Petah Tikva was founded in 1878 by religious Jewish pioneers from Europe, among them Yehoshua Stampfer, Moshe Shmuel Raab, Yoel Moshe Salomon, Zerach Barnett, and David Gutmann, as well as Lithuanian Rabbi Aryeh Leib Frumkin who built the first house.
It was the first modern Jewish agricultural settlement in Ottoman Southern Syria (hence its nickname as "Mother of the Moshavot").

Originally intending to establish a new settlement in the Achor Valley, near Jericho, the pioneers purchased land in that area.
However, Abdülhamid II cancelled the purchase and forbade them from settling there, but they retained the name Petah Tikva as a symbol of their aspirations.

In 1878 the founders of Petah Tikva learned of the availability of land northeast of Jaffa near the village of Mulabes (or Umlabes).
The land was owned by two Christian businessmen from Jaffa, Antoine Bishara Tayan and Selim Qassar, and was worked by some thirty tenant farmers.
Tayan's property was the larger, some 8,500 dunams, but much of it was in the malarial swamp of the Yarkon Valley.
Qassar's property, approximately 3,500 dunams, lay a few kilometers to the south of the Yarkon, away from the swampland.
It was Qassar's that was purchased on July 30, 1878.
Tayan's holdings were purchased when a second group of settlers, known as the Yarkonim, arrived in Petah Tikva  the following year.
Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II allowed the purchase because of the poor quality of the land.

A malaria epidemic broke out in 1880, forcing the abandonment of the settlements on both holdings.
Those who remained in the area moved south to Yehud.
After Petah Tikva was reoccupied by Bilu immigrants in 1883 some of the original families returned.
With funding for swamp drainage provided by Baron Edmond de Rothschild, the colony became more stable.

Upon learning that the Austrian post office in Jaffa wanted to open a branch in Petah Tikva,  Yitzchak Goldenhirsch, an early resident, offered his assistance on condition that the Austrian consulate issued a Hebrew stamp and a special postmark for Petah Tikva.
The stamp was designed by an unknown artist featuring a plow, green fields and a blossoming orange tree.
The price was 14 paras (a Turkish coin) and displayed the name 'Petah Tikva' in Hebrew letters.

During the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I, Petah Tikva served as a refugee town for residents of Tel Aviv and Jaffa, following their exile by the Ottoman authorities due to their refusal to serve the Ottoman army to fight the invading British forces.
The town suffered heavily as it lay between the Ottoman and British fronts during the war.
Petah Tikva was founded in 1878 by religious Jewish pioneers from Europe, among them Yehoshua Stampfer, Moshe Shmuel Raab, Yoel Moshe Salomon, Zerach Barnett, and David Gutmann, as well as Lithuanian Rabbi Aryeh Leib Frumkin who built the first house. It was the first modern Jewish agricultural settlement in Ottoman Southern Syria (hence its nickname as "Mother of the Moshavot"). 
Originally intending to establish a new settlement in the Achor Valley, near Jericho, the pioneers purchased land in that area. However, Abdülhamid II cancelled the purchase and forbade them from settling there, but they retained the name Petah Tikva as a symbol of their aspirations.
In 1878 the founders of Petah Tikva learned of the availability of land northeast of Jaffa near the village of Mulabes (or Umlabes). The land was owned by two Christian businessmen from Jaffa, Antoine Bishara Tayan and Selim Qassar, and was worked by some thirty tenant farmers. Tayan's property was the larger, some 8,500 dunams, but much of it was in the malarial swamp of the Yarkon Valley. Qassar's property, approximately 3,500 dunams, lay a few kilometers to the south of the Yarkon, away from the swampland. It was Qassar's that was purchased on July 30, 1878. Tayan's holdings were purchased when a second group of settlers, known as the Yarkonim, arrived in Petah Tikva  the following year. Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II allowed the purchase because of the poor quality of the land.
A malaria epidemic broke out in 1880, forcing the abandonment of the settlements on both holdings. Those who remained in the area moved south to Yehud. After Petah Tikva was reoccupied by Bilu immigrants in 1883 some of the original families returned. With funding for swamp drainage provided by Baron Edmond de Rothschild, the colony became more stable.
Upon learning that the Austrian post office in Jaffa wanted to open a branch in Petah Tikva,  Yitzchak Goldenhirsch, an early resident, offered his assistance on condition that the Austrian consulate issued a Hebrew stamp and a special postmark for Petah Tikva. The stamp was designed by an unknown artist featuring a plow, green fields and a blossoming orange tree. The price was 14 paras (a Turkish coin) and displayed the name 'Petah Tikva' in Hebrew letters.
During the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I, Petah Tikva served as a refugee town for residents of Tel Aviv and Jaffa, following their exile by the Ottoman authorities due to their refusal to serve the Ottoman army to fight the invading British forces. The town suffered heavily as it lay between the Ottoman and British fronts during the war.
Petah Tikva