The Fountain House Inn, which took its name from the ample supply of water flowing from its nearby spring, was built in 1717 at this location. The Inn's site was strategic to the distance a team of horses could travel in a day. Exactly fourteen miles from Philadelphia, the Inn provided food and rest for weary travelers and their teams.
By the standards of the time, it was considered a huge structure. Originally it had eight rooms to accommodate travelers, but was later enlarged to eighteen rooms, each with solid oak floors and a fireplace. The Inn served good meals for twenty-five cents, had a barroom, and the town's first barber shop.
In 1848 the Inn was known as the Willow Grove Hotel and in 1851, the J. Luken's Hotel. In 1898, the hotel license was transferred from John T. Wood to John McEvoy. The Inn became the summer residence of the McEvoy family until the parents died, and then became the permanent home of the McEvoy children.
Among the visitors to the Inn was the famous composer and orchestra leader, Victor Herbert, who composed the song "They Were Irish" for the McEvoy family. The Fountain House Inn, after more than 250 years in Willow Grove, was demolished in 1961.
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