Hatfield Museum & History Society

After our last post of the Orvilla schoolhouse, someone asked where the other schoolhouses were. So we will use our next few posts to tell you! Today, we look at the Oak Grove schoolhouse, located on Bergey Road, between the railroad crossing and Rt. 309. This old photo of the school is from 1905. All of the old schoolhouses were built (I believe) of stone, and covered with cement. The owners of the Oak Grove schoolhouse, which is now a residence, removed the cement to expose the beautiful stonework underneath. Out of the 6 township schoolhouses, this schoolhouse retains the most historic character.

Before 1922, all of Hatfield’s school children attended one of six one-room schoolhouses scattered around Hatfield Township, or the Borough schoolhouse at Main St. & Lincoln Ave. And all of those former schoolhouse still stand today! This photo shows the Orvilla schoolhouse located on the corner of Orvilla & Koffel Roads. It could be a bit difficult to see today from Koffel Road, though, due to landscaping.

Nothing like a great old aerial photo to help you take a step back in time! This 1947 photo shows Hatfield Borough right before the post-war housing boom brought many new streets and homes to the community. Long-timers won’t have any problem orienting themselves. The Wayne Ave. water tower is a big give-a-way. For those who are new to the area since the water tower came down around 1995, that’s Broad Street going up just left of center. Download and enlarge on a desktop to best enjoy the details of this photo!

"This and That, an Eclectic Look at Hatfield History Part 12", Presented by Society President Larry Stevens. (3-23-21)

Just a reminder to join us for tonight's program, "This and That, An Eclectic Look at Hatfield History, Part 12!" Don't miss out on never before seen photos and more! We begin at 7pm!

On the morning of December 25, 1960, Bill and Janice Decker celebrated Christmas together with their 2 1/2-year-old son, Billy, in the living room of their modest home in Hatfield Borough. Hatfield Borough, was a quiet, peaceful, small town, with only one traffic light and a population of just under 2000 people. Bill and Janice were living the American Dream they both had good jobs, a nice house, and two cars. That Christmas morning, Bill and Janice enjoyed helping young Bi...lly with opening his presents and exchanging gifts with each other. Bill gave Janice a camera. As they took family pictures with the new camera in front of their Christmas tree, joyfully lit with colorful lights and sparkling with strands of silver tinsel, Janice Decker had no way of knowing that she had less than 48 hours to live. Join us tomorrow night, January 26, at 7 p.m., right here on Facebook, for our next community program, "Holiday Homicide - The Murder of Janice Decker" to hear this tragic true story. See more

It's quite hard to imagine, but the Liberty Bell once passed through Hatfield by train! In April 1893, the Liberty Bell traveled from Philadelphia to Chicago for the World's Columbian Exposition (aka: Chicago World’s Fair). The Liberty Bell traveled by rail much of the way and that year, the Hatfield Invincible reported, Quite a number of our people were on the look out to see the Liberty Bell pass which was due here at 11 o'clock. On account of the disagreeable weather, the train was two hours late. This photo wasn't taken in Hatfield (I wish we had one!) but shows you what the bell looked like as it traveled through Hatfield.

Over 2,600 people are enjoying the old photos and memories on this page! Since 2013, this page has been a great way for people from across the United States (and around the world!) to reconnect with the history of Hatfield, PA! If you would like to financially help with supporting the efforts of the Society in preserving Hatfield’s history and in operating the Hatfield History Museum, we would welcome you as a member ($20 Click here for our website: www.hatfieldhistory.org) Or you could simply make a donation of any size here! Thanks!

This 1954 photo shows first grade children from the Hatfield Consolidated School outside of Wallace Derstein’s barn. The boys and girls lined up for the field trip in the playground behind the school and then were marched on foot from the school down Fairgrounds Road to the Derstein farm on Elroy Road (about a mile away), where they enjoyed a demonstration of some farm equipment. Imagine trying that with a group of first graders today! Thanks to Don Lewis for the photo and the memories!

** Aldo Andretti, twin brother of racing legend Mario Andretti, has died. ** Aldo Andretti, twin brother of racing legend, Mario Andretti, has died at age 80. It was at the Langhorne Racetrack that the 16-year-old Andretti twins got bit by the racing bug. Three years later, 1959 started out as a good year for 19-year-old brothers. They had purchased a 1948 Hudson Hornet together and took turns racing it on the mile dirt track of the Nazareth Speedway near their home. Withou...t a clue of what they were doing, the Andretti brothers managed four wins in the first four races of the 1959 racing season, and continued to do well the rest of the season, all without the knowledge of their parents, who would not approve of their dangerous hobby. The brother’s secret came to an end, however, when during the final race of the year, Aldo lost control of his car in a qualifying heat at the Hatfield Speedway, caught a fence and crashed hard. He was injured badly and suffered a fractured skull, ending up in a coma. The prognosis wasn't good -- a priest was called to give Aldo his last rites -- but four days after the crash, he woke up. Had it not been for the crash at Hatfield, things might have turned out differently for Aldo Andretti. He was a good racer, better than his twin brother, but he was never the same after that crash. While his brother went on to enjoy great success, a dark cloud seemed to follow Aldo, and his racing career after the crash was unnotable. Another terrible racing accident in 1969 ended his racing career forever. https://www.mcall.com//mc-spt-aldo-andretti-dies-20201231-