Roxborough
Manayunk
Wissahickon
Historical
Society

e8ab28c4-0111-4d3d-abc3-e94af591c2b9 Main Street Manayunk Historic District The Industry of Venice Island The pattern of physical growth and development in Manayunk during the 19th century was determined by the location of the Manayunk Canal, as a transportation route and power source. With the decline of the canal and the increasing importance of railroad transportation, the construction of a railroad spur adjacent to the canal maintained Manayunk as an important industrial location. Industrial development and redevelopment occurred during the 19th and early 20th centuries in response to changes in technology and market condition favoring new industries. Describe your image After completion of the canal, Venice Island, located between the river channel and the canal, became the principal location for Manayunk industry. By the 1860s, a substantial number of mill complexes had been developed both on the eastern and central parts of Venice Island, and the south side of Main Street, near the lower locks. Principal mill structures at the lower locks included the Roxborough Mills, and the Littlewood and Lancaster Mill. Cotton mills clustered in an area cast of Green Lane Bridge, while west of the Leverington Street Bridge, a wider variety of mill industries developed including paper mills (Flat Rock Paper Mill), grist mills (Mt. Vernon Grist Mill), and Knitting Works (Pennsylvania Knitting Works). Coal was now the major source of power for the mill complexes with the Philadelphia and Norristown Railroad servicing the coal depots on the south side of Cresson Street. Describe your image Over the next fifteen years, development continued along the eastern and central parts of Venice Island as far west as Fountain Street. Major mill complexes east of Green Lane included the Schuylkill Cotton Mill at Rector Street, Hardings Paper Mills and Ripka Cotton Mills at Carson Street. Typically, each mill had operation on both sides of the waters, linked by bridges across the canal, with the mill offices located on the Main Street side. By 1875, a substantial number of paper and wood pulp mills has been constructed west of the Fountain Street Bridge. Among these mills were the American Wood Pulp Co., Flat Rock Mills and Philadelphia Pulp Works. Race channels, cut across Venice Island from the canal to the main channel, supplied water for each mill. Gas became a new source of energy for Manayunk industries, provided by the Manayunk Gas Works located on Venice Island, east of the Leverington Street Bridge. In the 1880s, rail transportation became increasingly important and a second rail line serving Manayunk, the Pennsylvania Schuylkill Valley Railroad, was completed. Before 1818, Flat Rock Road and the canal had provided the only direct means of transporting raw materials and finished goods to and from the Island mills. Now, the transformation of Venice Island industry transportation from water to rail transportation was complete with the construction of the Venice Island branch of the Reading Railroad on the tow path right of way, and the elimination of the canal tow path system. At the turn of the century, most of the mills were still in operation, although new types of industry began developing with the construction of the railroad spur to Venice Island. With increasing competition from textile production in the south, and a reorientation of Manayunk industry to pulp, soap, and chemical production, further development and redevelopment occurred in the first two decades of the 20th century. Some major textile mills remained, such as Imperial Woolens and Elton Textiles Mills, while new industries such as the Zane Soap and Chemical Co., National Waste Co., and the National Milling and Chemical Co. (NAMCO), opened. No significant new industrial development occurred in Manayunk after the 1920s, heightening the decline in importance of Manayunk as an industrial center. Today, Venice Island provides both industrial and recreational uses. While the west end of the Island remains industrial, some of the old, abandoned textile mills at the east end have been cleared for active recreational uses. Although many of the older mills have been demolished, these Venice Island sites may at some future time yield valuable archaeological information relating to 19th century industrial technology. This information has been posted by RMWHS with the permission of the Philadelphia Historical Commission. Sections: 1 Intro and Nomination Form 2 Description 3 Significance of Manayunk 4 The Schuylkill Canal 5 Schuylkill Navigation Company 6 Manayunk Canal 7 Economic Development 8 Manayunk Social Development 9 The Industry of Venice Island 10 Main Street Manayunk 11 Bibliography 12 Boundary Details 13 Map Top of page

Status: This is a historic cemetery that is still accepting new residents. Leverington Cemetery Lyceum Ave & Ridge Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19128, USA Owner: Leverington Cemetery LLC Status: This is a historic cemetery that is still accepting new residents. Visitors are welcome during daylight hours when the front gate is open. Please watch your step -- old graveyards tend to have uneven ground and more than a few groundhog holes. History In 1703, Elizabeth, the 13-year-old daughter of Wigard Levering, was the first to be laid to rest on this land. Dozens of other Leverings would eventually join her as would their descendants, neighbors, and thousands of residents not only from the 21st Ward, but from across Philadelphia and Montgomery County. In the 320 years since Elizabeth's death, the cemetery was known as the Roxborough Burial Grounds and eventually the Leverington Cemetery -- taking its name from the area named in deference for the founding Levering families in the area. Memorials Revolutionary Soldiers Memorial Civil War Soldier Memorial Map A map of cemetery has been provided below. Burial Records & Resources Burial records & resources are available through Ancestry.com , FamilySearch.com , and Findagrave.com . If those resources do not provide the information you are looking for, you can contact RMWHS . Please note, you should check the online resources first as a courtesy to our volunteer archivists. Volunteers Welcome Each Spring members of the community are invited to participate in Clean-up & Planting Day. Volunteers and local groups come spend a few hours one Saturday doing minor weeding and landscaping projects as well as tending to the planters and cradle beds. If you are interested in helping, join/watch the Friends of Leverington Cemetery on Facebook for details on the date (which is typically in mid-to-late April). Adopt a Cradle Grave If you are interested in adopting a cradle grave, contact RMWHS . A few of our members organize weeding, planting, and occasional watering of a number of the cradle graves throughout the cemetery. We appreciate your assistance in help in beautifying one of our most treasured landmarks. Gallery of Photos Map

Roxborough Manayunk Wissahickon Historical Society strives to preserve and promote local history, art, and culture. RMWHS a 501(c)(3) charity organization -- volunteer-run & donation funded. RMWHS Archive located at the Roxborough Free Library in Philadelphia, PA. RMWHS Channel now on YouTube Original videos created by RMWHS will be posted on YouTube as they become available. There is no schedule. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel to be notified when something new becomes available. RMWHS only posts what we create. NOW AVAILABLE: Our first video takes you on a bike ride along the towpath from Shawmont Station to Lock St., featuring historic sites on the Schuylkill River and Manayunk Canal. The ~9 min video provides you with views of the waterways, murals, bridges, historic buildings, and more. RMWHS gets many inquiries from across the U.S. for the history along this 2.4 mile stretch and we thought those that can't visit it in person, might like to see it. YouTube.com/@RMWHS (Be sure to subscribe.) Want to help create content? Join RMWHS! Happy 200th Anniversary, Manayunk! In 2024, we celebrate the 200th anniversary of the naming of Manayunk and encourage you to explore some highlights in its history. Founded in 1690, Roxborough Township was comprised of 11 tracts of land sold by William Penn to early settlers -- including the areas that would become Manayunk, Wissahickon, and a part of East Falls. (See the new map listed in this section.) In May 1824, the Roxborough Township neighborhood known as "Flat Rock" decided to rebrand itself with a new name worthy of the growing river-front community. The committee settled on "Udoravia" (a Greek word meaning "by the river"). However, the next day after it was announced, the objection of residents lead to a second name change. This time the committee decided upon "Manayunk" (a modified spelling of the Lenape word "maniung" meaning "where we drink") which reflected the desire of many that the name should have a Native American origin. On June 11, 1840, the neighborhood of Manayunk incorporated and became a borough within Roxborough Township. (See the new interactive Google Map in this section for the footprint in 1840.) On March 31, 1847, Manayunk separated from Roxborough Township to stand as a borough within Philadelphia County. On February 2, 1854, Manayunk -- along with Roxborough Township and all the other villages, boroughs, townships, and hamlets within Philadelphia County -- was consolidated into the City of Philadelphia. This consolidation reunited the pieces within the footprint of Roxborough Township in 1690 into the 21st Ward of Philadelphia. In the ~170 years since, many things in the 21st Ward have changed, but the neighborhood identities persist as does a great sense of resident pride. RMWHS celebrates this history and we hope you will explore the related items presented here. It is the mission of RMWHS to capture, collect, preserve, and share the local history of our neighborhoods -- and you can help. To find out how, contact us . If you have a piece of local history, anecdote, photograph, map or something from our area that you think should be preserved or shared -- please tell us about it . We have members across the United States. New members always welcome. More to explore... Ridge Ave Roxborough Historic District Learn about our area's geology, the Lenape, early settlers, the 11 tracts of land that William Penn sold and became Roxborough Township in 1690, & more. (Provides information and history of Manayunk before 1824) 1690 / 2024 Local Map Check out an 1690 map overlaid on today's streets. This new RMWHS map shows the 11 tracts of land sold by William Penn to the early settlers including details on owners, tract size, and dates included. Click image to view >>> or click here to download 2M PDF New Map 1840 Borough of Manayunk Explore the boundaries on Google Maps (Interactive) Take a peek -- you might be surprised! New Map Main Street Manayunk Historic District Explore the evolution of Main Street including its architecture, mills, and social and economic changes. New Section Manayunk Magazine special anniversary edition... Green Lane Bridge Rehabilitation Project While construction on the Green Lane Bridge is not scheduled to start until 2030, now is the time to learn about it, ask questions, and provide your input. For more, visit www.greenlanebridgerehab.com Photo by Michael Zosa 2024 DONATIONS REQUESTED RMWHS preserves local yearbooks, class photos , and school publications wit hin the 21st Ward. Our collection is used for genealogical and local history research ... and we need more to support our efforts. Yearbooks. Photos. Publications. School magazines. Athletic memorbilia Any School. Any Year. Any Condition. Contact us . Memorials of the 21st Ward RMWHS has launched a new web section -- Memorials of the 21st Ward -- which provides a listing of the 8 memorials within our area and includes a photo gallery of each. Each memorial page will be expanded in the months and years to come as images and newspapers clippings (both new and historic) are added. If you would like to contribute an image or information for any of the memorials, please contact us . Also, if we have missed a public memorial within the Roxborough Manayunk Wissahickon area, please let us know. Each of the memorials is open to the public and all visitors (including service animals) are welcome. We remind all visitors to be respectful not only to the memorial and grounds, but of the others who may be there remembering loved ones lost, for whom these special places were created to honor. Explore the Memorials of the 21st Ward. RMWHS thanks all who have served. RMWHS Note Cards To share a bit of local history and raise funds to help support our preservation and outreach activities, RMWHS is offer a set of 8 note cards for $10. The back of each card features facts or info about the photo or its significance. Each note card set contains 8 envelopes and 2 copies of each of the following 4 images: American Stores Co on Green Lane Empress Theater on Main Street Historic Staircase Between Rox & Mynk Henry Avenue Bridge & Wissahickon Creek Each note card is approximately 4.25 x 5.5 inches, was printed on a high quality not card stock to ensure a clear image, and is blank inside. If you are interested in getting note cards, look for the RMWHS tent at the next community event or send us an email if you don't want to wait to get them -- we'll let you know were you can pick them up!

Memorials of the 21st Ward < Back to Memorials List WWI & WWII Memorial (Hattal-Taylor VFW) Address: 376 Lyceum Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19128, USA Visitors: This memorial is located outside the Hattal-Taylor VFW and can clearly be seen from the sidewalk and street. If you wish to gain closer access, contact Hattal-Taylor. The images below are not to be reproduced or used without prior written authorization of RMWHS - contact us .

ac9cfc6e-1300-43dd-bd97-f4aa9fbc7ea4 Ridge Ave Roxborough Historic District Statement of Significance The Ridge Avenue Roxborough Thematic Historic District satisfies four Criteria for Designation (a, c, d, and j) as delineated in Section 14-1004(4) of the Philadelphia Code, the City’s historic preservation ordinance. Paraphrasing the Criteria, the Ridge Avenue Roxborough Thematic Historic District: (a) Has significant character, interest and value as part of the development, heritage and cultural characteristics of the City, Commonwealth and Nation and is associated with the lives of persons significant in the past; (c) Reflects the environment in an era characterized by distinctive architectural styles; (d) Embodies distinguishing characteristics of architectural styles and engineering specimens; and, (j) Exemplifies the cultural, political, economic, social and historical heritage of the community. The period of significance of the Ridge Avenue Roxborough Thematic Historic District spans from 1681, when William Penn began conveying land to the original purchasers, to 1908, the dawn of the automobile age, when the completion of the Walnut Lane Bridge opened the southeastern section of Roxborough to new forms of residential development. From 1681 to 1839, Roxborough persisted as a linear village along Ridge Road with an economy based on agriculture, milling, and providing services to travelers. From 1839 to 1908, Roxborough slowly transitioned from a linear village surrounded by large tracts of open land to a suburban community of homes for managers, business people, and artisans who traveled by foot and on omnibuses, trolleys, and trains to jobs in Manayunk and beyond. This information has been posted by RMWHS with the permission of the Philadelphia Historical Commission. Sections: 1 Intro and Nomination Form 2 Boundary and Description 3 Statement of Significance 4 Native Americans 5 Patent Holders and Early Settlers 6 Ridge Road 7 Early Roxborough 8 Georgian and Colonial Architecture 9 During the Revolutionary War 10 Federal Architecture 11 Development of Manayunk 12 Greek Revival Architecture 13 Early 19th Century 14 Gothic Revival Architecture 15 Italianate Architecture 16 During and After the Civil War 17 Second Empire Architecture 18 Queen Anne Architecture 19 Turn of the Century 20 Conclusion and Bibliography Top of page

393e91fa-fd1f-4e7d-808f-7377809b3f8a Ridge Ave Roxborough Historic District Development of Manayunk As the John Hills map shows, the land in Roxborough Township along the Schuylkill River was virtually uninhabited in 1808. Almost all development in Roxborough at the time was located along Ridge Road and around the several mills on the Wissahickon Creek. Manayunk had not yet been established in the first decade of the nineteenth century. However, with the discovery of anthracite coal in 1790 in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, 80 miles upstream on the Schuylkill River, and the subsequent discovery of a method for igniting anthracite coal in 1808, development of the Schulkill bank in Roxborough progressed quickly in the early nineteenth century. In 1810, the Flat Rock Bridge was constructed at the base on Domino Lane across the Schuylkill River to Montgomery County.61 Domino Lane, which ran down from Ridge Road, was officially confirmed in 1819.62 In 1815, the Manayunk & Flat Rock Turnpike Company was chartered to build a roadway along the Schuylkill from Ridge Road west of the Wissahickon Creek to the Flat Rock Bridge, thereby opening Manayunk for development. Most significantly, in 1815, the Pennsylvania Legislature chartered the Schuylkill Navigation Company to build a system of canals, dams, and slackwater pools along the Schuylkill River from Philadelphia to the coal mining region at Pottsville, Pennsylvania. The company built 120 locks and the first ever canal tunnel. The Flat Rock Dam in Roxborough, a part of the canal system, was completed in 1819 and not only facilitated transportation on the river, but also served as a significant source of water power for mills. Despite several financial and technological setbacks, the canal system between Philadelphia’s Fairmount Water Works and Reading became navigable in 1824. The first boatload of coal arrived in Philadelphia in 1825. An extension of the canal to Port Carbon, at the mouth of Mill Creek in Schuylkill County, completed in 1828, made the Schuylkill River Pennsylvania’s most efficient mode of transportation for anthracite coal for the following decade and a half. By the early 1840s, some 500,000 tons of anthracite coal was being transported annually to Philadelphia using the Schuylkill River (Figure 21). Taking advantage of the water power furnished by the Flat Rock Dam, John Towers built the first mill in Manayunk in 1819, the year the dam was completed. Charles Hagner built a second mill in 1820. Two mills were erected 1821 and five more in 1822. Almost overnight, the mill village of Manayunk emerged along the east bank of the Schuylkill in Roxborough Township. From 1817 to 1824, the population of Manayunk grew from 60 to nearly 800 people, and by the late 1820s the community had become known alternately as the “Lowell of Pennsylvania” and the “Manchester of America.” In 1827, engraver C.G. Childs noted the rapid development of Manayunk, reporting that: The thriving little village [of Manayunk] is situated on the banks of the river and of the canal, at the distance about six miles from Philadelphia. It derives its name from the aboriginal title of the Schuylkill, and owes its origin to the improvements which have been made upon that stream. Within the last twelve years, the spot which it covers was singularly wild and secluded. High and barren rocks overhung the river, crowned by thickets which were scarcely broken; and the broad projecting cliff, which gave for a time the name Flat Rock to the early settlement, remained nearly inaccessible, as when it was the chosen encamping ground of the Indian hunter. Manayunk is now [in 1827] the scene of active and extended business. It contains sixteen manufactories, five of which give motion to sixteen thousand spindles, and to two hundred and fifty power looms,— two schools, a neat and capacious place of worship, four taverns, and about two hundred tenements, which accommodate some fifteen hundred inhabitants. 63 Describe your image Following on the heels of the development of the canal system and the concomitant water power system that ran the mills, a second early nineteenth-century technological breakthrough advanced the development of Manayunk. In 1832, the Philadelphia, Germantown & Norristown Railroad initiated train service between 9th and Green Streets in Philadelphia and the center of Germantown, one of the first train lines in the country. By the fall of 1834, the Philadelphia, Germantown & Norristown Railroad had constructed a branch into Manayunk. Horses pulled the first trains into Manayunk, owing to a lack of available steam engines. By the spring of 1835, the Manayunk line had been extended to Norristown along the east bank of the Schuylkill River. The trains not only transported raw materials and finished goods to and from the mills of Manayunk, but also significantly reduced the travel time between Roxborough Township and the City of Philadelphia, portending the suburban development that began in the middle on the nineteenth century (Figure 23). During the 1830s and 40s, textile manufacturers built mills in Manayunk and the Falls of Schuylkill at a feverish pace.64 In the short term, Roxborough Township remained primarily rural even while the land around the Manayunk mills was quickly and intensively developed for industrial, residential, and commercial uses. Evidencing its growth, Manayunk was erected as a borough in Roxborough Township on 11 June 1840. The official boundaries of Manayunk did not correspond with established streets, but would roughly correspond to the current lines of Hermit Street at the south, Pechin Street at the east, Parker Avenue at the north, and the Schuylkill River at the west. On 31 March 1847, Manayunk Borough was separated from Roxborough Township. In 1830, Roxborough Township including Manayunk had a population of 3,334. By 1840, it had grown to 5,797. In 1850, after Manayunk was separated from Roxborough, Manayunk had a population of 6,158, while Roxborough’s was only 2,660, even though Roxborough was geographically much larger (Figure 22).65 Describe your image Describe your image This information has been posted by RMWHS with the permission of the Philadelphia Historical Commission. Sections: 1 Intro and Nomination Form 2 Boundary and Description 3 Statement of Significance 4 Native Americans 5 Patent Holders and Early Settlers 6 Ridge Road 7 Early Roxborough 8 Georgian and Colonial Architecture 9 During the Revolutionary War 10 Federal Architecture 11 Development of Manayunk 12 Greek Revival Architecture 13 Early 19th Century 14 Gothic Revival Architecture 15 Italianate Architecture 16 During and After the Civil War 17 Second Empire Architecture 18 Queen Anne Architecture 19 Turn of the Century 20 Conclusion and Bibliography 61 The Flat Rock Bridge was washed away in a freshet in 1850 and not rebuilt. “Some Quaint Old Bridges,” The Times, 7 June 1896, p. 20. 62 Domino Lane, Ridge Road to Schuylkill River, 24 June 1819, Road Dockets, vol. 8, p. 96. 63 Views of Philadelphia and Its Vicinity Engraved from Original Drawings (Philadelphia: C.G. Childs, 1827), n.p. 64 Cynthia J. Shelton, The Mills of Manayunk, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1986. 65 John Daly and Allen Weinberg, Genealogy of Philadelphia County Subdivisions (Philadelphia: City of Philadelphia, Department of Records, 1966), p. 6, 7, 94. Top of page

Historical Maps 1939 < Previous > Back to Historical Map List < Next > 1939 - Gorgas Park Source: URL: Free Library of Philadelphia https://libwww.freelibrary.org/digital/item/52663 Full Name: Gorgas Park, 1939, Map Visit the source URL to use zoom features, find additional formats, or download a high quality image.

95b6f26a-373f-48cd-bbee-87868620a60b Ridge Ave Roxborough Historic District Boundary and Description Boundary Description The Ridge Avenue Roxborough Thematic Historic District is comprised of 188 tax parcels, each of which is defined by metes and bounds description in its deed. A list of the 188 tax parcels comprising the district can be found in the district inventory. Description Topography The northwestern section of Philadelphia including Roxborough is located in a geological region known as the Piedmont Upland Section of the Piedmont Province. The bedrock in Roxborough is primarily mica schist but becomes trap rock with veins of serpentine stone at the northwest along the Montgomery County line (Figure 1). 1 Roxborough is located on a steep ridge formed by the Wissahickon Creek to the east and the Schuylkill River to the west. The ridge runs from the confluence of the Schuylkill and Wissahickon at East Falls or the Falls of the Schuylkill northwest for approximately five miles, where it crosses into Montgomery County. Historically, streams drained the land on the ridge, running east to the Wissahickon and west to the Schuylkill. Most of the streams have been culverted. Ridge Avenue, the primary thoroughfare in Roxborough, leaves East Falls at the confluence of the Schuylkill River and the Wissahickon Creek, runs up a steep slope more than 200 vertical feet to the top of the ridge, and then along the ridge to the northwest into Montgomery County. The section of Ridge Avenue between the Wissahickon Creek and the Montgomery County line is approximately five miles in length. The highest point along Ridge Avenue is approximately 420 feet above sea level, in the stretch between Cathedral Road and Manatawna Avenue. Built Environment The area along and around Ridge Avenue in Roxborough between the Wissahickon Creek and the Montgomery County line is primarily a residential corridor with a commercial core from Martin Street to Hermitage Street and several traditional, shopping center, and strip mall commercial developments scattered throughout (Figure 2). Most buildings are detached and semi-detached, but some are row buildings. With the exception of a few institutional buildings, nearly all structures along the corridor are three stories or shorter. The residential buildings are both single and multi-family. Most, but not all, properties include some green space. Ridge Avenue is a major, two-lane thoroughfare for most of its length in Roxborough, but expands to six lanes west of the intersection with Henry Avenue. Most of the buildings included in the Ridge Avenue Roxborough Thematic Historic District were historically and are currently used for residential purposes. Many of the others are commercial or mixed-use commercial and residential. The district includes five churches, some with cemeteries, one stand-alone cemetery, one public park, one school building and one former school building, and several institutional buildings (Figure 3). Describe your image This information has been posted by RMWHS with the permission of the Philadelphia Historical Commission. Sections: 1 Intro and Nomination Form 2 Boundary and Description 3 Statement of Significance 4 Native Americans 5 Patent Holders and Early Settlers 6 Ridge Road 7 Early Roxborough 8 Georgian and Colonial Architecture 9 During the Revolutionary War 10 Federal Architecture 11 Development of Manayunk 12 Greek Revival Architecture 13 Early 19th Century 14 Gothic Revival Architecture 15 Italianate Architecture 16 During and After the Civil War 17 Second Empire Architecture 18 Queen Anne Architecture 19 Turn of the Century 20 Conclusion and Bibliography 1 Charles Edward Hall, The Geology of Philadelphia County and of the Southern Parts of Montgomery and Bucks (Harrisburg: The Board of Commissioners for the Second Geological Survey, 1881). Top of page

Memorials of the 21st Ward < Back to Memorials List Wissahickon War Memorial (Sumac St & Rochelle Ave) Address: Rochelle Ave & Sumac St, Philadelphia, PA 19128, USA Visitors: The Wissahickon War Memorial and grounds are situated on the corner of Rochelle and Sumac and open to the public. There is a gate each street to gain access -- the gate on Sumac Street leads to a ramp up and into the memorial while the gate on Rochelle Ave has a few steps to get up. (See photos below.) The ramp, steps, and all paths are flag stone and care should be taken. Dogs are not permitted except for working service dogs. Please be mindful of others who are there to mourn or pay their respects. The images below are not to be reproduced or used without prior written authorization of RMWHS - contact us .

Historical Maps 1863 < Previous > Back to Historical Map List < Next > 1863 - Military Reconnaissance Source: URL: Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3824p.cw0358250 Full Name: Map of a reconnaissance of the approaches to Philadelphia showing the positions and lines of defence on the north front of the city Visit the source URL to use zoom features, find additional formats, or download a high quality image.

Time Out This page isn’t available right now. But we’re working on a fix, ASAP. Try again soon. Go Back

Time Out This page isn’t available right now. But we’re working on a fix, ASAP. Try again soon. Go Back

Time Out This page isn’t available right now. But we’re working on a fix, ASAP. Try again soon. Go Back

Time Out This page isn’t available right now. But we’re working on a fix, ASAP. Try again soon. Go Back

Memorials of the 21st Ward < Back to Memorials List Korean & Vietnam War Memorial (Hattal-Taylor VFW) Address: 376 Lyceum Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19128, USA Visitors: This memorial is located outside the Hattal-Taylor VFW and can clearly be seen from the sidewalk and street. If you wish to gain closer access, contact Hattal-Taylor. The images below are not to be reproduced or used without prior written authorization of RMWHS - contact us .

Historical Maps 1982 < Previous > Back to Historical Map List < Next > 1982 - Manayunk Canal (Part 2) Source: URL: Free Library of Philadelphia https://libwww.freelibrary.org/digital/item/48042 Full Name: Manayunk Canal, 1982, Map 2 Visit the source URL to use zoom features, find additional formats, or download a high quality image.

0692a89b-d1a7-4821-a817-38c373e30e1a Main Street Manayunk Historic District Schuylkill Navigation Company The Schuylkill Canal was not a continuous canal, but a series of waterways constructed to bypass unnavigated sections of the river. The Schuylkill navigation system covered a distance of 108 miles; 62 miles by canal and 46 miles by slack water navigation created by dams in the river. The system included 92 locks to overcome a 9,588' difference in elevation. Locks were typically 75' to 80' long and 8' to 17' wide. By 1828, the Schuylkill Canal provided safe passage the length of the river. In the early years, there was no effective competition to the canal and rates were high. As a result of this monopoly, the State Legislature authorized construction of the Reading Railroad. Describe your image On January 13, 1842, the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad was opened to Pottsville in direct competition to the canal and by 1844, it carried more coal than the canal. To meet the railroad competition, the canal was enlarged, and costs were lowered. Tonnage increased as a result and the period 1850-1860 marked the Golden Age of the Canal. During this period, the canal showed the greatest profit and carried the greatest tonnage, peaking at 1.7 million tons. Rail transportation assumed increasing importance during the Civil War; after the war, railroads continued to grow, and canal transportation declined. On June 23, 1870, the Reading Railroad signed an agreement to lease the canal and from this time on commercial use of the canal virtually ceased. Describe your image This information has been posted by RMWHS with the permission of the Philadelphia Historical Commission. Sections: 1 Intro and Nomination Form 2 Description 3 Significance of Manayunk 4 The Schuylkill Canal 5 Schuylkill Navigation Company 6 Manayunk Canal 7 Economic Development 8 Manayunk Social Development 9 The Industry of Venice Island 10 Main Street Manayunk 11 Bibliography 12 Boundary Details 13 Map Top of page

Memorials of the 21st Ward < Back to Memorials List 21st Ward War Memorial (Gorgas Park) Address: 6300 Ridge Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19128, USA Visitors: The 21st Ward War Memorial is located within Gorgas Park. It is open to the public 24/7, has a paved path suitable for wheelchair access, and is well lit at night. However, inclement weather may make traversing the distance to the center of the park difficult. Dogs are permitted, but must be kept on a leash at all times and picked up after per city law. The images below are not to be reproduced or used without prior written authorization of RMWHS - contact us .

e2fdb1c2-e111-4669-a416-3309a17b7819 Ridge Ave Roxborough Historic District Early Roxborough Roxborough was officially recognized as a township by 1706, but it remained sparsely populated throughout the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, as the following chart shows. 34 Describe your image Until significant transportation and industrials advances in the 1820s, Roxborough remained a linear village with pockets of development located on and very near Ridge Road. The only significant developments off Ridge Road were several mills, which, by necessity, were located along the watercourses, the Wissahickon and its tributaries. Very few people lived to the west of Ridge Road, on the steep slopes down to the Schuylkill. Most Roxborough residents made their livings in agriculture, milling, selling stone, timber, and other building materials, or providing services to the wagoners and others who travelled along Ridge Road. As noted earlier, at least three taverns serving travelers stood on Ridge Road by the end of the eighteenth century, the Leverington Hotel of 1731 (Figure 14), the Plough Tavern of 1746, and the Sorrel Horse Tavern of 1785. Describe your image Although Ridge Road is and has been Roxborough’s primary thoroughfare since its establishment in the first years of the European settlement of the area, other roads were laid out and opened in the eighteenth century, especially to access mills on the Wissahickon. Typically, these roads were first laid out informally, and then later formally surveyed and opened by the Court of the Quarter Sessions, after they had been in use for a while. Most of the early secondary roads in Roxborough ran east from Ridge Road to mills along the Wissahickon and then on into Germantown, the nearest population center. No roads were officially opened from Ridge Road west to the Schuylkill until the early nineteenth century. School House Lane, which marked the southeastern boundary of Roxborough and still runs on its original line from Ridge Road to Germantown Road, was constructed about 1702, but not officially opened until September 1765.35 School House Lane and Ridge Road are the only two roads in Roxborough depicted on the Scull & Heap Map of Philadelphia and Parts Adjacent of about 1750 (Figure 8). Township Line Road, now known as Wissahickon Avenue, which marks the boundary between Roxborough and Germantown, was officially opened on the east side of the Wissahickon Creek in December 1763.36 The extension of Township Line Road on the west side of the Creek, in what is now called Andorra, from Wise’s Mill to Ridge Road, was officially opened four years later, in September 1767.37 A road on the line of Roxborough Avenue in Roxborough and Kitchen’s Lane and Carpenter Lane in Mt. Airy ran from Ridge Road, across the Wissahickon, and on to Germantown Road as early as 1761.38 Gorgas Mill Road (now Gorgas Lane and W. Mt. Airy Avenue), which ran east off Ridge Road, across the Wissahickon, and up to Township Line Road (now Wissahickon Avenue), was opened in December 1764.39 Rittenhouse Lane, which connected Ridge Road to the Rittenhouse Paper Mill, partially along the current line of Walnut Lane, was officially opened in December 1767.40 Shawmont Road (now Avenue), from Ridge Road to Wise’s Mill, was opened in June 1786.41 Although probably laid out about 1738, Spruce Mill Road, now known as Thomas Mill Road in Chestnut Hill, was officially opened from Ridge Road to Germantown Road in June 1793.42 That same month, Manatawna Road was opened, running east from Ridge Road.43 The roads that crossed the Wissahickon Creek at dams and small bridges were often swept away during flooding.44 Early tax rolls for Roxborough Township provide unique insights into the wealth, occupations, and numbers of the residents. The rolls for the 1769 proprietary tax list 91 taxpayers for Roxborough Township, 40 of which were landowners. The taxpayers include only one woman, Elizabeth Levering. The landowners owned an average of 68.9 acres. William Levering was the largest landholder, with 250 acres. The smallest holding was but one acre. Of the 91 taxpayers listed in 1769, 26 were associated with occupations, including four grain millers, two paper millers, two millers, two butchers, two coopers, two tanners, two weavers, and one of each of the following: flour miller, ferryman, taylor, innholder, cordwainer, smith, ropemaker, sadler, stonecutter, and hatter. Most of the remaining taxpayers were presumably farmers. The 91 taxpayers owned 119 horses and 148 head of cattle, but several persons owned neither horses nor cows. Only eight servants were listed among the 91 households. The 1774 provincial tax rolls list 105 taxpayers in Roxborough Township, 14 more than five years earlier. The 1774 rolls list very few occupations, but they do include a joiner, an occupation not noted in 1769. The 1779 effective supply tax rolls list 106 taxpayers in Roxborough Township.45 Real estate and other advertisements offer insights into eighteenth-century life in Roxborough. For example, the plantation of Jacob Cook was auctioned in June 1763 to pay his creditors. It was located “in Roxborough Township, Philadelphia County, about eight Miles from the City, on the great Road leading to Plymouth, and about one Mile from Schuylkill.” The property included: upwards of 14 Acres of Upland and Meadow, … a Dwelling-house, two Stables, a Smoke-house, Coopers Shop, an exceeding good Stone Vault, and a Well of excellent Water, also a Run of Water, with a never-failing Spring, a young bearing Orchard, with Apple, Peach, Quince, Cherry and Pear Trees, a good Flower and Kitchen Garden paled in, and a young Nursery of Apple and Pear Trees; about one Half the Premises Woodland; it is in good Repair, and well fenced in, pleasantly seated on high Ground, and very suitable for a Gentleman’s Country Seat, or a Store. The same advertisement offered for sale “a Mare, a Cow, two Hogs, a Plow and Harrow, a Cart and Gears, and sundry Implements of Husbandry.”46 Most households in eighteenth-century Roxborough were largely self-sufficient, raising their own food and selling or trading excess production with neighbors or in Germantown and Philadelphia. A similar advertisement in the Pennsylvania Gazette in 1755 announced the sale of recently deceased Henry Shellenberg’s dwelling house and mill in the Township of Roxborough. In addition to the buildings and property, Shellenberg’s heirs offered for sale household furnishings, “two guns,” horses, cows, sheep, swine, various miller’s tools and supplies, “a young likely Negro man, a likely young Negro woman, [and] two or three Dutch mens times of servitude.”47 Slave and indentured labor worked the mills and fields in Roxborough. Two years earlier, in 1753, Benjamin Levering of Roxborough Township offered a 20-shilling reward and expenses for the return of a “Dutch servant lad, named Michael Haun, a taylor by trade, about nineteen years of age,” who had “run away.”48 Indentured servants were not the only ones fleeing in eighteenth-century Roxborough. In 1783, Jacob Amos gave public notice “that my wife Elizabeth has eloped from me, therefore I forwarn all persons from lending her or letting her have any thing on my account, as I will not pay any debts for her from the date hereof.”49 In 1758, Isaac Cook offered a 40-shilling reward for the return of stolen goods and an additional 40 shillings for apprehending the thief. He explained that, during the night of 30 June 1758, his house “was broke open, and robbed” of numerous items including garments, bed linens, table linens, a pair of gloves, and a large pewter teapot with feet.50 A real estate advertisement published in 1788 offered a large property in Roxbourough, “on the road leading from Philadelphia to Reading, about 9 miles from the city, containing 248 acres and 137 perches.” The advertisement is especially interesting because it provided several suggestions for the development of the property, providing a glimpse into the commercial activities in Roxborough. The advertisement highlighted the parcel’s proximity to Germantown as well as Plymouth Meeting’s “sundry lime-kilns”; suggested that the timber on the property was valuable and, if the timber was harvested, the cleared land would be excellent for farming; noted that the “Wissahickon Creek, running through this tract, affords an excellent mill-seat; its being situate on a road leading into one of the best wheat countries on the continent”; and even promoted the notion of shipping the processed wheat to market down the Schuylkill, which ran along the western edge of the property.51 An advertisement in the Pennsylvania Gazette in 1754 pointed to another industry in Roxborough. It announced that John Stanaland, stone cutter, had removed from his freestone quarry in Roxborough to a shop in Philadelphia, where “all persons may be supplied with various kinds of freestone work … both in regard to cutting and setting; such as steps for doors, window cases, door cases, battlements, pediments, &c.” The advertisement noted that, despite Stanaland’s departure for the city, Edward Harding continued to operate the quarry in Roxborough.52 With a small population, few institutions were established in eighteenth-century Roxborough. On 1 April 1748, William and Hannah Levering donated to the township a parcel of land on the west side of Ridge Avenue, south of the current Monastery Avenue, for the construction of Roxborough’s first school building.53 A one-story stone school building, known as the Roxborough School, was erected on the site that year. An 1895 newspaper article on the history of the school explained: This structure being the only public building in the vicinity, met all of the demands of the place for fifty years, not only for school purposes, but also for public meetings, elections and religious services. In it the Baptist people of Roxborough held services from 1754 until October 24, 1790, the Roxborough Baptist Church having been organized in the school house on August 23, 1789. In 1776 an enthusiastic patriotic meeting was held there to secure volunteers for the American Army. 54 The school building was enlarged with a second story for an additional classroom and a wing for the school master in the 1790s (Figure 15).55 The first church in Roxborough, the Roxborough Baptist Church, was officially organized by 32 residents in August 1789. The group had met informally for religious services at the Roxborough School since 1754. In October 1789, the church was officially received into the Philadelphia Baptist Association. Nathan and Sarah Levering donated a parcel of land for a church building on the east side of Ridge Road, about 500 feet north of the school, and a small church building was erected. The church building burned down on 17 January 1830 and a new church was erected by September of that year (Figure 16).56 The second Roxborough Baptist Church was replaced by a third church building in 1870. The third church building burned in 1876 and was replaced by the fourth, which still stands today, but has been significantly altered. Describe your image The Plan of the City of Philadelphia and Environs by John Hills, a detailed map of Philadelphia County 10 miles out from the city’s center, indicates that Roxborough remained sparsely settled in 1808. Only three roads, unnamed on the map, ran west from Ridge Road toward the Schuylkill River; they were Green Lane, Hipples Lane (now Fountain Street), and Ship Lane (now Port Royal Avenue). No development or roads were shown along the Schuylkill River in what is now Manayunk. The Roxborough School, Baptist Church, Sorrel Horse Inn, a few unnamed mills, a few property owners, and a soap stone quarry along the Schuylkill at the county line were called out on the 1808 map. No neighborhood names were called out on the map. This information has been posted by RMWHS with the permission of the Philadelphia Historical Commission. Sections: 1 Intro and Nomination Form 2 Boundary and Description 3 Statement of Significance 4 Native Americans 5 Patent Holders and Early Settlers 6 Ridge Road 7 Early Roxborough 8 Georgian and Colonial Architecture 9 During the Revolutionary War 10 Federal Architecture 11 Development of Manayunk 12 Greek Revival Architecture 13 Early 19th Century 14 Gothic Revival Architecture 15 Italianate Architecture 16 During and After the Civil War 17 Second Empire Architecture 18 Queen Anne Architecture 19 Turn of the Century 20 Conclusion and Bibliography 34 Road Docket, June 1706, vol. 2, p. 31. Population data taken from Jones, The Levering Family, Appendix A, 189; and John Daly and Allen Weinberg, Genealogy of Philadelphia County Subdivisions (Philadelphia: City of Philadelphia, Department of Records, 1966), p. 94. 35 School House Lane, Germantown Road to Ridge Road, September 1765, Road Dockets, vol. 3, p. 337. 36 Township Line Road (Wissahickon Avenue), December 1763, Road Dockets, vol. 3, p. 312. 37 Township Line Road from Ridge Road to Wise’s Mill, September 1767, Road Dockets, vol. 3, p. 378. 38 Kitchen’s Lane (Roxborough Avenue), Ridge Road to Cresheim Road or Germantown Road, December 1761, Road Dockets, vol. 3, p. 278. 39 Gorgas Mill Road (Gorgas Lane and W. Mt. Airy Avenue), Ridge Road to Wissahickon Avenue, December 1764, Road Dockets, vol. 3, p. 333. 40 Rittenhouse Lane (Walnut Lane) from Ridge Road, December 1767, Road Dockets, vol. 3, p. 389. 41 Shawmont Avenue, Ridge Road to Wise’s Mill, June 1786, Road Dockets, vol. 4, p. 175. 42 Spruce Mill Road (Thomas Mill Road), Ridge Road to Germantown Road, Road Dockets, June 1793, vol. 4, p. 303. 43 Manatawna Avenue from Ridge Road, June 1793, Road Dockets, vol. 4, p. 301. 44 Thomas’ Mill Road, Livezey Mill Road, and Rittenhouse Road are located within present day Wissahickon Park. Joseph D. Bicknell, “The Wissahickon in History, Story and Song,” paper read before the City History Society of Philadelphia, October 10, 1906, in Philadelphia History: Consisting of Papers Read before the City History Society of Philadelphia (Philadelphia: City History Society, 1917), 6. 45 William Henry Egle, ed., Proprietary, Supply, and State Tax Lists of the City and County of Philadelphia for the Years 1769, 1774, and 1779 (Harrisburg: State Printer of Pennsylvania, 1897). 46 The Pennsylvania Gazette, 9 June 1763, p. 1. 47 The Pennsylvania Gazette, 17 April 1755, p. 3. 48 The Pennsylvania Gazette, 30 August 1753, p. 3. 49 The Independent Gazetteer, 19 April 1783, p. 4. 50 The Pennsylvania Gazette, 6 July 1758, p. 3. 51 The Pennsylvania Gazette, 29 October 1788, p. 1. 52 The Pennsylvania Gazette, 23 May 1754, p. 2. 53 William and Hannah Levering and Andrew and Elizabeth Wood donated two additional parcels for the school’s use on 30 March 1771. 54 “Levering School and Its History,” Inquirer, 3 February 1895, p. 7. 55 See Franklin Davenport Edmunds, The Public School Buildings of the City of Philadelphia (Philadelphia: 1913), p. 5-7; “The New Levering School,” The Times, 28 July 1895, p. 4; “News and Gossip of the Schools,” Inquirer, 8 March 1896, p. 7. The school was renamed the Levering School in 1847. The school building was badly damaged by a tornado on 12 April 1856 and replaced with a new school building in 1857. That building was in turn replaced in 1895. A large annex to the 1895 school building was constructed in 1929. 56 Rev. David Spencer, The Early Baptists of Philadelphia (Philadelphia: William Sychelmoore, 1877), p. 147-148; “A Century and a Decade of Life for Roxborough Baptist Congregation,” The Times, 24 August 1899, p. 2. The 1830 church building was enlarged in 1846. A new church building was begun in 1868 and completed in 1870. It was lost to a fire in 1873. A new church building was completed in 1878. Top of page

adec39c5-9300-4aae-add6-a3a632b147f2 Main Street Manayunk Historic District Manayunk Canal After incorporation, the Navigation Company began construction in both Philadelphia and Reading. In 1815, construction began on the Flat Rock Dam, designed to convert seven of the most dangerous miles of the Schuylkill into navigable water. The canal was constructed through a low-lying swamp area and known as “Dead Waters.” The quality of the original construction was poor, utilizing little formal engineering techniques, and much of the work had to be redone. Floods caused extensive damage during construction and the company had problems attracting working capital. The Manayunk section of the canal was completed on October 18, 1818 and opened for travel in 1822. The original lock system consisted of a single channel at the upper lock and triple channels at the lower lock. Describe your image The Manayunk section of the canal, is today a focus for recreational activity. The City, in the first step in realizing this concept, cleaned and dredged the waterway and constructed a boardwalk and tow path along the Main Street side of the canal. Describe your image This information has been posted by RMWHS with the permission of the Philadelphia Historical Commission. Sections: 1 Intro and Nomination Form 2 Description 3 Significance of Manayunk 4 The Schuylkill Canal 5 Schuylkill Navigation Company 6 Manayunk Canal 7 Economic Development 8 Manayunk Social Development 9 The Industry of Venice Island 10 Main Street Manayunk 11 Bibliography 12 Boundary Details 13 Map Top of page