In 1900 a telegraph office occupied the southwest corner of Chestnut & S. Essex avenues, lot 69 of Wood and Harmon's "Narberth Grove" subdivision. Atlas of Properties Along the Pennsylvania R.R. (Philadelphia, J. L. Smith, 1900)
The twin houses on Narberth Grove Lots 67–68–69 were among the earliest in that development. The lots were deeeded in 1905 to Narberth resident John K. Ketcham, a prominent contractor in Philadelphia and the region. In 1908 #128 (the corner property), "with the messuage or tenement thereon erected", was a gift to his son John S. Ketcham, shortly before his wedding. John S., its first occupant, undoubtedly helped build the house, since soon thereafter he apprenticed in his father's construction firm, and after his father's retirement took it over. Both Ketchams were elected president of the Carpenters' Company of Philadelphia, whose headquarters at Carpenter's Hall was the site of the First Continental Congress in 1774.
Montgomery County Property Record