I have been inspired by the widely popular thread "Tell Me About OLNEY" to start similar threads for my legislative district.

Please tell us whatever you would like to share about FERN ROCK: its past, present, and future.

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This is a great idea; thanks, Mark!

As a longtime Olney resident (now living in Lawncrest), I have always wondered exactly where Fern Rock is, what its borders are, etc.

I've always thought of Fern Rock Transportation Center as being in Olney, due to its proximity to Olney Ave.

The major landmark to the north, I suppose, would include the PA College of Optometry at 1200 W. Godfrey. There are also many large, older homes in the area (between 5th Street to the east and Broad St. to the west), some of which I'm sure have a ton of history.

Fern Rock begins to the west of the railroad tracks. Think Fern Rock subway station. I grew up on the border of Olney/Fern Rock. I used to hang in the apartments at 900 w Champlost . I remember the VFW at Spencer Street behind the train station. I think it's a Korean joint now. The strip mall on Godfrey had Al's Deli, the people that ran the place actually had numbers tattooed on their forearms from the concentration camp. Next to that was Harvey's pizza. Many great meals in there. The strange thing is, Fern Rock Hardware, Deli, and theater on 5th st. are in Olney, at least by modern boundries.

Thanks; this definitely helps...

The VFW at Spencer is a Korean church of some sort now, I believe.

The strip mall on Godfrey you refer to is the one just above 10th Street, right? There's some sort of deli, an alleged seafood takeout place (used to be an actual restaurant, I think), a karate center, hair salon and dry cleaner there these days.

I also wondered why the movie theater, hardward store and deli on 5th Street in Olney bore the 'Fern Rock' name.

Amazingly, that little hardware store is still going strong. My dad and I still go to Marty for all of our specialized needs. His service beats the what you'll get from the 'big boys' (Home Depot, Lowe's, etc.), when it comes to small-scale projects.

Remember the sign at the deli, with the fat guy with the bushy mustache carrying fruit (or groceries, or something) in his apron. It survived for a while, before some punks threw rocks through it a few years back. Wish I had taken a picture of it.

From what I've read Fern Rock got its name from the old estate of Federal Judge John Kane that was located around Old York Road and Medary in the early 1800s. His son became a Navy doctor and artic expedition leader in the 1840's and 1850's.
See Doctor Kane of the Artic Seas by George W. Corner (Temple U Press 1972)

The geology of the area is quite interesting- it seems to lie at the edge of the Piedmont, where it transitions into the coastal plain. There is lots of rock close to the ground in a line that runs through the neighborhood, into Fisher Park in the one direction, and over toward Fernhill Park in the other. Go south of there and the bedrock dives down. I guess that's why it's called Fern Rock- there used to be lots of streams running through the area as well, feeders of both the Tacony and Wingohocking Creeks.

This doesn't refer to the neighborhood, but rather the train station, which I believe shouldn't even be in existence, since it's so close to Olney Ave. I'd rather have SEPTA extend the Broad St Line up to Jenkintown-Wyncote via Broad and Old York Rd (a real hub) than have the station there. Other than that, it's a nice hood.

I remember the first time my pop drove me through north philly. When we drove through Fern Rock I was surprised how good that part of North Philly looked. It was one of the first but not last of surprises I found in exploring this city.

I have to disagree about the importance of Fern Rock as a transport hub. It's got about 6 bus lines that connect there, and 3 regional rail lines, 2 of which go straight to Jenkintown. I guess the original purpose of the Fern Rock extension was to have the yard for the trains- they have to be stored and serviced somewhere.
If I was going to develop an affordable apartment building in the are Fern Rock would be a good site.

Not a good neighborhood for ob nurses who make house calls apparently.

I lived in Fern Rock for three years from 2002-2005. It was fine. It's the kind of neighborhood that knows it not really urban and certainly not that suburban. You travel south of the Nedro Avenue and it's still Fern Rock, but a little less nice. I lived near Godfrey - you can't call that a lousy area.