Contosta, David R.

David R. Contosta is a professor of history at Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Born in 1945 in Lancaster, Ohio, he received his PhD in History from Miami University of Ohio. He has written over 15 books on local history and other topics, including Suburb in the City: Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, 1850-1990 (Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press, 1992), A Philadelphia Family: The Houstons and Woodwards of Chestnut Hill (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992), and A Venture in Faith: The Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, 1889-1989 (Philadelphia: The Church, 1988).

Bibliography:

"David Contosta, Ph.D." Chestnut Hill College, 2010. Accessed December 28, 2011. http://www.chc.edu/directories/faculty/David_Contosta/

From the guide to the David Contosta Collection, circa 1980s, (Chestnut Hill Historical Society)

David R. Contosta is a professor of history at Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Born in 1945 in Lancaster, Ohio, he received his PhD in History from Miami University of Ohio. He has written over 15 books on local history and other topics, including Suburb in the City: Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, 1850-1990 (Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press, 1992), A Philadelphia Family: The Houstons and Woodwards of Chestnut Hill (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992), and A Venture in Faith: The Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, 1889-1989 (Philadelphia: The Church, 1988).

In 1997, Penn State University Press published David R. Contosta's book Philadelphia's Progressive Orphanage: The Carson Valley School . The Carson Valley School opened in Flourtown, Pennsylvania in 1918 as the Carson College for Orphan Girls with funding from Philadelphia streetcar tycoon Robert N. Carson. Carson originally stipulated that only white, parentless girls could be admitted, but by the 1970s the school was accepting children of all races and genders. As of 2012, the school is still in operation serving emotionally disturbed and behaviorally disordered students.

Bibliography:

"David Contosta, Ph.D." Chestnut Hill College, 2010. Accessed December 28, 2011. http://www.chc.edu/directories/faculty/David_Contosta/

From the guide to the David R. Contosta research files on Carson Valley School, 1992-1995, (Springfield Township Historical Society (Montgomery County, Pa.))