Roxborough
Manayunk
Wissahickon
Historical
Society

Historical Maps 1752 < Previous > Back to Historical Map List < Next > 1752 - Phila & Adjacent Source: URL: Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3824p.ct000294 Full Name: A map of Philadelphia and parts adjacent : with a perspective view of the State-House Visit the source URL to use zoom features, find additional formats, or download a high quality image.

Historical Maps 1816 < Previous > Back to Historical Map List < Next > 1816 - Phila County Source: URL: Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3824p.la000783 Full Name: Map of Philadelphia County : constructed by virtue of an act of the Legislature of Pennsylvania passed 19th March 1816 Visit the source URL to use zoom features, find additional formats, or download a high quality image.

9c89da16-ca78-44e6-a7d2-0d24c5906b7d Ridge Ave Roxborough Historic District Georgian and Colonial Architecture The Georgian style was the dominant architectural style of the English colonies from the early eighteenth century to about 1780, but forms of the style persisted in some areas to as late as 1830. Although the style derives its name from England’s King George, the buildings in this style in Roxborough probably owe as much to Germany as to Britain, and therefore may be more appropriately referred to as simply Colonial in style. Georgian or Colonial style houses were typically side-gabled, two-story boxes with windows and doors arranged in strict symmetry. Additions were often constructed to the sides or rears as new needs arose. Georgian houses in northwest Philadelphia were typically constructed of Wissahickon schist. Relatively simple buildings, they were typically ornamented with molded cornices, door surrounds, and, in the early years, with pent eaves. The buildings typically featured shed or pedimented dormers. The Georgian vernacular farmhouse at 900 Northwestern Avenue is one of the oldest surviving buildings in Roxborough (Figure 17). The ancient farmhouse stands with an early barn on a rural lot at the northern edge of Roxborough, providing an impression of township during its bucolic, farming days. The house has been dated to 1690 and the barn to 1700 by one local historian. While dates for the buildings have not yet been thoroughly documented, they more likely are situated in the 1720s, when Hans George John owned the property.57 The whitewashed stone house with shake roof, which sits very low to the ground, includes many of the features of early German Colonial buildings in southeastern Pennsylvania: pent eaves, shed and gabled dormers, large chimneys, and multi-paned windows. The tall stone barn with steeply pitched roof is typical of early German-American construction. The twin house at 7549 and 7551 Ridge Avenue is an excellent example of a Georgian vernacular building (Figure 18). It is a symmetrical, side-gabled, two-story, stone building set low to the ground with a steeply pitched roof. Although the buildings include informal date stones on the front facades reading 1717 and 1784, it appears that the building was not constructed as early as 1717, but was actually constructed at some point after 1764. While marketing the 179¼-acre property, which was roughly bounded by Ridge Road and the Wissahickon Creek and the current lines of Shawmont and Wigard Avenues, for sale in 1764, John Malcolm advertised it as: A Valuable Plantation, in Roxborough Township, about nine miles from Philadelphia, containing 180 Acres, 100 of which is well wooded, the rest clear, and under Fence, with a good Log-house, Barn and Stable, 6 acres watered meadow, and more may be made, a Well of excellent Water by the Door, an Orchard of the best Newtown Pippins. The Situation is exceedingly high, commands an extensive Prospect. 58 Malcolm made no mention of the two-story stone house on Ridge Road in his 1764 advertisement offering the property for sale, but only mentioned a log house, barn, and stable. Malcolm sold the property in 1764 to Andrew Crawford. The property was held by members of the Crawford family during the later eighteenth century, when the existing two-story, stone, twin building was likely constructed.59 Describe your image Several other significant eighteenth-century buildings stand along Ridge Avenue in Roxborough including the twin houses at 6633 and 6635 Ridge Avenue, the twin houses at 7616-18 Ridge Avenue, the buildings at 6835 Ridge Avenue and 7625 Ridge Avenue. All are two-story, side-gable, stone buildings with dormers. The vernacular stone building at 7701 Ridge Avenue is an unusual survivor; dating to about 1790, the small, side-gable, stone building has 2-½ stories with half-height windows at the top floor, a fenestration style that would become prevalent in the middle third of the nineteenth century. 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 57 Jim Duffin kindly provided his research into the property, which concludes that the house was likely built by Hans George John in the 1720s, not the 1690s, as others have claimed. 58 Pennsylvania Gazette, 1 March 1764, p. 3. 59 The 180-acre property was sold by the Pennsylvania Land Company to John Malcolm in 1763 (Deed Book H-19-202); from John Malcolm to Andrew Crawford in 1764 (Deed Book H-19-213). It passed by will to Hugh Crawford and then to Ann, Mary, Jane, and Hugh Crawford Jr. by will in 1783. Top of page

33b08f87-73cd-4fa9-bf12-4b8d192d0c02 Ridge Ave Roxborough Historic District Conclusion and Bibliography Conclusion 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 Ridge Avenue Roxborough Thematic Historic District warrants the Philadelphia Historical Commission’s designation, protection, and preservation. Bibliography 1. William Bucke Campbell, “Old Towns and Districts of Philadelphia,” Philadelphia History, City History Society of Philadelphia , 1942, vol. IV, no. 5. 2. David R. Contosta and Carol Franklin, Metropolitan Paradise: The Struggle for Nature in the City -Philadelphia's Wissahickon Valley, 1620-2020 (Philadelphia: Saint Joseph's University Press, 2010). 3. Emily Cooperman and Claire G. Schmieder, “Historic Context Statement for Neighborhood Cluster 2,” prepared for the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia, 2009. 4. John Daly and Allen Weinberg, Genealogy of Philadelphia County Subdivisions (Philadelphia: City of Philadelphia, Department of Records, 1966). 5. Deborah Del Collo, Roxborough (Charleston, S.C: Arcadia Pub, 2011). 6. Richard S. Dunn and Mary Maples Dunn, eds., The Papers of William Penn, Volume 2: 1680-1684 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1982). 7. Franklin Davenport Edmunds, The Public School Buildings of the City of Philadelphia (Philadelphia: 1913). 8. 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). 9. John Fanning Watson and Willis Pope Hazard, Annals of Philadelphia, and Pennsylvania in the Olden Time: or, Memoirs, Anecdotes, and Incidents of Philadelphia and Its Inhabitants from the Days of the Founders (Philadelphia: E.S. Stuart, 1899). 10. Emerson Fite, Social and Industrial Conditions in the North during the Civil War (New York: The MacMillan Company, 1910). 11. James Green, The Rittenhouse Mill and the Beginnings of Papermaking in America (Philadelphia: The Library Company of Philadelphia and Friends of Historic RittenhouseTown, 1990). 12. 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). 13. Donald C. Jackson, “Turnpikes in Southeastern Pennsylvania,” in Judith A. McGaw, ed., Early American Technology: Making and Doing Things From the Colonial Era to 1850 (Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 1994). 14. Horatio G. Jones, The American Historical Record, and Repertory of Notes and Queries Concerning the History and Antiquities of America and the Biography of Americans , vol. 2 (Philadelphia: Samuel P. Town, 1873). 15. Horatio G. Jones and James W. Willmarth, Centennial Memorial: History of the Roxborough Baptist Church of Philadelphia (Philadelphia: Printed for the church by the National Baptist Association, 1890). 16. Horatio Gates Jones, The Levering Family; or, a Genealogical Account of Wigard Levering and Gerhard Levering (Philadelphia: King & Baird, 1858). 17. John C. Manton, Bygones: A Guide to Historic Roxborough-Manayunk (Philadelphia, PA: 1990). 18. John C. Manton, A Splendid Legacy: St. Timothy's, Roxborough, 1859-1984 (Philadelphia, PA: St. Timothy's Church, Roxborough, 1984). 19. John C. Manton, Victorian Roxborough: An Architectural History (Philadelphia, PA: 1983). 20. Virginia & Lee McAlester, A Field Guide to American Houses (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1993). 21. Nick Meyers, Milestones in History, 1690-1990: Roxborough, Manayunk, Wissahickon, Andorra (Philadelphia, PA: Roxborough-Manayunk-Wissahickon Historical Society, 1990). 22. Joseph Minardi, Historic Architecture in Philadelphia: East Falls, Manayunk, and Roxborough (Atglen, PA: Schiffer, 2014). 23. Joseph S. Miles and William H. Cooper, A Historical Sketch of Roxborough, Manayunk, Wissahickon (Philadelphia: G. Fein & Co., 1940). 24. Kate Hamilton Osborne, An Historical and Genealogical Account of Andrew Robeson of Scotland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and of his Descendants from 1653 to 1916 (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1916). 25. Jacob Cox Parsons, ed., Extracts from the Diary of Jacob Hiltzheimer: Of Philadelphia. 1765-1798 (Philadelphia: Wm. F. Fell & Co., 1893). 26. Horace H. Platt and William Lawton, Freemasonry in Roxborough (Philadelphia: Centennial Historical Committee of Roxborough Lodge, no. 135, F. and A.M, 1913). 27. Jeffrey P. Roberts, “Railroads and Downtown: Philadelphia, 1830-1900,” in William W. Cutler III and Howard Gillette Jr., eds., The Divided Metropolis: Social and Spatial Dimensions of Philadelphia, 1800-1975 (Westport, Ct.: Greenwood Press, 1980). 28. Leland M. Roth, A Concise History of American Architecture (New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1979). 29. J. Thomas Scharf and Thompson Westcott, History of Philadelphia , 1609-1884, vol. 2 (Philadelphia: L.H. Everts & Co., 1884). 30. Philip Scranton, Proprietary Capitalism: The Textile Manufacture at Philadelphia, 1800-1885 (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1983). 31. Cynthia J. Shelton, The Mills of Manayunk : Industrialization and Social Conflict in the Philadelphia Region, 1787-1837 (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1986). 32. Rev. David Spencer, The Early Baptists of Philadelphia (Philadelphia: William Sychelmoore, 1877). 33. Paul A. W. Wallace, Indian Paths of Pennsylvania (Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 1965; reprinted, 1998). 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

d033a9c0-a465-4a11-93fd-ac6d8f6de40e Ridge Ave Roxborough Historic District Patent Holders and Early Settlers Between 1681 and 1685, William Penn conveyed more 4,000 acres of land in lower northwest Philadelphia to 11 original purchasers. Most of the land was located to the northwest of the Wissahickon Creek, in what is now known as Roxborough and Manayunk, but a small portion of the original 11 parcels was located to the southeast and east of the creek, in what is now known as East Falls and Mt. Airy. The names of several of the original purchasers are identified on Thomas Holme’s Map of improved part of Pensilvania in America, divided into counties, townships and lotts. of 1681 (Figure 5). The original purchasers did not settle the land between the Wissahickon Creek and Schuylkill River, but instead held the properties as investments. Over the next six decades, the original 11 parcels were subdivided numerous times, and by 1741 had been carved into 43 lots. Europeans began settling in the area in the 1690s. In 1676, Andrew Robeson, his wife Elizabeth, and their son Samuel emigrated from Great Britain, settling in Gloucester, South Jersey. Robeson served in South Jersey as the Surveyor General and Judge. In 1690, they moved to a property called “Shoomac Park” near the mouth of the Wissahickon Creek, in what is now East Falls. They obtained the estate from Joshua Tittery, who had obtained it from Robert Turner, William Penn’s original grantee. Robeson erected a house and renamed the estate “Roxburgh,” after his birthplace, Kelso, Roxburghshire, Scotland. Robeson became Chief of Justice in Pennsylvania and was instrumental in the establishment of Roxborough as a township. Robeson also operated a flour mill on the Wissahickon. After the deaths of Robeson, his wife, and son in the 1690s, the property passed to nephew Andrew Robeson Jr. The Robeson family held the property until 1864, when John and James Dobson, the well-known carpet manufacturers, purchased it. The old mill burned in 1866. The Fairmount Park Commission took much of the property in 1872 for the Wissahickon branch of Fairmount Park. 3 The old Robeson house was used as a hotel and public house known as the High Bridge Mansion in the late nineteenth century and as a restaurant in the twentieth century. In 1956, the Fairmount Park Commission approved its demolition, concluding that it had “no particular architectural design nor historical significance.” 4 Describe your image John Kelpius, a Bavarian religious leader who espoused millennial and universalistic doctrines, arrived in Philadelphia in 1694. He and his followers settled and lived as hermits in small huts in the woods adjacent to Wissahickon Creek, near Roxborough’s present day Hermit Lane. 5 The hermits conducted religious services in the wooded area overlooking the Wissahickon.6 Kelpius died in the first decade of the eighteenth century, and his followers eventually disbanded. 7 Although the name Roxborough, or Rocksburrow, has been attributed to Kelpius, who wrote about "foxes burrowing in rocks,” the area was named by Robeson for his native land, Roxburgh, Scotland. Brothers Gerhard and Wigard (Wickert) Levering arrived in Pennsylvania from Holland during the summer of 1685 and first settled in Germantown. Wigard Levering purchased 200 acres in Roxborough in 1691 and moved to the area, where he farmed. He purchased another 300 acres in 1697 in the area that came to be known as Leverington. He prospered and died a wealthy man in 1744. 8 Wigard’s eldest son William was born in Germany in 1677 and came with his family to Pennsylvania at the age of eight; he was 15 when his family moved to Roxborough. In 1717, Wigard gave William a large tract of land, which consisted of the unsold portions of Wigard’s speculative land holdings in Roxborough. William was a farmer like his father, but engaged in other ventures as well. He built the Levering Hotel, Roxborough’s first hotel, in 1731. He also gave land on which Roxborough’s first school was built in 1748. 9 He died in 1746, having amassed a valuable estate. 10 Wigard’s son Jacob was the first of his 12 children to be born in Roxborough. In 1717, Wigard granted Jacob 85 acres of land, which abutted the along the Schuylkill River in the area of Green Lane, extending to Levering Street and comprising much of present-day Manayunk. Jacob lived on this land, first in a log cabin, and then in a stone house that he built in 1736 on the northwest side of Green Lane. Besides farming, Jacob was also engaged in industrial undertakings. He owned a distillery in Roxborough and a saw mill on the western side of the Schuylkill River in what is now Montgomery County. Jacob died in 1753 with an estate valued at the substantial sum. 11 Wilhelm Rittinghausen, born in 1644, learned the papermaking trade in Mulheim, Germany, while working at his uncle Mathias Vorster’s mill. The two men later went to Holland, where they were employed in a Gelderland mill near Arnhem. In 1688, Mr. Rittinghausen, by now a Dutch citizen, immigrated to British North America and changed his name to William Rittenhouse. In 1690, he established a paper mill in Roxborough on the Paper Mill Run or Monoshone Creek, a tributary of the Wissahickon Creek. The mill was located near the confluence of Paper Mill Run and the Wissahickon, about 1.6 miles above the point where the Wissahickon flows into the Schuylkill. 12 Joining him in the venture were three partners, Robert Turner, Thomas Tresse, and a printer named William Bradford. Rittenhouse developed a successful mill, owing to his ability to organize financial backers as partners and a printer-partner as a contractual customer for the products. Previous to Rittenhouse’s operation, all paper was imported from Europe and taxed accordingly. The new mill provided a local source of printing, writing, and wrapping paper, as well as pasteboard. All of the mill’s fiber for hand papermaking was obtained from discarded rags and cotton. The paper that came from the Rittenhouse mill during the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries was made by hand, each sheet crafted separately. First, workers pounded rags into pulp in stone or iron mortars using trip-hammers. After pulp was placed in frames, it needed several days to dry completely. The final product carried the Rittenhouse watermark. In 1706, Rittenhouse bought out the other partners and became sole proprietor of Rittenhouse Paper Mill. Rittenhouse proved that papermaking in America could be a viable, economically sound business. Rittenhouse died in 1708 and left the paper mill to his son, Claus. The business prospered at the site, and was operated by six generations of family descendants. Rittenhousetown grew up around the mill. For 20 years, Rittenhouse Paper Mill was the only paper mill in the Colonies. In 1710, William Dewees, who was married to Claus Rittenhouse’s sister, built a mill nearby in Chestnut Hill, having learned the trade at Rittenhouse Paper Mill. In 1729, the Willcox Ivey Mill was built in Chester County. Forty years after the founding of Rittenhouse Paper Mill, the number of printers and paper mills grew exponentially. The Rittenhouse family monopoly in paper was over, but Rittenhouse’s descendants continued making paper on the Monoshone Creek until the nineteenth-century Industrial Revolution, when the development of the Fourdrinier, with its endless web and cylinder papermaking, changed the industry forever. 13 Among the many prominent members of the Rittenhouse family, David Rittenhouse (1732-1796) was an astronomer, inventor, clockmaker, mathematician, surveyor, fabricator of scientific instruments, and public official. Rittenhouse was a member of the American Philosophical Society and the first director of the United States Mint. Several eighteenth and nineteenth-century buildings survive at the Rittenhouse Paper Mill site including the Rittenhouse Homestead (1707), the Bake House (1725), the Abraham Rittenhouse Home (1720), and the Enoch Rittenhouse Home (1845) (Figure 6). The Rittenhouse complex was not included in this thematic district because of its distance from Ridge Avenue, but it precisely represents both the early mill culture and early architectural styles in Roxborough Township.14 Describe your image Between 1746 and 1747, Joseph Gorgas built one of Roxborough’s more impressive surviving residences on a large tract of land bordering the Wissahickon Creek, which he purchased from Benjamin Shoemaker. Gorgas was a Seventh Day Baptist and wished to have an isolated residence for meditation and solitude, as well as for pursuing his grist mill business. The stone house is three stories, with an adjoining grist mill and saw mill. When it was built, it was one of the largest residences in the area and may have been one of the first three-story homes in the immediate vicinity of Philadelphia.15 The Gorgas property was not included in this thematic district because of its distance from Ridge Avenue, but it certainly represents a high point of Georgian architectural achievement in Roxborough Township.16 Describe your image Other early Roxborough families included the Righter, Livezey, and Houlgate families.17 The earliest settlers were primarily engaged in farming and milling. Grist mills, located on the Wissahickon and its tributaries, were the most common type of industry in eighteenth-century Roxborough. In 1779, there were at least eleven mills in the area, eight of which were grist mills.18 Glen Fern, the Thomas Livezey House, still stands on the east bank of the Wissahickon. Constructed in 1733-39 and added to later in the eighteenth century, the house evidences many characteristics of the Georgian style. Livezey, who purchased the property in 1747, operated one of the largest mills in the colonies. In addition to the house, the foundation of the mill and the associated dam survive. Glen Fern was not included in this thematic district because of its distance from Ridge Avenue, but it precisely characterizes both the early mill culture and early architectural styles in Roxborough Township.19 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 3 Kate Hamilton Osborne, An Historical and Genealogical Account of Andrew Robeson of Scotland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and of his Descendants from 1653 to 1916 (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1916), 6-14. 4 “Park Commission OKs Destruction of Shoomac Mansion,” Inquirer, 12 December 1956, p. 17; “Senator Stiefel Sues to Preserve Shoomac House,” Inquirer, 20 December 1956, p. 19. 5 John Fanning Watson and Willis Pope Hazard, Annals of Philadelphia, and Pennsylvania in the Olden Time: or, Memoirs, Anecdotes, and Incidents of Philadelphia and Its Inhabitants from the Days of the Founders (Philadelphia: E.S. Stuart, 1899), 458-460. 6 Horatio Gates Jones, The American Historical Record, and Repertory of Notes and Queries Concerning the History and Antiquities of America and the Biography of Americans, vol. 2 (Philadelphia: Samuel P. Town, 1873), 3. 7 J. Thomas Scharf and Thompson Westcott, History of Philadelphia, 1609-1884, vol. 2 (Philadelphia: L.H. Everts & Co., 1884), 1319. 8 Horatio Gates Jones, The Levering Family; or, a Genealogical Account of Wigard Levering and Gerhard Levering, Two of the Pioneer Settlers of Roxborough Township, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia: King & Baird, 1858), 3-12. 9 Ibid., 187. 10 Ibid., 18-21. 11 Ibid., 22-25. This nomination draws liberally from Emily Cooperman and Claire G. Schmieder, “Historic Context Statement for Neighborhood Cluster 2,” prepared for the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia, 2009. 12 James Green, The Rittenhouse Mill and the Beginnings of Papermaking in America (Philadelphia: The Library Company of Philadelphia and Friends of Historic RittenhouseTown, 1990), 5; Horatio Gates Jones, “Historical Sketch of the Rittenhouse Papermill; the First Erected in America, A.D. 1690,” The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 20 (1896): 317. 13 Green, The Rittenhouse Mill, 3-5; Jones, “Historical Sketch of the Rittenhouse Papermill,” 322. 14 Rittenhouse Town was designated as historic and listed on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places on 26 June 1956 and on 7 June 1973. 15 Unfortunately, the HABS data pages for The Monastery are not among the documents in the Library of Congress’ Historic American Building Survey collection. Julius Friedrich Sachse, The German Sectarians of Pennsylvania, 1708-1742: A Critical and Legendary History of the Ephrata Cloister and the Dunkers (Philadelphia: P.C. Stockhausen, 1899), 284-285. 16 The Joseph Gorgas House, the Monastery, and associated outbuildings was designated as historic and listed on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places on 26 June 1956. 17 Information about the original and early purchasers as well as “Map Showing the Roxborough Tracts Bought by the First Purchasers” and “Map Showing the Roxborough Tracts Purchased by Early Settlers” is provided in: Joseph Starne Miles and Rev. William H. Cooper, A Historical Sketch of Roxborough, Manayunk, and Wissahickon (Philadelphia: George Fein & Co., 1940), p. 75-79. 18 The grist mills were owned by the Robeson family, John Vanderen and Martin Rittenhouse, Nicholas Rittenhouse, William Rittenhouse, Abraham Rittenhouse, Peter Care, John Gorgas, and Thomas Livezey. The Rittenhouse papermill was in operation, as well as a fulling mill owned by Matthew Houlgate and Christian Snyder and an oil mill owned by Benjamin Gorgas. Jones, The Levering Family, 187. 19 Glen Fern was designated as historic and listed on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places on 26 June 1956. Top of page

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

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.

bcf7468b-e6d1-4027-b20d-8dda56890c76 Ridge Ave Roxborough Historic District During the Revolutionary War The British Army led by Sir William Howe, and the Continental Army, under George Washington fought one another in the Battle of Germantown, a major engagement in the Philadelphia campaign of the Revolutionary War. Although centered in Germantown on the east side of the Wissahickon Valley, the battle raged across northwest Philadelphia including Roxborough. After defeating the Continental Army at the Battle of Brandywine on 11 September 1777, and the Battle of Paoli on 20 September, Howe outmaneuvered Washington, seizing Philadelphia, the capital of the colonies, on 26 September. Howe left a garrison of some 3,000 troops in Philadelphia, while moving the bulk of his force to Germantown. Learning of the division, Washington determined to engage the British. His plan called for four separate columns to converge on the British position at Germantown. The ambition behind the plan was to surprise and destroy the British force, much in the same way as Washington had surprised and decisively defeated the Hessians at Trenton. In Germantown, Howe had his light infantry spread across his front as pickets. In the main camp, General Wilhelm von Knyphausen, second in command of the Hessian mercenaries in North America, led the British left, while Howe himself personally led the British right. After dusk on 3 October 1777, the American force began the 16-mile march southeastward toward Germantown in complete darkness. The Americans remained undetected by the pickets, and the main British camp was, subsequently, unaware of the American advance. However, the darkness made communications between the American columns extremely difficult, and progress was far slower than expected. At dawn, most of the American forces had fallen too short of their intended positions, losing the element of surprise they otherwise enjoyed. One column, under the command of General John Sullivan, moved down Germantown Road. A column of New Jersey militia under Brigadier General William Smallwood moved down Old York Road to attack the British right. General Nathanael Greene's column moved down Limekiln Road. The Pennsylvania Militia, led by Brigadier General John Armstrong Sr., marched down Ridge Road from the west and engaged von Knyphausen’s Hessian troops, who had dug in on the east side of the Wissahickon in the Falls of Schuylkill. The Pennsylvania Militia advanced down the Ridge Road to the confluence of the Wissahickon Creek and Schuylkill River and set up its artillery at the top of the ridge on the west bank of the Wissahickon. The Pennsylvania Militia fired ineffectively on the Hessians before withdrawing back up the Ridge Road (Figure 19). Armstrong's Pennsylvania Militia played no further part in the battle, which raged in Germantown. Owing to confusion and miscommunication, the Continental Army failed to rout the British and Hessian soldiers at Germantown. Many on both sides were killed, especially during the failed American assault on British soldiers in the Chew House on Germantown Road. At the end of the day, Washington’s troops retreated back to Valley Forge, where the army encamped for the winter of 1777-1778. Of the 11,000 men Washington led into battle, 30 officers and 122 men were killed, and 117 officers and 404 men were wounded. British casualties in the battle were 71 killed, 448 wounded and 14 missing. Howe eventually resigned his command and his replacement, General Henry Clinton, abandoned Philadelphia for New York in June 1778. A few months after the Battle of Germantown, a famous Revolutionary War incident occurred in Roxborough. On 19 December 1777, 40 members of Light Horse Harry Lee’s Virginia Dragoons were patrolling in Roxborough. Lee, the father of Civil War general Robert E. Lee, was not present. At nightfall, they arrived at the house of Andrew Wood and asked for shelter. After they were fed, some bedded down in the house, while others slept in the barn. Members of the British 16th Light Dragoons were also on patrol in Roxborough and discovered the American troops on the Wood property. Wood led the troopers staying in the house out the back door to safety. The troopers in the barn were not so fortunate. The British set fire to the barn and, as some of the troopers tried to exit, they were shot down. Others remained in the barn and were burned to death. A total of 18 Virginia troopers were killed that night. In 1860, the remains of the troopers were transferred to Leverington Cemetery, where a large monument to the victims of the massacre was erected. After the Revolutionary War, every township in the Commonwealth estimated the costs of the damages caused by the British troops. In Roxborough, 19 property owners sustained damage totaling $3,228.99. Not surprisingly, Andrew Wood, whose barn had been burned when the Virginia Dragoons were massacred, sustained the greatest damages, estimated at $674.26.60 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 60 Joseph Starne Miles and William H. Cooper, eds., A Historical Sketch of Roxborough, Manayunk, and Wissahickon (Philadelphia: George Fein & Co., 1940), p. 50. 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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.

37ac93dc-e58b-4f94-81f9-122dcff407b9 Ridge Ave Roxborough Historic District Second Empire Architecture The Second Empire style was a dominant style for American houses constructed between 1860 and 1880, although the first examples were built in the 1850s and late examples were not uncommon in the 1880s. The contemporaneous Italianate and Gothic Revival styles were part of a Picturesque movement which looked to the romantic past for inspiration. In contrast, the Second Empire style was considered very modern, for it imitated the latest French building fashions. The distinctive roof design of the style was named for the seventeenth-century French architect François Mansart. Its use was extensively revived in France during the reign of Napolean III (1852-70), France’s Second Empire, from which the style takes its name. Exhibitions in Paris in 1855 and 1867 helped to popularize the style in England, from whence it spread to the United States. The boxy roof line was considered particularly functional because it permitted a full upper story of usable attic space. For this reason, the style became popular for the remodeling of earlier buildings as well as for new construction. The Second Empire style was used for many public buildings in the United States including Philadelphia’s City Hall. It passed from fashion following the panic of 1873 and the subsequent economic depression. The Second Empire style is characterized by its distinctive roof, a steep, dual-pitched, hipped roof with dormers and molded cornices at the base and peak. Below the cornice line, the Second Empire style shares much with the Italianate style including decorative brackets, ornate door and window surrounds, double doors, and one-story porches. 107 Describe your image Numerous detached and semi-detached houses in the Second Empire style were constructed in Roxborough in the years after the Civil War, as the area transitioned from a linear village to a suburb. Houses with the distinctive mansard roofs can be found throughout the lower northwest section of Philadelphia, but are especially prevalent in the Wissahickon and Leverington neighborhoods, which were intensely developed following the war. The Second Empire house at 5504 Ridge Avenue, which dates to about 1880, is an excellent example of the style (Figure 36). The gracious home is set on a large corner lot with a schist retaining wall. The three-story schist house displays many of the character-defining features of the Second Empire style including a concave mansard roof with fish-scale slate cladding and dormers with decorative hoods, bracketed wood cornice, segmental-arch windows, wraparound porch supported by Doric columns, two-story bay window, and tall windows at the porch. The Second Empire twin at 5550-52 Ridge Avenue is also an excellent example of the style and shares many of the same character-defining features as its relative to the east at 5504 Ridge Avenue. Notable are its arched dormers with two-over-two arched windows. The Second Empire twin at 8155-57 Ridge Avenue is likewise an excellent example of the style, even though the southern half has lost its bracketed porch. Notable is the cornice with broad entablature and large brackets. 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 107 Drawn from Virginia & Lee McAlester, A Field Guide to American Houses (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1993), p. 239-243. Top of page

ebe23022-30e2-4180-ba72-cae936393e05 Main Street Manayunk Historic District Significance of Manayunk Manayunk played a significant role in the development of Philadelphia as a major industrial and commercial center in the 19th century. During this period of industrial development, manufacturing shifted from small cottage industry to large plants which mass produced goods. Large scale manufacturing depended upon waterpower to run machinery, and access to water transportation, for raw materials and finished goods. Describe your image The Manayunk Canal, the only intact portion of the Schuylkill Canal System remaining, represents an important period in the development of transportation systems in the United States. Manayunk developed in direct response to the transportation and waterpower opportunities provided by construction of the canal. The physical development of Manayunk paralleled the growth of other 19th century mill towns, particularly Rochdale, Pennsylvania, and Lowell, Massachusetts, with the location of mills adjacent to the water source, and residential and commercial development in close proximity. However, unlike these communities Manayunk was not a company owned and operated town -- industry was able to diversify more easily in response to changing market conditions -- and the town continued to grow in the late nineteenth and early 20th centuries. Describe your image As well as the canal and lock structures, many architecturally significant buildings remain, representing all phases of Manayunk's development There are several 3-5 story stone mill buildings dating from the 1850s, together with many groups of stucco and stone, mill worker row houses of the same era. The late 19th century commercial development is exemplified by several brick commercial and warehouse buildings. 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

Historical Maps 1753 < Previous > Back to Historical Map List < Next > 1753 - Phila & Adjacent Source: URL: Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3824p.ar130600 Full Name: A map of Philadelphia and parts adjacent Visit the source URL to use zoom features, find additional formats, or download a high quality image.

Memorials of the 21st Ward < Back to Memorials List Civil War Soldier Memorial (Leverington Cemetery) Address: 6075 Ridge Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19128, USA Visitors: The Civil War Memorial is located within the Leverington Cemetery. While the cemetery is private property, access to it is available to the public during daylight hours only. Access to this memorial must be done on foot via a gravel path and across the cemetery grounds (grass). This could be a difficult route for anyone unsure of foot, and quite onerous for a wheelchair even in the best of weather conditions. Dogs are permitted in the cemetery but must be leashed and picked up after. Please be mindful of others in the cemetery 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 1982 < Previous > Back to Historical Map List < Next > 1982 - Manayunk Canal (Part 1) Source: URL: Free Library of Philadelphia https://libwww.freelibrary.org/digital/item/48041 Full Name: Manayunk Canal, 1982, Map 1 Visit the source URL to use zoom features, find additional formats, or download a high quality image.

19ed4f31-8ca3-4476-b9f4-bc35ce342470 Main Street Manayunk Historic District Main Street Manayunk Although the industrial areas of Venice Island were substantially developed by the 1870s, Main Street did not reach the peak of its development as a commercial and retail center until the early 20th century. In the mid-19th century, Main Street served as the principal land route for the transportation of people and goods in and out of Manayunk. It initially developed as a residential street and business center, responding to the industrial growth of Venice Island. In 1850, the Girard College and Manayunk horse drawn streetcar line operating on Main Street was completed linking Manayunk to the city via Ridge Avenue. At this time, the south side of Main Street was largely open to the canal. Bridges at cross streets connected Main Street to Venice Island. The north side of Main Street was almost fully developed between Pensdale and Carson with residential development on side streets north of Main Street extended as far up as Silverwood Street. Describe your image Through the 1870s, industrial development on Venice Island continued and the business center grew as commercial development spread along the south side of Main Street between Lock and Grape Streets. Much of this growth came in the form of mill offices. With the increasing importance of Main Street as a business center, hotels developed on the north side of Main Street, near the railroad station, and also banks, such as the Manayunk National Bank at Levering and Main. By 1890, development of the south side of Main Street extended west to the 4300 block of Main Street, including the Manayunk Trust Co., at 4336 Main Street. By the close of the century Main Street had become the commerce and institutional center for Manayunk. Describe your image Main Street in the early 1900s remained a business and commerce center tied to Venice Island industry rather than a retail shopping district. By the 1920s, the south side of Main Street was fully developed, breaking any visual link between the commercial district and the canal industrial zone. However, as suburban residential growth occurred in Roxborough the character of Main Street shifted to retail shopping and entertainment catering to local trade. The Empress Theater was constructed on the site of the last remaining hotel on Main Street at 4439, and department stores such as the Foster Department Store at number 4268 and Propper Brothers at Levering Street north of Main Street. Describe your image The Depression years brought the closing of many mills in Manayunk and the decline of Main Street as a community retail center. New retail activity concentrated first on the strip shopping district along Ridge Avenue, and then in the freestanding shopping centers, further west on Ridge Avenue. After a long period of decline evidenced by many vacant stores, there is renewed interest in the commercial strip, as antique shops, and restaurants, seeking out low rent locations, have established businesses on Main Street. Recently, one of the larger structures on Main Street has been renovated for professional office use. 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

News articles and interviews about or informed by the Roxborough Manayunk Wissahickon Historical Society and/or it's members. RMWHS In the News If you are aware of a newspaper, magazine, website, or other source that has written about, quoted, or mentioned RMWHS, please let us know. 2023-11-12 -- Roxborough Manayunk Wissahickon Historical Society switching things up with Nov. 15 online ‘Show and Tell’ 2023-04-21 -- Pa. State House honors Sylvia Myers 2023-02-17 -- SEPTA begins work on Shawmont Station restoration 2022-07-29 -- Community invited to help shape RMWHS Image Collection 2021-02-07 -- RMWHS celebrates Black History Month with a spotlight on artist Claude Clark 2020-12-13 -- R MWHS Launches New Website 2020-11-17 -- RMWHS looks ahead into the digital age 2020-02-24 -- Natural Selections: Manayunk and Manatawna: Our Lenape Place Names 2019-09-10 -- Get the picture with special session of Roxborough Manayunk Historical Society 2018-11-17 -- New sign dedicated at Leverington Cemetery in Roxborough 2018-03-14 -- Roxborough Manayunk Wissahickon Historical Society dedicated to preserving the past 2017-11-15 -- NATURAL SELECTIONS: Proposed city council bill — ‘more than just a moratorium’ for Roxborough area 2017-09-20 -- Roxborough Manayunk Wissahickon Historical Society presentation to focus on Schuylkill Navigation 2017-06-28 -- Annual Roxborough Independent Day Parade to step off Tuesday 2017-05-18 -- Roxborough Manayunk Wissahickon Historical Society speaker to discuss new Museum of the American Revolution 2017-04-18 -- Filmmaker to share history documentary with Roxborough Manayunk Wissahickon Historical Society 2016-06-03 -- NATURAL SELECTIONS: Plymouth Meeting struggles with possible loss of piece of history 2015-11-13 -- NATURAL SELECTIONS: Save the Shawmont Station 2015-07-02 -- A Tribute to Samuel Lawson, Founder of the Local Independence Day Parade of Churches and Sunday Schools 2015-05-22 -- NATURAL SELECTIONS: Why is Ridge Avenue there? 2015-04-14 -- Historical Society to discuss Upper Roxborough 2015-03-11 -- Upcoming historical society meeting discusses Civil War 2014-11-07 -- Talking historical homes at the next RMWHS meeting 2014-09-02 -- Talking about Lincoln's relationship 2014-08-19 -- Historical Society receive articles on Mt Vernon Church 2014-07-03 -- A Tribute to Samuel Lawson, Founder of the Local Independence Day Parade of Churches and Sunday Schools 2014-04-16 -- Discussing the famous inventors of Our Town 2014-04-15 -- Save Our History 2014-03-27 -- Historical Society showcases vintage WWI & WWII posters 2012-12-11 -- Judgement on the Bunting House to come by week's end 2012-11-02 -- Spirits abound in Hermit's Glen 2012-09-26 -- UPDATED: Bunting House receives 30-day reprieve from demolition, negotiations on future still continue 2012-09-24 -- UPDATED: Residents want historic building saved from wrecking ball 2012-06-29 -- A history of Our Town's parade 2011-09-01 -- RMWHS releases new book ‘Roxborough’ (Arcadia Press) 2010-09-21 -- Vintage baseball 2010-09-21 -- No namby pamby players: vintage ballists recreate old time baseball 2010-08-13 -- A treasure trove of memories 2010-02-03 -- Thinking first and then acting out : Manayunk-raised artist Claude Clark 2009-11-17 -- A celebration of thanksgiving and history 2009-04-22 -- RMWHS hosts tour of Founders Hall at Girard College 2009-03-18 -- Roxborough Manayunk Wissahickon Historical Society receives a real gem 2009-02-25 -- Celebrating 150 years of God & service 2009-02-18 -- Now accepting applications for ‘Mr. Nick Award ’ to honor RMWHS’ Nicholas G. Myers 2009-02-11 -- Knowledge is for all time essay contest 2008-11-12 -- Historical Society meeting talks sports 2008-07-09 -- A new sign commemorates 1777 Woods Barn massacre 2008-07-06 -- Shawmont Train Station now a city landmark (Register of Historic Places) 2008-03-26 -- 'Liberty or Death' at the RMWHS 2008-02-20 -- 'Knowledge is for all time': Mr. Nick Myers award essay contest returns 2008-01-09 -- Landmark 22 foot Garner Mural moves out 2007-12-05 -- Celebrating 100 years of linking lives 2007-11-21 -- Historical society makes history (RMWHS 40th Anniversary) 2007-11-21 -- David Young speaking at society anniversary meeting 2007-07-04 -- Remembering Wood's Barn : A Revolutionary War Tragedy 2005-11-09 -- A new and improved archive room for RMWHS 2005-07-06 -- Fourth of July is a tradition in Roxborough. 2004-04-21 -- Beauty found at reservoir 2003-05-07 -- Professional musician has done it all 2003-05-01 -- Another disease epidemic is recalled 2003-04-18 -- Young man makes movie on 21st Ward 2001-10-10 -- The Civil War sentinel has returned to cemetery post

ae96d554-2c19-4287-8dd0-679d2ee7794e Main Street Manayunk Historic District The Schuylkill Canal During the mid-19th century, the tow path waterway provided an important means for the transportation of goods and materials in the United States. The Manayunk Canal formed a segment of the Schuylkill Canal System, constructed to provide a navigable waterway along the Schuylkill River, linking the Delaware River and the coal regions above Reading. The Schuylkill Canal System, part of a broader canal system, provided the crucial link to the west. The openings of the canal forged a link between the land located regions of western Pennsylvania, and the port of Philadelphia, creating a tow path water transportation which enabled the cheap transport of anthracite coal to markets all along the eastern seaboard. Describe your image A plan to provide a navigable link between the Susquehanna and Delaware Rivers had been conceived by William Penn in 1690. However, such a link was not a reality until 1825. In the interim, surveys for a possible canal were completed in the mid-18th century, and isolated improvements made to the river channel. The first serious planning for a canal began in 1731 when a group of Philadelphia citizens lead by Robert Morris Organized the Society for Improvements of Roads and Inland Navigation. As a result of their efforts, the State of Pennsylvania chartered the first two canal projects in America, the Schuylkill and Susquehanna Navigation Company, and the Delaware and Schuylkill Navigation Company, forerunner of the Schuylkill Navigation Company. The State authorized $440,000 for the projects, however, by 1794 only 15 miles of canal was completed, funds had been exhausted and work stopped on both projects. Describe your image The motivating force behind eventual construction of the Schuylkill Canal System was Joshua White, credited with developing a method for burning hard anthracite to process iron ore. He understood the potential of the canal to reduce the cost of transporting anthracite coal from the coal fields above Reading to industries along the Schuylkill in Philadelphia. White petitioned the State for the right to improve the river, but his proposal was rejected. In 1815, the State of Pennsylvania chartered the foundation of the Schuylkill Navigation Company. The Company, established by Philadelphia financiers and headed by Cadwallader Evans was granted a charter to construct a canal from Philadelphia to Port Carbon, just below Pottsville. 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

Historical Maps 1681 < Previous > Back to Historical Map List < Next > 1681 - Province of PA Source: URL: Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division https://www.loc.gov/item/2006625100/ Full Name: A map of the improved part of the Province of Pennsilvania in America: begun by Wil. Penn, Proprietary & Governour thereof anno 1681 Visit the source URL to use zoom features, find additional formats, or download a high quality image.

Memorials of the 21st Ward < Back to Memorials List Old Glory Memorial (Germany Hill) Address: 8400 Smick St, Philadelphia, PA 19127, USA Visitors: Old Glory Memorial is in an open public area and is accessible to everyone; however, there is a very steep grassy incline up to the flag pole which would be difficult to scale if the ground is wet, icy, muddy, etc. 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 .

RMWHS Calendar of meetings, events, and activities is updated as needed. Please Sign The Letter RMWHS is run entirely by members who volunteer their time -- and we are shorthanded. We need more members who are willing to step up and help with all aspects of running the organization. While we continue to have talks, tours, speaker presentations, and more, for our members, we cannot expand our limited calendar or open it up to the public without more internal support. If you want to be invited to our events, become a member. If you want to see RMWHS offer public events, become a member and volunteer. The information provided below will be used for the purpose of this campaign. Only the Presidents of RMWHS and the civic association coordinators will have access to the information in order to collaborate and submit our opposition to the proper city officials. Alert to I oppose Philadelphia's proposed Bill #251030. Please add my name to the letter being submitted. * First name* Last name* Email* Full address + ZIP Code (Or signature will not be valid.) * Name of your civic association (If unknown, put in an X) * Submit Get Membership Details Please Sign The Letter RMWHS is run entirely by members who volunteer their time -- and we are shorthanded. We need more members who are willing to step up and help with all aspects of running the organization. While we continue to have talks, tours, speaker presentations, and more, for our members, we cannot expand our limited calendar or open it up to the public without more internal support. If you want to be invited to our events, become a member. If you want to see RMWHS offer public events, become a member and volunteer.