The name of Samuel K. Swartley was once a household name in Lansdale and the surrounding area; in fact, all the way down to Philadelphia.
In these photos, we see Swartley, posing with his grocer’s horse and wagon and also standing on the porch of his house/store.


According to Grace Sayer of Salford, the granddaughter of Swartley, these photos are of the home owned by Swartley, with one side of the house having been transformed into a grocery store at 417 W. Main St., Lansdale.
Sayer said the timeframe was the late 1800s and early 1900s, when the store was in operation.
Swartley would travel to Philadelphia in his horse-drawn wagon to buy meat, she said, and it was an all-day enterprise.
The horse certainly looks like a noble steed, and you can see various items for sale in front of the store.

Quite a difference from the supermarkets of this age.

The site as it appears today