Rose Breeder  

Listing last updated on Wed Aug 2024

Pennsylvania
United States

Wyndmoor near Philadelphia

[From Springfield Township, Montgomery County, by Charles G. Zwicker & Edward C. Zwicker, 2002, p. 94:] This aerial view was taken in 1926 of the Samtmann Brothers rose farm located on Cheltenham Avenue, between Ivy Hill Road and Mermaid Lane. This was a family business in operation from 1922 to 1973, when rising fuel costs forced them to shut down. Wyndmoor was a principal area for rose growing in America between 1870 and 1960. Three families were involved at that time, the Samtmann, John Burton, and Frank Myers families. Martin Samtmann started as the superintendent at Myers and later went into partnership with him before purchasing 18 acres and starting his own company with his three sons. They produced up to 110'000 plants a year at their peak.