Cheltenham was founded in 1682, and its early history was defined by mills, which used Tookany Creek to power gristmills, manufacture shovels, hammers, and spades, and later carpentry products such as doors, window frames, and shutters.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Cheltenham transitioned to a community of wealthy industrial and merchant Philadelphians, who built large estates in what was still rural land.

The Reading Railroad tracks in Cheltenham Township were electrified in 1931, which offered faster passenger service.

In the 21st century, historic homes and buildings designed by Frank Furness, Horace Trumbauer, and Frank Lloyd Wright coexist with split level, twin, row, and other forms of high-density housing, along with parks, arboretums, recreational and educational facilities, tree-lined streets, and commercial corridors.

After changing ownership several times, the Rowland family eventually made the mill the second-largest producer of shovels in the United States.

Perhaps the most famous mansions that still stand to this day are the prominent Widener family mansion Lynnewood Hall, the Elkins Estate which was home to William Elkins, and Grey Towers Castle which was home to William Welsh Harrison.

[8] As the Gilded Age ended and the Great Depression hit the country, many of the estates and mansions were destroyed and made way for the building of houses in their place.

The original Koreatown was located in the Olney section of Philadelphia, but eventually was moved north to Logan.

Large pockets of Koreans were eventually established in Cheltenham, and also in Upper Darby Township and West Philadelphia.

By the 2000 census, Cheltenham Township was one of two municipalities in Montgomery County that had a non-white population exceeding 20 percent; the other was Norristown.

[10] Cheltenham and other early communities in the Philadelphia area, including Upper Darby Township, Haverford, Lower Merion, and Jenkintown have retained their distinct identities while being surrounded by suburbia over the middle to late part of the twentieth century.

Cheltenham has 13 listings on the National Register of Historic Places, the most of any municipality in Montgomery County.

In 2013, Cheltenham Township was named a "Classic Town of Greater Philadelphia," for being "one of the most diverse, unique, and livable communities in our region" and "truly at the center of it all.

The pigeon on top of a blue sphere represents the founding of the fountain spa which made Cheltenham famous.

[13] Cheltenham is a residential township in the southeasternmost part of Montgomery County, which is in Southeastern Pennsylvania (locally known as the Delaware Valley).

It is one of seven municipalities in Montgomery County that borders Philadelphia and is 5 miles (8.0 km) northeast of the Center City.

The area consists of rolling hills and also features a few streams flowing through it, most notably the Tookany Creek.

The lowest elevation is 63 feet (19 m), in the southeasternmost part of the township, where Tookany Creek flows into Philadelphia.

Edge Hill, Laverock, and Cedarbrook's exact populations and land area are uncertain.

As of the 2010 census, Cheltenham Township was 56.6% White, 32.8% Black or African-American, 0.2% Native American, 7.7% Asian, and 2.5% were two or more races.

Cheltenham is currently a very Democratic heavy community, winning by large margins in each of the past six presidential elections.

The only municipality in Montgomery County in the 2012 election that had a higher Democratic voting percentage was Norristown's 82.99%, compared to Cheltenham's 80.85%.

[27] Cheltenham is one of only seven Townships in Pennsylvania, and of 29 municipalities in the entire state, to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity by executive order.

All trains going north of Center City (with the exception of the Trenton Line) pass through Cheltenham.

As of 2016[update] Taiwanese airline EVA Air provides a private bus service to and from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City for customers based in the Philadelphia area.

Cheltenham Avenue ends on the westside at Paper Mill Road in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania which is part of Springfield Township.

Pennsylvania Route 611 starts in Philadelphia and runs through Cheltenham Township as Old York Road.

It is the main access road to Willow Grove in Abington and Upper Moreland Townships.

Cheltenham was one of several communities in Pennsylvania to make the United States Main Street Program.