Roxborough
Manayunk
Wissahickon
Historical
Society

While some of our events are open to the public, becoming an RMWHS memeber is the only way to be included on ALL meetings, events, tours, and social gatherings. Don't miss out! Join today! Meetings & Events Go to RMWHS Calendar > The RMWHS is designed to provide a mix of in-person and Zoom-based meetings, events, tours, activities, etc. The date, time, location, and format of the meeting will vary. This less rigid schedule is a departure from our traditional calendar and was designed to allow us more flexibility so we are able to align our activities with community events, venue and speaker availability, museum hours, host organization scheduling, and other opportunities we might otherwise miss. Efforts to live stream in-person events via Zoom and/or record for replay options will be made within reason. Some meetings and events on the schedule will be specifically designed and planned for a Zoom virtual meeting. There are some topics that will better lend themselves to this format like a presentation with photos, videos, or an interactive feature such as surveys, quizzes, or voting. The RMWHS calendar will be updated as needed. Additional notices and updates will be directly mailed and/or emailed to current members. If you wish to get notifications about RMWHS activities, we'd love to have you as a member. Membership fees are modest and the monies raised support our ongoing efforts to preserve and promote local history, art, and culture. For more information about the calendar, membership, or if you'd like to speak or present to the group, please contact us. Masks Optional at Events Masks are CURRENTLY OPTIONAL for all in-person gatherings UNLESS ou r host organization or locatio n requires we wear them. If you are planning to attend an event/meeting in-person, please bring a mask along just in case something changes or you decide you wish you had one. Note: If you wish to wear a mask at ANY gathering -- please do! You will not be alone as some of us always do (including the president) .

Roxborough Manayunk Wissahickon Historical Society provides lists of books about the Roxborough Manayunk Wissahickon area (and our neighbors) that may be of interest to our website visitors, local history researchers, and students of history. Supporters and friends of RMWHS RMWHS thanks the local businesses who provide their expertise and services to help us preserve and promote the local history, art, and culture. Their knowledge and support helps our volunteers and benefits the community. J. Davis Printing 7109 Ridge Avenue Philadelphia, PA, 19128 215-483-1006 www.jdavisprinting.com Reel Revival Film Professional/Commercial Film & Home Movie Scanning austin@reelrevivalfilm.com 484-754-6974 www.reelrevivalfilm.com

Contact the Roxborough Manayunk Wissahickon Historical Society via mail or our online form. Want to contact us? Please read details carefully. (What you're looking for may be on this page.) Genealogical Research We will not do your basic genealogical research for you. Before contacting us, please exhaust the genealogical resources available through: Ancestry.com FamilySearch.com FindAGrave.com Laurel Hill & West Laurel Hill Cemeteries Fold3.com Newspapers.com Genealogical Society of PA Historical Society of PA and any others relevant to your family history/tree. Once you've done your homework, if you still need us, fill out contact form below and specify you want RESEARCH. Someone will call you to schedule a virtual appointment. Local History Info Always review the local history provided here below. These free resources are the first place to look when when researching local history. Dig in now! A) Search the RMWHS website . B) Historic District Info (some with images & maps): Ridge Ave Roxborough (rmwhs) Main Street Manayunk (rmwhs) Upper Roxborough Federal Historic District (wikipedia) Victorian Roxborough (RMWHS plans to add to site but this is the 90M PDF from Phila.gov) C) Books: (some free on archive.org or hathitrust.org ) Historical Sketch of Roxborough Manayunk Wissahickon by Joseph Miles (1940) Bygones by John Charles Manton Once you've done your homework, if you still need us, fill out contact form below and specify you want RESEARCH. Someone will call you to schedule a virtual appointment. Maps Maps We do not provide maps unless we created them. The maps on our site or in our presentations came from many sources. See the citation/source to determine the institution/library you need to contact for more info/usage rights -- we cannot grant that to you. You can look maps we've used and other map resources here: See our Historic Maps page to find sources See our Other Resources for map sources to explore. Images Images If you want to request an image, you will be required to sign a Photo Usage Agreement. The agreement will spell out: 1) restrictions on how/where use of the image 2) requirements on how/when to cited/credit the image Photos usage fees may apply depending on purpose/use of image. Admin/Legal Details BE PATIENT... We have 1 archivist at this time. There is always a backlog. All research consults are virtual and conducted by phone, Zoom, Teams, or FaceTime. Right to Decline RMWHS and the archivists reserve the right to decline any requests that: would unduly tax our volunteers' time, are beyond the scope of our mission/resources, have a deadline/criteria we cannot meet, could damage or imperil our historic items. Credit, Citation, & Copyright You may share/discuss the results of the research RMWHS provides but all RMWHS and third-party credits, citations, and/or copyright notes must remain intact, including images/maps or multimedia. Financial Donations Financial Donations Donations are very appreciated. Our volunteers work without pay and all monies we receive for our work are used for continued preservation of the Archive and expanding/enhancing our efforts to share our history with the community. CONTACT US Privacy & Use - Your personal information will be protected in accordance with the RMWHS Privacy Policy. However, the research done by our volunteer archivists/genealogists is property of RMWHS and may be shared/discussed with other RMWHS members, visiting students, researchers, etc., at the discretion of RMWHS. RMWHS Privacy Policy. You could lose your spot in the queue if you ask for something we've already provided above. Please review info provided that could pertain to your request. Select all that apply: * Required I am seeking RESEARCH and want to schedule a virtual consult. I am seeking an IMAGE. I have ITEMS TO DONATE. I want to DONATE FUNDS. I want to BECOME A MEMBER. I am an AUTHOR / RESEARCHER / MEMBER OF THE PRESS. Full Name Email Phone Submit Thank you for your interest in RMWHS.

The RMWHS Archive contains: books, photos, slides, negatives, maps, flyers, poster, pamphlets, genealogies, vinyl recordings, deeds, scrapbooks, newspapers, school year books, manuscripts, cemetery records, and much more. Cemetery, Burial, & Church Death Records RMWHS currently has: Andorra Baptist Church ~100 death records that the clergy kept in the last few decades of the 1900s. Any search requires additional wait time. Leverington Cemetery thousands of transcribed burial records tombstone records from a 1980s RMWHS tombstone survey digitized burial books, lot owners records, deeds from 1845-2020s maps (below) Roxborough Baptist Church original burial books for various years map (in Archive) If you would like to request a burial look-up, Always check www.findagrave.com first Contact us and provide the necessary details - name, DOB, DOB, and any info you found in Find A Grave which may prove helpful such as spouse or parents names. We do not want your entire tree -- just the basics. Note: RMWHS is not computerized. All resources must be searched through manually and it can be a slow process. If visiting the area, please contact us several weeks in advance. We are open by appointment only so please keep that in mind when traveling to our area. Appointments and calls with our Archivist can be requested online . RESEARCH TIPS: Always check www.findagrave.com . This information is posted by volunteers and is free to access. This is a good starting point but cemeteries, churches, and historical societies have additional more info. Be sure to try variations of the surname spelling and cast a wide net -- if the name is William Smith, try W Smith as you may otherwise miss Willie or Wm. Also try spelling various on the surname or a *asterisk as a wildcard to get wider results. Keep looking even if you think you have it all. Funeral homes & undertakers logs, coroner reports, doctors notes, there are often more death event documents that could be found if you keep digging and they could hold valuable you're looking for such as next of kin, home addresses, obit placement, memberships, veteran status, and more. Donations for our efforts are appreciated and will be used to preserve, expand, digitize, and improve the Archives. Leverington Cemetery Map

​​The Archive is located within the Roxborough branch of the Philadelphia Free Library at 6245 Ridge Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19128. Street parking only. Admission to the RMWHS Archive is free -- but it is open by appointment only. Please contact us to make an appointment. Archive is Open for Research by Appointment Only The Archive is open at the discretion of the archivists. No food, drink, or pets are permitted All children must be accompanied by adult Visitor Limit - Due to limited space, the Archive can only accommodate 2 visitors at a time. Masks - Our volunteer may ask you to wear a mask in the Archive. It is a small, tight room and there is little personal space. Please understand our volunteers give time, energy, and skills to help the public and a request to mask up keeps them safe and it is a small kindness you can pay them if they ask. Thank you! No Wheelchair Access - While the main Library entrance is wheelchair accessible, the Archive is not. Location & Parking - The RMWHS Archive is inside the Roxborough branch of the Philadelphia Free Library located at 6245 Ridge Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19128. Free street parking is available -- Hermitage Street recommended. Donations for our efforts are appreciated and will be used to digitize, preserve, expand, and improve our collection.

Roxborough Manayunk Wissahickon Historical Society strives to preserve and promote local history, art, and culture ... and we need your help to do it. Share your memories -- tell us about it! Tell Us About It ... Philadelphia Land Usage Map 1942 - Courtesy of Free Library of Philadelphia Port Royal Riding Stables The 30 images below are only a sample from the collection of nearly 200 photos of the Port Royal Riding Stable (aka Port Royal Farm). The stable was located at 8229 Ridge Ave where the Woodmere Apartments in Roxborough stand today. from 1940 White Pages The majority of the photos were taken in the 1940s-1960s and feature horse trainers, riders, and jumpers, as well as competitions. Other photos show horse teams being trained, a dog that rides horseback, and even some farm frivolity -- or dare we say it -- horsing around. We believe the man shown training the horses may have been owner Harry C. Rose, but we can't be certain. That's why we need your help identifying the people in the photos and/or learning more about the Port Royal Riding Stables you can share. Mail Tell Us About It Click Map to Enlarge Do you have local images (photos, portraits, paintings, film, etc) that you think should be preserved with our local history? If so, we'd love to see them! RMWHS can scan and return original images.

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RMWHS Blog ... Manayunk Welcome Center Opens Manayunk Welcome Center opens at 106 Grape Street -- a special RMWHS display is featured. Public is welcome! 1876 Centennial Exhibition - No Small Feat Recent donation to RMWHS inspires a look at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition -- a colossal undertaking even by present day standards. Sylvia Myers Receives Citation from the Commonwealth of PA For her decades of service to the community, Sylvia Myers was presented with a citation from PA House of Reps. You Rocked Our World! Since our website launched in December 2019, we've had thousands of visitors from more cities, states, and countries than we ever... 2022 Independence Day Parade The Independence Day Parade of Churches is an annual tradition started in 1831 by Samuel Lawson. This year, nearly 20 members of the... Memorial Day 2022: Remembering the Words of John A. Logan A history of Memorial Day and the words of General John A. Logan Thanks to everyone who visited RMWHS at Roxtoberfest 2021! RMWHS participated in the 2021 Roxtoberfest event sponsored by Roxborough Development Corp Hurricane Ida vs The Great Freshet of 1869 The wake of Hurricane Ida still could not beat the Great Freshet of 1869 in death, destruction, and flooding. Maps -- A Snapshot of History If a photo can say 1,000 words -- how many can a map say? Perhaps not as many as a photo? Perhaps a great deal more? Happy 4th of July In 1831, Samuel Lawson, a Sunday School teacher, held an Independence Day parade that became a local tradition that continues today. Memorial Day 2021 at Leverington Cemetery This photo tribute can be downloaded/printed Step back in time: 1304 Steps to 1880s Today, more than a dozen stairways adorn the areas of steep terrain within Roxborough, Manayunk, and Wissahickon. Remembering Harry A. Olson RMWHS member and historical activist Harry A. Olson passed away at the age of 96. His contribution to area history is remembered. Capture, Preserve, & Restore -- Oh My! A few extra minutes spent during the digitization process of RMWHS images reveals what was nearly lost. RDC Celebrates Local History with a Visit to RMWHS "What many might not realize is that Roxborough is a neighborhood with a deep, colonial history...