Belmont Hills, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania

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Located in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, Belmont Hills is a suburb of Philadelphia. Belmont Hills shares its zip code with Bala Cynwyd (19004), but is its own distinct community with its own public elementary school, public pool, fire department and public library. Belmont Hills is also well known for its hilly terrain. Belmont means "Beautiful Hills" so its literal name is "Beautiful Hills Hills".

[edit] Name Changes

When first settled, Belmont Hills was then known as Rocky Hill up until the Reading Railroad was built. When it was then called West Manayunk and then in the 1950's the name was changed to its current name.

[edit] Notable Events

The Ashland Avenue School was built in 1919. Ashland Avenue School started out with grades K-8; twenty years later, it became K-6. In 1952, the Ashland Avenue School officially became Belmont Hills School. In 1978, the grades changed to K-5. Belmont Hills School was closed in June of 1982 because there were too many elementary schools and not enough children in the area. In 1999 Belmont Hills was reopened as Belmont Hills Elementary School.

In 1917 a forward thinking civic group began laying the groundwork for a community fire fighting service in West Manayunk. Initially, fires were fought with the assistance of a hand-drawn chemical wagon. A year later, a horse drawn wagon was purchased, this allowed the brigade members a little more energy for actually fighting the fires. By 1919, the West Manayunk Fire Company had officially been recognized as a township fire company in Lower Merion, and had appointed its first chief, Joseph Reilly. In 1920, the parcel of land on South Washington Avenue – the current site of the Belmont Hills Fire Company – was purchased. In order to conduct fire company meetings, space was rented at the nearby Ashland School. Architectural plans for the newly chartered fire company were made, the Women’s Auxiliary was formed, and the first motorized piece of fire fighting apparatus was secured. The year 1926 saw the West Manayunk Fire Station become a physical reality and, that same year, two modernized La France fire trucks were housed. A decade later, growing out of its original space, the fire station was enlarged to its present status. The name change to the Belmont Hills Fire Company was officially adopted in the late 1950’s. In the late sixties, due in part to the proximity of the newly constructed Schuylkill Expressway, in addition to the need for a township rescue unit, the Belmont Hills Fire Company was designated as a heavy rescue squad. Since that time, the fire station has purchased state-of-the-art fire fighting and rescue equipment. This sophisticated equipment is only one part of the service rendered by the Belmont Hills Fire Company. The active brigade members complete the picture, and are regularly schooled and drilled in the science of fire fighting and rescue.

Belmont Hills is notable for its annual stickball tournament fundraiser in June to help a local family.