The Berwyn Heights Company

This house was built about 1910 by Fred Benson, a U.S. Treasury Department employee, and his wife Margaret. From 1922 to 1950, it served as the local office of the Berwyn Heights Company, a real estate and community development company incorporated in Delaware in November 1919 by six citizens of Berwyn Heights after they purchased at auction 140 acres of land in town. Fred Benson was president, Elwood Taylor vice president, William Willard secretary, John McNitt treasurer, and John Gardiner general counsel. In 1922, Clarence Benson, a U.S. Cavalry officer, succeeded his father Fred as president. By 1928, all original partners had resigned. The company was managed by Clarence, his mother Margaret, and briefly his brother Howard until 1951. His son William took over in 1952, followed by the trio of Clarence's wife Helen, his daughter Mildred, and her husband Robert Tobin. The company's holdings were mostly sold off by 1960 before it was disbanded in 1975. Today, its footprint is visible in several 1920s kit homes and post-war subdivisions.

Berwyn Heights, Maryland · United States