling house and any outbuildings. If the 1852 map "Vaciniety of Philadelphia from Actual Surveys" is correct, the house to the property was located on the corner of Buck Lane and now Railroad Avenue (1). This land stretched from Railroad Avenue (formally the Philadelphia and Columbia R.R.) to Haverford Road and from Buck Lane over to the southern border of the Bryn Mawr Terrace property. 

     Unfortunately, maps during this timeframe were not always as accurate as we would like them to be. Here are two examples The 1848 Joshua Ash map shows John Smith also owned the land from now Haverford Road all the way down to Coopertown Road which none of the deeds indicate was true. The 1852  map from surveys mistakenly put M H beside the dwelling on the corner of Buck Lane and now Railroad Avenue. However, it is a well-established fact the Friends Meetinghouse was located across the street at 855 Buck Lane.  

     On March 10, 1851, John Smith, a lumber merchant, and Sarah his wife sold 11.5 acres in Haverford Township to Albert G. Preston for $1,200 (2). The money was most likely needed to help pay for a 130-acre tract of land they recently purchased in Lower Merion Township. See the 1851 John Levering map below. Tract Location: The road slanting up to the left is Old Gulph Road and the road slanting downward to the right is Fisher's Road. The land on the opposite side of Fisher's Road eventually became the Church of Redeemer (Bryn Mawr, PA) property.