Ithan (pronounced ''EYE-thun''), formerly known as Radnorville, is a small village and neighborhood located in

Villanova, Pennsylvania Villanova is a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It straddles Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County and Radnor Township in Delaware County. It is located at the center of the Philadelphia Main Line, a series of Philadelphia suburbs lo ...

, west of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. It is generally considered to include all portions of Villanova approximately a half mile either side of the Blue Route. Ithan is centered on the intersection of Radnor Chester and Conestoga Roads, at the site of the

Radnor Friends Meetinghouse Radnor Friends Meetinghouse is a historic Quaker meeting house on Sproul and Conestoga Roads in Radnor Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. In 1686, there were sufficient number of Friends in Radnor township to begin meetings at the house ...

. It is located approximately 3/4 mile south of Lancaster Avenue on the

Main Line Mainline, ''Main line'', or ''Main Line'' may refer to: Transportation Railway * Main line (railway), the principal artery of a railway system * Main line railway preservation, the practice of operating preserved trains on an operational railw ...

. It encompasses the

Ardrossan Ardrossan (; ) is a town on the North Ayrshire coast in southwestern Scotland. The town has a population of 10,670 and forms part of a conurbation with Saltcoats and Stevenston known as the 'Three Towns'. Ardrossan is located on the east shore ...

estate and the small community of Banjo Town to the west, and the

Agnes Irwin School The Agnes Irwin School is a non-sectarian college preparatory day school for girls from pre-kindergarten through grade 12. It was founded in 1869 by Agnes Irwin in Philadelphia. Irwin, a great-great-granddaughter of Benjamin Franklin, later beca ...

to the east. The community is located in the center of Radnor Township, southeast of Wayne, and is nearly entirely residential, barring a small business district on the north side of the Meetinghouse. Prior to the 1980s, Ithan was relatively rural and undeveloped. However, increased population growth in the

Delaware Valley The Delaware Valley is a metropolitan region on the East Coast of the United States that comprises and surrounds Philadelphia, the sixth most populous city in the nation and 68th largest city in the world as of 2020. The toponym Delaware Val ...

, along with Ithan's location close to the Main Line, has catapulted Ithan into one of the most desirable suburbs of Philadelphia. All of Ithan is part of the

Radnor Township School District Radnor Township School District is a school district that serves Radnor Township, Pennsylvania and has 3 elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school. Due to the mostly affluent demographic of the Main Line that the Radnor Township ...

, and the community is also home to the Academy of Notre Dame de Namur.

References

{{Reflist Philadelphia Main Line Radnor Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania