John K. Ketcham

John and Emily Ketcham and their young children moved from Philadelphia to Narberth in 1892, according to his obituary in Our Town (April 26, 1935). They followed Emily's parents, Sylvester and Keturah Baker, who had moved to Narberth in 1891. John and Emily had lived with her parents in the 1880 census, and in Narberth they may have again, since it was not until until 1893 that they acquired the half-acre on Haverford Avenue between Hampden and Iona on which they built their large house with a turret. It was directly across Iona Avenue from the Bakers. The house, which was later owned by Bert Bell, the NFL Commssioner, was demolished by 1963 for the Hampton Court apartments.

When Ketcham joined the Narberth Association in April 1894, his father-in-law was its vice-president. With his 9-month term on the new Borough Council in 1896, he again followed Baker, who had served 5½ months with the first elected Council the previous year.

John and Emily named their first son John Sylvester Ketcham.

Ketcham the Builder

Ketcham's was a family of master caprenters, contractors and builders: his father Benjamin, uncle John, brother Mahlon and son John S. all were elected to the Carpenters' Company of Philadelphia. John K. was a member of the Company from 1878 until his death and elected to a term as its president in 1901. His firm was B. Ketcham & Sons, after his father's death in 1894, B. Ketcham's Sons. A cursory search of the Philadelphia Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide yields hundreds of projects throughout the 1890s to the 1910s.

His obituary in Our Town on April 26, 1935 noted: "Mr. Ketcham built many structures in Philadelphia, including the Garrick Theatre, the Wakeman Building, Gimbel's Store, and the Hale building."

It continued, "He also built the Narberth Fire House and the Narberth Presbyterian Church, of which he was a member, and many houses in the community."

Ketcham the Photographer

Ketcham has bequeathed us a number of glass-plate photographs, some made to document his building projects, some clearly for pleasure.

The dramatic series of photos we have named "Snowy Narberth from the Water Tower" is preserved at the Lower Merion Historical Society in a clipping from an unidentified magazine. They are captioned "The photographer was John Ketchum, whose exposures were made on glass negatives, some of which are still preserved."

From that clue, and knowing Ketcham's construction projects, it may be deduced with confidence that Ketcham photographed the following:

Woodside Avenue, about 1894

Snowy Narberth from the Water Tower, about 1899

Presbyterian church site after fire, 1896

Narberth Presbyterian church, 1897

Elm Hall, about 1900

If further series come to light, they will be added here.

Updated February 3, 2026.