a. . . . , _ . ,_ ,5. 4:33 , V . , . . . . V . .Em .im . z- r . WWW" . . . . , , a» I. T, , . _ u #3.»;qu . :x . ?£ . .e.‘ Wynn.» . _ V m.“ w. < . . 2 V . 9,2! .fl 1.2.5... , . ...L 3 F. , ,Tfi: » . . {mm NEWER}. V , . . . firm ix Am . 1.. 7T _ n _ V ”ch t , \rv PEI .53 1. _ . . , . F awn . 3%: r». . A: r f _ 7. 1.5.5. a .. {ML 7. :4 .7: . 23$}.;_.5_.J__.mm..%, 7,41%“: a? . “.3? Ti. _ .H, fizzfifimu? flfiflflrTm a . .3: it.» :2 fir p..» if Q... ._ k i L 7.. "up EEK : h 2.....2. F. rfi : $va is $me . .. . . . ”in? i: « um.» T . . w . .w 7 o 1». 3.7 new h; 4:}. Ad: _ .. ,. Ear 2: .uk w . . 5.5? 04 »n. 3%” ”Swan? 1 r :3» Si; 4 1 _ 1: . .5135 ., .21 .: yo mm L“ m. iv? . t. #342 A? r: LEW” ...+.;fl...m.... . $7.. . 9 my: ‘ v.7. i ‘7 Rafi A E» ‘ a.“ m H A .rrr , 5... JVWH‘L ¢ TV I 9.5» La 1 .- . 52...... g a 1L _ . 4 . a 23.: .flfllr S, .237. .7. 13.3%,“ .Au. .5... In . in? . .fln 1 +4 7.2. 5 v .R. 4.. 1.. L... . .723; . . H: r «k , ‘,Q .7 , K» .‘o 5» rd. w 1 Q3. . “3.. y L L EM . T... 7 J . . . 1‘75. o .+ A ,1— 371.34 :71» 52 $3., 1; t _ ‘ z. . .E .. u,.,..E...H. u “a“.F Emmy .4 334? 53 t a.» a. h an”: . H; 17:71.. .4 :1 H #3)? ._ ... .2. #3.; “3. .4 — H". .11 p37???» 5 . V . in.“ .m, . ..m.....r.3 V57» HUM 1: H» 7 ii ,1; W1 S. H. n.fl.wkfi E if! ,2 ‘ u {3. ...fim 7. . é: . : $53.5. . i8.» arm“ 1 .355 .>w v... 3; Karma: _ W , mam. 2.x. ._ N. . F. , nkfimn .. «rm? .p.».y.— 971.. :L. .. ..o...;1 .; . .12 . . 7: ‘ y u; 1F: V 5”. . . ‘ ., 32: n2. . T .7.....::: i. \‘i 2 . .7 ’ .53.», 5 $1., _ . . 65.34.39. an 2. a .7 .. 4.. 73$», b , n (w mi, mmm a 4.31. wanna,» . rhurhu, . .fi 5...: y 4 _ , u. .. 5175: HT .4» an, an 2 3.2” 7:. arm... ti. 9 r4 . .52; TENN-m. >7 .r . hfihr. p 4. .7 Lu: . . .mg. L- .c. . . .NL. . T7 ”1.1:. BYGONES ), «39 ' ‘_ /W J \fé‘” Q"; 2‘ \ . [/7 JN/ /%IK\§: A\\$' ; a finite to 3913mm iRuxhurquIJ-jlflanapunk hp 30th (Ebarlez wanton 31.01:. wanton, iaistorital Buzzard) fibilahelpbia ‘ U, 9/» a — ‘$ , ' /\ é\V*\V' ./v*y *V~‘\V*\V§\W\ I » ~ 3 , fi- %( MO >é/MWQ \7' Q J» §$o%/ ‘ / / \ fi, ; _ ’ = ‘ \ C3 Design and Composition by General Graphic Services, Inc., York, PA Printing and Binding by The Maple Press Company, York, PA This first edition of Bygones was set in Baskerville and Souvenir type and printed in a quanity of 500 copies on acid-free 701b white Glatfelter Offset paper. Copyright, 1990 by john Charles Manton. Printed in the United States of America This publication has been endorsed by the ROXBOROUGH EDWARDIAN SOCIETY Additional copies may be obtained from: ].C. MANTON, Historical Research P.O. Box: 35044 Philadelphia, PA 19128 ' umvgigém l “mam/mu . magmas. ,, . ;.,- “,5“: ...a--~~ For Muriel Alice Langan, the authoress of my life. *** TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface ............................................... ix About the Author ........................................ xi Architects .............................................. 1 Banks ................................................ 3 \ Bibliography of Roxborough-Manayunk History .................. 5 ‘Biographies of Prominent Citizens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ; ............. 9 Bridges .............................................. 21 Cemeteries ............................................ 25 \ Charters Granted Before 1874 .............................. 29 Chronology ........................................... 35 Churches ............................................. 47 Civil War Military Gravestone Inscriptions ...................... 61 Fire Department History .................................. 67 Fires Since 1870 ........................................ 69 \ Fraternal Organizations 8c Clubs ............................. 83 \ Homes 8c Orphanages .................................... 91 \ Hospitals ............................................. 93 Inns 8c Taverns ......................................... 95 Libraries .............................................. 97 Maps ................................................ 99 Mayors Since 1854 . . . .I .................................. 105 \Mills ................................................ 107 Monuments .......................................... 1 13 Murders ................ ' ............................. 1 15 Newspapers .......................................... 127 Parks ............................................... 129 ' Physicians ............................................ 133 Police History ......................................... 137 TABLE OF CONTENTS _ Post Office History ..................................... 141 \ Schools .............................................. 143 Streets Renamed ....................................... 151 Theaters ............................................. 155 \ Towns & Villages ...................................... 157 Undertakers .......................................... 163 Veterans’ Organizations .................................. 165 Appendix “A” Philadelphia City 8c County Records .............. 167 Appendix “B” Holdings of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania . . 169 Appendix “C” Holdings of the Free Library of Philadelphia: Newspaper Center ........................... 173 Map Collection ............................. 175 Print and Picture Department ................... 177 * * >l< viii PREFACE It has been nearly fifty years since a scholarly effort was made to record the historical facts and information of this community. In 1940, the late joseph S. Miles’ work entitled An Historical Sketch of Roxborough, Manayunk, Wissahickon appeared in a limited printing. With little or no other works published on the topic since, it is small wonder that Miles’ book quickly became a reference classic for many local amateur historians. I am however, committed to the belief that no history or handbook can be so well compiled as to render it an all-inclusive source of information. There is no doubt that this work is lacking in some areas due to research impasses caused through the destruction of records by fire, general deterioration, or neglect. In writing this work, my original intention was the creation of a handbook of local nineteenth century social history, having a format designed for ease of use and simultaneously being a model for other ward histories of this city. But many institutions founded within this ward during the nineteenth century continued into the twentieth before their eventual cessation. Thus it was necessary to complete their histories. It is my fervent hope that the information contained herein shall provide the impetus for a fuller intellectual penetration into the history of Roxborough-Manayunk. “Documented” history in this district is ‘ shamefully absent when one considers the prolific works rendered by past scholars of history in Chestnut Hill and Germantown. I am deeply indebted to messrs. Ward Childs, Lee Stanley, Geraldo Marrero, and jefferson M. Moak of the Philadelphia City Archives, particularly to the latter gentleman, whose recent work-in-series entitled The Chestnut Hill Almanac has greatly inspired me in the creation of this book; Bernard Pasqualini, Head of the Free Library of Philadelphia’s Database &: Newspaper Center, for his assistance in completing the list of local newspapers in this book; Richard Boardman, Head of the Free Library’s Map Collection for his assistance with the Hexamer General Insurance Surveys of Manayunk mills; ]. Randall Rosensteel, Assistant to the Director, Free Library of Philadelphia, for providing the only source for the closing dates of the Manayunk and Wissahickon branches;].B. Post, Curator of the Print 8c Picture Department, for his assistance with the aerial photographic surveys of Roxborough-Manayunk; the Reverend John Peterson, Curator of Archives, ix PREFACE I Lutheran Theological Seminary, for his help in providing materials concerning the Lutheran churches of the 2lst Ward; james H. Turner, Jr. for his kind permission to examine the older records of his funeral establishment; Mr. 8c Mrs. Clayton R. Struse, Jr. for their remarkably well-preserved memories of Roxborough-Manayunk during the 19205 and 19305 which considerably reduced my research time; the staffs of the Montgomery County Historical Society and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania; and finally, Lucy Boardway, Director of Re- sources at the College of Information Science, Drexel University, for her patience and tutelage in transferring the manuscript onto computer disc. john Charles Manton Roxborough, I989 HISTORIA VERO TESTIS TEMPORUM LUX VERITATIS. ABOUT THE AUTHOR John Charles Manton was born in 1948 and reared in the Chestnut Hill section of the city of Philadelphia. His paternal grandmother was a direct descendant of Wigard Levering the founder of Roxborough. Mr. Manton received his early education in the Philadelphia public school system and upon graduation in 1966, accepted a position with the Philadelphia law firm of Bennett, Bricklin, 8c Saltzburg where he acquired the skill of a records searcher. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Education from Millersville University (1978), and a Master of In- formation Science from Drexel University (1989). In addition to this book, Mr. Manton authored Victorian Roxborough: an Architectural History (1983), and A Splendid Legacy: St. Timothy’s, Roxborough, 1859—1984. He was also one of the founders of the Roxborough Edwardian Society in '1982, and a past president of that organization of collegiate historiographers. \ *>l<>l< xi BYGONES v Wm , mm ' lMW’ZZW/ehw 7/ w ”w, ' u ”MDWWMWW/W W WWe/mwwmeWy/mmmmfiwm.WWWW, W. W, , Lyceum Hall from the West in 1895. (Now demolished). (Photo courtesy of the Print 65’ Picture Department, Free Library of Philadelphia.) ARCHITECTS Anshutz, Joseph W.: The Wissahickon School, 1888. (demolished) The Levering School, 1895. The Manayunk School, 1902. (demolished) Ballinger Company: The Roxy Theater, 1927. (demolished) Beale, Daniel S.: Wissahickon Presbyterian Chruch, 1893. Birkmire, William H.: First Baptist Church of Manayunk: - Enlargement, 1888. Bolton, Charles Weber: Bethanien Lutheran Church: — Enlargement, 1902. Boyd, Lawrence V.: William B. Stephens Memorial Library, 1911. Burns, Charles M.: St. Timothy’s Church: - the Bell Tower, 1871. - the Lytchgate 8c Churchyard Wall, 1882. St. Timothy’s Workingmen’s Club 8c Institute, 1877. Byles, Alfred: St. Alban’s Church, 1862. Esler, Lewis H.: The Andora School, 1870. (demolished) The Schuylkill School, 1870. (demolished) The Crease School, 1875. The Fairview School, 1878. (demolished) The Manayunk School, 1878. (demolished) Ewing, George M.: Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, 1965. Furness 8c Evans: Roxborough Home for Indigent Women, 1887. Giele, Louis H.: St. Josephat’s Church: ' — the Parish School, 1912. Hales 8c Ballinger: The Dearnley Mansion, 1897. The Wissahickon M.E. Church, 1901. Heacock 8c Hokanson: Roxborough Trust Co. Building, 1918. Heacock & Platt: The Andorra Baptist Church: — the Portico 8c Steeple, 1961. Hewitt, G.W. & W.D.: St. Timothy’s Hospital: - the Roberts Memorial Ward, 1901. Hobbs, Isaac H. Roxborough Baptist Church, 1878. l Hoffman, Francis: Jelinek, Sydney: Keely, Patrick C.: Littell, Emlen T.: Londale, Thomas: Lovatt, George 1., Sr.: Lovatt, George 1., Jr.: Miller, Herman: Moliter, John: Peuchert 8c Wunder: Price, Benjamin D.: Quinn, Charles A.: Savage, George E.: Sidney, James C.: Stevens, Benjamin F.: Talley, Charles M.: Watson, Edkins, 8c Thompson: Watson, Frank R.: Watson 8c Huckel: Whitfield 8c King: Wolf, Otto: Yarnall, John K.: ARC H ITECTS The Empress Theater, Manayunk, 1914. Roxborough Fire House (Shawmont), 1950. St. John-the—Baptist Church, 1894. Church of the Holy Family, 1898. St. Timothy’s Church, 1862: - addition, 1874. - addition, 1885. “Houghton”J. Vaughan Merricl< Sr. Residence, 1861. Church of the Holy Family, 1898. Church of the Holy Family: - the Parish School, 1911. - the Parish School Annex, 1958. Grace Lutheran Church, 1910. Second Manayunk Fire House, 1927. Manayunk Trust Co. Building, 1911. Epiphany Lutheran Church, 1893. (demolished) Manatawna Baptist Church, 1873. Manayunk Post Office, 1929. Emmanuel M.E. Church, 1911. The Roxborough School, 1846. (demolished) Free Library of Philadelphia: - the Manayunk Branch, 1909. Roxborough Presbyterian Church, 1961. Cathedral Church of Christ of the Protestant Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania, Roxborough: - the Lady Chapel, 1933. St. Timothy’s Rectory, 1924. St. John the Baptist Church: - the Convent Extension, 1911. Free Library of Philadelphia: - the Wissahickon Branch, 1909. (demolished) “Langhurst,” 1895. Manayunk Fire House, 1876. (demolished) **>l< BANKS Roxborough Trust Company Location: N.W. corner of Ridge Avenue & Green Lane, Roxborough. Architects: Heacock & Hokanson. Opened: 1918. Closed: October 26, 1931 (by Receivership). Litigation: Philadelphia Court Of Common Pleas. Court No. 5. September Term, 1931. No. 6634. ‘ Successor: Erie National Bank (by merger with the Roxborough Trust Co.). Opened: july 19, 1937. Closed: November, 1946. Successor: The Pennsylvania Company. Renamed: First Pennsylvania Bank 8c Trust Co. 1962. References: Suburban Press: (February 9, 1956), p. 1. Manayunk Trust Company Location: 4338—4342 Main Street, Manayunk Opened: May 1, 1890. New Building: Opened July 1, 1912. Architects: Peuckert 8c Wunder. Contractor: Elmer L. Cuthbertson. Closed: 1931. Litigation: Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. Court No. 5. September Term, 1931. No. 5125. Successor: None. Premises sold 1944. References: Manayunk Sentinel, (May 8, 1890), p. 2. BANKS The architect’s drawing for the second building of the Manayunk National Bank, 1902. (Now demolished) Manayunk National Bank Location: SE. corner of Main 8c Levering Streets, Manayunk. Opened: August 14, 1871. Renamed: Manayunk “National” Bank, 1886. New Building: Erected 1902. Architects: Unknown. Opened: june 24, 1902. Successor: Commercial National Bank (by merger with the Manayunk National Bank). Closed: May 24, 1934 (by Receivership). Successor: None. Premises sold 1941. Demolished: Date unknown. References: Manayunk Sentinel, (April 17, 1902); Gune 17, 1902), p. 1. *** _ BIBLIOGRAPHY OF ROXBOROUGH-MANAYUNK HISTORY Brinton, Mary W. Their Lives and Mine. Philadelphia: M. Brinton, 1972. Bromley, George W. Atlas of the City of Philadelphia, Volume 12, 21 st Ward. Philadel- phia: G.W. &: W.S. Bromley, 1892. Cassel, Daniel K. History of the Rittenhouse Family. Germantown, (Philadelphia): n41,1894. Cauffman, Stanley H. The House of Mercy. Philadelphia: Roxborough Memorial IlospnaL 1940. Dunlap, W. Edmunds. A History of First United Methodist Church, Roxborough. Phfladehflna:FnstIJnued_Nkihodfit(Hunch(fliRoxborough,1976. Givin, R. W. Manayunk, Roxborough, and Falls of Schuylkill Directory for 1883. PhfladehflnazliVV.(anL 1883. Hagner, Charles V. Early History of the Falls of Schuylkill, Manayunk, Schuylkill £9” Lehigh Navigation Companies, Fairmount Waterworks. Philadelphia: Claxton, Remsen, 8c Haffelfinger, 1869. ' Hampshire, Iva. Saint David’s Church 100th Anniversary, 1831—1931 : History. Philadelphia: St. David’s Church, 1931 History of the Church of the Holy Family, 1885-1985. Philadelphia: Church of the Holy Ikunfly,1985. Hopkins, GM. Atlas of the City of Philadelphia, 21st £9” 28th Wards. Philadelphia: G.M. Hopkins, 1884. Hopkins, GM. Atlas of the City of Philadelphia, Volume 2, (21st Ward). Philadelphia: CLNLIiopknw,1875. Insurance Maps of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Vol. 20 Philadelphia: Sanborn Map 5, (knnpany,1923.[Cknrecuxito 1947} Jacoby, Clarence. Roxborough, Wissahickon, and M anayunk in I 891 .' Some Pen and Ink Sketches of the More Prominent Citizens of the Twenty—first Ward. Philadelphia: George ] Kennedy, 1891. jones, Horatio G. Centennial Memorial History of the Roxborough Baptist Church of Philadelphia, Together with an Account of the Centennial Celebration, August 23, 1889. Philadelphia: National Baptist, 1890. jones,Horatio G. Historic Notes of Olden Times. Philadelphia: Manayunk Star Press, 1859. BIBLIOGRAPHY OF ROXBOROUGH-MANAYUNK HISTORY Jones, Horatio G. Historical Sketch of the Rittenhouse Papermill: the First Erected in America, AD. 1690. Philadelphia: n.p., 1863. Jones, Horatio G. The Levering Family: a Genealogical Account of Wigard and Gerhard Levering . . . And Their Descendants. Philadelphia: King 8c Baird, 1858. . ' Klinge, Frank H.M. Atlas of the 21st Ward, Philadelphia, Penna. Lansdale, Pa.: F.H.M. Klinge, 1929. Levering, John. Levering Family History and Genealogy. IndianapoliSP: Levering Historical Assn., 1897. M anayunk and Other Places: Paintings and Drawings by Francis Speight. A retrospective exhibition. University Park: Penna. State Univ., 1974. Manton, John C. A Splendid Legacy: St. Timothy’s, Roxborough, 1859—1984. Philadelphia: St. Timothy’s Church, Roxborough, 1984. Manton, John C. Victorian Roxborough: an Architectural History. Philadelphia: J.C. Manton, Historical Research, 1983. . McManus, Henry C. Roxborough Presbyterian Church: an Outline of its History From 18541904 with a Sketch of the Reformed Dutch Church of Roxborough. Philadel— phia: Roxborough Presbyterian Church, 1904. Merrick, J. Vaughan. St. Timothy’s Workingmen’s Club and Institute, Roxborough. a Brief Account of its Origin, Objects, and Methods by One of its Original Members. Philadelphia. n. p. 1901. ;- Miles, Joseph S. An Historical Sketch of Roxborough, Manayunk, Wissahickon. Philadelphia: George Fein & Co., 1940. Mitchell, Clelland L. The First Hundred Years: Roxborough Presbyterian Church. Philadelphia: Roxborough Presbyterian Church, 1954. , Murphy, Eugene. The First Hundred Years: St. john the Baptist Church, Manayunk, 1831—193]. Philadelphia: St. John the Baptist Church, 1931. . Platt, Horace H. Free Masonry in Roxborough.‘ the History of Roxborough Lodge No. 135, Free and Accepted Masons. Philadelphia: Centennial History Committee of Roxborough Lodge No. 135, 1913. The Roxborough-Manayunk Area: a Pre—planning Study. Philadelphia: The City Plan- ning Commission, 1955. . St. Lucy’s Catholic Church of Manayunk: Golden jubilee, 1927-1977. Philadelphia: St. Lucy’s Church, 1977. Schmieder, Heinrich C. Zum Diamentenen jubilaeum, 75 jahre Gottessegen in Bethanien, Gemeinde—Chronik. Philadelphia: Graf & Breuninger, 1920. Scranton, Philip. “An Immigrant Family and Industrial Enterprise: Sevill Scho- field and the Philadelphia Textile Manufacture, 1845-1900.” Pennsylvania Magazine oinstory and Biography. 106 (July 1982): 365-392. Shelton, CynthiaJ. The Mills of M anayunk: Industrialization and Social Conflict in the Philadelphia Region, I 787-183 7. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univeristy Press, 1986. BIBLIOGRAPHY OF ROXBOROUGH-MANAYUNK HISTORY Smith, Charles H. The Livezey Family. a Genealogical and Historical Record. Philadelphia: George H. Buchanan Co.,1934. Smith, Elvino V. Atlas of the 21 st Ward of the City of Philadelphia Philadelphia: E. V. Smith, 191 1. Sundstrom, Carl A. A Short History of Roxborough and Manayunk. Philadelphia: Manayunk Sentinel Press, 1909. Umile, Eric M. City Set on a Hill: a History of Emmanuel United Methodist Church of Roxborough, 1888—1984. Philadelphia: Emmanuel United Methodist Church of Roxborough, 1985. Whitaker, Albert W. Historical Review of the First Presbyterian Church of Manayunk: Prepared For its One H undredth Anniversary, 1 932. Philadelphia: First Presbyte- rian Church of Manayunk, 1932. Wilson, G. Lloyd. The Roxborough Baptist Church, 1789-1949: A Short History. Philadelphia: Roxborough Baptist Church, 1949. *>l<>1< Hallo, there! aauoa, vouasm: Have you heard of the That is going on at ‘ -‘ , BEEBESvafiz. w/w. ~~~-——A. FULL LINE OF THE—~— GHHA’I‘LY ABVERTISEB DAY SHWED SHOES. SAVE MON [CY \VII EN YOU BUY! We >011nfulllineMLadics‘, Misses”, Mvn‘s, and Children’s S}1t.)cs.at Very Lms I’riws. HARRY S. BEEBE. \H. 1322 MAIN S'I‘REE’I‘, NEXT 'l‘() BROWN’S DRUG S'I‘URE. Sole Agent. for the W. L. Douglass 83.00 Calf Shoo. $0815.33 (mama. Inna. An 1886 advertisement found in the Manayunk Sentinel. ’ BIOGRAPHIES OF PROMINENT CITIZENS Joseph M. Adams (1850-1915) joseph M. Adams was the owner of the Arcola Mills for thirty-five years, and a prominent figure in business and political circles of Manayunk. Mr. Adams was born in County Donegal, Ireland, on October 6, 1850, and came to this country with his parents in 1853. He was educated in the public schools of West Philadelphia and afterward at the Newton Boys’ Grammar School. After working at the trade of carding for four years he went into business for himself. . In 1880, he purchased the old Shur’s Lane Mills, where he started the manufacture of carpet yarn. Six years later (1886), he extended the plant to three buildings, and in 1900 incorporated under the name of the Arcola Mills. Since that time he had become one of the largest manufacturers of worsted and woolen yarn in the country. Most of the output of his factory went to supply Philadelphia and neighboring trade. Mr. Adams’ political career started in 1882, when he was elected to the Manayunk school board. Each section of Philadelphia had its own school board until 1911. He was a member of this board until 1899, when he was elected to Common Council. (Philadelphia was once governed by two city councils, the Common and the Select.) Later he was sent to Select Council and remained the representative of the 215t Ward in that body for sixteen years, when he retired from office. He kept his interest in politics alive however, and was one of the most active members of the 2 lst Ward Republican Club until the death of his wife. Mr. Adams was often a delegate to the Republican State Conventions, and in 1904 one of the original [Theodore] Roosevelt men at the National Convention. He was a member of Roxborough Lodge 135, F.&A. Masons, Harmony Chapter, Mary Commandery, K.T., Lu Lu Temple, the Manufacturers’ Club and the 21$t Ward Board of Trade. For twenty-five years, he was a member of the Roxborough Baptist Church. Joseph Adams died on March 11, 1915 at “Fairview” his home. The Arcola Mills continued under direction of his son T. Rawlins Adams who had worked with his father in that business since its incorporation.‘ “Fairview” is presently 9 BIOGRAPHIES OF PROMINENT CITIZENS owned by the Manayunk Club and is reached Via Gay Street off Fleming north of Lyceum Avenue. Archibald Campbell (1823-1874) Archibald Campbell was born in 1823 at Quilly, County Down, Ireland.2 He emigrated to this country in 1844. Mr. Campbell began his business life at Manayunk, and through his enterprise, the Crompton Mill (situated at Leverington Avenue on the west bank of the canal) grew to be one of the largest mills in the city of Philadelphia, employing an army of men and women. Campbell enlarged the Crompton Mill and later rebuilt it with profits amounting to over $3,000,000 annually. The manufactured goods from this mill as well as the Union Mill also acquired by Campbell, were sent to all parts of the United States prior to 1874. Campbell entered into partnership with William B. Stephens and .William Campbell. His business increased with the acquisition of Campbell, Knowles, 8c Co., a large commission dry goods house located at 125 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, which disposed of the products of Campbell’s two Manayunk mills mentioned above. In 1866, Campbell was elected director of the Commercial National Bank of Philadelphia, remaining in that position until his death. Archibald Campbell was a very wealthy man and it comes as no surprise that he was able to purchase sixty acres of land at the lower end of the 2lst Ward on School House Lane, spending an additional sum of $150,000 to erect one of the most elegant mansions to be found in Roxborough. After the completion of this mansion and the landscaping of the surrounding grounds, his “country seat” was valued in excess of $200,000. His education must have matched his wealth, for he possessed one of the finest private libraries of this city as well as an art gallery. Unfortunately for Mr. Campbell, as is so often the case in “rags-to-riches” stories, he did not live to enjoy his fortune in the golden years of his life. Dying of a brain tumor at the age of fifty on October 23, 1874,33 he left his widow and seven minor children in possession of an estate assessed at $2,000,000, the principal stock of two prosperous mills in Manayunk, a farm, and real estate holdings in Rhode Island. As for the level of his importance in Roxborough-Manayunk, and in the greater Philadelphia area, one has but to read his obituary to see the list of prominent persons that attended his funeral in West Laurel Hill Cemetery. Amongst the estimated gathering of two hundred mourners attending were two officiating Presbyterian ministers, the Reverend Messrs. J.H. McMonagle and joseph Beggs, Charles Thompson Jones, Thomas H. Powers, Evan Randolph, 10 BIOGRAPHIES OF PROMINENT CITIZENS W.P. Jenks, William H. Merrick, the brother of J. Vaughan Merrick, James L. Claghorn, and Dr. Ashton. Two ex-mayors of this city helped carry his coffin, Messrs. Henry and McMichael. Horatio Gates Jones became one of the executors of his vast estate and guardian of his minor children.4 John H. Dearnley (1861-1913) John H. Dearnley was born on May 1, 1861 in the state of Delaware,5 the son of Isaac and Hannah (Grindrod) Dearnley. His father was most influential in the erection of the second building of the Wissahickon Methodist Episcopal Church in 1901.6 In 1885, Mr. Dearnley married Elizabeth Schofield, daughter of a wealthy Manayunk mill-owning family, in the Parish Church of St. Timothy, Rox- borough.7 Mr. Dearnley purchased a large tract of land from John W. Smick in 1896 at 7550 Ridge Avenue. This tract, later known as “Dearnley Park,” comprised all of the land within the boundary of Wigard Avenue on the south, Ridge Avenue on the east, Dearnley Avenue on the north, and Shaw Street to the west. This was the area of the “Dearnley Estate” in 1896.8 There was no Flamingo or Oriole Street, which were cut across the estate at a later date.9 Having secured the land on which to build his mansion, Mr. Dearnley engaged the Philadelphia architectural firm of Hales & Ballinger to design and erect a large stone house in the Queen Anne style then in vogue.10 Upon its completion in 1897, he took up residence with his wife, two sons (John 8c Charles Edwin), and three servants. His daughter Irene was born here in 1898.11 Mr. Dearnley was elected to the local school board in 1906 and resigned in 1911 in opposition to the reorganization "of the city’s system of education and the abolition of all local boards.12 John H. Dearnley died on December 2, 1913 at the age of 52 and was interred in West Laurel Hill Cemetery.” He was at the time of his death, president of the Dearnley Worsted Spinning Company, Inc., Philadelphia.14 The Dearnley Mansion still stands in Upper Roxborough, having been known for fifty-five years as the Nazarene Home for Aged Women. Timothy Fitzpatrick (l 82 8- 1 887) Timothy Fitzpatrick was born at Ballinakill, County Queen, Ireland in 1828. In 1846, he immigrated to this country at the age of eighteen. The employment offered by Manayunk’s textile mills lured this young Irish weaver there in 1850, where his talents and diligence quickly earned him the higher position of “loom boss” (a supervisor). ll BIOGRAPHIES OF PROMINENT CITIZENS Setting out on his own in 1865 with the experience of fifteen years soundly behind him, he went into business with his brother as a manufacturer of doeskins and jeans. Twoyears later, his brother withdrew and Fitzpatrick formed a partnership with William Holt.l5 About 1867 these gentlemen purchased the Canton Mill at Baker 8c Leverington Avenue. The new firm of “Fitzpatrick 8c Holt” wasted no time in expanding their mill. In the Summer of 1876, they increased the capacity of their production through the erection of a new mill building just south of the mill standing along Leverington Avenue. Their property now extended about 240 ft. along Baker Street, 300 ft. along Umbria Street, 179 ft. along Leverington Avenue, and 143 ft. along Mallory Street. On this large lot, S.S. Keely, Thomas Batemen, and Isaac Collins completed a brick and stone structure having a “Weave Room” containing 320 looms. The basement provided an abundant supply of water from a running stream passing under the mill. A reporter for the Manayunk Sentinel boasted that this stream would “in case of fire prove a very convenient source from which to draw in subduing the flames.”16 Alas, not one fire, but two, brought down the Canton Mill despite the abundance of water beneath it. The first fire occurred on january 13, 1883, destroying the entire building, its contents, and caused damages in excess of $20,000.17 The second fire came eleven months later (December 17, 1883) raising the mill’s damages beyond $32,000 for the year.18 One must remember that by our current level of economics this is not much money, but in 1883, it was a very exorbitant loss for Fitzpatrick 8c Holt. Needless to say, the mill’s 200 hands were thrown out of work for awhile. Despite their misfortune, Fitzpatrick & Holt quickly rebuilt and re- employed their workers, keeping them employed through an economic depres- sion in 1885, when nearly every mill in Manayunk was forced to close19 until more prosperous times returned. The marriage of Timothy Fitzpatrick to Helen Chandler in 1854, produced six children: F. Emmett, Lizzie A., Mamie E, David C., and William H. Fitzpatrick. Of these children, F. Emmett Fitzpatrick, Sr. continued the family name in the fabric of Roxborough-Manayunk’s history through the establish- ment of a funeral home in 1920. This newer family business is presently in its third generation, run by Timothy F itzpatrick’s great-grandson. Another grandson of Timothy Fitzpatrick once served this city as the District Attorney. On December 12, 1887, at the age of 59, Mr. Fitzpatrick died at his residence (140 Green Lane) from a “Hemorrhage of the Stomach.“20 After a Requiem in the Church of the Holy Family, his body was taken to the Churchyard of St. john the Baptist and interred. Eight days later, his will was probated at City Hall, revealing an estate in excess of $34,215 as well as 12 BIOGRAPHIES OF PROMINENT CITIZENS substantial revenues accrued from the Canton Mills, capable of supporting his widow and minor children for many years thereafter?1 The Canton Mills, continued in operation well into the present century, but is now defunct. Part of its eight sections still stand, the oldest section having been demolished sometime within this century. Those sections surviving have been occupied since 1974 by “Perma Plant, Inc.” (manufacturers of artificial plants). Samuel Streeper Keely (l 822 - l 899) Samuel S. Keely was born at Roxborough on July 12, 1822 to Henry and Rebecca (Streeper) Keely.” His father acquired a farm near Lafayette Hill (Montgomery Co. Penna.) and moved there in 1824. At the age of seventeen, Samuel Keely was apprenticed to John Lewis to learn the trade of a carpenter. After a period of five years under Lewis’ tutelage, Samuel left his employ to start his own business. On January 1, 1844, Keely married Jane McFadden, daughter of a Manayunk contractor. The following year Mr. Lewis died by drowning while taking a bath in the Schuylkill River. Samuel Keely quickly acquired his shop and business, and expanded it over the next nine years. Sometime between 1845-1854, Keely was elected the School Director23 of this district and as such learned of plans to erect a number of school houses in the Roxborough-Manayunk area. When his company was given the contract for the erection of the Washington (later Jones) School on Shurs Lane in 1854, he resigned as School Director to oversee the work. Additional contracts for Temperance Hall and a number of Manayunk 'mills enabled him to purchase in 1860 from the Dewees Estate, a tract of land situated on the Manayunk Canal adjoining the Reading Railroad above Umbria Street. Keely rented the old saw-mill then located there and a coal yard to various occupants until 1866, when he took possession of the entire premises. He then established a coal and lumber business of his own that by 1891 had become the largest in the area. 1866 was the same year that Keely followed other mill—owners in establishing for himself and his family a residence higher up the hillside overlooking Manayunk. No. 350 Green Lane24 became not only a home but a place to expand his business outside Manayunk, catering to the building trade of Roxborough. A building boom began in this area following the Civil War and by the 18705, many new schools, churches, and residences were erected. Once again the profits accrued from the Roxborough building frenzy of the 18705 enabled S.S. Keely & Sons to expand. In 1877, Samuel Keely acquired 13 BIOGRAPHIES OF PROMINENT CITIZENS another tract next to the Dewees tract he had purchased in 1860, and built a larger lumber mill thereon.‘25 This was the mill located at Main & Leverington, which 8.8. Keely & Sons were most noted for at the turn of the century. Covering an area 75 X 500 ft. and employing 75 hands, the mill yielded annual business transactions of about a quarter of a million dollars. The following year (1878) Keely, by now the head of a small local empire of real estate holdings, business investments, and principal supplier to the building trade, acquired another tract of land from the estate of N.L. Jones, situated on Main Street below Shurs Lane.‘26 On this tract, he erected two large mill buildings, known as the “Enterprise Mills,” and rented them to various firms. A fire destroyed these mills in December, 1882, but they were quickly rebuilt and sold to the firm of Hutchinson 8c Ogden. In August, 1886, Mr. Keely’s wife died, and he later married Elizabeth H. Roberts of Chestnut Hill.27 By 1891, Samuel S. Keely had erected a number of private residences in the area, 150 from which he received rent.28 Thus far, we see a virtual giant amongst town developers. A carpenter, mill-owner, real estate broker, landlord, a man for all seasons. And yet, there is another side to this entrepreneur of entrepreneurs. Samuel Streeper Keely was a very religious man, an elder in the Presbyteri- an Church, a Sunday School Superintendent and President of the Board of Trustees of the First Presbyterian Church of Manayunk. Here is the Lord Advocate of Temperance; member of the Manayunk Division of the Sons of Temperance, and ardent supporter of the Prohibition Party (a 19th century political party). He was, to put it plainly, a “fanatic” on the subject. The following newspaper account tells of an 1880 town meeting in which 8.8. Keely is seen from a different View: There was a strong movement to overthrow the late Charles Thompson ] ones, Select Councilman of this Ward, by the Democrats and Reformers. john 8. Davis, a coal oil magnate, had recently moved into the ward. He was picked out by the fusionists as a candidate to oppose ] ones. They called a town meeting, which was held in the basement of the Temperance hall. Samuel S. Keely, a staunch advocate of temperance and a noted reformer, presided. Davis was nominated without opposition. He was called into the meeting and in an exceedingly brief address, thanked the citizens for the honor conferred upon him. Thinking that the crowd was disappointed in the brevity of the speech, the chairman (Keely) said: ‘Gentlemen, if there is anything else you would like our candidate to say, speak right out, and I have no doubt that he will be glad to comply.’ Back in the rear of the hall a man stood up and said: “ ‘I think, Mr. Keely, that there are many of us here who would like to hear him say, ‘Come out boys, and have a drink.’ ” This caused an outburst of laughter and brought the meeting to a close before the candidate had a chance to reply. Keely never forgot the incident and thought it a personal dig against his temperance principles. 29 Ten days before his own death, Samuel S. Keely’s eldest son (Samuel F.) died. This death must have shaken Mr. Keely (now 77 years of age) so much so 14 BIOGRAPHIES OF PROMINENT CITIZENS that he failed to look after himself. He contracted pneumonia and died at his residence (350 Green Lane) on January 13, 1899.30 The firm of 8.8. Keely 8c Sons continued into this century under the direction of his sons, J. Howard and Edmund M. Keely. Another son by his first marriage (Oliver S. Keely) became a prominent real estate broker of Manayunk. James Milligan (1822-1908) James Milligan, editor and founder of the Chronicle 53’ Advertiser, a now long defunct newspaper of Manayunk, was born in Carlisle (Yorkshire) England in November, 1822.31 He met and married his wife Hannah in 1845.32 While plying his trade as a cotton-spinner, he wrote poetry in his spare time. Mr. Milligan’s poetic verse came to the attention of the editor of a Carlisle (England) newspaper. This encounter led to an extra income from free-lance writing. In time, enough money was earned from his work in both mill and writing to pay the passage of himself and family to Philadelphia. Arriving on May 26, 1854, James Milligan sought and found employment as a spinner in the Whitaker Mill at Manayunk. In 1862, he became a ruling elder in the First Presbyterian Church of Manayunk, and held this post for forty-six years. As the Civil War advanced, reaching a point of mass hysteria among the population due to the Confederate invasion of Pennsylvania in 1863, militias sprang up overnight. One such militia raised by Capt. Charles Schofleld33 caught the attention of Mr. Milligan and off he marched with them to protect the Union from the invading foe. James Milligan survived the carnage of war to go on and found the Chronicle {9° Advertiser on January 1, 1869. Setting up its offices at 105 Grape Street in Manayunk, he later relocated to the corner of Main & Levering Streets.34 This highly successful enterprise reported the history-in-the-making of Manayunk for sixty-two years before it ceased publication in 1931, twenty- three years after the death of its founder. On a cold October day in 1908 as he lay in his bed at 459 Leverington Avenue, James Milligan looked back across a life spanning eighty—five years. He had crossed an ocean to fight for his adopted country, and finding that the pen is mightier than the sword, he fought for Manayunk. In his wake he left thirty— one living descendants. Around the coffin of James Milligan in the First Presbyterian Church of Manayunk, gathered his six children, fifteen grandchildren, and ten great- grand-children. Joining them were the leading citizens of Manayunk which helped to create a funeral cortege of incredible length from the church all the way to Westminster Cemetery. 15 BIOGRAPHIES OF PROMINENT CITIZENS James Milligan is dead. His newspaper is gone, and Manayunk has changed markedly in the eighty years since his death. But many of Manayunk’s improvements taken for granted today, such as the grade eliminations along the Reading Railroad, are the result of his newspaper’s influence on its readers. T. Mason Mitchell (1813-1892) T. Mason Mitchell was born at Philadelphia on December 3, 1813. He was a descendant on his father’s side of Thomas Mitchell, who came to this country with William Penn, and on his mother’s side of John Mason, an inventor. When Mr. Mitchell was sixteen years old, his father died and he was thrown on his own resources. He entered the office of a relative, Thomas Mitchell, and learned conveyancing, subsequently becoming connected with Thomas Lloyd, a prominent real estate broker. For a number of years Mr. Mitchell acted as the Philadelphia agent for the Bank of England and conducted a large business for New York clients. In 1840, Mr. Mitchell, with John C. Pechin, George M. Conarroe, and Abraham Martin, took up forty acres of farm land in Roxborough, which they afterwards laid out in streets without cost to the city. T. Mason Mitchell completed a large Ionic (Greek Revival) dwelling in 1841, and at once occupied it. For the next fifty-one years he and his family resided there. When Mr. Mitchell was a young man, he devoted his spare time to the study of theology, with the intention of entering the ministry of the Presbyterian Church. At that time he began mission work at the old academy building, Falls of Schuylkill. He was one of the founders of the Union Sunday School which existed in that building until 1852. Continuing in business until 1864, Mr. Mitchell lost one of his feet through an accident on the Reading Railroad in Wissahickon, which resulted in his early retirement. Undaunted, he devoted himself to study and the contribution of religious articles to the Presbyterian (a religious periodical) and to other publications.35 Mr. Mitchell died on May 2, 1892 at his residence on the southeast corner of Lyceum Avenue and Mitchell Street. The house is no longer standing. His remains lie interred in Saint Timothy’s Churchyard. Sevill Schofield (1832-1900) Sevill Schofield was born August 13, 1832 in the village of Lees near Oldham (Yorkshire), England, the son of Joseph and Mary A. Schofield. The 16 BIOGRAPHIES OF PROMINENT CITIZENS family came to this country in 1845,36 arriving at New York, thence coming to Manayunk, where his father supplied operatives (mill hands) to various mills. In 1846, Sevill entered into partnership with James Lees for the purpose of manufacturing yarns, in a small mill, on Mill Creek (Montgomery Co., Penna.) and continued there until Lees dissolved the partnership in 1857. In that same year, Schofield acquired another small mill on the canal bank at Manayunk formerly the property of William McFadden. With his father, this mill began operation with only six hands. An increase in their business enabled them to improve the machinery and increased their work force. Six months after taking possession of the mill, Sevill’s father died, and in his will directed that the property should not be sold or divided so long as his widow lived. The conditions of the will were carried out by Sevill until his marriage to Katherine Somerset on April 28, 1859. Arrangements were made to pay his mother interest on the amount of money the property was valued. Sevill then formed a partnership with his brother Charles, under the firm name of S.&C. Schofield. At the outbreak of the Civil War, the firm was among the first in Philadelphia to contract with the United States Government for furnishing blankets for the army. Charles Schofield withdrew from the firm in 1862 and the business was carried on successfully by Sevill, who kept adding to the plant (the mill’s buildings, etc.) until it was regarded as one of the largest in this part of the city. On several different occasions the plant was almost destroyed by fire, but was rebuilt each time and enlarged, until at one time his operatives were numbered by the thousand.37 Sevill Schofield acquired the Blantyre Mill in 1862, land for the Economy Mills in 1865, and erected the Eagle Mill ca. 1884. Despite his economic success as a manufacturer, Schofield experienced labor strikes in 1873, 1874, 1883, and 1885, and endured economic depressions which hit the nation in 1873, 1884, and 1893. This in turn led to financial reversals and the running of all but one of his mills by his brother-in-law James Dobson. The financial troubles of his latter years inevitably led to his death on December 21, 1900. While others were engaged in preparation for the first Christmas of the twentieth century, Sevill paid one last visit to his one remaining mill (the Economy), then returned to his mansion at Pechin 8c Markle Streets shortly after six o’clock Where he dropped dead upon entering the house. He was buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery on Christmas Eve, 1900,38 leaving a widow and six of his eleven children to survive him. His mansion became St. John’s R.C. High School for Boys in 1921 and was demolished sometime after 1956. Today, the Eagle Mill just north of the Green Lane Bridge is a vacant lot, while his Blantyre Mill at Main 8c Cotton Streets has been reduced to a condominium and no longer sings the song of the loom for passers-by. 17 BIOGRAPHIES or PROMINENT CITIZENS Maurice F. Wilhere (1854-1908) Maurice F. Wilhere was born in Ireland on October 30, 1854, the son of Daniel and Bridget (Curran) Wilhere.39 His parents immigrated to the United States in 1856,40 eventually settling in Manayunk. Mr. Wilhere was educated in the Philadelphia public school system, graduating from Central High School for Boys circa 1872. Although he was taught the trade of a machinist, Mr. Wilhere never pursued this line of work. His petition for United States citizenship was granted by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on September 30, 1868. In 1880 he married Miss Kathryn McGlinchey and opened a grocery store at Main 8c Rector Streets, Manayunk. Both his marriage and his business did not continue long thereafter, for his wife died on March 15, 1882,41 and he abandoned the business to enter a partnership for the purpose of manufacturing yarns. Operating under the firm name of “Wilhere 8c Kelly,” this business also flourished for a short period of time when a fire broke out in the firm’s mill exacting a very heavy financial loss. Mr. Wilhere’s political career began with his support of Grover Cleveland (D) in 1884, who was then running for president. Such support had paid off, for Cleveland made him superintendent of the stamp division in the Philadelphia Post Office. This post he held for two terms form 1885-1889. From 1890—1900, Mr. Wilhere served as an elected police magistrate. It was during this period of time that he met and married his second wife, Miss Nellie O’Gorman on November 26, 1892.42 Retiring from politics in 1900 to become secretary-treasurer of a local brewing company, he formed a connection with the Roxborough-Manayunk business community that eventually led to his election as president of the Twenty—first Ward Board of Trade and Business Men’s Association. In an attempt to reverse his declining health, Mr. Wilhere went to Atlantic City, New Jersey, where he died on August 4, 1908. He was fifty—four years of age. A pillar of Saint John-the-Baptist Roman Catholic Church, Manayunk, Mr. Wilhere’s body was borne forth from that church to Westminster Cemetery, followed by Nellie M. Wilhere his wife and sole family mourner.43 (1) Manayunk Sentinel: (March 17, 1915), p. 1 (2) Naturalization Petition: (December 18, 1851) Court of Quarter Sessions. Entry No. 65. (3) Registration of Deaths, 1874. (Philadelphia) Volume II, p. 80. (4) Obituary. Manayunk Sentinel: (October 30, 1874) 8c (November 6, 1874). (5) 1900 Census of the United States. Pennsylvania. (Philadelphia Co.) Ward 21. E.D. 464. (6) Bronze plaque erected inside the former Wissahickon M.E. Church. (7) Marriage Register, 1885. (Philadelphia) p. 92. 18 BIOGRAPHIES OF PROMINENT CITIZENS (8) 1896 Deed for the premises of 7550 Ridge Avenue. City of Philadelphia. Department of Records. ‘ (9) Smith: Atlas of the City of Philadelphia, Ward 21, c1911. (10) Building Permit No. 134 (January 13, 1897). (11) 1900 Census of the United States. Pennsylvania. (Philadelphia Co.) Ward 21. ED. 464. (12) Obituary. Manayunk Sentinel: (December 4, 1913). (13) Death Certificate No. 27709 (1913). Philadelphia, Pa. (14) Obituary. Manayunk Sentinel: (December 4, 1913). (15) Manayunk Sentinel: (December 15, 1887), p. 2. (16) Ibid. (September 15, 1876), p. 2. (17) Ibid. (January 18, 1883). (18) Ibid. (December 20, 1883). (19) Ibid. (December 15, 1887). (20) Philadelphia County Register of Deaths, 1887. Volume II, p. 276. (21) Philadelphia County Register of Wills (1887). Will N0. 1398; Will Book No. 137, p. 93; Inventory Book No. 6, p. 504; Account Book No. 197, p. 311. (22) Clarence Jacoby, Roxborough, Wissahickon, and M anayunk in 1891: Some Pen and Ink Sketches of the More Prominent Citizens. (Philadelphia: Geo. J. Kennedy, 1891), p. 50. (23) Ibid, p. 51. (24) Deed: (1866) LRB:205;331. (25) Jacoby, Op. Cit., p. 51. (26) Ibid, p. 51. (27) Public Ledger: (January 14, 1899), p. 2. (28) Jacoby, op. cit. p. 52. (29) Manayunk Sentinel: (December 31, 1913), p. 1. (30) Death Certificate No. 15643. (1899). Philadelphia Co. Penna. (31) 1900 Census of the United States. Pennsylvania. (Philadelphia Co.) Ward 21. ED. 467; Sheet 7; Line 74. (32) Ibid. (33) Obituary. Manayunk Sentinel: (October 15, 1908). (34) Scharf 8c Westcott: v. III; p. 2040. (35) Manayunk Sentinel: (May 5, 1892). (36) Naturalization Petition N0. 49 (October 2, 1856), Philadelphia Court of Quarter Sessions. (37) Obituary. Public Ledger: (December 22, 1900), p. 2. (38) Death Certificate No. 12593, (1900). Philadelphia Co., Penna. (39) Marriage Certificate No. 56132 (1892). Philadelphia, Pa. (40) Manayunk Sentinel: (August 6, 1908), p. 1. (41) Marriage Certificate No. 56132 (1892). Philadelphia, Pa. (42) Ibid. (43) Register of Deaths, 1908. (Philadelphia Co. Penna.) Entry No. 19153. 19 Two views of the Green Lane Bridge over the Schuylkill River. The steel bridge erected in 1884 (top) and the present concrete bridge built 1927-28 (bottom). (Courtesy of the Philadelphia City Archives.) BRIDGES FOUNTAIN STREET BRIDGE: over Manayunk Canal and Reading Railroad. Through-truss construction over canal and plate girder over railroad. Erected ca. 1886. ‘ GREEN LANE BRIDGE: carries Green Lane over the Schuylkill River and Reading Railroad tracks. Built in 1928 with money from the counties of Philadel- phia and Montgomery. Constructed of a series of concrete arches, this is the third bridge erected at this site. The 1928 bridge replaced an earlier steel suspension bridge erected in 1884. HENRY AVENUE BRIDGE: over Gorgas Lane. Prestressed concrete having seven spans. Built in 1957. HENRY AVENUE BRIDGE: over Green Lane. Open spandrel concrete arch, built in 1957. LEVERINGTON AVENUE BRIDGE: over Manayunk Canal and Reading Railroad. Steel in concrete, erected in 1929. MANAYUNK AVENUE BRIDGE: over Shurs Lane. Plate girder with a span of 46 feet, built in 1894. Rebuilt 1979. READING‘RAILROAD BRIDGE: over the Wissahickon Creek east of Ridge Avenue, constructed of pointed stone in 1874 by Frederick Peterman, contractor. Five arches, each having a height of 65 feet.2 WALNUT LANE BRIDGE: carries Walnut Lane over Forbidden Drive and the Wissahickon Creek. Started in 1906 and completed in 1908 by contractors Reilly 8c Riddle. It is conStructed of concrete having six spans. 147 feet to valley floor below. Famous for suicides during early 1930s. 21 Egg :6 sfistsm 2% “9 $238 .002 vegan “5:5? :oxofimmmmg 2t $>o owwim BEA 353$ 6893:“ 2: HOW mamamgw Rammio whoofimco BEL “Eu CZECOELDU uCu £oSOLOQKom BRIDGES WISSAHICKON MEMORIAL BRIDGE: also known as the Henry Avenue Bridge, carries Henry Avenue over the Wissahickon Creek. Designed by Ralph Modjeski, an engineer, it was formally opened by Mayor]. Hampton Moore on November 12, 1932. WISSAHICKON AVENUE BRIDGE: over tributary of Wissahickon Creek north of Lincoln Drive. Bridges Over Streets LEVERING STREET: at Cresson Street, a Viaduct. LEVERINGTON AVENUE: north of Main Street, Manayunk. LEVERINGTON AVENUE: south of Umbria Street. Pennsylvania Railroad Viaduct. MAIN STREET: at Green Lane. Concrete arch bridge built by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1928. Replaced a steel bridge built in 1884. (Miles: 92) ROXBOROUGH AVENUE: at Cresson Street. Reading Railroad viaduct. SHAWMONT AVENUE: west of Umbria Street. Brick arch with granite trim built by Pennsylvania Railroad in 1883. SHURS LANE: east of Main Street. Concrete arch built by Reading Railroad, replaced an earlier bridge on this site erected in 1874.3 (1) Manayunk Sentinel: (April 9, 1885), p. 2 (2) Ibid: (September 4, 1874), p. 2 (3) Ibid: (May 22, 1874), p. 2 23 24 The first St. Davi ’3 Church, Manayunk circa 1872. This church was replaced by the present one in 1880 after a fire. Note the muddy surface of Centre (now Dupont) Street. (Photo courtesy of the Veshy of St. Davi ’s Episcopal Church, Manayunk.) CEMETERIES BETHANY GERMAN LUTHERAN CHURCHYARD: the seventh oldest burial ground in the ward, opened 1849 on Martin Street west of Pechin, site of the original church edifice now demolished. The first burial occurred on October 14, 1849.1 It is Roxborough’s smallest burial ground. According to church officials, no churchyard records have survived. Parish Registers kept by the clergy [now held at i the Archives Center of the Lutheran Theological Seminary, Mt. Airy] contain burial information, i.e. name, date of interment, age, etc. of those buried in this churchyard. Location of graves is not provided. A knowledge of the German language and of German script (handwriting) is essential in using these registers. " FOURTH REFORMED CHURCHYARD: opened circa 1827 with the com- pletion of a church building at the corner of Wood (Silverwood) and Cotton Streets. Burial capacity was 400 bodies amongst 253 lots. The churchyard was bounded by Grape, Silverwood, and Cotton Streets. Interments ceased in 1901 with the sale of the property to a Polish Roman Catholic congregation and disinterment under the direction of Undertaker LT. Ryan was begun on March 20, to make way for a parochial school building fronting on Grape Street. All bodies were removed to a common grave in Westminster Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd, Pa.2 The churchyard interment records were taken to Fourth Reformed Church’s new location at Manayunk and Monastery Avenues where they remained until the church was closed in 1969. At that time the records were transferred to Talmage Reformed Church at Pechin and Rector Streets where they remained fifteen years. In 1984 Talmage Church was closed. From there the records were taken to Faith Reformed Church, Levittown, Pa. Records of this churchyard have been micro- filmed by the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania. LEVERINGTON .CEMETERY: located at Ridge & Lyceum Avenues in Roxborough, was originally the burial ground of the Levering (Loewering) Family as early as 17 45. In that year Wigard Levering (the founder of Roxborough) was interred there. Sometime after this date the cemetery became known as “the Roxborough Burial Ground” even though it had become a part of the 25 CEMETERIES Roxborough Baptist Churchyard to which it is adjacent. In 1857, its connections with the Roxborough Baptist Church were severed and a Board of Trustees created which incorporated as the “Leverington Cemetery Company.” The office of this cemetery was located in the old Lyceum Building at Ridge 8c Lyceum Avenues. In 1966 a fire destroyed this building fragmenting the records of the cemetery in the process. Those records surviving, were removed to the private residence of one of the trustees. The Roxborough Edwardian Society has indexed the interments in this cemetery from 1860-1880 and this index is on microfilm at the Philadelphia City Archives, and the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania. ROXBOROUGH BAPTIST CHURCHYARD: The church was organized in 1789. A lot in front of the old Roxborough Burial Ground was purchased from Nathen and Sarah Levering in 1783.3 Additional land was acquired in 1804. The church was incorporated in 1812.4 Another lot was purchased on the east side of the churchyard road in 1818.5 The churchyard was opened in 18196 and closed in 1983 by decree. Surviving records are on microfilm at the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania. ROXBOROUGH PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHYARD: began as the Hagy family farm burial plot. In 1835 the congregation of the newly-formed Rox- borough Dutch Reformed Church erected a church and laid out a churchyard at its rear. In the year 1854, after many appeals to the Classis in New York to send a clergyman to fill a long vacant pulpit, this congregation disestablished themselves from the Dutch Reformed Church and joined the Presbyterian Church in Phila- delphia. Records have been indexed by the Roxborough Edwardian Society and this index has been microfilmed by the Free Library of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia City Archives, and the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania. ST. DAVID’S CHURCHYARD (Protestant Episcopal): opened in 1833 at Centre (Dupont) and Wabash (Smick) Streets in Manayunk. St. David’s is the fifth oldest cemetery in Philadelphia’s Twenty-first Ward and as such, many of its tombstones have been removed due to age and vandalism. While original churchyard records have been lost, surviving Rectorial Interment Records, 1833-1919 have been indexed by the Roxborough Edwardian Society and this index has been micro- filmed by the Free Library of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia City Archives, and the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania. ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST CHURCHYARD (Irish Roman Catholic): opened circa 1832 at Tower 8c Rector Streets in Manayunk. St. John’s is the fourth oldest cemetery in the area. Records are held at the church rectory. 26 CEMETERIES ST. MARY OF THE ASSUMPTION CHURCHYARDS (German Roman Catholic): The first churchyard was opened circa 1850 on Oak (now Conarroe) Street west of Silverwood, Manayunk next to the parish church. In 1872 a large tract of ground was purchased on Prospect (now Lemonte) Street in Roxborough for use as a second churchyard. Its consecration occurred on July 13, 1873.7 RecOrds are held at the church rectory. ST. TIMOTHY’S CHURCHYARD (Protestant Episcopal): The section just south of the parish church was opened in 1863 and consecrated on May 27, 1882. The first burial occurred on November 27, 1863. St. Timothy’s Churchyard was enlarged in 1920 through the acquisition of the land just north of the parish church, bounded by Ridge Avenue, Pensdale, and Merrick Streets. Complete records are held by the church, indexed by the Roxborough Edwardian Society, and both church records and the R.E.S. index have been microfilmed by the Free Library of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia City Archives, and the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania. (1) Leichen Register, 1845-1891. (2) Philadelphia Public Ledger, (March 21, 1901). (3) Deed D:39;4l8. (4) Pennsylvania Archives 9th Series IV, p. 3206. (5) Deed IW:8;95. (6) Horatio G. jones: Centennial Memorial History of the Roxborough Baptist Church of Philadelphia, pp. 12, 15. (7) Suburban Press: (February 18, 1932). 27 JUSTlflE flNl] PflflTEflTlflN Tl] flll! WfllflflBS, fllflflkfi, JflWBIlU, SHVBI WEIR, M3. ~—GO TO—- M. M. BDVARD :3 SUN, @mswm @311.»th Beliew (Stay Sweet, A newspaper advertisement of 1886. G. M. Bovard is the oldestjewelry store in Roxborough-Manayunk. 28 CHARTERS GRANTED BEFORE 1874 B ridge Companies Manayunk Bridge Company March 24, 1832, P.L. 164 February 17, 1870, P.L. 156 C emetery Associatiens Leverington Cemetery Company May 13, 1857, P.L. (1859) 788: Granted right to own and purchase a limit of30 acres of land. No public streets or roads may be cut through the cemetery after its establishment. Clandestine removal of bodies is forbidden and punishable by one year in the state penitentiary with a fine of $500. Defacin‘g monuments, illegal removal of shrubs, and the discharge of guns and firearms within the cemetery is punishable with a fine of not less than $50.1 February 25, 1859, P.L. 94 F ire Companies Good Intent Fire Company of Roxborough March 17, 1845, P.L. 175 March 13, 1857, P.L. 501 April 5, 1870, P.L. 884 Manayunk Fire Engine Company April 24, 1843, P.L. 356: Granted right to act as a fire company only. 29 CHARTERS GRANTED BEFORE 1874 Gas and Water Companies Manayunk Gas Company April 20, 1853, P.L. 630: Granted right to manufacture and sell gas to be made from bituminous coal or other materials, for the purpose of lighting the streets, buildings, factories, and other places in the Borough of Manayunk and vicinity. Also the right to erect gas posts or lamps, burners and reflectors, to dig trenches in, along, and across public streets, lanes, alleys, and sidewalks in the borough of Manayunk and vicinity for the purpose of laying their pipes for the distribution of gas. April 11, 1859, P.L. 507: Granted right to consolidate its stock. Manayunk and Roxborough Water Company April 9, 1859, P.L. 692: Granted right to provide, erect, and maintain all works, machinery, fixtures or engines necessary or proper for raising, introducing and distributing water to Manayunk and Roxborough, and to erect reservoirs, and lay pipe lines in any street or road. April 15, 1863, P.L. 479: Granted right to extend their mains into the 22nd Ward to supply the Germantown Water Company with water from the Schuylkill River. Hall and Market Companies Manayunk Market Company May 11, 1859, P.L. 677: Granted right to establish and operate a market in Manayunk. The Manayunk Market Co. was subject to the Franklin Market Co.’s former act to incorporate in Philadelphia. Roxborough Odd Fellows Hall Association March 29, 1859, P.L. 392: Granted right to organize under the above name and to provide a suitable building or buildings in Roxborough, in the Twenty-first Ward of the City of Philadelphia, for the accommodation of members of lodges of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and other benevolent societies. 30 CHARTERS GRANTED BEFORE 1874 Insurance Companies Manayunk Insurance Company April 9, 1873, P.L. 587: Granted right to incorporate. Library Associations Manayunk Atheneum and Library Company April 15, 1834, P.L. 453: Granted right to promote and encourage literature. The type of literature is not mentioned? Lyeenrns Roxborough Lyceum May 8, 1854, P.L. (1855), 705: Granted right to its board of trustees to act as trustees of the Roxborough Academy or school, situate on the Ridge Turnpike Road, between the six and seven mile stones, in Roxborough Township. February 13, 1857, P.L. 30: Transfers trusteeship of the Roxborough Acad- emy or schOol mentioned in P.L. 705 (1855) from the Roxborough Lyceum to the City of Philadelphia. April 1, 1863, P.L. 202 Plank Road €99 Turnpike Companies Manatawna Turnpike Road Company April 10, 1848, P.L. (1849), 736: Granted right to lay out a road over and upon the bed of the present road known as School House Lane, leading from Germantown 8c Perkiomen Roads to the Ridge Turnpike (a distance of 2— 1/5 miles or less), and the right to charge a toll. Manayunk 8c Flat Rock Turnpike Road Company April 10, 1826, P.L. 292 April 14, 1835, P.L. 261 February 18, 1831, P.L. 82 April 1, 1840, P.L. 216 March 11, 1833, P.L. 73 April 3, 1843, P.L. 130 31 CHARTERS GRANTED BEFORE 1874 Ridge Turnpike Road Company March 30, 1811, P.L. 167 June 12, 1840, P.L. 664 February 21, 1814, P.L. 56 April 19, 1844, P.L. 313 March 11, 1815, P.L. 127 April 12, 1851, P.L. 476 March 26, 1821, P.L. 110 April 6, 1853, P.L. 330 March 12, 1830, P.L. 78 April 18, 1853, P.L. 461, 492 june 16, 1836, P.L. 675 May 1, 1861, P.L. 411 April 4, 1837, P.L. 344 March 1, 1870, P.L. 285 May 27, 1840, P.L. 537 Real Estate Companies Roxborough Managers of the Poor \ February 27, 1849, P.L. 87 Railmad Companies Manayunk 8c Roxborough Inclined Plane 8c Railway Company April 9, 1873, P.L. 883: Granted right to incorporate and construct an inclined plane and lay rails from any point on Levering Street, Manayunk to extend to the top of the hill in Roxborough, between Levering and Grape Streets, and lay rails on Levering Street from Cresson Street to Lyceum Avenue and either Hill, Fleming Streets or Manayunk Avenue from Martin Street to Lyceum Avenue, and on Martin Street anywhere between Fleming Street and Manayunk Avenue that will be convenient for running cars from the end of the inclined plane at the top of the hill into Lyceum Avenue, and to lay rails also on Lyceum Avenue 4 from Fleming Street onto Ridge Avenue, and along Ridge Avenue north-westerly as far as Barren hill. The M.& R.I.P. & Rw. Co. was also granted the right to run and haul cars by a stationary steam engine up and down an inclined plane, [i.e., like a “cablecar” similar to the one that now exists in San Francisco], and carried passengers and freight for hire. The cars were run by horses or dummy engines on the rest of the route. 32 CHARTERS GRANTED BEFORE 1874 Ridge Avenue 8c Manayunk Passenger Railway Company March 28, 1859, P.L. 264 . November 27, 1865, P.L. (1868), 1187 March 15, 1868, P.L. 471 May 3, 1869, P.L. (1873), 940 February 18, 1870, P.L. 171 March 7, 1873, P.L. 218 Ridge Avenue Passenger Railway Company March 8, 1872, P.L. 264: Created from a consolidation of the Girard College Passenger Railway Company with the Ridge Avenue and Manayunk Passenger Railway Company. The routes comprised all existing rails of both companies before the consolidation. Roxborough Passenger Railway Company April 15, 1869, P.L. 1032: Granted right to lay out and construct a railway (trolley) with one or more tracks, with turnouts and sidings, from Wissahickon Station (Norristown Railroad) to Sorrel Horse Tavern, Ridge Avenue, above ninth mile stone (now Ridge 8c Port Royal Avenues), and to carry passengers along such route and streets as may be used by the said railway (trolley). Wissahickon, Roxborough, 8: Plymouth Railway Company April 8, 1862, P.L. 335: Granted right to organize a company, with power to construct a railroad (trolley) connecting with the Norristown branch of the Philadelphia, Germantown, 8c Norristown Railroad, at a suitable point between School House Lane and Manayunk in the Twenty-first Ward of the city of Philadelphia, to Plymouth, in Montgomery County; this railroad (trolley) shall be constructed as near Ridge Avenue as shall prove practicable for the interests of the said company and the citizens residing on Ridge Avenue. March 18, 1864, P.L. 70 April‘ 12, 1866, P.L. 843 (1) Calvin G. Beitel: A Digest of Titles of Corporations Chartered by the Legislature of Pennsylvania Between 1 700—1873. (Philadelphia: John Campbell 8c Son, 1874). (2) SEE ALSO: Manayunk Sentinel: (Iuly 8, 1871), p. 2. 33 PEBEMPTflflY SALE 0FA VALUABLE‘ BUSINESS STAN“. By M. PESTER, ductioneer. WILL BE SOLD ON TUESDAY FEB. 31 1820. AT 4 O’CLOCK, ON THE PREMISES, Valuable Main St. Property: All of that valuable property, situate on Main St., Mana- yunk, opposite Mr. Winpenny’s Mill. No. l.-Valuable lot of ground, 20 feet front by 61 feet deep, with a stone building, back sheds, &c., &e., on it. No. 2.--All that valuable lot of ground adjoining No. I. This lot has 30 feet front by 71 feet deep, with all of the improve- ments, Blacksmith Sh0p, Sheds, &c., &e. N. B.—'I‘his is one of' the best Stands in Manayunk for a Coal Yard, Blacksmith Shop Wheel- wri ht Shop, or ’l‘in Shop, which is greatly needed in this part of the town. It would':n§_ke a 500% stand for a Gas-Fitter. Plumber Butcher, &e. This property will be sold all together or separate, to suit purchasers. Sale positive“. 6* $1,000 can remain. $100 to be paid at sale. For further information apply to M. PESTER, Anetta, STORE 105 GRAPE ST., MANAYUNK. N. B.—l have other property at private sale, Building Lots. 81.0., &c. Yeakel, Printer, Manayunk. An 1870 handbill printed by J. Yeakel, editor of the Manayunk Sentinel for M. Pester, a Real Estate broker. 34 1681 - 1690 — 1706 - 1745 - 1746 - 1748 — 1789 - 1812 - 1813 - 1819 - 1827 - 1830 - 1831 - CHRONOLOGY William Penn grants eleven tracts of land that set the boundaries for a township later known as “Roxborough.” Roxborough becomes a township. William Rittenhouse, et al. open first paper mill in America at Rox- borough. The Ridge turnpike road is laid out by the county surveyor. Wigard Levering is buried on his farm which later becomes the churchyard of Roxborough Baptist Church and then Leverington Ceme- tery. The Plough tavern is built at the corner of Ridge & Hermit Street. The will of William L. Levering bequeaths land for “school purposes” now the Levering Public School. Roxborough Baptist Church is organized. Yellow School House is built at Shawmont & Wigard Avenues. A group of twenty-three Free Masons organize as “Roxborough Lodge No. 135.” Roxborough Baptist Churchyard is laid out and opened. The Manayunk Canal is completed and opened. A group of volunteers organize in Roxborough as the “Good Intent Fire Engine Company.” Mt. Zion M.E. Church is organized in Manayunk. Fourth Reformed Church is organized and lays out a churchyard for burials on their ground on Cotton Street in Manayunk. A fire breaks out in the Roxborough Baptist Church. Mt. Zion M.E. Church cornerstone is laid on Levering Street below Silverwood in Manayunk. St. john—the-Baptist R.C. Church is organized in Manayunk. First Protestant Episcopal Church in Roxborough Township organizes as “St. David’s” in Manayunk. Samuel Lawson of Fourth Reformed Church in Manayunk begins a tradition when he holds the first Fourth of july Sunday School picnic on a Manayunk hillside. 35 CHRONOLOGY 1832 - First Presbyterian Church in Manayunk and in the township is organized. 1833 1834 1837 1839 1840 1841 1843 1845 1846 1847 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 A churchyard is laid out and opened for burials at St.]ohn’s R.C. Church in Manayunk. Congregation of new St. David’s RE. Church lays cornerstone at Dupont 8c Smick Streets in Manayunk. A churchyard is laid out and opened at St. David’s P.E. Church in Manayunk. Manayunk Athenaeum & Library Company is established. Reading Railroad begins service to Manayunk. The Roxborough Lyceum is founded. Flat Rock tunnel is completed on December 10. Manayunk is incorporated as a borough and separates from Roxborough Township. Mt. Zion M.E. Church lays cornerstone for second church building at Green Lane 8c St. Davids Street in Manayunk. Manayunk Fire Engine Company is incorporated as a volunteer fire brigade. A German congregation organizes as the Bethanien Lutheran Church of Roxborough & Manayunk. , The Roxborough Public School is completed on Ridge Avenue south of Parker. Ebenezer M .E. Church is organized in Manayunk and a cornerstone is laid for a church two months later. Ridge Avenue M.E. Church is organized in Upper Roxborough. St. Mary-of-the-Assumption German R.C. Church is organized in Manayunk. St. Mary’s German R.C. Church opens first churchyard on Conarroe below Silverwood Street. Cornerstone is laid for the Bethanien Lutheran Church on Martin Street west of Pechin. First Baptist Church of Manayunk is organized. Manatawna School, a two-room stone structure is erected on the NW corner of Ridge 8c Manatawna Avenues. Manayunk School is completed on Green Lane below Manayunk Avenue. A churchyard is laid out on Martin Street west of Pechin for the burial of German Lutherans. The Manayunk Gas Company is established to provide gaslight to Manayunk and surrounding areas. The Borough of Manayunk and the Township of Roxborough are abol- ished by the Act of Consolidation. ' Lyceum Hall is built at Ridge & Lyceum Avenues in Roxborough. 36 1855 - 1856 - 1857 - 1859 - 1860 - 1861 - 1862 - 1863 - 1864 - 1865 - 1867 - 1868 - 1869 - - James Milligan prints first issue of the Manayunk “Chronicle 65 Advertiser.’ 1870 — CHRONOLOGY Roxborough Presbyterian Church is formed out of the old Roxborough Reformed Church. The Washington Public School is erected on Shurs Lane east of Cresson Street in Manayunk. ~_ The Harmonie [sic] Singing Society of the 2lst Ward is organized. Ebenezer M.E. Church in Manayunk is enlarged. Leverington Cemetery is incorporated. City assumes control of the old Roxborough Academy (now Levering Public School). St. David’s P.E. Church in Manayunk is enlarged. The Roxborough Odd Fellows Hall Association is granted a charter. The Manayunk & Roxborough Water Company is established. St. Timothy’s P.E. Church is organized in Wissahickon. St. Peter’s P.E. (later called “St. Alban’s”) is organized in a Ridge Avenue store near Parker Avenue. A cornerstone is laid for St. Alban’s P.E. Church (a misson of St. David’s, Manayunk) on Fairthorne Avenue. 1 Ridge Avenue M.E. congregation lays cornerstone for a church. Civil War breaks out in the nation. St. Timothy’s P.E. congregation lays cornerstone for a church. Capt. Charles Schofield raises a militia to engage the enemy at Gettysburg. First burial takes place in St. Timothy’s churchyard. Roxborough-Manayunk Water Company extends service to German- town. Hetty A. Jones (a Union Army nurse) is killed in Virgina during the war. End of Civil War comes in April. A second story is added to the First Presbyterian Church of Manayunk. St. Mary’s German R.C. Church school opens on Conarroe Street in Manayunk. The Shawmont Reservoir is completed at corner of Dearnley 8c Eva Streets. A second police station is opened on Station Street below Cotton in Manayunk. Tap water is first pumped to a few local residences in the 2lst Ward. Ebenezer M.E. Church in Manayunk is enlarged. 1 A new congregation of Methodists organize under the name of the “Central M.E. Church of Roxborough.” — Josephus Yeakel prints first issue of the “Manayunk Sentinel.” A new schoolhouse is erected at the corner of Bean Street & Shawmont Avenue and called “Andora.” 37 1871 — 1873 - 1874 - 1875 — 1876 — 1877 - 1878 - CHRONOLOGY A bell tower is added to St. Timothy’s P.E. Church, the gift of].V. Merrick. The City abolishes all volunteer fire companies in the 215t Ward. The Central M.E. congregation lays cornerstone for a new church on Green Lane west of Ridge Avenue. The Manayunk Bank opens for business on Main Street. Manatawna Baptist Church is organized in Upper Roxborough, by mem- bers of the Roxborough Baptist Chucrh. General Geo. B. Meade and citizens dedicate a monument in Leverington Cemetery to Civil War dead. I First meeting of the 21$t Ward Ministerial Union is held on january 13 thus beginning the “Clergy Club.” A cornerstone is laid by the Manatawna Baptist congregation for a church on Ridge Avenue. A fire destroys part of the Roxborough Baptist Church. Ridge Avenue is paved as far as Odd Fellows’ Hall. Toll gates are abolished by the city on the old Ridge Turnpike Road. St. Mary’s German R.C. congregation of Manayunk opens their second churchyard on Lemonte Street in Roxborough. Gas illumination reaches Upper Roxborough residences. Bethanien German Lutheran congregation lays cornerstone for a new church on Martin Street east of Pechin. St. Timothy’s Workingmen’s Club 8c Institute is organized in Wissahickon. Roxborough Baptist Church is damaged by fire on July 2. The nave of St. Timothy’s P.E. Church is extended. Horse-pulled trolley cars replace the old stage—coaches in operation since 1837. Hetty A. Jones Post No. 12 (G.A.R.) is organized in Odd Fellows’ Hall, Roxborough. The Crease Public School is completed at Wissahickon Avenue & Walnut Lane. Second Manayunk Fire House is opened at N.E. corner of Green Lane 8c Main Street. Fire destroys the Roxborough Baptist Church. St. Stephen’s P.E. Mission is organized under the direction of St. David’s, Manayunk and a cornerstone is laid for a chapel. The Central M.E. Church on Green Lane is enlarged. Roxborough Baptist congregation lays a cornerstone for a fourth church. St. Timothy’s Workingmen’s Club lays cornerstone for a clubhouse in Wissahickon. The Fairview Public School is completed at Conarroe Street & Manayunk Avenue. 38 1879 — 1880 - 1881 - 1882 - 1883 - 1884 - 1885 — 1886 - 1887 - 1888 - CHRONOLOGY The Manayunk Public School is completed on Green Lane below Silver- wood Street. A group of Presbyterians organize as the “Leverington Presbyterian Church” in Roxborough. St. John’s R.C. Church opens new parish school on Rector Street March 5. . Fire destroys St. David’s P.E. Church two days before Christmas. First Odd Fellows’ Hall is demolished to make way for a larger one. St. David’s P.E. congregation lays cornerstone for a new church. Second Odd Fellows’ Hall is completed on NW. corner of Ridge & Lyceum Avenues. Lytchgate and wall completed around St. Timothy’s P.E. Churchyard. A group of Methodists organize as the “Wissahickon M.E. Church.” Bell Telephone Co. begins service to Manayunk. The Pennsylvania Railroad bridge over Shawmont Avenue is completed. Samuel Clegg Camp No. 9 (G.A.R.); Sons of Veterans of the Civil War is formed in Roxborough. Wissahickon M.E. congregation lays a cornerstone for a church on Salaignac Street above Terrace. Pennsylvania Railroad begins serving Manayunk. Fifty-six members of the Roxborough Baptist Church organize as the “Wissahickon Baptist Church.” St. Timothy’s P.E. Church is enlarged with a second extention to its nave. A group of Roman Catholics organize as the Church of the Holy Family in Manayunk. Manayunk Bank becomes a “national” bank. Congregation of St. John’s R.C. Church lays cornerstone for second church in Manayunk. The desire of Samuel Gorgas to establish a home for poor women is realized with the completion of the Roxborough Home for Indigent Women on Leverington Avenue east of Lawnton Street. A great blizard grips the area in March, the largest ever seen. Wissahickon Public School is completed at the corner of Rochelle 8c Kalos Street. Third police station built in Manayunk is opened at Main & Carson Streets. Sewers are installed and Belgian blocks placed in the streets of Manayunk. Mt. Vernon Baptist Church is organized. First Baptist Church of Manayunk is enlarged. William McFadden of Manayunk opens the largest business venture ever undertaken in the area at Terrace Hall Market House 8c Livery Stable on Terrace Street between Salaignac 8c Dawson Streets in Wissahickon. 39 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 CHRONOLOGY - Cornerstone is laid for the Wissahickon Baptist Church on Terrace near Dawson Street. A group of Lutherans desiring services in the English language, break away from the Bethanien German Lutheran Church in Roxborough and organize as the “Epiphany Lutheran Church of Manayunk.” The Salvation Army begins their work in the Roxborough area. Talmage Reformed Church is organized in Roxborough. The Manayunk Trust Company opens for business on Main Street. Tolls are abolished on the Green Lane Bridge. St. Timothy’s Memorial Hospital 8c House of Mercy opens on June 11. Methodism continues to grow with the organization of Emmanuel M.E. Church in Roxborough. The Harmonie [sic] Singing Society’s new clubhouse is completed on Fleming Street below Levering. Roxborough’s second fire house and first police station is opened on Leverington Avenue by Mayor Stuart. A group of Presbyterians organize as the “Wissahickon Presbyterian Church.” Epiphany Lutheran Church cornerstone is laid at Silverwood Street 8c Green Lane in Manayunk. The will of Susan Gorgas bequeaths a tract of land at Ridge & Hermitage to the city of Philadelphia for use as a public park. . The Wissahickon Presbyterian congregation lays a cornerstone for a church at Manayunk 8c Ridge Avenues. The Philadelphia Water Department completes construction of a larger reservoir at Lare Street 8c Port Royal Avenue. Horatio Gates Jones dies in March. Manayunk Avenue Bridge over Shurs Lane is opened. Eugene Nugent Ward is opened at St. Timothy’s Hospital. First electric trolleys are used in the 2lst Ward. Gorgas Park is opened to the public by Mayor Stuart. The Levering Public School’s new building is completed at the corner of Ridge & Monastery Avenues. “Langhurst” the home of John Lang, a mill owner, is completed by architect Otto Wolf. Mt. Vernon Baptist Church dedicates new edifice on Umbria Street above Hermitage. St. Stephen’s P.E. Church is enlarged. First black congregation in the 2lst Ward is organized as the “Galilee Baptist Church.” ' 40 1897 1898 1900 1901 1902 1906 1908 1909 CHRONOLOGY Liebert 8c Obert hold a “Grand Opening” at their new brewery in Manayunk on June 18. Merrick building is opened at St. Timothy’s Hospital. Cornerstone for the RC. Church of the Holy Family is laid in Manayunk. A Polish congregation organizes as “St. Josaphat’s R.C. Church of Manayunk.” First issue of the “Manayunk Review” is printed at 4412-4414 Main Street. Fourth Reformed Church lays cornerstone for a new church at Monastery 8c Manayunk Avenues. Sevill Schofield, owner of several Manayunk mills, dies on Dec. 21 at the age of 68. The congregation of Galilee Baptist lays the cornerstone for a church at the corner of Roxborough Avenue & Mitchell Street in Roxborough. Wissahickon M.E. congregation lays a cornerstone for a second church at the corner of Terrace 8: Salaignac Streets. The Roberts Memorial Ward of St. Timothy’s Hospital is opened. The congregation of Ebenezer M.E. Church lays cornerstone for second church in Manayunk. Thomas Shaw of Shawmont dies at the age of 63 years. The churchyard of Fourth Reformed Church on Cotton Street in Manayunk is closed and the bodies removed to Westminster Cemetery. The Central M.E. Church on Green Lane near Ridge is again enlarged. Washington Public School on Shurs Lane is renamed the “Charles Thompson Jones” Public School. Bethanien German Lutheran Church is enlarged. Manayunk National Bank opens new building on Main Street. Filtering beds are built on Port Royal near Lare Street. The RC. Mission Church of St. Lucy opens in West Manayunk. - J. Vaughan Merrick dies. Walnut Lane Bridge over the Wissahickon Creek is opened. Moyer Memorial Baptist Church is organized, a cornerstone laid, and the church dedicated at Manayunk & Krams Avenues all in one year’s time. St. Mary’s German R.C. Church opens a new parish school in Manayunk on September 8. Manayunk Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia is opened on Fleming Street above Green Lane. The congregation of Grace Lutheran Church lays cornerstone for a church at Roxborough 8c Ridge Avenues. Wissahickon Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia is opened at Manayunk Avenue 8c Osborn Street. 41 CHRONOLOGY 1910 - The Pencoyd Club opens in the old Camac Mansion on Manayunk Avenue east of Ridge. - Central M.E. Church of Green Lane is enlarged for the third time. - The congregation of Emmanuel M.E. Church lays cornerstone for a new church at Silverwood 8: Gates Streets in Roxborough. 191 1 - The William B. Stevens Memorial Library opens in Manayunk just behind St. David’s Church. - A parish school is completed at the RC. Church of the Holy Family in Manayunk. - Temperance Hall on Levering Street below Silverwood becomes a theater. - The convent of St. John’s R.C. Church in Manayunk is extended. 1912 - St. josephat’s R.C. Church in Manayunk opens a new parish school. - The Manayunk Trust Company opens a new building on Main Street. - St. Timothy’s Workingmen’s Club closes in Wissahickon. 1913 - Jefferies Roxboro Theater opens at corner of Manayunk Avenue 85 Conarroe Street in Roxborough. - John H. Dearnley dies. - The Fairview Public School on Manayunk Avenue is renamed “Joel Cook.” - Second monument to the dead of the Civil War is dedicated in Leverington Cemetery. 1914 - Empress Theater is completed in Manayunk on Main Street. 1916 - Manayunk (Pretzel) Park is opened to the public by Mayor Blankenburg. - Last boat is locked through the Manayunk Canal. - A cornerstone is laid for Polonia Hall on Cotton Street below Tower Street in Manayunk. 1917 - The Manayunk Sentinel ceases publication. - Stanley V. Mastbaum’s company acquires the Empress Theater. 1918 - The Roxborough Trust Company opens for business at Ridge Avenue 8c Green Lane. - A terrible epidemic of influenza grips the 2lst Ward in October. By November, many are dead or very ill. St. Timothy’s Hospital is filled to overflowing and a temporary hospital is opened in St. Stephen’s P.E. Church in Wissahickon to reduce the overcrowding. 1920 — A memorial monument to the dead of the Great War (1917-1918) is dedicated on November 13, in Gorgas Park. - St. Timothy’s Churchyard is extended to Pennsdale street. - St. Timothy’s Memorial Hospital 8c House of Mercy is removed from the control of St. Timothy’s P.E. Church and renamed “Memorial Hospital, Roxborough.” 1921 - Fire destroys St. john’s R.C. Parish School in Manayunk. 42 1922 - 1923 — 1924 — 1925 - 1927 — 1928 — 1929 - CHRONOLOGY The Robinson Steel Company opens a plant at 5000 Umbria Street in Manayunk. The cornerstone for Roxborough High School is laid. Manayunk Public School on Green" Lane becomes an annex of the Joel Cook School. Mt. Zion M.E. Church in Manayunk closes and its congregation merged with the Central M.E. Church of Roxborough. St. john’s R.C. Church dedicates a new high school for boys in the former Schofield Mansion. Green Valley Country Club opens a clubhouse and an 18 hole golf course on Livezey Street east of Ridge Avenue. Roxborough High School opens in February at Ridge Avenue & Fountain Street. A public pool is opened at Ridge 8c Roxborough Avenues. Mt. Vernon Baptist Church is closed. Moyer Memorial Baptist Church is closed. Builders complete new Roxy Theater on site of historic Leverington Hotel at Ridge & Leverington Avenues. The mission congregation of St. Lucy organize as a church in Manayunk. Leverington Presbyterian Church is opened at Hermitage & Ridge. Shawmont Public School is completed on the corner of Shawmont Avenue & Eva Street. New Green Lane Bridge over Schuylkill River opens. Roxborough Baptist Church opens newly completed Sunday School build- 1n . Cogrnerstone for new Manayunk Fire House on Main Street below Green Lane is laid. Roberts Ward at Memorial Hospital is enlarged. Pennsylvania R.R. opens a concrete arched-bridge over Main Street 8c Green Lane. Northern Home for Children relocates to Merrick Estate in Wissahickon. Kendrick Recreation Center is opened to the public on October 9. A new post office opens in Manayunk on Levering Street above Cresson. A.C. Chadwick publishes first issue of the Suburban Press at 6100 Ridge Avenue in Roxborough. Leverington Avenue Bridge over the Manayunk Canal and the Reading R.R. tracks opens. A new building is added to the Levering Public School. The James Dobson Public School is completed at Umbria 8c Hermitage Streets in Manayunk. 43 1931 - 1932 - 1933 - 1934 - 1936 - 1937 — 1938 - 1942 - 1946 - 1948 - 1950 - 1952 - 1955 - CH RONOLOGY The stock market crashes in New York sending the nation into the Great Depression. The Roxborough Trust Company fails and closes its doors. The Manayunk Trust Company fails and closes its doors. The Chronicle 53’ Advertiser ceases publication after sixty—two years. Wissahickon Memorial Bridge over the Wissahickon Creek'opens on Henry Avenue. First section of the Roxborough Cathedral is completed. Fire damages St. John’s R.C. High School for Boys on Pechin Street in Wissahickon. Manayunk National Bank fails and closes its doors. The old Roxborough Primary School on Ridge Avenue near Parker is demolished. North Light Boys’ Club is founded by Miss Anne Wright in Manayunk. A branch office of the Erie National Bank opens at Green Lane 8c Ridge Avenue. The old Plough Tavern built in 1746 at Ridge 8c Hermit Street is demol- ished. Old G.A.R. Post No.12 on Fountain Street ceases with death of its last surviving member. The Roxborough Cathedral is enlarged with the addition of a mortuary chapel to contain the bodies of the Houstons. Old Pencoyd Clubhouse and grounds are sold to a developer. The branch of the Erie National Bank in Roxborough closes its doors. The Manayunk Review changes its name to The Review and relocates to Roxborough. Green Valley Country Club is closed and sold. Third fire house to be built in Roxborough opens on Ridge Avenue below Shawmont. Epiphany Lutheran Church consecrates a new church on Livezey Street east of Ridge. Samuel "Houston breaks ground for new developement to be called “Andorra” in Upper Roxborough. Fourth fire house built in Roxborough opens at Ridge Avenue 8c Cin- naminson Street. A group of Roman Catholics in Andorra organize as the I.H.M. Roman Catholic Church. Second police station built in Roxborough opens at Ridge & Cinnaminson Street. Archbishop O’Hara dedicates new parish school at I.H.M. Church in Andorra. 44 1956 - 1957 - 1958 - 1961 - 1964 — 1966 - 1967 - 1968 - 1969 - 1970 — 1975 - 1978 - 1982 - CHRONOLOGY Odd Fellows’ Hall, built in 1881, is demolished to make way for a bank. Cornerstone is laid for a new St. Josephat’s R.C. Church in Manayunk. St. Lucy’s R.C. Church in Manayunk opens a new parish school in October. SLJohn’s R.C. High School for Boys in Wissahickon closes after thirty-four years. _ Two new bridges on Henry Avenue open: over Gorgas Lane and over Green Lane. Holy Family R.C. Church’s new annex to their parish school is completed. Roxborough Post Office moves into a new building at 555 Green Lane after doing business at 508 for thirty-two years. The old branches of the Free Library of Philadelphia in Manayunk and Wissahickon are closed. The Roxborough Presbyterian Church lays cornerstone for a new church. A portico and steeple are added to the Andorra Baptist Church on Ridge Avenue above Cathedral Road. Demolition of old Epiphany Lutheran Church at Green Lane and Silver- wood Street in Manayunk begins. The old two-room Manatawna Schoolhouse is demolished during the widening of Ridge Avenue. The RC. congregation of I.H.M. lay the cornerstone for a new church. Main building of the Roxborough Y.M.C.A. is dedicated at Ridge Avenue & Domino Lane. Fire destroys the old Lyceum Hall at Ridge & Lyceum Avenues in Roxborough. Cornerstone is laid for a new St. Lucy’s R.C. Church at 146 Green Lane in Manayunk. St. Stephen’s P.E. Church in Wissahickon is closed. Wissahickon Public School is closed by the Philadelphia Board of Educa- tion. The old Mt. Zion M.E. Church building is demolished to make way for a parking lot. Fourth Reformed Church on Manayunk Avenue closes. The William B. Stevens Memorial Library on Krams Avenue in Manayunk closes. The Suburban Press ceases publication after forty-one years. Fire completely destroys Ebenezer M.E. Church in Manayunk. Fire destroys the old “Fairview” (Cook) School on Manayunk Avenue. A new post office opens at corner of Main & Carson Streets in Manayunk. Wissahickon U.M. Church closes and its congregation merges with First U.M. Church on Green Lane. ' 45 1983 - 1984 - 1985 — 1986 — 1990 - CHRONOLOGY The old Roxy Theater on SE. corner of Ridge 84 Leverington Avenues is demolished after fifty-five years. The Reverend Stephen Davis and a small group organize as the “Faith Independent Baptist Church of Roxborough.” The old Manayunk Grammar School at 175 Green Lane is demolished to make way for a new North Light Boys’ Club. Roxborough Baptist Churchyard is closed by a court decree. The old Roxborough Police & Fire Station on Leverington Avenue is demolished. Clergy Club is renamed “The Ministerium.” Talmage Reformed Church closes. It is the last Reformed church left in the ward to go. North Light Boys’ Club is renamed “North Light, Inc.” Robinson Steel Company closes their plant at 5000 Umbria Street after sixty-five years of manufacturing. 300th Anniversary celebration begins commemorating the founding of Roxborough Township. 150th Anniversary of the incorporation of the Borough of Manayunk is reached. Centennial celebration of the founding of Memorial Hospital begins. *** 46 CHURCHES BAPTIST Roxborough Baptist Church Location: Ridge 8c Lyceum Avenues. Organized: 17 89. Cornerstone: 1876 [4th church building erected]. Dedicated: 1877. Architect: Isaac H. Hobbs. Condition: Active. Churchyard: Opened 1819; closed 1983. Records: Microfilmed by Gen. Soc. of Penna. (Gaps due to fires of 1830, 1873, and 1876). References: Manayunk Sentinel: (August 2, 1878), p. 2; (August 29, 1889), p. 2. First Baptist Church of Manayunk Location: Green Lane below Silverwood Street. Organized: April, 1851. Cornerstone: 1852. Enlarged: 1888. Dedicated: Unknown. Architect: William H. Birkmire (1888). Condition: Active. Records: Unknown. References: The Sentinel: (Ianuary 14, 1871); Manayunk Sentinel (August 23, 1888); (Ianuary 31, 1889), p. 2. Manatawna Baptist Church Location: 8711 Ridge Avenue, Roxborough. Organized: May 14, 1872. 47 CHURCHES Cornerstone: 1873. Dedicated: Unknown. Architect: Benjamin D. Price (1873). Contractors: Samual Righter, carpentry; Chas. Lightcap, masonry (1873). Renamed: “Andorra,” 1959. Enlarged: 1961. Architects: Heacock & Platt (1961). Condition: Active. Records: Location dubious. References: Manayunk. Sentinel: (May 31, 1872); (December 13, 1872); (Iune 13, 1873); (Iuly 18, 1873). Wissahickon Baptist Church Location: Terrace 8c Dawson Streets. Organized: June, 1884. Cornerstones: 1872 (a mission chapel of Roxborough Baptist Church); 1889 (the Church). Dedicated: Chapel: 1872; Church: Date unknown. Architect: Unknown. Condition: Defunct. Building sold 1986. Records: Location unknown. Reference: Manayunk Sentinel: (November 7, 1901). Mount Vernon Baptist Church Location: Washington (Umbria) above Jefferson (Hermitage) Street, Manayunk. Organized: 1888. Cornerstone: Unknown. Dedicated: September 8, 1895. Architect: Unknown. Condition: Defunct. Closed 1925. Demolished. Records: Removed to First Baptist Church, Manayunk. References: Manayunk Sentinel: (November 4, 1886), p. 2; (September 12, 1895), p. 3. Galilee Baptist Church (Afro-American) Location: Roxborough Avenue & Mitchell Street. Organized: 1896. Cornerstone: December 2, 1900. '48 Dedicated: Architect: Condition: Records: References: CHURCHES August 11, 1901. Unknown. Active. Unknown. Manayunk Sentinel: (August 15, 1901), p. 1. Moyer Memorial Baptist Church Location: Organized: Cornerstone: Dedicated: Architect: Contractor: Condition: Records: References: S.E. corner of Manayunk 8c Krams Avenues, Roxborough. 1908. August 23, 1908. November 1, 1908. Unknown. Howard Wileman. Defunct. Closed 1925. ‘ Inquire at American Baptist Historical Society, Valley Forge, Pa. Manayunk Sentinel: (Iuly 9, 1908), p. 1; (August 27, 1908), pp. 1 & 4; (October 1, 1908), p. 1 EPI S C OPAL St. David’s Episcopal Church Location: Organized: Cornerstone: Consecrated: Enlarged: Destroyed: Cornerstone: Consecrated: Architect: Churchyard: Condition: Records: References: Dupont & Smick Streets, Manayunk. 1831. lst church, 1832. Unknown. 1857. Fire, December 23, 1879. 2nd church, 1880. 1881. Unknown. Opened 1833. Active. Held at church office. Manayunk Sentinel: (December 25, 1879), p. 2; (May 20, 1881), p. 2; (December 29, 1881), p. 2. 49 . , who, ,‘fl-vln; Anfl - ”urn—wt. TM.- Rlll'r AM If Furor! ouno «it. fur a; (107 (Ad’lL r (Nu-w 7am! Iva (my; (I mzoug (way a: (Ill/£7" PW“ an In! £24.. (ins-v, luau 4" hamb- k'nrnn ..(=;=1=r In“ .a 4 . ,u I The architect’s drawing of ca. 1932 showing how the unfinished Roxborough Cathedral might have looked if completed. (Courtesy of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania.) 50 CHURCHES St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church Location: Organized: Cornerstone: Consecrated: Enlarged: Architects: Churchyard: Condition: Records: References: 5720 Ridge Avenue, Roxborough. 1859. 1862. 1863. 1871; 1874 & 1885. Emlen T. Littell (New York); Charles M. Burns, Jr. (Philadelphia). Opened 1863; enlarged 1920. Active. Held at church office. The Sentinel: Ganuary 21, 1871), p. 1. St. Alban’s Episcopal Church Location: Organized: Cornerstone: Consecrated: Architect: Condition: Records: References: Ridge & Fairthorne Avenues, Roxborough. 1859. 1860 (a mission church of St. David’s, Manayunk). 1861. Alfred Byles (Philadelphia). Active. Held at church office. Suburban Press: (Iune 14, 1934), p. 10. St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church Location: Organized: Cornerstone: Architect: Enlarged: Condition: Records: References: Terrace 8c Hermit Streets, Wissahickon. November 27, 1886. 1876 (a mission church of St. David’s, Manayunk). Unknown. 1896. Defunct. Closed 1968. Demolished about 1975. Sent to: Episcopal Diocese of Penna. (Philadelphia). Manayunk Sentinel.“ (Iuly 16, 1896); (August 12, 1897). Cathedral Church of Christ of the Protestant Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania Location: Organized: Cornerstone: Consecrated: Ridge Avenue 8c Cathedral Road, Roxborough. 1920. 1933. Unknown. 51 CHURCHES Enlarged: 1938 (by mortuary chapel). Architects: Watson, Edkins, 8c Thompson. Renamed: “St. Mary’s-at-the-Cathedral,” 1963. Condition: Active. Records: Held at church office. References: Suburban Press: (June 30, 1932). LUTHERAN Bethanien Lutheran Church (German) Location: Martin 8c Pechin Streets, Roxborough. Organized: 1845. Churchyard: Opened 1849. Cornerstone: 1850 (lst church); 1873 (2nd church). Enlarged: 1902. Consecrated: April 6, 1851 (lst church) 1874 (2nd church) enlarged October 26, 1902. Architect: Charles Weber Bolton (1902). Condition: Active. Records: Sent to Archives Center, Lutheran Theological Seminary. (Philadelphia, Pa.) Epiphany Lutheran Church Location: Green Lane & Silverwood Street, Manayunk (1891-1949); Livezey Street east of Ridge, Roxborough (since 1949). Organized: 1889. Cornerstone: 1893 (lst church). Consecrated: December 17, 1893 (lst church); 1950 (2nd church). Architect: Benjamin D. Price (1893). Contractor: John W. F ritzinger (1893). Condition: Demolished 1961. Congregation acquired new church site 1936; relocated to former Country Clubhouse, 1949. Records: Inquire at church office. References: Manayunk Sentinel: (Iune 1, 1893), p. 3; (December 21, 1893). Grace Lutheran Church Location: Ridge & Roxborough Avenues, Roxborough Organized: 1905. 52 CHURCHES Cornerstone: October 24, 1909. Consecrated: October 16, 1910. Architect: Herman Miller (1910). Condition: Active. Records: Inquire at church office. METHODIST Mount Zion Methodist Church Location: Green Lane & St. Davids Street, Manayunk Organized: 1827. Cornerstone: 1830 (1st church); 1841 (2nd church). Consecrated: 1842. Architect: Unknown. Condition: Defunct. Closed 1922. Demolished 1969. Records: Sent to: First U.M. Church, 470 Green Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19128. References: The Sentinel: (Ianuary 28; February 4; February 18; February 25; 8c March 4, 1871). Ebenezer Methodist Church Location: Gay 8c Mansion Streets, Manayunk. Organized: May 2, 1847. Cornerstone: July 25, 1847 . Consecrated: March 19, 1848. Enlarged: 1856; 1869. Conerstone: 1901 (2nd church). Architect: Unknown. Condition: Defunct. Destroyed by fire April, 1975 and demolished. Records: Sent to: Ridge Avenue U.M. Church, 7805 Ridge Avenue, _ Philadelphia, PA 19128. References: The Sentinel: (May 27, 1871), p. 1. Ridge Avenue Methodist Church Location: Ridge 8c Shawmont Avenues, Roxborough. Organized: 1847. Cornerstone: 1860. Consecrated: Date unknown. Enlarged: 1871 (second story added). 53 CHURCHES Architect: Unknown. Condition: Active. Records: Inquire at church office. References: Manayunk Sentinel: (August 12, 1897). Central Methodist Church Location: 470 Green Lane, Roxborough. Organized: 1870. Cornerstone: 1871. Consecrated: March 25, 1876. Enlarged: 1876; 1901; 1910. Architect: Unknown. Renamed: “First Methodist,” 1925. Condition: Active. Records: Inquire at church office. Wissahickon Methodist Church Location: Terrace 8: Salaignac Streets. Organized: 1882. Cornerstone: April 14, 1883 (lst church); October 5, 1901 (2nd church). Architects: Hales & Ballinger (1902). Condition: Defunct. Closed june, 1982. Records: Sent to: First U.M. Church, 470 Green Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19128. References: Manaynnk Sentinel: (October 10, 1901), p. 1. Emmanuel Methodist Church Location: Silverwood & Gates Streets, Roxborough. Organized: 1891 . Cornerstone: 1890 (1st church); 1910 (2nd church). Consecrated: 191 1. Architect: George E. Savage (1910). Contractor: Wileman 8c Rudkin. Condition: Active. Records: Inquire at church office. 54 CHURCHES PRE S B YTE RI AN First Presbyterian Church of Manayunk Location: Baker 8c Dupont Streets. Organized: November 10, 1832. Cornerstone: Date unknown. Enlarged: 1867 (second story added). Consecrated: june 16, 1867. Architect: Unknown. Condition: Active. Records: Sent to: Presbyterian Historical Society. (Philadelphia). References: The Sentinel: (December 10, 1870), p. 2. Roxborough Presbyterian Church Location: Ridge & Port Royal Avenues. Organized: 1854. Cornerstone: (See Roxborough Reformed Church). 1961 (2nd church). Consecrated: January 6, 1963. Architect: Charles M. Talley (Telford, Pa.). Churchyard: (See Roxborough Reformed Church) Condition: Active. Records: Sent to: Presbyterian Historical Society. (Philadelphia). References: Manayunk Sentinel: (Iune 17, 1871); (May 23, 1873); (May 15, 1874); (Iune 11, 1885), p. 2. Leverington Presbyterian Church Location: 1878-1927 (Leverington & Ridge Avenues) 1927- Present (Ridge & Hermitage Street). Organized: May 9, 1878. Cornerstone: 1879 (lst church); November 14, 1926 (2nd church). Consecrated: October 18, 1880 (lst church); May 6, 1928. (2nd church). Architect: Unknown (lst church); Unknown (2nd church). Contractors: Struse 8c Son, Stone Masons; james W. Turner, Carpenter. (lst church). Condition: Active. Records: Sent to: Presbyterian Historical Society. (Philadelphia). References: Chronicle 59’ Advertiser: (December 22, 1927). 55 CHURCHES Wissahickon Presbyterian Church Location: Ridge 8c Manayunk Avenues. Organized: 1892. Cornerstone: November 18, 1893. Consecrated: Unknown. Architect: Daniel S. Beale (1893). Contractor: C.O. Struse. Condition: Active. Records: Sent to: Presbyterian Historical Society. (Philadelphia). References: Manayunk Sentinel: (July 20, 1893), p. 3. REF ORMED Fourth Reformed Church Location: 1828-1901 (Silverwood 8c Cotton Streets, Manayunk); 1901- 1969 (Manayunk & Monastery Avenues, Roxborough). Organized: 1827. Cornerstone: June, 1827 (lst church); November 17, 1900 (2nd church). Architects: Unknown. Consecrated: Date unknown. Churchyard: Opened ca. 1827; closed & removed 1901. Condition: Defunct. Closed 1969. Records: Sent to: Archives. Reformed Church in America (New Brunswick, NJ). References: Manayunk Sentinel: (April 12, 1883), p. 2; (August 16, 1883), p. 2. Roxborough Reformed Church Location: Ridge & Port Royal Avenues. Organized: 1835. Cornerstone: June 8, 1835. Consecrated: May 23, 1836. Architect: Unknown. Contractor: Jonathan Shoch. Condition: Defunct. Superseded by Roxborough Presbyterian Church, 1854. Churchyard: Opened ca. 1835. Records: Location unknown. References: Manayunk Sentinel: (Iune 17, 1871), p. 1; (Iune 11, 1885), p. 2. 56 CHURCHES Talmage Reformed Church Location: Pechin 8c Rector Streets, Roxborough. Organized: 1889. Cornerstone: 1891. Consecrated: April 19, 1892. Architect: Unknown. Condition: Defunct. Closed 1984. Records: Sent to: Archives. Reformed Church in America (New Brunswick, NJ). References: Manayunk. Sentinel: (May 2, 1901), p. 1. ROMAN CATHOLIC Church of St. John the Baptist (Irish) Location: Cresson 8c Rector Street, Manayunk. Organized: 1831. Cornerstone: May 10, 1830 (1st church); September 13, 1886 (2nd church). Consecrated: April 1, 1894 (2nd church). Architect: Patrick C. Keely (New York). Condition: Active. Churchyard: Opened ca. 1832. Records: Inquire at Rectory. References: Manayunk Sentinel: (September 16, 1886), p. 2. Church of St. Mary of the Assumption (German) Location: Silverwood & Conarroe Streets, Manayunk. Organized: 1849. Cornerstone: 1849. Consecrated: january 1, 1850. Architect: ‘ Unknown. Churchyard: Opened ca. 1850 (Manayunk). Cemetery: Opened 1873 (Roxborough). Condition: Active. Records: Inquire at Rectory. References: Manayunk Sentinel: (September 7, 1893), p. 3. 57 CHURCHES Church of the Holy Family (Irish) Location: Hermitage & Wilde Streets, Manayunk. Organized: 1885. Cornerstone: June 6, 1897. Consecrated: October 23, 1898. Architects: Patrick C. Keely 8c Thomas Lonsdale. Condition: Active. Records: Inquire at Rectory. References: Manayunk Sentinel: (May 7, 1885), p. 2. Church of Saint Josaphat (Polish) Location: Silverwood & Cotton Streets, Manayunk. Organized: 1898. Cornerstone: (Ist church) See Fourth Reformed Church; 1956 (2nd church). Consecrated: 1958. Architect: Unknown (2nd church). Contractors: Frank V. Rodomski & Sons. Condition: Active. Records: Inquire at Rectory. Church of Saint Lucy (Italian) Location: 146 Green Lane, Manayunk. Organized: 1927 (a mission church in W. Manayunk since 1906). Cornerstone: (lst church) see Mt. Zion Methodist Church; 1967 (2nd church). Consecrated: June 9, 1968. Architect: Unknown. Condition: Active. Records: Inquire at Rectory. Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Location: Cathedral Road & Tiona Street, Roxborough. Organized: November 24, 1952. Cornerstone: 1964. Consecrated: August 22, 1965. 58 CHURCHES Architect: George M. Ewing (Philadelphia). Condition: Active. Records: Inquire at Rectory. References: The Review: (October 28, 1987), p. 9. *>I<* 59 Union soldier on guard. A pencil drawing by Edwin Forbes, 1863. (Courtesy of the Library of Congress.) 60 CIVIL WAR MILITARY GRAVESTONE INSCRIPTIONS The following information was copied from existing Civil War military gravestones in various local cemeteries of this ward. These stones are usually of white marble with inscriptions in relief. But marble does not weather too well after three quarters of a century. Some inscriptions were therefore illegible and are not included here. A (P) immediately following a name in this list, indicates a difficulty in reading some letters or numerals on the stone. An (*) indicates that the name was found in the 1890 Special Census of Surviving Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Widows of the Civil War. (Pennsylvania—Philadelphia County—Ward 21—National Ar- chives Microfilm No. M-123, Roll No. 78, ED. 439—458). 61 Beediss, Bestice,P Binkerd, Birkhol, Bish, Boyd, Brasin, Bress, P Brockway, Brown, Buskerk, Clevenger, Cocklin, P Conary, Conaty, (*) Craig, Cunningham, Cutaiar, Denahue, Dixon, Dorwart, Dowling, Dungan, Eichman, (*) Emory, (*) Ennis, Eppright, Fallows, Fisher, Fisher, (*) Forster, Forster, Gibbons, Green, Green, (*) Greenhalph, Jno. J.H. John Robt. Jno. Jas. Wm. Jno. C. Rich. H. Robt. Henry B.F. Jno. Wm. Thos. Jos. Pat’k. Chas. Sr. Pat’k. Thos. J. Wm. Jas. Owen Mich’l. Jacob J. Wm. Wm. Henry Henry Jno. Rich. Rich. P J. Wm. C. Gustavus CIVIL WAR MILITARY GRAVESTONE INSCRIPTIONS Co. K 68th PA VOL Co. I 45th PA MIL Co. H 6th PA CAV Co. E P P P USN Co. D 13th PA CAV Co. K 28th P PA INF Co. C 24th US INF P P P P Co. H 13th PA CAV Co. P P P P Co. I 95th PA P U.S. MARINE CORPS. Co. K 15th PA CAV Co. C 22nd MSV Co. A 119th PA VOL Co. A 98th PA INF P P P P Co. A 2lst PA INF Co. C 88th PA VOL Co. G 2nd US I ENG’RS Co. G 119th PA INF Co. C 192nd PA. INF U.S. MARINE CORPS. Co. H 121st PA INF Co. H 95th PA INF Co. I 138th PA VOL Co. L 192nd PA INF Co. D 73rd PA INF Ind’p’t. Co. V PA ENG’RS Co. G 29th NY VOL Co. I 3rd NJ CAV U.S. MARINE CORPS. Co. D P P P Co. C 28th PA VOL Co. F P P P 62 Hagerty, (*) Hagy, Hamell, Hanson, Harman, Harris, Haseard, Hauerwas, Herbert, (*) Hermis, (*) Hiland, Hinchcliff, Horby, Hosteross, Howard, Jackson, James, Jenkinson, (*) Keeley, Kelly, Kirkwood, Knipe, Koch, Koch, Kolle, Kuhn, (*) Lees, Leison, Levering, (*) Levins, P Loftus, Ludwig, Lush, (*) Matthews, Mawhenny, P Mchllister, (*) McCoach, (*) McCormick, Thos. Samuel Henry J.M. C. Chas. Thos. F. Jno. Chas. Jno. Jno. Jno. Mich. P Henry M.H. Wm. Benj. Wm. H. C.F. Nath’l. Wm. J. Henry A. JR. Mathias Henry Geo. S. Mich. Benj. J. Jno. H. Jas. Andreas Wm. H. Jno. Alex. Robt. Wm. Chris. Co. Co. Co. Co. Co. Co. Co. Co. Co. Co. O>W>H10C371 {>71 D CIVIL WAR MILITARY GRAVESTONE INSCRIPTIONS p USN P P P 115th P PA VOL 88th PA INF 93rd PA VOL 23rd PA INF 98th PA INF 2nd PA VET/RES 119th PA INF 12th PA CAV P P P 48th PA INF 58th PA INF U.S. MARINE CORPS. 49th NY INF P P P 23rd PA VOL 3rd PA CAV. P P P 73rd P PA INF 66th NY INF 2nd MD INF 28th PA VOL 69th PA INF 2d. Batt’n VCR 88th PA VOL '9 US. MARINE CORPS. 119th D 3rd 75th 15th 45th 98th 119th 3 lst Blst PA P PA PA PA PA PA PA PA PA INF P INF INF CAV MIL VOL VOL MIL INF McCratton, McDonald, McElhanny, McEntyre, P McFadden, McGlinchey, McNeil, Meir, Messner, Miller, (*) Miller, Miller, Mills, Morehead, Morgan, Mullen, Mulligan, Norris, O’Donnell, O’Donnell, Ottey, Parker, Reddess, Rex, Rickerts, Roberts, Rodgers, Rouser, Rutherford, Schaeffer, Schnef, P Schuman, Scott, Sheetz, Sheflock, P Shields, Shields, (*) CIVIL WAR MILITARY GRAVESTONE INSCRIPTIONS Edw. jas. jas. Geo. Wm. Jr. Pat’k. Chas. Gustave Chas. Aaron Jas. jno. Geo. Geo. P jno Pat’k. jno. P Henry A. j.P. J.P. Wm. Martin S.C. Peter Theo. Jno. p Jno. O. jno. P Jno. Wm. Silverthorne, (*) Chas. ZH'UH CE>U>'V>"1H Z> P-I-j '1) CD r -u 64 6th PA CAV P PA INF 215th PA INF 79th PA VOL P P P 98th PA INF U.S. MARINE CORPS. 98th PA INF P P P 7th PA INF P PA INF 98th PA INF P P P 98th PA INF lst MASS CAV 21$t PA INF 68th PA VOL P P P 189th P PA VOL 33rd PA VOL 1 19th PA INF 3rd N] CAV 68th PA VOL 2nd NY CAV 23rd PA INF P P P 58th PA INF 1 19th PA INF 95th PA INF 34th N] INF P P P 69th PA VOL USN 152nd PA VOL P P P P P P USN 1 19th PA INF CIVIL WAR MILITARY GRAVESTONE INSCRIPTIONS Smith, (*) Jos. Co. B 2nd DEL INF Sparn, Theo. CO. C 3rd PA INF Stemmer, S. Co. E 3rd US ART Stout, (*) jacob Co. I 31st PA MIL Streibig, Casper Co. I 27th PA INF Swan, Thos. Co. E 29th PA INF Temperly, Thos. CO. C 5lst PA INF Tilsord, P Lyman C0. D P 58th P P Tinney, Wm. CO. C 28th PA INF Toban, (*) jno. U.S. MARINE CORPS. Trimbur, (*) Jno. Co. A 29th NY INF Warburton, S.A. C0. P 2nd PA ART Webster, G.G. CO. C 88th PA INF Wilde, jacob CO. H 27th PA INF Wilson, Andw. W. CO. L P P P Witworth, J.M. USN Yeatman, Wm. C0. P 12th Ohio Batt’y. Zwaickey, Fred. Co. A P P P 65 2% No $8338 23$ .22 E 3:36»: , 2/3 , Ohm Aéfiffix $5 Sfimmwswi 2: 80¢ 5:93 QESQ 8 @898 9536.85: UwEBOQ-Em8m a x08 3 22/ , 66 FIRE DEPARTMENT HISTORY Before 1854, Roxborough—Manayunk’s fires were fought by volunteer fire companies. Such companies existed in every district, borough, and township throughout the county of Philadelphia. Nineteenth century volunteer fire compa- nies often fought with one another over encroachment of territory, ownership of fire plugs, and politics. This uneasy environment was most severe in the city of Philadelphia (now center city area), where riots at the scenes of fires were commonplace. Volunteer fire companies wielded tremendous political influence, often to the point of being “political parties” in their own right. It is difficult to say to what extent the numerous riots, disturbances, and arsons resulting from this rivalry of firemen had reached in Roxborough-Manayunk, because there are few surviving sources of information to consult. By 1870, the city and county of Philadelphia had been consolidated for sixteen years and the general public had cried out for an end to violence caused by firemen at the scenes of fires. On December 29, 1870, the city councils passed an ordinance which abolished volunteer fire companies. Such companies prepared to go out of existence in the winter of 1870-71, during which time the commissioners of the municipal fire department held their first session. On March 15, 1871, the new department was formally put into service; but some of the volunteer companies could not refrain from turbulent efforts to prevent the establishment of the reform. However, it was not very long before the city adapted itself to this change in the fire service.1 Manayunk Before 1870, Manayunk’s fires were fought by the Manayunk Engine Com- pany located somewhere on Main Street (city directories do not list an address). Manayunk was part of the sixth fire district in the consolidated city plan.2 This volunteer fire company’s fire house was located at 4541 Main Street about a point on Main Street where Dupont Street would connect north of Green Lane.3 Just a few doors south of this address, on the northeast corner of Main Street and Green Lane, was erected the first city—owned fire station in 1876, designed by the architect john K. Yarnall.4 Engine Company No. 12 operated from this location until 1928 when a new fire house was completed at 4445-4451 Main Street just south of Green 67 FIRE DEPARTMENT HISTORY Lane.5 The Yarnall fire house was demolished and the site is now occupied by a former electric power house. Roxborough Roxborough like Manayunk, was provided with fire protection from its own volunteer fire company before 1870. Known as the “Good Intent Engine Com- pany,” this group of volunteers was organized on April 8, 1819 and incorporated on March 17, 1845, twenty-five years later. 6 Although city directories do not provide an exact address, this volunteer company is believed to have used what is now the oldest fire house still standing in the Twenty—first Ward at Dearnley 8c Eva Streets. This building was erected in 1868 at the same time the first reservoir was completed.7 By 1890, the population had increased in the lower end of the ward and plans were begun to erect another fire house. Engine Company No. 39 was created in 1891 and Mayor Stuart opened their new fire house at 471 Leverington Avenue on January 6, 1892. This new station housed nineteen horses and a Silsby Engine which pumped water by steam pressure.8 After fifty-eight years at this location, a period of time which witnessed the change from horse—pulled apparatus to motorized-engines, and another increase in the population of the ward, plans were once again made to erect two new fire houses in the late 1940s. The first of these new fire houses to be completed opened in 1950 when Engine Company No. 66 was removed from its old fire house at Dearnley & Eva Streets to a new one on Ridge Avenue below Shawmont designed by the architect Sydney Jelinek.9 In 1952, a second fire house was opened at Ridge Avenue 8c Cinnaminson Street to house Engine Company No. 39 and Truck Company No. 30. The old Leverington Avenue fire house that formally housed Engine Com- pany No. 39 was sold in 195610 and finally demolished in 1984 after serving as a warehouse for twenty-eight years. (1.) john T. Scharf & Thompson Westcott: History of Philadelphia, 1609—1884. Volume 1. (Philadelphia: L.H. Everts, 1884), p. 836. (2) Directory of the City of Philadelphia for 1860. (3) GM. Hopkins: Atlas of the City of Philadelphia, Volume II, 21 st Ward. (Philadelphia: G.M. Hopkins, 1875), plate A. (4) Philadelphia City Archives: Record Series No. 63.5; Box: 39-M; Folder No. 1. And Manayunk Sentinel: (Iune 30, 1876), p. 2. (5) Ibid. (6) P.L. 175 (1845). (7) Philadelphia City Archives: Record Series No. 63.5; Box: 41-]; Folder No. 2. (8) Manayunk Sentinel: (Ianuary 6, 1892). (9) Philadelphia City Archives: Record Series No. 63.5; Box: 41-]; Folder No. 2. (10) Deed: (1956) CAB:296;522. 68 1870 NOV. 9 1870 NOV. 13 1871 MAR. 20 1871 APR. 26 1871 MAY 22 1871 jUL. 24 1871 SEP. 1871 DEC. 1872 FEB. 6 FIRES SINCE 1870 ROXBOROUGH GRAMMAR SCHOOL: Location, damages, and other details not given. Sentinel: (Nov. 12, 1870). FOUNTAIN HOTEL STABLE: Main Street below Shur’s Lane, Manayunk. H.B. Ritter, Prop. Caused by arsonist. Sentinel: (Nov. 19, 1870). HEFT 8c OGLE’S MILL: Main above Shurs Lane, Manayunk. Originated in the dry house. Building and contents destroyed. One fatality. Sentinel: (Mar. 25, 1871). J. BOLTON WINPENNY MILL: Location not given. Originated in picker-room. Damage to stock only. Sentinel: (Apr. 29, 1871). GRIST MILL: along Wissahickon Creek. Originated in picker- house. Minor damage. Engine came to fire from Manayunk. Sentinel: (May 27, 1871). HOUSE: 101 Cotton Street, Manayunk. Minor fire caused by explosion of a coal-oil lamp. Manayunk Sentinel: (Iul. 29, 1871). HOLT, HILL, 8c MCGUIRE WOOLEN MILL: on Gorgas Lane near Wissahickon Creek. A three-story stone building with water-wheel. Completely destroyed. Caused by explosion of coal-oil lamp in picker-room. Damage of $19,000. Manayunk Sentinel: (Sep. 8, 1871). SCIOTA MILL: (Thos. Schofield) Mt. Vernon, Manayunk. A building 125’ X 40’ five stories high. Originated from a stove. Two alarms raised. $19,000 in damages. Manayunk Sentinel: (Dec. 1, 1871). SCIOTA MILL: (Thomas Schofield) On canal bank, Manayunk. A four-story stone building. Originated in stock- room, first floor. Damage of $3,000. Manayunk Sentinel: (Feb. 9, 1872). 69 1872 FEB. 12 1872 APR. 1872 AUG. 31 1873 MAY 19 1873 JUL. 1 1874 JAN. 15 1874 APR. 1874 APR. 29 1874 JUN. 19 1874 JUL. 4 FIRES SINCE 1870 GORGAS MILL: (Matthias Gorgas). On Gorgas Lane near Wissahickon Creek. Damage of $1,500. Manayunk. Sentinel: (Feb. 16, 1872). HOUSE: 100 Jefferson (Hermitage) Street, Manayunk. Caused by spark from passing locomotive on Norristown Railroad. Minor damage. Manayunk. Sentinel: (Apr. 26, 1872). HOUSES: 4659, 4661, 8c 4663 Cresson Street, Manayunk. Caused by sparks from passing locomotive on railroad. 4661 badly damaged, fire spread to nos. 4663 and 4659 at 3:0 a.m. $1,500 in damages. Manayunk Sentinel: (Sep. 6, 1872). HEFT & OGLE DYE WORKS: (No address given). Caused by spontaneous combustion. Building partially destroyed. Damage about $10,000 in stock. Five fire companies were present. Manayunk. Sentinel: (May 23, 1873). ROXBOROUGH BAPTIST CHURCH: Ridge near Lyceum Avenue. Originated in empty broom closet under a stairway leading to the audience room. South corner of church com- pletely destroyed. Manayunk Sentinel: (Jul. 4, 1873). HOUSE: 109 Penn (Pennsdale) Street, Manayunk. Originated from candle left in cellar by boy. Damage of $100. Manayunk Sentinel: (Jan. 16, 1874). HOUSE: Green Lane below Cresson (Mrs. Whitworth, owner). Caused by spark from a locomotive. Damage of $250. Manayunk. Sentinel: (Apr. 17, 1874). GORGAS MILL: (Matthias Gorgas, owner) Gorgas Lane near Wissahickon Creek, 2lst Ward. Originated in picker room. Loss of $800. Manayunk. Sentinel: (May 1, 1874). STABLE: (Joseph B. Atkinson, owner) Hipple’s Lane (Fountain) below Smick Street. Mt. Vernon. Caused by in- cendiary. Damages of $700. Manayunk. Sentinel: (Jun. 19, 1874). HOUSE: 103 Levering Street, Manayunk. (E. Metzler, owner) Roof ignited from fireworks. Manayunk Sentinel: (Jul. 10, 1874). 70 1874 jUL. 10 1874 OCT. 23 1874 DEC. 12 1875 APR. 23 1875 jUN. 4 1875 SEP. 23 1876 FEB. 18 1876 MAR. 16 1876 APR. 10 1876 APR. 10 FIRES SINCE 1870 BARN: (Jacob Kidd, owner) Ridge above Shur’s Lane. Caused by lightning. Entirely destroyed. Damages of about $3,000. Manayunk Sentinel: (Jul. 17, 1874). STAFFORD 8c BROS. MILL: on Church (Krams) Street. Originated in picker house. Damage minor, but companies from Germantown, Roxborough, & W. Philadelphia were present. Manayunk Sentinel: (Oct. 23, 1874). BOVARD’S jEWELRY STORE: (M.M. Bovard, Prop.) 107 Jackson (Carson) Street. Damage of $250. Manayunk. Sentinel: (Dec. 18, 1874). DAWSON & SHAW’S COTTON MILL: (Thos. Schofield, owner of building) River Road, Manayunk. A five-story stone building. Originated from the bursting of a glass guard sur- rounding a gas jet in carding—room. Damage of $35,000. Manayunk Sentinel: (Apr. 30, 1875). ARMITAGE’S DYE HOUSE: (Benj. Armitage, owner). Lev- ering & Terrace Streets, Manayunk. A frame building com- pletely gutted. Samuel Miller, aged 6 yrs. run over by hose cart during fire. Manayunk Sentinel: (jun. 11, 1875). SCHOFIELD’S MILL: (Thos. Schofield, owner). Location not given. Originated in picker-house. Firemen hampered by “continually bursting” hoses. Manayunk Sentinel: (Sep. 24, 1875). TAVERN: (Edw. O’Donnell, Prop.) 4321 Cresson St. Caused by children playing with matches. Damages of $1,400. Manayunk Sentinel: (Feb. 18, 1876) & (Feb. 25, 1876). MILL: (james Doak,]r. 8c Co.) Belair & Norris Streets. A four- story building. Damages of $30,000. Manayunk Sentinel: (Mar. 17, 1876). ROXBOROUGH BAPTIST CHURCH: Originated in library room on lower floor directly beneath the pulpit. Cause: proba- ble arson. Entire building destroyed. Damages of $25,000. Manayunk Sentinel: (Apr. 14, 1876). MILL: (Morris 8c Allen). Building owned by Sevill Schofield. Location not given. Originated in the picker-room. $1,500 in damages. Manayunk. Sentinel: (Apr. 14, 1876). 71 1876 JUN. 16 1876 AUG. 26 1876 NOV. 30 1876 DEC. 11 1877 JUN. 8 1877 JUL. 27 1878 JAN. 8 1878 JAN. 30 1878 MAR. 20 1878 NOV. 3 1878 DEC. 28 FIRES SINCE 1870 MILL: (Littlewood & C0.). On Main Street near Gas Works. Dry house completely destroyed. Loss not stated. Manayunk. Sentinel: (Jun. 16, 1876). BARN: (James Kitchen, owner) on farm near Wissahickon Creek. A building of 25 X 40 ft. completely destroyed. Cause: Probable arson. Manayunk. Sentinel: (Sep. 1, 1876). CARRIAGE HOUSE: (Geo. Leewright, owner) on jackson (Canton) Street, Mt. Vernon, completely destroyed. Cause: Arson. Manayunk Sentinel: (Dec. 1, 1876). MILL: (Ripka, owner) on canal near toll bridge. A three-story brick building used as a dry house. $2,300 in losses. Manayunk Sentinel: (Dec. 15, 1876). THOMAS SCHOFIELD MILL: River Road above Washing- ton (Umbria) Street. A four-story building, 40 X 50 ft. totally destroyed. Manayunk. Sentinel: (Jun. 15, 1877). KEELY’S PLANING MILL & BOX FACTORY: Green Lane & Wood (now Silverwood) Street, Manayunk. Originated in wood shavings. Damage minor. Manayunk Sentinel: (Jul. 27, 1877). PRESTON MILL: (no address given). Destroyed the picker, dye, and dry house. Damage in excess of $2,000. Manayunk Sentinel: (Jan. 11, 1878). HEFT & OGLE MILL: Main Street, Manayunk. Origin in overheated room. $3,500 in damages. Manayunk. Sentinel: (Feb. 1, 1878). A. PLATT 8c BRO. WOOLEN MILL: Main Street below Shur’s Lane, Manayunk. $1,600 in damages. Manayunk Sentinel: (Mar. 22, 1878). SHAWMONT ICE HOUSE: (Knickerbocker Ice Co.) below Shawmont Station. Completely gutted. Manayunk Sentinel: (Nov. 8, 1878). SS. KEELY PLANING MILL 8c BOX FACTORY: Green Lane 8c Wood (Silverwood) Street, Manayunk. Building com- pletely destroyed. $1,000 in damage. Manayunk. Sentinel: (Jan. 3, 1879). 72 1879 MAY 11 1879 DEC. 23 1880 FEB. 11 1881 JAN. 1881 JAN. 1881 APR. 1882 JAN. 1882 FEB. 1888 JAN. 18 FIRES SINCE 1870 NAGLE’S BREWERY: Paoli Avenue, Roxborough. A two- story stone building, 150 X 60 ft. completely gutted. $21,000 in damage. Manayunk. Sentinel: (May 16, 1879). ST. DAVID’S P.E. CHURCH: Smick 8c Dupont Streets, Manayunk. Entire building destroyed by fire originating in church cellar. Manayunk Sentinel: (Dec. 25, 1879). BERNARD’S FEED STORE: 4460 Main Street, Manayunk. A defective flue in cellar caused damage of $200. Manayunk. Sentinel: (Feb. 12, 1880). M. 8c W.H. NIXON PAPER MILL: (At Flat Rock). Orig- inated in rag-sorting room, gutting entire building. Damages in excess of $40,500. Required two additional fire com- panies from Germantown to subdue. Manayunk. Sentinel: (Ian. 6, 1881). HEY’S CARPET YARN MILL: Main below Shur’s Lane, Manayunk. Originated in picker room. $8,000 in damage. One death reported (Thomas Blakeley, age: 85). Manayunk. Sentinel: (Feb. 3, 1881). HILL’S PRODUCE STORE: Corner of Main 8c Robeson (Rector) Streets, Manayunk. Owned byjohn E. Hill. Residence of M.F. Wilhere (see Biography). Occurred Sunday at 2:0 a.m. $500 in damage. Manayunk Sentinel: (Apr. 7, 1881). SCHOFIELD MILL: Owned by Seville Schofield at River Bank near Main Street, Manayunk. A five-story building 70 X 450 ft., gutted. Damage about $75,000. Manayunk. Sentinel: (Jan. 12, 1882). SCIOTA YARN MILL: (Built in 1832): Flat Rock Road be- tween Washington (Umbria) & Fountain Streets, Manayunk. Originated in card room; gutted entire building. A five-story structure 135 X 45 ft. Damage in excess of $30,000. Manayunk Sentinel: (Feb. 16, 1882). FITZPATRICK 8c HOLT WOOLEN MILL: (a.k.a. “Canton Mills”) High (Umbria) Street south of Leverington Avenue. Picker-house, 3—1/2 stories (stone building). Entire building and contents destroyed. Originated on third floor. Three alarms raised. Damage in excess of $20,000. Manayunk. Sentinel: (Jan. 18, 1883). 73 1883 MAR. 3 1883 MAR. 11 1883 AUG. 11 1883 AUG. 21 1883 AUG. 28 1883 DEC. 17 1884 APR. 5 1884 APR. 1 1884 APR. 21 1884 MAY 22 1884 DEC. 29 FIRES SINCE 1870 RIPKA MILLS: (No address given), Manayunk. Originated in “dry-houses.” Both stone structures entirely gutted. Damage of $7,000. Manayunk Sentinel: (Mar. 8, 1883). HOUSE: Shaw’s Lane near Shawmont Station, Reading Railroad. Owned by Thomas Shaw, rented by Wesley Layre. House and contents completely destroyed. Manayunk Sentinel: (Mar. 15, 1883). ROBERT WILDE 8c SON WOOLEN MILL: Leverington Avenue near Hamilton (Wilde) Street. Originated in picker- room. Damage in excess of $10,600. Manayunk Sentinel: (Aug. 16, 1883). SS. KEELY & SONS PLANING MILL: Main 8c Washington (Umbria) Streets. Minor damage. Manayunk Sentinel: (Aug. 23, 1883). HOUSES: Nos. 4206 and 4208 Cresson Street. Roofs burned. Caused from locomotive spark. Damage of $2,000. Manayunk Sentinel: (Aug. 30, 1883). FITZPATRICK & HOLT MILL: (a.k.a. “Canton Mills”). No address given. Originated in picker-house by a match. Dam— age of $12,000. Manayunk Sentinel: (Dec. 20, 1883). SEVILL SCHOFIELD, SON & CO. WOOLEN MILL: (No address given). Originated in the drying house. Caused by over-heated pipes. Damage of $12,000. Manayunk Sentinel: (Apr. 10, 1884). BARN: (Crawford Estate) Upper Roxborough. Caused by spark from rubbish fire. Complete destruction of building. Manayunk Sentinel: (Apr. 24, 1884). CARMANY 8c BOONE MILL: Gorgas Lane east of Ridge Avenue. Total destruction of building. Damage of $6,000. Manayunk Sentinel: (Apr. 24, 1884). INDUSTRY MILL: Cresson Street, Manayunk. A three-story brick building 40 X 80 ft. Damage of $20,000. Manayunk Sentinel: (May 22, 1884). PROGRESS MILL: (Richard Hey, owner) Main Street below Shur’s Lane. Originated in the picker—house. Damage of $7,000. Maynayunk Sentinel: (Jan. 1, 1885). 74 1885 FEB. 16 1885 APR. 17 1885 jUN. 15 1885 SEP. 19 1885 OCT. 26 1885 NOV. 26 1885 DEC. 30 1886 MAR. 8 1886 MAR. 1886 DEC. 11 1886 DEC. 16 FIRES SINCE 1870 HOUSE: (Peter Orth, owner). Prospect (Lemonte) Street, Roxborough. Explosion of a gasoline (sic) lamp. Damages minor. Manayunk Sentinel: (Feb. 19, 1885). MILL: (Taylor Spink, owner). Cresson Street. Originated in picker-house. Slight damage caused. One employee badly burned. Manayunk Sentinel: (Apr. 23, 1885). MANAYUNK PULP WORKS: (American Wood Paper Co.) near Flat Rock Dam. An enormous fire that consumed 850 cords of wood. Damage of $9,000. Manayunk Sentinel: (Jun. 18, 1885). BARN: (David Bean, owner). Ridge Avenue below Shawmont Avenue. Completely destroyed. $1,500 in damage. Manayunk Sentinel: (Sep. 24, 1885). RICE 8c BEAN’S DRY HOUSE: Corner of Cresson & Shur’s Lane. Totally destroyed. Damage about $1,300. Manayunk Sentinel: (Oct. 29, 1885). GJ. LITTLEWOOD 8c CO. MILL: Main Street below Shur’s Lane. Damage in excess of $5,500. Manayunk Sentinel: (Dec. 3, 1885). NIXON PAPER MILL: (No address given). A two—story build- ing 70 X 60 ft. completely destroyed. Damages of $6,000. Manayunk Sentinel: (Dec. 31, 1885). FRAME STABLE: (Ann Keely, owner). Ridge Avenue below Ship Lane (Port Royal). A 1-1/2 story building entirely de- stroyed. Manayunk Sentinel: (Mar. 11, 1886). ECONOMY MILLS: (Sevill Schofield, Son 8c Co.). Originated in picker-room. Partial destruction of building. Two alarms raised. Damage of $20,000. Manayunk Sentinel: (Mar. 18, 1886). LOCOMOTIVE COLLISION: With an oil-tank near Pen- coyd. Debris burned for hours. Damage in thousands of dollars. Amount not given. Manayunk Sentinel: (Dec. 16, 1886). HALEY’S MILL: (J. Gilbert Haley, owner). On Gorgas Lane near Park Drive. Originated in drying room. Damage of $5,000. Manayunk Sentinel: (Dec. 23, 1886). 75 1887 AUG. 1 1887 DEC. 23 1888 APR. 26 1888 AUG. 14 1888 DEC. 8 1889 FEB. 3 1889 FEB. 15 1889 JUL. 16 1890 APR. 16 1890 DEC. 23 1891 DEC. 23 FIRES SINCE 1870 LOWE GAS MANUFACTURING CO.: River Road, Mana- yunk. Caused by an oil gauge bursting and igniting the genera- tor. $100 damage. Manayunk Sentinel: (Aug. 4, 1887). GEO. S. EMERICK CO. MILL: River Road, West Manayunk. Manufacturers of foundry supplies. Three-story stone mill completely gutted. $9,000 in damages. Manayunk Sentinel: (Dec. 29, 1887). MANAYUNK PAPER CO. MILL: (John Stelwagon). On canal at Washington (Umbria) Street Bridge. Damage in ex- cess of $30,000. Manayunk Sentinel: (May 3, 1888). ENTERPRISE MILLS: (Hutchinson & Ogden). Main Street, Wissahickon. $500 in damages. Manayunk Sentinel: (Aug. 16, 1888). G.J. LITTLEWOOD 8c CO.: (Dye Works). Main Street below Shur’s Lane. $1,000 in damages. Manayunk Sentinel: (Dec. 13, 1888). LEWIS FERNAN STORE: Corner of Washington (Umbria) & Jefferson (Hermitage) Streets. Caused by a stove. $5,000 damage. Manayunk Sentinel: (Feb. 7, 1889). MEAT STORE: (Name not given). 4419 Main Street, Mana- yunk. Caused by overturned coal-oil lamp. $500 damage. Manayunk Sentinel: (Feb. 21, 1889). INQUIRER PAPER MILLS: A four-story stone building. Origin of fire unknown. $80,000 damage. Fire so severe that news of it reached center city fire marshal’s office. Manayunk Sentinel: (Jul. 18, 1889). SCOTIA MILLS: (J.H. Schellenberger & Son) Manufacturers of upholstery. River Road above Washington (Umbria) Street. $32,000 in damages. Manayunk Sentinel: (Apr. 17, 1890). . MISSOURI MILLS: (Carter & Lord) Main Street above Levering. A minor fire. Manayunk Sentinel: (Dec. 24, 1890). G.J. LITTLEWOOD & CO.: (Dye Works). Main Street be- low Shur’s Lane. Damage $2,500. Manayunk Sentinel: (Dec. 24, 1891). 76 1892 MAR. 25 1892 MAR. 28 1892 APR. 12 1892 SEP. 14 1898 JUN. 14 1898 JUL. 28 1894 MAR. 10 1895 OCT. 7 1895 OCT. 31 1896 jAN. 31 1896 MAY 2 FIRES SINCE 1870 RANDOLPH &JENKS’ MILL: On canal bank below Washing- ton (Umbria) Street. Originated in card room. $1,000 damage. .. Manayunk Sentinel: (Mar. 31, 1892). GODFREY LUCKHARDT MILL: (Manufacturers of shodd- ies). River Road above Fountain. Two-story stone mill building, $6,000 damage. Manayunk Sentinel: (Mar. 31, 1892). RIPKA MILLS: Canal bank below Jackson (Carson) Street. A six-story stone mill building. $46,000 damage. Manayunk Sentinel: (Apr. 14, 1892). STONE STABLE: (S.S. Keely, owner). Spring (Carson) Street above Wood (Silverwood). Destroyed entire interior of stable. $4,000 damage. Manayunk Sentinel: (Sep. 15, 1892). ‘ SCHOFIELD’S ECONOMY MILLS: (Sevill Schofleld, Son, 8c Co.). Fire originated in finishing room on first floor by spontaneous combustion. $90,000 damage. Manayunk Sentinel: (Jun. 15, 1893). HOUSES: Nos. 4162, 4164, 4166, and 4168 Main Street. Burned in part. Fire caused by defective flue between nos. 4166 and 4168. $700 damage. Manayunk Sentinel: (Aug. 3, 1893). MISSOURI BLANKET MILLS: Canal bank opposite Chest- nut (Baker) Street. Two alarms raised. $55,000 damage. Manayunk Sentinel: (Mar. 15, 1894). WEIR’S BAKERY: 3882 Terrace Street, Wissahickon. Orig- inated by a cellar oven. Damage of $2,800. Manayunk Sentinel: (Oct. 10, 1895). PLATT YARN MILL: (A. Platt 8c Son). Main Street below Shur’s Lane. Originated in a picker machine. $800 in damages caused. Manayunk Sentinel: (Nov. 7, 1895). STABLE: (George C. Thomas, owner). A two—story stone stable on County-Line Road (Old Line) near grist mill. Com- pletely gutted, $2,500 damage. Manayunk Sentinel: (Feb. 6, 1896). PERSEVERANCE ROOFING PAPER COMPANY MILL: River Road 8c Washington (Umbria) Street. Caused by ex- plosion of coal oil lamp. $2,500 in damages. Manayunk Sentinel: (May 7, 1896). 77 1896 OCT. 15 1909 OCT. 30 1910JAN. 25 1910 FEB. 8 1910 DEC. 17 1911 JAN. 9 1911 MAR. 25 1911 OCT. 29 1912 APR. 1912 NOV. FIRES SINCE 1870 METZLER’S LAUNDRY: (a.k.a. “The Manayunk Laundry”). M.&]. Metzler, Props. Levering Street near Main. Origin un- known. Manayunk Sentinel: (Oct. 15, 1896). STABLE: (jos. M. Adams). Gay Street below Fleming, Mana- yunk. Entire building and eight horses destroyed at 5:0 a.m. Manayunk Sentinel: (Nov. 3, 1909). WABASH MANUFACTURING CO.: Nixon Street, Mana— yunk. Caused by machinery sparks igniting cotton yarn. Dam- age of several thousand dollars. Manayunk Sentinel: (Jan. 26, 1910). MILES’ LUMBERYARD: River Road, W. Manayunk (Belmont Hills). Destroyed mill, lumberyard, and row of dwellings on River Road, displacing 85 occupants, stopped trains along Reading Railroad, and damaged the Ashland Paper Mill. Dam- ages in excess of $200,000. Manayunk Sentinel: (Feb. 9, 1910). LEINER’S 5 8c 10¢ STORE: 4411 Main Street, Manayunk. Originated in store’s stock room at 2:0 a.m., causing damage of $2,000. Manayunk Sentinel: (Dec. 21, 1910). HOUSES: (Nos. 315 & 317 Green lane). Caused by sparks in high winds from tin roofer’s portable stove. Manayunk Sentinel: (Jan. 11, 1911). GLEN WILLOW ICE MANUFACTURING CO.: Main Street, Manayunk (Stables). Confined to second floor of building after a seven-hour fight. 57 horses saved. $8,000 damage. Manayunk Sentinel: (Apr. 5, 1911). MEITNER’S DEPARTMENT STORE: (aka. “The Bee Hive”). A three-story stone structure on the corner of Cresson & Grape Streets, owned by Max Meitner. An enormous fire which began at 4:45 a.m. and raged for hours. Manayunk Sentinel: (Nov. 1, 1911). GLEN WILLOW ICE MANUFACTURING CO.: Caused from a locomotive spark on roof of frame building. Destroyed most of plant. Manayunk Sentinel: (Apr. 10, 1912). STABLE: (Wm. V. Merrick, owner). A two-story stone stable built in 1797 on W. School House Lane. Damages not stated. Manayunk Sentinel: (Nov. 11, 1912). 78 1912 NOV. 1913JAN. 19 1913JUL. 1915 JAN. 1915 FEB. 1915 APR. 1916 SEP. 1921 AUG. 8 1928 jAN. 16 1929 DEC. 3 1929 DEC. 11 1933 DEC. 1949 SEP. FIRES SINCE 1870 MISSOURI MILLS: Canal bank, Main above Levering Street. Manufacturers of yarn. 2 alarms raised. Fire caused by a spark in the picker-room. Manayunk Sentinel: (Nov. 13, 1912). NIXON PAPER MILL: Nixon Street above Fountain. De- stroyed entire building and stock of paper. Manayunk Sentinel: (Jan. 22, 1913). WILLIAM SPINK YARN MILL: Nixon Street. Damage in excess of $20,000. Manayunk Sentinel: (Jul. 13, 1913). CR. SIMISTER MILL: Nixon Street above Main, Manayunk. Manufacturers of waste. Lasted two hours. Manayunk Sentinel: (Jan. 20, 1915). MOYER MEMORIAL BAPTIST CHURCH: Krams 8c Manayunk Avenues. Gas explosion in church annex. Manayunk Sentinel: (Mar. 3, 1915). PHILADELPHIA PAPER MFG. CO.: Nixon Street, Mana- yunk. Damage to stock house in excess of $4,000. Manayunk Sentinel: (Apr. 7, 1915). FOSTER BROTHERS DEPARTMENT STORE: Main Street, Manayunk. Fire began on third floor of building causing $50,000 in damages. 2 alarms raised. Manayunk Sentinel: (Sep. 6, 1916). ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST PARISH SCHOOL: Rector Street east of Cresson, Manayunk. FOSTER BROTHERS DEPARTMENT STORE: 4364 Main Street, Manayunk. Part of three-story building gutted. Chronicle 69’ Advertiser: (Jan. 19, 1928). ODD FELLOWS HALL: Ridge 8c Lyceum Avenues. Orig- inated by a defective flue. Destroyed lodge room. Damage of $7,500. CHARLES LACHMAN & CO. MILL: (Manufacturers of waste). On canal at Carson Street. 3 alarms raised. Destroyed entire factory. Chronicle 8 Advertiser: (Dec. 12, 1929). ST. JOHN’S R.C. HIGH SCHOOL: Pechin 8c Seville Streets, Roxborough. L.H. MITCHEL COMPANY: 3791 Main Street, Manayunk. Five-story mill building used for the storage of woolens, paper, & rags. Demolished September, 1949. Suburban Press: (Sep. 15, 1949). 79 1949 NOV. 1949 DEC. 1951 APR. 1951 AUG. 1951 SEP. 1952 MAY 1955 OCT. 21 1955 DEC. 13 1956 FEB. 14 1956 MAR. 1 FIRES SINCE 1870 STANTON LABORATORY: 227 Krams Avenue, Manayunk. A three—story building used in the manufacture of chemicals. 3 alarms raised. Suburban Press: (Nov. 3, 1949). ALL-STEEL FABRICATING COMPANY: West Manayunk. 3 alarms raised. Suburban Press: (Dec. 8, 1949). WOOL-LINES MANUFACTURING COMPANY: Main 8c Rector Streets, Manayunk. A two-story structure. 2 alarms raised. Suburban Press: (Apr. 26, 1951). LACKMAN MILL: (Abandoned mill). Located on Manayunk Canal south of Green Lane Bridge. A three-story structure. Negligible damage done. Suburban Press: (Aug. 16, 1951). CONTAINER CORPORATION OF AMERICA: Fountain 8c Nixon Streets. Damage not stated. Suburban Press: (Sep. 13, 1951). ROCK HILL RIDING ACADEMY: 641 Dupont Street, Rox- borough. Destroyed twenty-two-year-old stable that housed twenty-eight horses. Suburban Press: (May 8, 1952). DAVIS TEXTILE MILL: On Venice Island. At 4:0 a.m. 3 alarms raised. Involved 11 engine companies; 4 ladder com- panies; 3 battalion chiefs and a mobile communications unit at height of blaze. Damage not reported. Suburban Press: (Oct. 27, 1955). HOUSE: (John S. Heffner Family, tenants). On Wise’s Mill Road near Forbidden Drive. Four fatalities: 3 children, 1 adult. Originated in cellar; one-half of twin house gutted. Suburban Press: (Dec. 15, 1955), pp. 1, 9, 8c 16. HOUSE: (Bertha Hollock, owner). 600 Seville Street, Wis- sahickon. One fatality. Damage of first floor only. Suburban Press: (Feb. 16, 1956). GLEN WILLOW ICE MFG. CO.: Umbria Street 8c Parker Avenue. At 2:49 a.m. 3 alarms raised. Raged ten hours. Dam- age not stated. Suburban Press: (Mar. 8, 1956), pp. 1 8c 18. 80 FIRES SINCE 1870 1966 MAR.. LYCEUM HALL: Ridge & Lyceum Avenues, Roxborough. Destroyed roof and second floor. Building demolished, leav- ing ground floor only for use of diner then doing business there. " Suburban Press: (Mar. 31, 1966). 1975 APR. JOEL COOK SCHOOL: (Formerly “Fairview”). Manayunk Avenue 8c Conarroe Street, Roxborough. Destroyed roof, building demolished. The Review: (Apr. 3, 1975). 1975 APR. EBENEZER METHODIST CHURCH: Gay & Mansion Streets, Manayunk. Destroyed entire building leaving only walls and tower. Building demolished. The Review: (Apr. 24, 1975). >l<>l<>l< 81 kEIVEgWS 1‘33"“? 8E2”? EILEZVATEQN f M , , W33 3 %%;‘n§~:war&*::3 W , «W .. \ mm ,- w MA; N 5’??? 62$ ”5" EIQEIVA‘m 3 a: a. The architect’s drawing for Kerkesloger’s new store erected in 1901 at 4401 Main Street, northeast corner of Main 8c Levering Streets, Manayunk. The building has been restored to its original appearance. 82 FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS & CLUBS Germania Hall (Roxborough) The hall of the Germania Turn Verein of Roxborough and Manayunk, on West Leverington Avenue near Mitchell Street, was dedicated on September 22, 1891. Dimensions ofthe building consisted ofa one-story structure 36 X 50 feet and 20 feet clear to the ceiling, with a 12 X 20 foot extension in the rear for stage purposes. It was fitted up with equipment necessary for a gymnasium. An enlargement of the old Turner Hall, this structure also served as a place where classes were held for the instruction of children in religion, language, and music. The building no longer exists. The officers of the Verein in 1891 were: Charles Vogt, President; Charles Struett, Vice-President; William Gittermann, Secretary; Frederick Blei, Trea- surer; rouis Boehret, Chief of Gymnasium; and Charles Kahney, Assistant.1 Founded in 1872 as a gymnasium and social improvement organization, its present title is the “Roxborough Turners.”2 Green Valley Country Club (Roxborough) Opened circa 19233 on Livezey Street east of Ridge Avenue after the erection of a clubhouse and the completion of an eighteen hole golf course. It’s ballroom was the scene of many community dances and social events. After purchasing the Whitemarsh Country Club in 1935, and relocating there, Green Valley sold its clubhouse to the Epiphany Lutheran Church of Manayunk. This congregation renovated the ballroom for use as a church and the club’s offices into a Sunday School in 1950. That land which had been laid out as a golf course was sold separately and not developed for private residences until 1952 when Meitner & Meitner, Realtors, built 600 single family detached dwellings on it.4 Two hundred twin houses were planned for construction in 1955 on what land remained, a tract bounded by Henry and Ridge Avenues, north of Domino Lane,5 and again in 1963.6 83 FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS 8c CLUBS The Harmonie Club (Roxborough) This club was organized in 1855 as the “Harmonie Singing Society of the 21st Ward.” In 1891 it had a membership of eighty.7 It was an ethnic organization of German origin,8 hence the odd spelling of its name. Harmonie is the German spelling for Harmony. The corporate name, if continued beyond the word “harmonie,” in German would be Die Harmonie Sdngerbund des Viertal 21. Ground was broken for this clubhouse on Fleming Street below Levering in 1891.9 Built by the contractorJohn Wolf, this structure stands out in a street that is clearly residential in nature. Constructed of stone with a cut stone front and rough- cast sides, the building measures 30 feet front, 40 feet deep, and is two stories in height. In 1891 after its completion, the lower floor was fitted up as a game room and its second story was equipped as an audience room, with a commodious stage, presumably used for the choral concerts the club performed there. Club officers once included (1891): M. Melhorn, President; Henry Younger, Treasurer; and Ernest Shellenberger, Secretary.10 Now a private residence, the Harmonie Club building is still in good condition as far as one can tell from its exterior appearance. The main entrance has been altered, but 19th century architectural details survive, including the cornerstone bearing the date of 1891, and the name of the institution that once occupied it, carved in marble above the main entrance. But what became of the Harmonie Singing Society remains a mystery. Concerts ceased to be held there while the property title remained in the hands of the Club. Eighty-five years after the laying of the clubhouse cornerstone, the property was sold by the county sheriff for non-payment of taxes.” Lyceum Hall (Roxborough) The Lyceum as an organization, was founded in 1837. Its hall, erected in 1854 at Ridge & Lyceum Avenues, is reputed to be the work of the architect Edward Collins. The cornerstone was laid in 1856. Lyceum Hall was for all intents and purposes, a “Town Hall,” used in much the same way as Temperance Hall in Manayunk. The Roxborough Academy (now Levering School) held classes there from 1856-1857 after a tornado had badly damaged their building (built in 1750) at Ridge & Monastery Avenues. ‘2 Until a new church building could be built, the congregation of the Roxborough Baptist Church met here from 1868-1877; It was also the meeting place of the Odd Fellows from 1879-1881 while their new hall was under construction across the street.13 Lyceum Hall became the first branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia in this area on April 2, 1894, and served in that capacity for fifteen years. This library 84 ‘FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS & CLUBS was closed in 1909,14 when the Manayunk and WissahickOn branches were completed and opened to the public. In 1910 it was turned into a theater for motion pictures. ‘5 Part of the building once contained the office of the Levering- ton Cemetery Company. A series of lengthy accounts of the Hall’s history to 1871, printed in the The Sentinel,16 turned into a “battle royal” over whose account was most correct. This building had stood for one hundred and twelve years before a fire destroyed it on March 22, 1966. Its subsequent demolition occurred two months later.17 The only Visable remains of the building is part of the ground floor, now used as the kitchen of a diner. Masonic Hall (M anayunk) The cornerstone for a Masonic hall in Manayunk was laid on August 13, 186018 at the corner of Main & Cotton Streets. The building (still standing) is not an architectural masterpiece, being constructed of unfinished field stone. This unpretentious edifice was dedicated on December 19, 186119 to the continuance of Freemasonry in the newly created Twenty-first Ward of this city. For those yet unfamiliar with Freemasonry, a freemason is a member of a society for mutual help, having elaborate and secret rituals. The hall’s ground floor was apparently used as a market house. Platt’s history states that Roxborough Lodge No. 135 purchased the charter of the Market House Company of Manayunk for that purpose.20 The second floor was used as a general lecture or meeting room, and the third floor as two separate lodge rooms. Alterations carried out in 1912 created a large single room on the entire third floor of the building.21 Another facet in the history of this building was the role it played in providing a place of worship for the firstjewish congregation to organize within the Twenty- first Ward between 1918-1940. The exact date is not known. This nameless and obscure group of mostly Hungarian and Polish Jews made their living as mer- chants catering to the mill workers of Manayunk. Numbered amongst the mem- bers of this congregation were such names as Ost, Jacoby, Weiss, Wohlmuth, Blasband, and Propper.22 The congregation apparently disbanded long before the organization of a second congregation circa 1955 now known as “Or Ami.” Congregation “Or Ami” worshipped in the old Epiphany Lutheran Church at Silverwood Street and Green Lane until 1961. Masonic Hall was sold in 1968, one hundred seven years after its dedication. While the official history of the lodge, published in 1988, sites a building that “creaked under the burden of many years” and “mounting costs of mainte- nance/’23 other factors must be considered in understanding the lodge’s decision to sell. Amongst these are the plausible factors of a declining neighborhood 85 FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS 8c CLUBS (before revitalization plans for the area were carried out in the late 19705), a lack of nearby parking, and a decline in membership. The latter always results in diminishing revenue used to operate an enormous building. Odd Fellows’ Hall (Roxborough) In order to understand the existence of this organization in the history of Roxborough, one must first know the purpose and origin of Odd Fellows. The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (I.0.0.F.), was founded in England as a fraternal and benevolent society with a system of secret rites and passwords. Members were required to undergo three degrees or ranks before attaining full membership within the organization. In this sense, they were similar to the Masons in custom and practice. The primary directive of this organization was to render aid, assistance, and comfort to its members and their families. In 19th century Roxborough as elsewhere, there was no coverage under a national Social Security Insurance system, so attaining membership in Masonic or Odd Fellows’ organiza- tions was highly desirable. The American branch of this organization began at Baltimore, Md. in 1819 and gradually spread to other parts of the United States. A group of men organized a lodge at Roxborough in 1841. Their constitution was ratified on May 28, 1841, and a Hall erected the following year on the northwest corner of Ridge 8c Lyceum Avenues?4 The charter of Roxborough Lodge No. 66 of the Indepen- dent Order of Odd Fellows was granted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on March 29, 1859 giving them the right of incorporation.25 Thirty-eight years had passed at this location, a period of time which witnessed an increase in membership from a handful of men to a group which could no longer be contained within their tiny Hall for meetings. Thus the decision to build a larger hall had been reached and the services of William Rea, a local contractor engaged.26 ' On August 23, 1879, Mr. Rea began the demolition of the first Odd Fellows’ Hall and laid the foundation for a new one to be constructed of stone.27 It took one year, nine months, and eleven days to complete. During this time, the Odd Fellows continued their meetings in Lyceum Hall just across the street. The new Odd Fellows’ Hall was formally opened on june 4, 1881.28 This imposing edifice consisted of four stories and a corner tower. The ground floor contained three stores and two dwellings with the lodge chambers then occupying the entire forth floor.29 However, the building was not mortgage free until July 12, 1907. ' ' On December 3, 1929, a fire originating in a defective flue (a common mishap in the latter 19th century) destroyed the lodge room and resulted in damages amounting to $7,500.30 The building survived to host the 100th anniversary of the 86 FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS 8c CLUBS founding of the lodge, and 60th anniversary of its own completion. Sometime between 1941-1956, the Odd Fellows vacated the building. The Hall was demolished to make way for a bank. On the day ground was broken for this new building Ganuary 20, 1956),31 one of the speakers at the ceremony told those gathered for the occasion: F or some reason . . . banks have always looked like mausoleum . . . but when this [bank] is finished, it will be a thing of beauty. This “thing of beauty” has stood on the site of Odd Fellows’ Hall for thirty-four years. The Pencoyd Club (Wissahickon) Opened circa 1910 by the A.&P. Roberts Company which succeeded the Pencoyd Iron Works Company in Wissahickon. The clubhouse was originally the mansion of the estate of D. Rodney King. Mr. King sold the mansion and grounds to the Camac Family in 1861, who named the mansion “Woodvale.” When Pencoyd Iron Works purchased the mansion as a clubhouse for their employees, renovations were carried out. The American Bridge Company which succeeded the A.&P. Roberts Com- pany, made further alterations and extensions to the building in 1913.32 Under new management, the club became a department of the company, run for the use of its employees. Formally opened on May 24, 1913 after its reorganization by the American Bridge Company, the club provided a variety of activities from sports to socials.33 In 1914, the club published The Pencoyder, a periodical which emphasized safety in the factory at a time when industrial accidents amounted to fifty percent of the admissions to St. Timothy’s Memorial Hospital. The Pencoyd Clubhouse was sold in 1942, demolished soon after, and its grounds were later developed for housing.34 Saint Timothy’s Workingman’s Club 8c Institute (Wissahickon) Established in 1873 from funds donated largely by the Merrick family and St. Timothy’s P.E. Church, Roxborough. The building was designed by the architect Charles M. Burns, Jr. and completed in 1877.35 Burns provided space for use as a library. By 1900, this library had one of the finest collections of technical works in the city of Philadel- phia.36 St. Timothy’s Workingman’s Club was unique in that it provided facilities for socializing, educational instruction, and recreation in an era before recreation centers, libraries, or theaters. In addition to this, the club also provided a building 87 FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS 8c CLUBS 8c loan association which afforded many, a chance to own their own home at a time when renting a house was commonplace and ownership was for the few. After thirty-nine years of service to this community, the “institute” met its demise at the hands of increased urbanization, the rise of a nearby public library, a city-wide public school system, and the invention of the motion picture as enter- tainment.37 Membership declined as people took advantage of libraries and schools closer to where they lived. Trollies and the automobile provided quick access to other building 8c loan associations and theaters. With the loss of its membership came the loss of funds from which to operate the clubhouse. Attempts to replace the club’s declining revenue by renting its rooms to various organizations had proven insufficient and the “institute” was forced to close its doors in 1912. The building was sold in 1919.38 Although the building is still standing at the corner of Ridge Avenue and Vassar Street, it is but a relic, to say the least, of the ideals and benevolence of a former age. Temperance Hall (Manayunk) The Methodist congregation of Mt. Zion Church had first erected a very plain stOne building on this lot in 1831 and employed it for religious purposes until it could no longer contain an ever increasing number of communicants. The building was abandoned in 1841 after the completion of a larger building at Green Lane and St. Davids Street.39 The Levering Street property was sold to the Manayunk Division of the Sons of Temperance, which erected a large hall in 1860 on the site of the former church building. The 1860 erection date has been verified by Horace Platt’s research of Masonic records. In his history of Roxborough Lodge No. 135 (1913) he states: Ata meeting of May 2, I 860, a communication from the Secretary of the Board of Trustees of Temperance Hall was presented, notifying the Lodge that they were about to rebuild the hall and requested the [Masonic] Lodge to relocate until the new Temperance Hall was erected. 4° Temperance Hall served as a multipurpose building, from Masonic meetings to local political conventions, until its conversion into a theater for motion pictures and vaudeville performances in 1911.41 Named the “Dixie“? and sometime later the “Dixie-Rose Theater,” this building was enlarged in 1913.43 The building was demolished sometime in the present century. But most ironic is the fact that the bars, taverns, and saloons that have survived its passing seemed to have multiplied over the years. Terrace Hall (Wissahickon) This building was erected in 1889 as. the “Terrace Hall, Market House, Boarding and Livery Stable” on the southwest side of Terrace Street between 88 FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS 8c CLUBS Salaignac 8c Dawson Streets. It was a collection of business enterprises as its title states, run by William McFadden of Manayunk. The building is still standing. The following account of the .1889 opening of Terrace Hall gives a fair idea of its scope and dimensions: The building is of stone, three—stories high, and well—lighted. It has a frontage of 5 6 feet on Terrace Street, by 168 feet in depth to Sharp Street, on which it has nearly the same frontage as on Terrace Street. The thick, strong, well-built walls reflect great credit on contractor Charles S truse. The inside finish is largely of yellow pine and does credit to Messrs. S .S . Keely ES” Sons, through whose instrumentality the building has been erected. The first floor ( entrance on Sharp Street) will be used for boarding and livery purposes. I t contains forty stalls, built of yellow pine with turned posts, each stall 9 feet, 4 inches, by 5 feet. A blacksmith shop (entrance on Sharp Street) will shortly be opened. A competent shoer has been engaged for same, thus enabling the horses to be shod without leaving the premises. On this floor will also be found the harness room, steam heater, and other stable adjuncts. The most important feature, however is the large circular ventilator, running up from this floor, through the centre [sic] of the building, to the roof, making the stable ventilation perfect. The second floor will be used almost entirely for a Market House. The entrance is from Terrace Street, said entrance being sixteen feet wide. One side thereof is the restaurant, 18 X 45 feet, and on the other side the office, feed room, and water closets. The market proper is a very large room, with cement floor, and so arranged that it can be thoroughly cleaned with comparatively little labor. The beautiful yellow pine market stalls, 5 7 in number, are all in and present a most attractive appearance. The sale for the choice of these stalls will take place on Monday afternoon next, (February 25, I 889) at 2’ o’clock on the premises, and will doubtless attract attention from many enterprising meat and produce dealers. . The third floor is arranged for one large hall suitable for concerts, fairs, etc., with two smaller rooms adjoining, in the rear of which is a large room which will be used for the storage of hay, wagons, sleighs, etc. Warmth is supplied throughout by one of Messrs. S truse ES” Hamilton’s steam heaters and the building is cheerful, comfortable, and in many respects handsome. It cost about $3 0,000. The work upon the entire structure has been under the personal super-vision of contractor Thomas H aggerty, and it has been largely due to his efforts that it presents such an attractive appearance. 4" (l) Manayunk Sentinel: (lune 25, 1891). (2) Miles: Historical Sketch of Roxborough, Manayunk, Wissahickon. c1940, p. 154. (3) Klinge: Atlas of the City of Philadelphia, 1923. (4) Suburban Press: (April 24, 1952), p. l. (5) Ibid, (May 12, 1955), p. 1. (6) The Review: (August, 1963). (7) Manayunk Sentinel: (September 10, 1891). (8) Ibid: (August 14, 1874). (9) Ibid: (September 10, 1891). 89 FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS 8c CLUBS (10) Ibid. (11) Deed: DCC:1145;379 (April 12, 1976). (12) Edmunds: 1818-1845, p. 5. (13) Manayunk Sentinel: (August 29, 1879), p. 2. (14) Suburban Press: (July 1, 1937), p. 2. (15) Manayunk Sentinel: (March 2, 1937), p. 2. (16) The Sentinel: (lune 3, 1871), p. 1; (lune 24, 1871), p. 2; and (Iuly 15, 1871), p. 1. (17) Suburban Press: (March 31, 1966), p. 1. (18) Horace H. Platt: Freemasonry in Roxborough. (Philadelphia: Centennial Historical Committee of Roxborough Lodge No. 135, 1913), pp. 68-69. (19) Ibid, p. 76. (20) One Hundred and S eventy—fifth Anniversary, A.D. I 813— I 988, A.L. 5813-5988, Palestine—R oxborough Lodge No. 135 Free and Accepted Masons; The History and heritage of the Lodge. (Philadelphia: Palestine-Roxborough Lodge No. 135 F.& A. Masons, 1988), p. 7. (21) Platt: Freemasonry in Roxborough, pp. 94-95. (22) Esther M. Klein: A Guidebook to jewish Philadelphia. (Philadelphia:jewish Times Institute, 1965), pp. 146- 147. (23) One Hundred and S eventy—fiflh Anniversary, AD. I 813- I 988, A.L. 5813-5988, Palestine-Roxborough Lodge No. 135 . . . History, p. 16. (24) Suburban Press: (May 29, 1941), p. l. (25) PL. 392 (1859). (26) Manayunk Sentinel: (August 29, 1879), p. 2. (27) Ibid, p. 2. (28) Ibid: (June 16, 1881), p. 3. (29) Ibid: (August 29, 1879), p. 2. (30) Suburban Press: (May 29, 1941), p. 3. (31) Ibid: (January 26, 1956), p. 1. (32) Manayunh Sentinel: (Ianuary 1, 1913), p. 1. (33) Ibid: (May 14, 1913), p. 1. (34) Deed: C]P:135;190 (1942). (35) John C. Manton: A Splendid Legacy: St. Timothy’s Roxborough, 1859—1984. pp. 74-75. (36) Ibid. (37) Ibid, p. 75. (38) Ibid, p. 75. (39) 1 00th Anniversary of the Sanctuary Building (of the) First United Methodist Church, Roxborough, 1 976. pp. 11-14. ' (40) Platt: Free Masonry in Roxborough, p. 67. (41) Manayunk Sentinel: (February 1, 1911), p. 1. (42) Ibid: (December 31, 1913), p. 67. (43) Ibid. (44) Manayunk Sentinel: (February 21, 1889). 90 HOMES & ORPHANAGES The Northern Home This institution, though an old one, did not originate in the 2lst Ward. Founded as the Northern Home for F riendless Children in 1853 by Miss Elizabeth E. Hutter, and chartered the following year, the home was first located in the Fairmount section of this city at 22nd 8c Brown Streets. Its original purpose was the sheltering of destitute and neglected children under the age of twelve who were not necessarily orphans. Within two years of the institution’s founding, funds became available for the erection of a very large and imposing building, capable of accommodating a considerable number of children.1 Not long after her service as a nurse in the Civil War, Miss Hutter became interested in extending the charity of the Northern Home by providing for those children orphaned by the war. Thus she helped to also found The Soldiers’ Orphans’ Institute. And another large building was erected at 23rd 8c Parish Streets adjoining the earlier building mentioned above. The children housed in this newer institute were supported by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.2 Among other reasons, the desire to relocate the Northern Home and Institute to a place where there would be room for expansion, and fresh country air for the children, led to the purchase of Houghton, the Wissahickon residence of j. Vaughan Merrick, Jr. in 1928.3 The Northern Home, as it is now called, has been a visible and respected member-institution of this community for over sixty—one of their one hundred thirty-six years of service to the city of Philadelphia. The Roxborough Home for Women Commonly referred to as the Gorgas H ome, was established through the will of Samuel Gorgas (d. 1868), further endowed by a bequeath of Margaret Gorgas (d. 1884) and a substantial gift from Susan Gorgas (d. 1893). This institution was originally incorporated in 1887 as The Roxborough H ome for Indigent Women.4 Selection of the home’s site was determined by a proviso in the will of Samuel Gorgas directing his executors to purchase about two acres of land on or near the Ridge 91 HOMES & ORPHANAGES Road between the sixth and ninth milestone and cause to be erected thereon a plain and substantial building to be designated “Home for Indigent Women”.5 The word “plain” is interesting here, when one considers the massive and heavy designs of Frank Furness, one of the architects commissioned to design the building. Nevertheless, the architectural firm of Furness 8c Evans began their work in the Spring of 1886 on a large parcel of land located at Lawnton Street 8c Leverington Avenue, site of a Civil War encampment and once part of the former estate of the Reverend Horatio Gates jones, D.D.6 A strange list of restrictions enacted by the Board of Managers and printed in a 1903 directory of charitable associations reflect an attitude prevalent at the turn- of-the-century: Applicants must be respectable white women, 40 years of age, or over, who are unable to support themselves; they shall first be chosen from those who live in the original limits of Roxborough, now the 21 st Ward; no restrictions as to creed. Entrance fee, $100; also required to give up any property they may have.7 The whole idea of charging “indigents” a $100 entrance fee in 1903, defeats the desire for a Home for Indigent Women as set forth in the will of Samuel Gorgas. Any property an “indigent” had would most likely have been the clothes upon her back and nothing more. Over the years the word “indigent” was removed from any printed reference to this institution. The interests of the Gorgas family were represented by the presence of Miss Susan Gorgas (a niece of Margaret Gorgas mentioned above) as a president of the Board of Managers and a trustee of this institution for a period of time spanning well over twenty years. The Gorgas Home, now over a century old, still stands on its original site having changed little in exterior appearance. (1) john T. Sharf & Thompson Westcott, History of Philadelphia, 1609-1884. (Philadelphia: L.H. Everts, 1884), Volume II, p. 1456. (2) Ibid. - (3) Joseph S. Miles: A Historical Sketch of Roxborough, Manayunk, Wissahickon. (Philadelphia: Geo. Fein 8c Co., 1940), p. 195. (4) Deed: (1885) GGP:105;7. (5) Will of Samuel Gorgas probated at Philadelphia, 1868. (6) Manayunk Sentinel: (September 22, 1887), p. 2. (7) A Directory of the Charitable, Social Improvement, Educational, and Religious Associations and Churches of Philadelphia. (Philadelphia: The Civic Club, 1903), p. 67. 92 HOSPITALS Roxborough Memorial Hospital (1890) Incorporated on June 7, 1890 as The Memorial Hospital and House of Mercy of Saint Timothy’s Church, 1‘20xborough.1 The land and first building were donated to the church by Mr. & Mrs. J. Vaughan Merrick, Sr. along with an endowment of $10,000 as a memorial to their parents.2 Formal dedication occurred on June 1 1, 1890. The official name of this hospital was changed in 1896 to St. Timothy’s Memorial Hospital and House of Mercy, Roxborough,3 and again in 1920 to The Memorial Hospital, Roxborough.4 Under its original charter the hospital was chiefly administered by the Rector, Churchwardens, and Vestrymen of St. Timothy’s P.E. Church from 1890—1920. The desire for state-aid during a period of financial decline necessitated the abolition of ties with the church, required by Com- monwealth law concerning the separation of church and state. Since 1920 the hospital has been administered by a board of directors. The physical plant of the hospital has been expanded at various times when necessary and as funds became available. A laundry building containing nurses’ apartments and steam—heating plant was added in 1891. The Eugene Nugent Ward was erected in 1894. Ground was broken for the Merrick Building onjune 23, 1896. This four-story brick and stone edifice facing Ridge Avenue was completed in November, 1897. A corridor connecting the Nugent Ward with the Merrick Building was added in 1897. The Percival Roberts Ward was added in 1901, the same year in which a fire broke out on February 20 in the attic of the administration building causing minor damage. A laboratory and isolation ward (a one-story brick building east of the main building and connected with it by a long corridor) was added in 1905. The maternity ward was opened in 1914. Horse- drawn ambulances were replaced by motor vehicles in 1916. The Roberts Ward was extended in 1927-28. Of the above-named wards and buildings very little remains due to demolition and construction projects within the past twenty years. The hospital’s expansion is very evident when one remembers the number of residences on the south side of Jamestown Street between Ridge Avenue and Houghton Street that were demol— 93 HOSPITALS ished within the last six years to make way for hospital offices and parking lots. The physical plant of this hospital now comprises an area equal to one and one-half city blocks. (1) Stanley H. Cauffman, The House of Mercy. (Philadelphia: Roxborough Memorial Hospital, 1940), p. 5 (2) Vestry Minutes of St. Timothy’s Church, Roxborough. (March 12, 1890). (3) Cauffman, op. cit., p. 15. (4) Ibid, p. 19. 94 INNS & TAVERNS Plow Tavern Built in 1746 at Ridge Avenue and Hermit Street. This date was confirmed by a cornerstone just before the building was razed. 1 The cornerstone is presently on the floor of the baptistry of St. Timothy’s Church, given to that church by the last owner (Heller). Known as the “Plough Tavern,” it housed weary travelers heading west and trappers and settlers from the Indian country who made it their last stop before reaching Philadelphia.2 In 1777 this tavern was used as a hospital after the Battle of Germantown during the Revolutionary War (1775-1783). From 1833-1859 it served as one of two “Poor Houses” in Roxborough, and from 1859-1862 it was used by St. Timothy’s Protestant Episcopal Church before it became a private residence. The building was abandoned in 1925, and razed in 1937.3 A custard stand now occupies the site. Other Inns and Taverns for which little documented information has come to light at the time this book was printed, include: “The Buttonball Inn” Ridge above Dearnley. “The Fountain Inn” Main Street below Shur’s Lane “Indian Rock Hotel” Forbidden Drive below Monastery. “The Layfayette Inn” Ridge at Parker. “The Leverington Hotel” SE corner Ridge & Leverington. “The Ship Tavern” SE corner Ridge 8c Port Royal. “The Sorrel Horse”(1785) Ridge above Port Royal. “Valley Green Inn”(1855) Forbidden Drive below Wise’s Mill “The Levering Inn” Main street below Levering. (1) Suburban Press: (October 28, 1937). (2) Ibid. (3) Ibid. 95 m Aéwiwwwemfi Rs @335 Rik “EmStSNmQ $383 any “2.2% .3: Ne «98:89 833$ 653$ WEB E «EQEUw—Em o 5835 can 05 mo Judas “mgm 2: mm 3: m: m. m. wctzw 63.3%? d 3 amam: .8 2mm ”568$ mo BEBE 23L 3 7. >551, 96 LIBRARIES Manayunk Branch, Free Library of Philadelphia Made possible through a grant from the Carnegie Public Library Fund set up by Andrew Carnegie, a Scottish-American steel manufacturer and millionaire. Carnegie donated the buildings on the condition that the communities in which they were located would supply and support them. A lot 100‘by 136 feet located at the intersection of Fleming Street, Green Lane, and Dupont Street was donated in 1905 byjohn F.L. Morris and other prominent residents.‘ Designed by the architect Benjamin F. Stevens, this building was formally opened to the public on February 5, 1909.2 The building is constructed of light Pompeiian brick with Indiana limestone foundations and terra cotta trimmings. It is reached by a long flight of steps and once consisted of a library room measuring 64 by 65 feet, with a children’s room in the rear measuring 37 by 26 feet. The latter was also used as a lecture room by closing a large pair of folding doors, and the entire library had a seating capacity for 150 people.3 The Manayunk branch was capable of accommodating 15,000 volumes. Its shelving and furniture were made of light quartered oak and the walls were painted a buff colour. The room in 1909 was lit by a number oflarge windows and by a skylight during the day, and at night by both gas and electric lights.4 Both lighting systems were employed because people were not sure the new electric method was fail—proof and they had been using gas in Manayunk since 1853 (56 years).5 This branch was closed on April 28, 1961 and its collection combined with that of the Wissahickon branch to form a new Roxborough branch. The building became a part of Lander’s Nursing Home, which had purchased the Morris mansion next door in 1949.6 From 1961-1969 the new Roxborough branch was temporarilly housed in an old A&P Market at Ridge & Leverington Avenues until the completion of a new building at Ridge Avenue 8c Hermitage Street on August 4, 1969. 97 LIBRARIES Wissahickon Branch, Free Library of Philadelphia Once located at Manayunk Avenue and Osborn Street, this library was built on land that was given by the American Bridge Company, the successor to Pencoyd Iron Works. The Carnegie Library Building Fund provided the money to erect a building designed by the New York architectural firm of Whitfield 8c King.7 Opened to the public on January 26, 1909, the Wissahickon branch served the community for fifty-five years before it was closed on April 28, 1961 and its collection transfered to the new Roxborough branch. This vacated building was used by a community group for meetings until vandals had badly damaged it. Not long after this the building was demolished. There is only a vacant lot here today [1989]. William B. Stephens Memorial Library This library had its origin in the will of Caroline A. Stephens (1897) who instructed her executors to erect a neat and substantial library building. . . on the lot of ground whereon my present dwelling stands. Her house on Krams Avenue just behind St. David’s Episcopal Church, was demolished, an architect engaged (Lawrence Visscher Boyd) and ground broken on September 29, 1909.8 The cornerstone was laid two months later on November 24, 1909 and the building completed and opened to the public on March 25, 191 1. The architect’s description of his work released to the press was as follows: The structure is the Ionic type and constructed of Indiana limestone with granite base and steps. The interior is of Vermont marble, with Indiana white oak, nicely carved. It has a copper roof and metal window frames. The grills and the light standards on either side of the main entrance are of solid bronze. The building recedes 2 7 feet from the property line. It is 56 feet front, 22 feet deep, main building with a radial stack 40 feet, which forms the bookroom, the radial arrangement being most convenient and attractive. 9 The Stephens Memorial Library collection consisting of scientific, historical, technical instruction, and research works, was devoted primarily to the needs of a rising industrial community. The collection did not circulate and was maintained for research only. This library was closed in January, 1969. (1) Suburban Press: (November 28, 1935). (2) Manayunk Sentinel: (February 11, 1909), p. 1. (3) Manayunk Review: (February 3, 1909), p. 2. (4) Ibid. (5) P.L. 630 (1853). (6) The Review: (September 9, 1986). (7) Manayunk Sentinel: (August 30, 1906), p. l. (8) Ibid: (December 1, 1909), p. 1. (9) Ibid: (March 22, 1911), p. 1. 98 MAPS 99 . I ~ I ‘ . -‘ - 4 l ‘3. Ila-'3. L‘ t ""5'! ’ ‘ _. §MK:.%§% . t 3% b1 “HOMES ‘ \ pd .. m. . . 1 10 a W {a . M .s J. Am, 1..» sf m N3 M mmu m Tm m ".3 m V»m . ‘ . 5 VA @er w . .r. y ; I / ._ . b y ; m e z «.W s , Wm 7. ‘ N» by; N Wm WM Mm uHHH! : . 7/447 / u. Tia ”Wu, . w/Mfi . 11.1.1.1 my __ N .a .flsw /./\w/_\—/—\\/< = : 0 (u 6 W §§® gnu .‘ ‘ A 5 “.5 § : , : p. .z 0% EV/<\\////4\\////<\///4 {ll lash?» . . .\ \\\\\\_' ‘ .. : f .. mag/Ala Ex,» g, ZV\>///§§\\ < < c X (:0 5 . \ . // V . >>§ \\\,<\<\ < .\ < < ,V 2 ____ Mb $me OW/wm‘ygnu «mama — 7 . §\///// <<>§>§<>§z _ (d '747/144 .,fi\/ 1 .1 _ 5 . _ f , w , p Tlplrlv MAPS 102 MAPS u® 3A a]? «Emma W/A 1D) 21 Philadelphia. oak /00f'eet to é/Le Inc/L 103 153/ {DRAWiNC} CARD The Pete Dailey WW 5~cent Cigar l'Ii‘fftlyzstx-«S a: Z} gt, " umm & m. WHOLilfifiii-Q :ni‘.x¥t§¥:~ Pa 019118. Wm, WM. Inc. 4352-54 Haiti St, flanayunk i ”:4 ‘1. 2m 09th Stfiorriatowa A local 1902 newspaper advertisement. More men smoked cigars and pipes than cigarettes, with little regard for their health. 104 MAYORS SINCE 1854 Robert T. Conrad Richard Vaux Alexander Henry Morton McMichael Daniel Fox William S. Stokley Samuel G. King William B. Smith Edwin H. Fitler Edwin S. Stuart Charles F. Warwick Samuel H. Ashbridge John Weaver John E. Reyburn Rudolph Blankenburg Thomas B. Smith J. Hampton Moore W. Freeland Kendrick Harry A. Mackey J. Hampton Moore S. Davis Wilson George Connell R. E. Lamberton Bernard Samuel Bernard Samuel Bernard Samuel Joseph S. Clark Richardson Dilworth Richardson Dilworth James H.J. Tate James H.J. Tate (W) (D) (W) (U) (D) (R) (D) (*) (R) (R) (D) (*) (*) (R) (I) (R) (R) (R) (R) (R) (R) (Actg. Mayor) (R) (Actg. Mayor) (R) (R) (D) (D) (D) (Actg. Mayor) (D) 105 1854-1856 1856-1858 1858-1866 1866-1869 1869-1872 1872-1881 1881-1884 1884-1887 1887-1891 1891-1895 1895-1899 1899-1903 1903-1907 1907-1911 1911—1916 1916—1920 1920—1924 1924—1928 1928-1932 1932-1936 1936-1939 1939-1940 1940-1941 1941-1944 1944—1948 1948-1952 1952—1956 1956-1960 1960-1962 1962-1964 1964—1968 (Died in Office) (Died in Office) (Resigned) MAYORS SINCE 1854 james HM] Tate Frank L. Rizzo Frank L. Rizzo William ]. Green, 111 W. Wilson Goode W. Wilson Goode KEY: MUCH-*cg = Wliig Party Union Party = Independent Party = Democratic Party = Republican Party = Unknown Party Affliation >l< 106 (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) >l< * 1968-1972 1972-1976 1976-1980 1980-1984 1984- 1988 1988-1992 MILLS ARCOLA MILLS (1.3. Winpenny) Manufacture: Cotton yarn only. Employ: 90 hands (15 men and 75 boys and girls in 1874). Location: Between canal and Schuylkill River. Age: Buildings erected in 1825, rebuilt 1872 and new buildings erected. Reference: Hexamer General Insurance Survey: Plan nos. 100 SC 766. ARKWRIGHT MILLS (Backer 8c Waitzfelder) Manufacture: Chiefly checks and ginghams (cotton goods). Employ: 150 hands (1/3 men, balance boys and girls). Location: On River Road between canal and Schuylkill River. Age: Buildings erected in 1846. Reference: Hexamer General Insurance Surveys: Plan nos. 80, 735 8c 1955. BLANTYRE MILLS (Sevill Schofield) Manufacture: Blankets, coatings, pantaloon stuffs, woolen carpet yarns, jeans & doeskins, and cotton 8c woolen yarns. Employ: 166 hands (51 men, 79 girls, and 36 boys in 1879). Location: Between Main Street and canal, east of Cotton Street. Age: Buildings erected in 1845, 1850 & 1879. Reference: Hexamer General Insurance Surveys: Plan nos. 6 8c 1410. CANTON MILLS (Fitzpatrick 8c Holt) Manufacture: Chiefly tricots, doeskins, diagnals, etc. Employ: 200 hands (60 men, 40 boys, and 100 girls in 1878). Location: Between High & Chestnut Streets and Leverington 8c Walnut Streets. Age: Buildings erected from 1864 to 1876. Reference: Hexamer General Insurance Surveys: Plan nos. 474, 747 8c 1213. 107 MILLS DEXTER MILLS and DYE WORKS (Heft 8c Ogle) Manufacture: Cotton 8c woolen jeans, dye 8c dry cotton 8c woolen warp 8c yarn, raw cotton, wool & shoddy, shoddy dyed 8c dried, but not manufactured or used. Employ: 183 hands (80 girls, balance men 8c boys). Location: South side of Main Street. Age: Main mill rebuilt in 1866; Picker House extended in 1871; Dyehouses erected in 1870; and Boiler 8c Dyehouse built in 1871. Reference: Hexamer General Insurance Surveys: Plan nos. 59, 493, 578 8c 1369. ECONOMY MILLS (Sevill Schofield, Son 8c Company) Manufacture: Woolen blankets and cloths. Employ: 850 hands (480 men, 40 boys, 330 women 8c girls in 1883). Location: Between Main and Schuylkill River. Age: Buildings erected in 1867; 1872-73; 1875; 1876; with additions made in 1881 and 1882. Reference: Hexamer General Insurance Surveys: Plan nos. 1131—1132 8c 1809-1810. FLAT ROCK PAPER MILLS (Martin 8c William H. Nixon) Manufacture: Printing and book paper. Employ: 180 hands (5 boys, 70 girls, balance men in 1887). Location: Situated between canal and Schuylkill River. Age: Buildings erected at various times from 1844 to 1887. Reference: Hexamer General Insurance Surveys: Plan nos. 11, 404, 724-725, 1068-1069, 1595-1596, 2098-2099 8c 2359-2360. FREELAND MILLS (A. Flanagan 8c Brother) Manufacture: Carpet and backing yarns. Employ: 80 hands (60 men, 20 girls in 1889). Location: Situated corner Shur’s Lane & Freeland Avenue. Age: Erected in 1882; boiler 8c engine house put up in 1889. Reference: Hexamer General Insurance Surveys: Plan no. 2296. KEYSTONE MILLS (William Johnston) Manufacture: Woolen shoddy, worsted waste and carpet yarns. Employ: 50 hands in 1893. 108 MILLS Location: Leverington Avenue above Hamilton Street. Age: Mill erected in 1887. Reference: Hexamer General Insurance Surveys: Plan no. 2715. LINCOLN MILL (David Wallace & Son) 2 Manufacture: Kentucky jeans and cotton yarns. Employ: 95-100 hands (12 men, 20 boys, balance girls in 1878). Location: Main Street south of Shur’s Lane. Age: Buildings erected in 1859. Reference: Hexamer General Insurance Surveys: Plan no. 1251. LITTLE FALLS MILL (John 8c William Stafford) Manufacture: Woolen carpet yarn. Employ: 75 hands (39 men, 14 boys, and 22 girls). Location: West side of Dupont below Silverwood Street. Age: Buildings erected in 1863; rebuilt 1870, 1871, 8c 1872. Reference: Hexamer General Insurance Surveys: Plan nos. 798-799 & 1751. MANAYUNK PULP WORKS (American Wood Paper Company) Manufacture: Wood pulp only—No paper manufactured on the premises. Employ: 175 hands (2 boys, the rest men in 1883). Location: On Schuylkill River. Age: Buildings erected in 1865, 1875, & 1881. Reference: Hexamer General Insurance Surveys: Plan nos. 802-803 8c 1732- 1733. PERSEVERANCE MILLS (Theresa Holt) Manufacture: Cotton yarns (woolen spun) and merino yarns. Employ: 25 hands (12 men, 1 girl, 12 boys in 1883). Location: On Main Street. Age: Buildings erected in 1843; addition made in 1877; rebuilt in ‘ 1879. Reference: Hexamer General Insurance Surveys: Plan nos. 3 8c 1780. PERSEVERANCE WORKS (William Schofield) Manufacture: Textile machinery and jobbing. Employ: 25 hands (22 men, 3 boys in 1894). Location: On Church (Krams) Street between Hamilton (Wilde) & Wood (Silverwood) Streets. 109 MILLS Age: Buildings erected 1872; added to and raised at different times since. Reference: Hexamer General Insurance Surveys: Plate no. 2841. PLATT’S MILL (A. Platt & Brother) Manufacture: Cotton 8c woolen yarn (mixed and unmixed). Employ: About 90 hands (40 men, 20 boys, 8c 30 girls in 1880). Location: On Ridge Avenue adjoining Manayunk Gas Works. Age: Buildings erected in 1871; a dye 8c dry house built in 1878. Reference: Hexamer General Insurance Surveys: Plates: 583 8c 1528. RIPKA MILLS (Estate of General R. Patterson) Manufacture: Chiefly cotton goods, checks 8c ginghams. Employ: About 550 hands (1/3 men in 1885). Location: Between Main Street 8c Schuylkill River. Age: Buildings erected in 1836, 1842, 1853 8c 1883. Reference: Hexarner General Insurance Surveys: Plates: 66, 324, 728-729 8c 181 1-1812. ROXBOROUGH MILLS (J. Leech 8c Brother) Manufacture: Cotton 8c woolen goods. Employ: About 100 hands (60 girls, 25 men 8c 15 boys in 1892). Age: Buildings erected 1880, & 1884. Reference: Hexarner General Insurance Surveys: Plate: 2582. SCHUYLKILL COTTON MILLS (A. Campbell 8c Company) Manufacture: Cotton goods (chiefly ginghams, checks, 8c pantaloon stuff). Employ: 300 hands (2/3 men, 1/3 women, 1/2 boys 8c girls). Location: Between canal 8c Schuylkill River. Age: Buildings erected 1825; rebuilt 1867; new buildings erected 1869, 1871, 1872. Reference: Hexarner General Insurance Surveys: Plate nos. 688-689. SHUR’S LANE MILLS (T. Kenworthy 8c Brother) Manufacture: Worsted yarns in worsted mill 8: carpet yarns in shoddy mill. Employ: 139 hands (39 men, 28 boys, & 72 girls). Location: Between Freeland Avenue 8c Pechin Street north of Shur’s Lane. 110 MILLS Age: Mill facing Pechin Street built 1876; mill facing Shur’s Lane built 1882. Reference: Hexamer General Insurance Surveys: Plate no. 1948. STAR WOOLEN MILLS (James Stafford) Manufacture: Cotton and woolen (mixed) blankets, flannel and yarns. Employ: 95 hands (30 men, 35 girls, 30 boys in 1895). Location: SE. side of Dupont below Silverwood Street. Age: Erected in 1872, 1873, 1882, 1890 & 1893. Reference: Hexamer General Insurance Surveys: Plate nos. 798-799 & 2714. UNION MILLS (A. Campbell Manufacturing Company) Manufacture: Cotton goods (chiefly ginghams, 8c checks), when in operation. Employ: 2 in 1894. Location: Situated between canal & Schuylkill River. Age: Erected 1825; rebuilt 1867; four new buildings erected 1871 8c 1872; new building erected 1878. Reference: Hexamer General Insurance Surveys: Plate nos. 2816-2817. *>l<>l< 111 Window Shades, -—OIL-— CLOTHS, km, &c. mm 4342 Main St. PLAIN BRA DING. Scallops and Tassels. Spring Fixture. A locally—printed newspaper advertisement of 1876, typical of 19th century commercial art. 112 MON UMENTS The Civil War Monument On a knoll near the center of Leverington Cemetery, now stand the remains of a monument to those who lost their lives in the defense of the Union during the Civil War (1861-1865). Here in this quiet spot some distance from the traffic din of Ridge Avenue, before a granite pedestal, one disquieting revelation occurs. The top of this pedestal is empty. A strange sight that is mute evidence of the statue that once stood here embodying the love and sorrow of a former generation, and much like them, is now departed. Seven years after the conclusion of one of the bloodiest wars America had ever gone through, gathered the citizens of the 21st Ward of this city to dedicate a new monument to their noble dead. In the rain before a shrouded monument, stood the town officials, prominent citizens, and every mother whose son never came home from the war. Washington Camp No. 50 P.O.S. of A. had commissioned an artist named Edward Kirn to design “a figure 6’ 6” high of a Union soldier in full dress uniform standing at ease.” Peter Bechtel, a local monument maker, cast Kirn’s design in bronze.1 When completed, the monument stood 18’ in height inclusive of marble base. Bechtel also cast four bronze shields, one containing a basrelief depicting the surrender of RE. Lee to Grant at Appomattox. The other shields contained the names of 248 soldiers and sailors killed in the war.2 Veiled with an American flag, Kirn & Bechtel’s work awaited the hands of Major General George G. Meade, State Senator Horatio Gates Jones, and Mayor William Stokley to formally reveal it to the citizens.3 The 1872 monument was never completely paid for. Only part of the $500 cost of its manufacture and erection was paid to Messrs. Kirn 8c Bechtel for their work. General Meade died six months after the monument’s dedication and a group of citizens were adamant about collecting money for the erection of another monument within this ward to his memory. With two fund-raising groups can- vassing the area, it became increasingly more difficult to raise the money needed to pay for either monument. Six months after its dedication also began a long history of vandalism through 113 MONUMENTS which the monument had managed to survive. In November, 1872 the following appeared in local newspapers: “THE MONUMENT BROKEN” A reward of $ 1 00 for the arrest and conviction of the scoundrel who broke a portion of the monument in Leverington Cemetery. 4 The “scoundrel” was never caught. F orty-one years had passed, when the old veterans wanted a new monument; one which would not be tainted by debt or “crumbled under the ravages of time.”5 Formal dedication occurred on September 6, 1913 at the site of the first monument in Leverington Cemetery in the presence of Councilmen Nathan L. jones, Charles C. Cox,and George E. Dorwart.6 The newspaper reported: There was an immense gathering of people in the cemetery and all were pleased with the handsome granite monument, surmounted by a bronze figure of a soldier in full uniform, in position of rest. 7 Four emblematic tablets grace the sides of the shaft, two of which are lettered alike with this inscription: ‘In honor of those who served in the War of the Rebellion I 861 — I 8 65 from the 21st Ward. E rected by the Citizens of the Twenty-first Ward, I 913 . ’ About 1972, the statue had been pulled down by vandals, damaged, restored by concerned citizens, and then vandalized again. It became apparent that further restoration would be futile while the monument remains vulnerable. Cemetery officials were forced to protect the bronze statue by removing it to the safety of their office were it has remained ever since. (1) The Sentinel: (April 1, 1871), p. l (2) Manayunh Sentinel: (May 31, 1872), p. 2 (3) Ibid. (4) Manayunk Sentinel: (November 22, 1872), p. 2 (5) There are no surviving receipts or records for this second monument and we can only hope that newspaper accounts are correct. Unlike the 1872 account, that of 1913 does not state who designed or erected the second monument. It was apparently debt-free and financed by public subscription. (6) Manayunk Sentinel: (September 10, 1913), p. 1 (7) It is not known if Kirn 8c Bechtel’s 1872 bronze statue and that of 1913 are one and the same. 114 MURDERS “Murder Hollow” (185 1) This legend has been floating around Roxborough-Manayunk for many years. There are many variations to the story, but the following is the only one found in newspapers printed at the time the murder occurred. “Tragedy in Roxborough” The Bartle family lived on a small farm between the Ridge Turnpike and the Schuylkill [River], about half a mile from the Andora Post Oflice. The husband Valentine Bartle, age 46, his wife Caroline, 30, were both natives of Germany. The children Elizabeth 7, Frederick 4, M argaret2, and Lana 12 months, were all born in this country. On Friday night or early Saturday morning, the husband, wife and infant were brutally murdered with an axe. The murderer had not been apprehended at the time of this publication but a farm hand named Robert is suspect. He left the employ of Mr. Bartle following a quarrel over wages. The victims were buried in Philadelphia, Monday, May 12, 1851, from the home of Frederick Bartle, a brother of Valentine] The verdict of the Coroner’s jury, which was given last evening, is “that Valentine B artle came to his death by repeated strokes of an axe on the head and body, supposed to have been inflicted by john Christian Aufrecht, alias Robert, alias Charles, on the evening of M ay 2, or morning ofMay 3, 1851.2 Apparently the suspect was never caught. The Murder of Elizabeth Wunder (1877) In the year 1877, Manayunk was a town of roughly 9,849 inhabitants who made their living chiefly from the numerous mills that then existed there. Many streets had not yet been paved over with Belgian blocks. Nor were the inhabitants anything but ordinary working-class people who, because of low wages and long hours spent at the mills, were forced to live simply. Crime, according to police reports, was limited to larceny, burglary, assault 8c battery, robbery, and suicide, of which Manayunk had more than its fair share throughout the nineteenth century. Murder was on the other hand, a rare and unusual occurrence. And when it 115 MURDERS happened, became big news via the press and the local grapevine. August 26, 1877 had begun as any other Sunday morning in August. The dew was still on the lawns at 5:30. Many people, used to rising early due to their occupations, were already up and about. It would probably be another hot summer day. Cedar Street (renamed “]amestown”) was not one of Manayunk’s thorough- fares. It was a quiet residential street with the usual corner store at each end of the block. By six o’clock, the clopping of shoes upon the slate sidewalks could be heard as many people made their way to an early Mass at St. john-the-Baptist Roman Catholic Church just two blocks away. There was however, something else that pierced the tranquility of an early Sunday morning on Cedar Street. An argument was loudly in progress at no. 124, between a man and a woman. Their neighbor quickly ran into no. 124 and a very short while later another woman ran out of this same house and down Cedar Street, returning a short time later. Then two policemen arrived and entered the house. . By noon, the word was out. Elizabeth Wunder was dead. Murdered at the hands of her own husband earlier that morning during an argument, one of a number of arguments they had over the last year. What had transpired early on that fateful Sunday morning had its origin during the previous evening. The house at no. 124 Cedar Street, was occupied by a laborer named William Wunder, his 27-year-old wife Elizabeth, and his brother Frank Wunder, who boarded there. It was no secret that William Wunder’s marriage to Elizabeth was a strange mixture of love and hate. As court records would later reveal, Mr. Wunder was in the habit of beating his wife as well as kicking her. On the evening of August 25, 1877, William Wunder left his house on Cedar Street and went to Norristown, presumably to engage in what must have been the chief source of entertainment for a low-paid, overworked laborer . . . drinking in a saloon with friends or strangers. (Why did he go to Norristown when Manayunk had many saloons nearby? At the inquest held later, testimony was given that both he and his wife had “sworn off in the church,” that is to say, they both gave up drinking in the presence of their congregation, many of whom were probably neighbors. So it was important to Mr. Wunder that he not be seen going into a saloon, lest he be recognized by another member of his congregation and reported.) His nocturnal pursuits must have occupied him throughout the night and into the wee hours of the following morning as well. During the period he was away from his home in Manayunk, Mr. Wunder’s wife had grown apprehensive over his long absence. At the inquest following her murder, testimony was given that Elizabeth Wunder had gone to the house of a sister (Annie Rodgers) at 9:30 pm. She told her sister that her “husband was not at home and that she was alone.” So Annie Rodgers and she went to a local saloon and 116 MURDERS had a glass ofbeer, returning to the Wunder residence at 10:00 pm. At 11:00 p.m., Mrs. Wunder’s brother-in-law, Frank returned in an intoxicated condition and went straight to his bed. Annie Rodgers testified that she stayed the entire night with her sister (Mrs. Wunder). Why then was Mrs. Wunder seen by Sarah Wheeler, who testified that she saw her between one and two o’clock that morning hunting for her husband? Sarah Wheeler also testified that she “had taken her [Mrs. Wunder] home to her door.” At six o’clock on the morning of August 26, 1877, William Wunder had returned home, stopping to talk with Mr. Tinney, his brother—in-law and next door neighbor. He then entered his house and the fatal argument with his wife began, during which he gave her three blows to the head, causing her death. This he did in the presence of her sister, Annie Rodgers. The inquest records do not answer every question in this case. For example: When did the police actually arrive at the scene of the crime? Lt. William H. Taylor, one of the two policemen who went to the house, testified that he “found the woman dead in the ice box [a 19th century coffin having ice in it on which a body was placed to preserve it until burial] and washed.” Martha Earl testified that she “went down and washed her [the victim].” This means that the police arrived after Martha Earl, for the body had already been placed on ice and washed. Frank Wunder testified that he “was not in the house when they carried her [the victim] upstairs.” Lt. Taylor testified that “the husband went up in the room with [him].” Which means that the body had not only been washed and placed on ice, but removed from the room in which the murder had taken place, all before the arrival of the police. Then there is the question of whether or not death was instantaneous. The reporter for the M anayunk Sentinel quoted from part of the official transcript of the proceedings at the inquest almost word-for-word, and in his newspaper account of this murder stated that “death must have been almost instantaneous.” Dr. Wolford, who had performed the post-mortem examination on the body, never referred in his testimony to death as being “instant” or otherwise. In fact, the victim’s sister [Annie Rodgers] testified that she said to the murderer, William Wunder, “Oh! Look at her, she is dying!” Another sister of the victim [Kate Tinney], testified that she “went in but she [the victim] could not speak.” Finally, there remains the question of the hatchet and its relevance in the case. The reporter for the Manayunk Sentinel wrote that “the blunt end of a hatchet could have inflicted these wounds” [on the victim]. Dr. Wolford’s testimony never mentioned just how the various bruises and a lump were inflicted upon the victim’s body. Yet much of the testimony of the various witnesses addressed the question of the hatchet. The newspaper reported that a hatchet was “found on the floor near the body.”3 Henry R. Wolfington, the other policeman investigating the crime, testified that he “saw the hatchet at the back door in the yard at the steps.” Annie 117 MURDERS Rodgers testified that she “left the hatchet in the cellar after cutting wood.” Francis Wunder testified that he “brought the hatchet up from the cellar to break the ice.” And Martha Earl testified that she “saw Frank [Wunder] go to the cellar after the hatchet.” But no one giving testimony at the inquest said that they saw the hatchet used on the victim thereby establishing it as the murder weapon. In fact, Annie Rodgers, the only eye-witness to the murder, testified that she saw William Wunder “strike her [the victim] in the head with his fist,” he struck her not once, but three times according to Annie Rodgers. The testimony of Annie Rodgers may have been questionable due to her efforts to conceal the facts upon the arrival of the police. She later admitted under oath that “Bill told me not to say anything, but that she [the victim] fell back and got the lump on her head.” And Lt. Taylor further added in his testimony that he “saw the bruises over the left temple and marks on her face . . . [and that he] was told she [the victim] had a fall until [he] arrested her sister, her husband, and his brother.” This was when Annie Rodgers must have told the truth about what really happened.4 On August 29, 1877, the body of Elizabeth Wunder was laid to rest in the Churchyard of St.]ohn-the-Baptist in Manayunk only a few blocks from where she had met her tragic end days before.5 Her-husband William Wunder was brought to trial on September 27, 1877 and entered a plea of “not guilty.” Eleven days later [October 8, 1877] he pleaded “guilty of manslaughter” and was sentenced to five years at hard labor in the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia.6 There was no justice for Elizabeth Wunder in 1877, and it is doubtful that she ever rested in peace. Did her ghost haunt the premises of no. 124 Cedar Street in Manayunk until the demise of her husband some years later? Or does she still walk there waiting for the justice she never received? The Wissahickon Mystery (1884) It was Saturday night late injanuary, 1884. The snow had stopped falling a few hours ago. Bells Mill Road was dark, the only light coming from a sleigh approaching the bridge from the Chestnut Hill side of the Wissahickon Valley. The sleigh paused on the bridge and its sole occupant alighted looking up and down the road. No one else was about on this cold snowy night at nine o’clock. The driver of the sleigh removed three sacks from the back, and looking once again up and down the road, proceeded to throw them over the south side of the bridge into the frozen creek. The first sack made a thud as it went through the snow-covered thin ice below. Then followed the other two with a slight splash. This accom- 118 MURDERS plished, the driver mounted the sleigh, turned it about and left the valley in the direction he had entered. Five days later a fire bell sounded near Chestnut Hill and a brigade raced through the snow towards a burning Wyndmoor farmhouse. By morning the building was a smoldering ruin with no trace of its occupants. Thus began during the night of January 31-February 1, 1884 one of the most gruesome and mysteri- ous murders of the 19th century in local history. Spring had arrived in 1884 with the smell of freshly-ploughed earth carried on the March wind from the fields of Upper Roxborough just a short distance from the Red Covered Bridge on Thomas Mill Road in the valley below. Mr. Robinson and his thirteen—year-old son Archie had taken their dog with them for a walk along the creek there. It was seven o’clock on the morning of March 27, 1884, a Thursday. Archie’s dog ran along the top of the dam by the Red Covered Bridge to sniff at a canvas bag which was lying there. When his dog would not come away from it, Archie ran for his father. David Robinson went out on top of the dam to fetch back the dog and in so doing discovered that the bag contained the body of a man.7 The upper end of the Wissahickon Valley in 1884 was a part of the 22nd Ward and therefore under the jurisdiction of the 14th Police District of Germantown.8 Robinson went for help to a substation on Highland Avenue in Chestnut Hill. Returning to the dam with police officer Bolton, both men recoiled at the sight of the bag’s contents . . . a headless/legless corpse. Mr. Bolton waited three hours with this body for the Philadelphia City Coroner’s wagon to arrive on the scene. The body was then conveyed to the city morgue where Dr. Rush S. Huidekoper, the coroner’s physician, performed an autopsy on it. The autopsy was carried out in the presence of city detective Joseph Homer and William Stahl who believed the remains to be Frederick Stahl missing since October, 1883. But without a head, identification was impossible. The city coroner (Thomas J. Powers) signed the death certificate for an “unknown male corpse.” Cause of death: “unknown.” A few days later the body was interred in the City Burial Ground (“Potter’s Field”).9 Five more weeks had passed when William Huston, a police officer from the Chestnut Hill substation, was on patrol along the Wissahickon Creek. It was now May 5, 1884 and Huston noticed something in the water. Walking over to have a closer look, he found a decapitated human head badly decomposed. He promptly removed this ghastly discovery to the Chestnut Hill Police Substation. ‘0 Later that day the City Coroner took charge of the head and reopened the inquest of the headless corpse found a few weeks before. 1‘ William Stahl mistakingly identified the head from a small patch of red hair as the head of his brother Frederick. The inquest jury also mistakingly rendered a verdict on May 15, 1884 that “the body was that of Frederick Stahl and that he was murdered.”12 Not long after this a 119 MURDERS friend of Frederick Stahl (Abraham Scheuringer) offered a reward of $ 100 to the party who sent him an anonymous post card asking him (Scheuringer) to ask Albert Dieterle, Frederick Stahl’s employer, what he was doing in Germantown with his wagon the Monday after Stahl disappeared.13 The Philadelphia coroner issued a warrant for the arrest of Albert Dieterle on a charge of murder.14 Dieterle was arrested and held for a short time, but insufficient evidence connecting him with the murder of Stahl forced the police to release him. Once out of custody, Dieterle sued Abraham Scheuringer and William Stahl for $50,000 in damage to his reputation and a decline in his Kensington butchering business.15 The captivating natural beauty of the Wissahickon Valley tempted Samuel Nase of Chestnut Hill to take a walk along the creek on a beautiful spring day. There is a saying: “What is so rare as a day injuneP,” andjune 15, 1884 would be like no other day in the life of Samuel Nase. There before him at the water’s edge lay two human legs near the site of where had been found the other body parts in earlier months. ‘6 Who had done this horrible thing? The lack of an answer to this question would dub the whole matter “The Wissahickon Mystery” for more than a year to come. The murder became a sensation dominating the conversations in barber shops, stores, offices and even at supper tables throughout Roxborough- Manayunk. The Wissahickon mystery finally came to an end at nine o’clock on the morning of October 8, 1885 in a Chicago police station. There on that date appearedjohn M. Wilson, whose confession to the police, when corroborated with further medical examination of the corpse and given locations around the ruins of the Dealy farmhouse, burned in February 1884, confirmed him as the murderer of Anthony Dealy. Anthony Dealy was a resident of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, and therefore Wilson’s extradition to Norristown was quickly sought. Complications prevented his immediate trial. But in March, 1886 the Commonwealth began its case in earnest. During the trial, which lasted ten days, the gruesome story was put together like pieces of a great jigsaw puzzle. When Miles Dealy died in 1879, his youngest son Anthony received the right to rent the farmhouse and surrounding lands from the heirs of his father’s estate. Injune, 1882 he married and the following year his wife gave birth to a daughter. Mrs. Dealy had tuberculosis and needed care she could not have at home. So in October, 1883 she was removed to her mother’s house in Germantown where she died nine months later on july 11, 1884.17 With his wife ill and unable to help him on the farm, Dealy hired a young Canadian named John Marsden Wilson. Just prior to his murder, Dealy was in debt to the sum of nearly $2,000, a sizable amount of money for 1884.18 He had 120 MURDERS been unable to pay the wages owed Wilson, his hired hand. Not being paid was a grudge that eventually led Wilson to commit murder as a form of diabolical retribution. On january 26, 1884, with Mrs. Dealy and her infant daughter away in Germantown, Anthony Dealy was alone on the farm with Wilson. The funeral of a relative forced Dealy to postpone his discussion with Wilson about his past due wages. While Dealy attended this funeral, Wilson went for liquor. Before return- ing to his farmhouse, Dealy had his supper with the Earnest family who had just interred their mother that afternoon. What Mr. Dealy had eaten that evening would later confirm his identity during Wilson’s trial. About nine o’clock, Anthony Dealy returned home and laid down on his parlour couch for a nap, a nap from which he would never wake. Wilson shortly entered ‘the parlour with a butcher’s cleaver and struck the farmer on the back of the head. Then he took the body in a wheelbarrow to the barn where he proceeded to cut it up, placed the fragments in sacks, loaded them in a sleigh and drove through Chestnut Hill to Bells Mill Road. At the bridge over the creek he tossed the sacks into the Wissahickon, then returned to Wyndmoor. During the next five days,]ohn Wilson tried to sell Dealy’s livestock consisting of four cows, and some pigs. He even pawned Dealy’s watch. Witnesses at his trial stated that he was drunk at the time he attempted to sell these things. Onjanuary 28, 1884, he attempted to sell the horse and sleigh in Philadelphia to Abraham Katz.19 And three days later, he set fire to the Dealy farmhouse. William Earnest, whose house was a quarter mile away, testified at the trial: I saw a light at Dealy’s and going over at nine o’clock found the house on fire. There was no one about the place when I got there. The fire was then blazing out of the second story windows. We remained there until ten o’clock, when the building was entirely consumed. 20 Wilson next turned up at the door of William Friberg in Philadelphia to answer an advertisement for a job. F riberg hired him and he stayed there from February 4-May 4, 1884, when he left F riberg’s employ. Another Philadelphian, Mrs. William Mauer, testified that she hired Wilson from May 14-September, 1884. Mrs. Mauer continued: Thelast day he was with us, he went with me to market. On the way we met Francis Dealy. Dealy asked Wilson if he knew where Anthony Dealy was, and Wilson said he did not know. Dealy asked him if he burned down the house. Wilson said he did not.” After this confrontation with the brother of Anthony Dealy, John Wilson disappeared for nearly a year, when he surrendered himself to the Chicago police. During the trial, seventy-one witnesses were called by the prosecution. The defense tried to discredit the identity of the body parts found in the Wissahickon Creek. Most hotly contested was the question: “Is the body found in the Wis- 121 MURDERS sahickon the body of Anthony Dealy?” But the prosecution related fifteen differ- ent points in which identification of the dead body agreed with the person of Dealy, and twelve different points that showed the body could not have been that of Stahl, particularly as to height of the body, the contents of the stomach, size and character of the teeth, color and nature of the hair. judge Boyer’s charge to the jury included the following: Some witnesses swore that the body was that of S tahl, but you must be governed by the facts in the case, not by the mere opinions of the witnesses. In many points there was a striking likeness in the two men, but there were many points of difference. S tahl was the shorter man. Which of the measurements comports more nearly with the measurements of the body found? The most striking difference is the color of the hair. S tahl had light brown hair, Dealy had red hair, and testified to be like the hair found on the body. Could the light brown hair of S tahl have changed to the dark red hair found upon the body? When the stomach of the body was examined, there was found, meat and cranberries, which must have been eaten shortly before death. Anthony W. Dealy partook of those kinds of foods on the evening of his disappearance. The cranberries were very unevenly cooked. Mrs. Moss was the last person who saw Dealy alive, a short distance from his house. He must have arrived home about 9:30 o’clock. The same evening, at 8 :3 0, the prisoner appeared at a store, one mile from home, with a bottle of liquor, who told there that Dealy was home drunk. He left the store between 9 and I 0 o’clock. Did these two men meet after Wilson left the store on that fatal night.”2 The jury concluded that they had met: Gentlemen of the jury, how say you in the issue joined between the Commonwealth and john M. Wilson, the prisoner at the Bar? Guilty or not guilty? The fall of a pin might almost have been heard as Foreman Moser slowly arose and answered: Guilty. The Clerk: Guilty of what? In a solemn and distinct tone came the dreaded reply: 0f murder in the first degree. Wilson’s attorney asked to have the jury polled which was done, each juror answering clearly and distinctly, “guilty of murder in the first degree.” john Marsden Wilson was sentenced to death by the court on june 7, 1886. His attorney’s appeal postponed the execution for seven months. On the morning of january 26, 1887, the twenty-eight-year-old Canadian was led into a cold corridor of the Montgomery County Prison at Norristown, Pennsylvania, where his impassioned and remorseful last words lasted forty-five minutes. Then he was hung until dead. 122 MURDERS The Murder of Peter Campion (1910) The night of November 21, 1910 was like any other late autumn night. . . cool, quiet, and uneventful. Peter Campion had left his house at 223 Grape Street in Manayunk to go to work. He was the night watchman at West Laurel Hill Cemetery across the river. For Mr. Robinson, a mounted policeman in the Lower Merion Constabulary, the night was also no different from any other night as he rode to Cynwyd via the Belmont Road. The two men would never meet, but the events about to unfold during that night would involve them both in a tragedy and a mystery that to this day remains unsolved. It was shortly after one o’clock when Robinson noticed a flood of light on the horizon just over West Laurel Hill Cemetery. His first impression was that a fire blast from one of the furnaces at Pencoyd was the cause of the brilliant light. He was about to continue on his way when he heard the bell in the cemetery tower next to its office building. It was rung too long to be striking the hour, for it was now well past one o’clock. Robinson galloped to a higher point on the Belmont Road and there saw the burning building over one mile away, light up the dark night like a bonfire. With all haste, he rushed to the tower and the fire deep within the cemetery. Climbing the tower steps, he rang the now silent bell, arousing numer— ous caretakers who occupied small houses near the cemetery. These men vainly fought a blazing inferno with buckets of water. By the time the Bala Engine Company arrived, the building lay a smoldering black ruin with only the tower left standing. But where was Peter Campion the night watchman? Efforts to find him were immediately undertaken in all parts of the cemetery. When the search had proven fruitless, the cemetery caretakers concluded that he must have been in the burning building at the time of the fire. The Chief of the Lower Merion Police (Lt. James I. Donaghy), arrived on the scene next. When the fire debris had sufficiently cooled, he ordered it cleared away and the ruins searched. Several hours of work had passed before something was found. There in the cellar of the ruins were a watch and a penknife near a small pile of human bones. Not a shred of clothing or a portion of a body lay among the ashes where the bones had been found. The finding of human bones necessitated the summoning of the County Coroner Goseph N. King) from Norristown, who conducted his examination and inquest at the scene of the fire due to the condition of the bones. Lt. Donaghy’s investigation however, continued around the coroner’s examination well into the night as evidence came to light that this was no mere fire, but a possible murder and indeed a bungled attempt to rob the cemetery office safe as well. The contents of the safe, including $100 and numerous papers, were found intact. But a hole about seven inches in diameter was found on the side of the safe along with a number of dents, possibly made by a crowbar which had also been 123 MURDERS unearthed. All those present, assumed that the bones found in the cellar of the ruins were thOse of Peter Campion. Four days later (November 25, 1910) these bones were quietly interred in St. Mary’s Churchyard on Lemonte Street in Roxborough. 23 Almost at once the local press flashed the news abroad. MURDERED MAN WAS CREMATED: AMATEUR SAFE CRACKERS KILL CEMETERY WATCHMAN: THE POLICE BELIEVE THAT MANAYUNK TOUGHS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR LAUREL HILL TRAGEDY—CORONER KING IS MAKING AN INVESTIGATION?4 ROBBERY, MURDER AND ARSON, FEATURES OF BRUTAL CRIME: COMMITTED IN A MOST UNLIKELY PLACE, WITHIN THE WEST LAUREL HILL CEMETERY.‘25 But was Peter Campion really murdered? Were the bones found in the ruins really his? It was seriously doubted by many that the bones found in the ruins after the fire were those of Peter Campion, the night watchman. The coroner was not even sure, for he reported: I am unable to determine at this time what caused death. C ampion was night watchman. A few human bones were found, also a watch, keys, knife (near body). The balance of the body was consumed by fire, the building having been burned down. ”26 You will notice how carefully worded the coroner’s report is. It states only the facts, but does not say that the bones and Peter Campion are one and the same. Where determining the age and sex of a skeleton is possible today, such was not the case in 1910. “Forensic Pathology” was primitive at the time of the fire. The newspaper reported that “Two of his [Campion’s] sons identified the watch and knife found in the ruins.” But they did not identify the bones as those of Peter Campion. How could they? How could anyone? Even the city of Philadelphia accepted the dubious identity of these bones on the word of the Montgomery County Coroner, when they issued the Burial or Removal Permit. Such a permit is required before a body (or bones in this case) could be transported into another county. The coroner’s dubious statement that “the balance of the body was consumed by fire . . . ”quoted from the coroner’s inquest records above, caught the attention of the press. The following day they reported: MYSTERY SURROUNDS CEME- TERY FIRE: WATCHMAN PETER CAMPION MAY BE LIVING.——THERE ARE SOME DOUBTS THAT BONES FOUND IN RUINS ARE THOSE OF THE AGED MAN—TIME TOO SHORT AND FIRE NOT F IERCE ENOUGH FOR ABSOLUTE CREMATION, IT IS CLAIMED.27 Apparently several eminent physicians were called in concerning the bones and the fire that supposedly cremated them. These physicians claimed that a man of the build of Campion, who was said to weigh about 200 pounds or over, could not have been burned to ashes, because the fatty portion of the body would have roasted like a piece of pork for hours longer than the fire was in progress. 28 124 MURDERS Cremation experts from the crematorium on Washington Lane, German- town, stated that it takes eight hours to cremate a body after the crematory has been heated to a white heat, and the body prepared for burning; therefore (innitheir opinion) no body could be entirely consumed in a fire the character of the kind that destroyed the oflice at West Laurel H ill. 29 It is common knowledge among physicians, that the skull is generally consid- ered to be the hardest part of human anatomy. That the skull should be burned while pelvic bones remain, is not scientifically possible. There were several theories presented at the time of the fire as to what happened which help to bring into perspective the various possibilities that were'or might have been overlooked by those investigating this crime: No. 1 -Joseph King, the Montgomery County Coroner stated to reporters that he “believed that the robbers struck the watchman when he discovered them, and finding that the blow killed him, fired the building to conceal the crime.” He did not include these remarks in his inquest docket, however, possibly because the skull had not been found with the other bones. No. 2 — “Campion, on finding the building in flames, became frightened over the thought of being blamed for not strictly attending to his duty, and ran away.” If this was so, then whose bones were found in the cellar and who is buried in St. Mary’s Churchyard? No. 3 - “If the burglars were surprised at work by Campion, he was robbed and killed by the robbers and that they, after possibly throwing his body in the Schuylkill River to hide the crime of murder, then left the watch and keys in the office before setting it on fire to lead to the suspicion that he had been burned.” Apparently no one thought of this idea because no mention is made of an effort to drag the river for a body. Although this last theory has great possibilities for being the most true, there is still the nagging question of whose bones were found in the cellar? One fact is certain. They were not the bones or remains of the night watchman because of the scientific facts surrounding the process of cremation and the physical anatomy of the human body aforementioned. It has been nearly eighty years since this murder occurred, and there appears to be no written evidence that the case was ever closed by the police. Yet there remains the mystery. What happened to Peter Campion? Whose bones were found in the cellar? And who is really buried in St. Mary’s Churchyard, Roxborough, under Peter Campion’s name? 125 MURDERS (1) Norristown Herald and Free Press: (May 7, 1851), p 3. (2) Ibid: (May 14, 1851), p. 2. (3) Manayunk Sentinel: (August 31, 1877), p. 2. (4) Philadelphia City Coroner’s Evidence Book, 1877, pp. 388-390. (5) Death Certificate of Elizabeth Wunder. (August 26, 1877). (6) Quarter Sessions Docket, September Term, 1877, p. 386. (7) Norristown Times "Herald: (March 16, 1886). (8) John Daly and Allen Weinberg, Genealogy of Philadelphia County Subdivisions. (Philadelphia: City of Philadelphia. Department of Records, 1966), pp. 72, 73. (9) Philadelphia County Death Register, I 884, p. 159. (10) Germantown Guide: (May 10, 1884), p. 2. (11) Ibid. (12) Manayunk Sentinel: (May 22, 1884), p. (13) Germantown Guide: (May 10, 1884), p. (14) Manayunk Sentinel: (May 22, 1884), p. (15) Germantown Guide: (May 31, 1884), p. (16) National Defender: (March 16, 1886), p. 2. (17) Death Register, 1884. Vol. II., p. 25 (Phila. Co. Pa.) (18) Miscellaneous Book No. 23 (Montg. Co.) Assignment of Interest. A. W. Dealy to Francis Dealy, Exec. November 19, 1883, p. 362. (19) Norristown Times Herald: (March 16, 1886). (20) Ibid. (21) Ibid. (22) Ibid: (March 23, 1886), p. 2. (23) Burial or Removal Permit No. 28259. (November 22, 1910) Archives Division. Department of Records. City of Philadelphia. (24) Norristown Daily Herald: (November 22, 1910), p. 1. (25) Manayunk Sentinel: (November 23, 1910), p. 1. (26) Coroner’s Docket, 1910, p. 141; Entry no. 1471. County of Montgomery (PA). (27) Norristown Daily Herald: (November 23, 1910), p. 3. (28) Ibid. (29) Ibid. 2. 2. 2. 2. 126 NEWSPAPERS THE ADVANCE: published at Manayunk from 1887 to 1909 by its editor D.W. Seltzer. In 1908 H.S. Henno became its publisher and editor and changed the name to the Twenty-first Ward Advance.l CHRONICLE AND ADVERTISER: the fourth newspaper published in Manayunk, was first issuedJanuary 1, 1869 byJames Milligan at 105 Grape Street, Manayunk. Its office later moved to the corner of Main and Levering Streets. For many years the paper was printed in the city at various places, and was later printed and issued from its own type and press at its own office.2 It was published for the last time on October 22, 1931. MANAYUNK COURIER: was first issuedJanuary 1, 1848, by Richard Beresford. It was printed in Manayunk, and the first office was at the corner of Green Lane and Main Street. It was then removed to 133 Mulberry Street (Carson). After an existence of ten weeks, it was issued for the last time on March 18, 1848.3 MANAYUNK REVIEW: first published on January 4, 1900 in Manayunk at 4412-4414 Main Street. In 1948 the press was removed to Roxborough and the name changed to “The Review.” This newspaper is still published although it has now become a subsidiary of a news agency. MANAYUNK SENTINEL: came into existence November 5, 1870, withJosephus Yeakel as its editor and proprietor. In 1883 this newspaper was issued from 4402- 4406 Cresson Street, Manayunk.4 It was issued for the last time on April 26, 1917. Various “subtitles” were added and removed from the masthead throughout this newspaper’s long period of publication. See appendix “C” for variations. MANAYUNK STAR: was the second paper published in Manayunk. The first number appeared on Saturday afternoon, February 5, 1859, the publishers being D.B. Potts and James H. Scott. D.B. Potts retired October 6, 1859, and J. Lewis Scott became associated in its subsequent publication untilJanuary 12, 1860, when the co-partnership was dissolved, and thereafter the paper was published by J. 127 NEWSPAPERS Lewis Scott, who continued to issue it regularly until August 9, 1862, when owing to the Civil War, its publication was suspended.5 THE REVIEW: (see “Manayunk Review”). ROXBOROUGH INDEPENDENT: was first published in 1913 by Curtis E. Blinsinger its publisher and editor. In 1916, Harold B. Tyson became its publisher and editor and continued the work until 1920 when the newspaper was issued for the last time.6 ROXBOROUGH INTELLIGENCER: was a very short-lived weekly, first pub- lished by Daniel Rodney King in 1875. The paper folded the following year (1876).7 ROXBOROUGH NEWS: began publication in 1895. George G. Gunn, Cornelius L. Wells, and Harold E. Hillman served as its manager and editor at various times during the period the paper was issued. In 1928 the name of this newspaper was changed to “The Roxborough Times” when Isaac M. Walker joined the staff. Robert D. Towne became the editor.8 The weekly newspaper entitled “The Roxborough Times” presently published by Paul Bryson at 7611 Ridge Avenue has no connection with the earlier newspaper of the same name, now long defunct. ROXBOROUGH TIMES: (see “Roxborough News”). SUBURBAN PRESS: was first published inJanuary, 1929 at 6100 Ridge Avenue, with AC. Chadwick as its editor. It served the areas of Roxborough, Manayunk, Wissahickon, East Falls, and West Manayunk (now Belmont Hills). It was pub- lished for the last time on December 24, 1970. TWENTY-FIRST WARD ADVANCE: (see “The Advance”). (1) A Checklist of Pennsylvania Newspapers. (Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Historical Commission, 1944). Vol. I, p. 301. (2) Scharf 8: Westcott: Histmy of Philadelphia, 1609—1884. Vol. III, p. 2040. (3) Ibid. Vol. III, p. 2020. (4) Ibid. Vol. III, p. 2043. (5) Ibid. Vol. III, p. 2031. (6) A Checklist of Pennsylvania Newspapers; p. 277. (7) Ibid. p. 277. (8) Ibid. p. 323. 128 PARKS Gorgas Park Named for Susan Gorgas who bequeathed to the city of Philadelphia in 1893, five acres of land at Ridge 8c Hermitage Streets, with the proviso that it be used as a public park forever.‘ The city increased the acreage of this park through the acquisition of three other tracts of adjoining land belonging to Joseph K. Wise (1895), William M. Somerset (1897), and jacob Wright (1897). When an agreement of sale could not be reached between the city and the Wise family, the Mayor (Edwin S. Stuart) signed an ordinance to authorize the immediate opening of the park in 1895. This ordinance paved the way for the , seizure of the Wise tract and also that of jacob Wright for “public use.” The seizure was carried out through condemnation of all three tracts mentioned above. Compensation was awarded the owners of these tracts under the ordinance that opened the park.2 The design and location of the war memorial standing in this park was approved by the Department of Art jury of the City of Philadelphia in 1919 pending the submission of a modal or photographs.3 In 1920 the location was changed for the present site and a modal of the memorial approved with the suggestion that trees be planted to provide a vista.4 It was formally dedicated on November 13, 1920. An attempt to sell a part of the park to the school board in 1947 led to the granting of a deed which was quickly revoked when it was discovered that the city did not have clear title.5 Through another ordinance issued in 1949, the city provided the school board with a lease, renewable every twenty-five years there- after. The land in question became known as “Westerman Field” on which Roxborough High School has played football ever since. Kendrick Recreation Center Located on the northwest corner of Ridge Avenue and Pennsdale Street, Roxborough, and named for W. Freeland Kendrick, Mayor of Philadelphia, 1924- 129 PARKS 1928. Its main building was completed and opened to the public on October 9, 1929.6 The pool was erected in 1925.7 The property, bounded by Ridge Avenue, Pennsdale Street, Mitchell Street, and Roxborough Avenue, was purchased by the city of Philadelphia for play— ground and park purposes in 1915.8 In 1917 the city acquired an additional tract of land from George Campbell on which stood a twin Victorian house demolished later for the completion ofa tennis court. Mr. Campbell died about 1918 and legal encumbratures of his estate held up construction of the main building for a number of years.9 The cornerstone was finally laid on December 29, 1927, and the building dedicated on January 5, 1928.10 Manayunk Park Located on the northwest corner of Silverwood 8c Rector Streets and com- monly known as “Pretzel Park.” This park was created from six lots of ground acquired by the city through an ordinance (1915) and several “fee-simple” deeds. The park, bounded by Silverwood, Rector, Cresson, and Cotton Streets was named for the town in which it stands and opened to the public by Mayor Rudolph Blankenburg in 1916.11 “No Name Park” Located on the southeast corner of Rochelle (formerly Ridge) Avenue and Sumac Street in Wissahickon. This park was formerly the land of the Wissahickon Passenger Railway (trolley) Company. The city of Philadelphia acquired this lot on December 13, 1927 by an ordinance of Mayor W. Freeland Kendrick for the purpose of changing the direction of Ridge Avenue to an overpass constructed during the grade eliminations of the old Reading Railroad.l2 The trolley barn, erected in 1895, was cut in half during this work in 1927 and sealed up. It was only after years of neglect and complaints about its condition by local residents, that the building was levelled by the city on July 10, 1937 .13 (l) journal of the Common Council of the City of Philadelphia from April 3, 1893 to September 28, 1893, Vol. I; p. 106, Appendix 89. (2) Ordinances of the City of Philadelphia, 1895, pp. 28-29. (3) Department of the Art jury - 9th Annual Report, 1919. Submission No. 929, p. 26. (4) Department of the Art jury — 10th Annual Report, 1920. Submission No. 929, p. 38. (5) Deed: WMG:241;282 (1897) (6) Chronicle 69’ Advertiser: (October 10, 1929), p. 1. (7) Ibid: (October 3, 1929), p. 1. 130 PARKS (8) Philadelphia City Archives. Record Series 63.5, (Deeds to City Property); Folder 15-Y, Box: A- 2604, W. Freeland Kendrick Recreation Center. (9) Deed: JMH:304;556 - George Campbell to City of Philadelphia, (1917). (10) Chronicle 69’ Advertiser: (October 10, 1929), p. 1. (11) Ordinances 0f the City of Philadelphia, 1915. pp. 39-40. (12) Ordinances 0f the City of Philadelphia, 1927. pp. 768-769. (13) Suburban Press: (July 10, 1937). 131 $8.3QO Nsfioswg fiiEcfiSN Kc agtzs 83nd .53» wE30=8 2: «55358 23, comausbmcoo .mmfi Aim?» 28m: Z womomokm 2: mo 22:32.8 MUBEBM BEL PHYSICIANS DR. THOMAS WILLIAM BOON: was born on March 1, 1874 and graduated from the Medical School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1897. He married Miss Harriet Lee in the Central Methodist Episcopal Church of Roxborough on June 1 1, 1901. This marriage produced one child, Thomas F. Boon. His office and residence from 1900-1937 was at 215 Green Lane, Manayunk. Dr. Boon died on March 31, 1937 and was interred in West Laurel Hill Cemetery.‘ DR. HARRY STOBER CARMANY: was born onjuly 14, 1868 to Cyrus P. and Adeline S. Carmany, both of Philadelphia. Dr. Carmany received his MD. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1893. He married Miss Geraldine Girton, a head nurse at Friends’ Hospital, on April 23, 1922 in Christ Church, 2nd 8c Market Streets, Philadelphia. Dr. Carmany was a captain in the Medical Reserve Corps during the Great War (1917-1918) and served at the base hospital at Camp Devens, Ayer, Mass. He left the army with the rank of“Major.” His office was located at 366 Green Lane. Dr. Carmany died on his birthday in 1934 and was interred in Leverington Cemetery.‘2 DR. CHRISTOPHER A. FRAME: born in Pennsylvania in December, 1845. He received his MD. from the Penn Medical University in 1876. Onjuly 14, 1868, he married Miss Sallie E. Hoffman in Ebenezer Methodist Episcopal Church, Manayunk. Dr. Frame was the father of nine children. He conducted his practice from 128 Gay Street, Manayunk, and after 1900 from 4337 Dexter Street.3 DR. MILTON HOWARD FUSSELL: was well known in the Roxborough- Manayunk area for thirty-seven years. He was born November 24, 1856 at Belvidere in Chester County, Pennsylvania, the son of Milton and Tamar (Haldeman) F uSsell. Both his parents were members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). Dr. Fussell graduated from the medical school of the Universi- ty of Pennsylvania in 1884. That same year he married Miss Sarah E. Entwistle on May 3, in Mount Zion Methodist Episcopal Church, Manayunk. In 1901, he was made assistant professor of medicine, and in 1911 was advanced to professor of applied therapeutics at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. F ussell was commis- 133 PHYSICIANS sioned a captain on the Army Medical Board in 1917 and served at Fort Niagara and at Gettysburg. He died on October 15, 1921 on a train returning from a patient who resided in Lock Haven.4 DR. ALVA LORRAINE HUDDERS: was born on August 29, 1861 at New London, Pennsylvania. He received his MD. from jefferson Medical College in 1886. On October 30, 1889, he married Miss Annie M. Larkins. This marriage produced one child, Eleanor born in March, 1895. Annie Hudders died shortly thereafter and Dr. Hudders married again. On june 5, 1900, he married Miss Catherine Ashworth in the Episcopal Church of the Covenant, Philadelphia. Dr. Hudders had various residences from which he practiced medicine, 2033 N. 8th Street; 450 Lyceum Avenue; and in 1899 at 452 Green Lane in Roxborough.5 DR. SAMUEL COOKE INGRAHAM: was born in the Bahamas injune, 1850. He married Miss Elizabeth C. Rich in the Central Methodist Episcopal Church of Roxborough, on April 19, 1877. They had two children, Norman born in October, 1879 and Florence born in October, 1884. Norman followed in his father’s footsteps and became a doctor. In 1900, Dr. Ingraham practiced medicine at 125 Sumac Street in Wissahickon. It is not known when he died.6 DR. HENRY KEIM: was born on july 2, 1812 in Philadelphia to jacob and Mary (Bradley) Keim. He received his A.B. fromjefferson College in 1836, and his MD. from the University ofPennsylvania in 1841. In May of 1847 he married Miss Mary Hester Allen. His death occurred at 4417 Main Street, Manayunk on December 11, 1894.7 DR. BENJAMIN RHOADS PELTZ: was born on February 24, 1843 in Trappe, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. He was the son of john and Maria (Rhoads) Peltz. In 1867, he received his MD. from the University of Pennsylvania. His practice appears to have been limited to a position as physician to the Roxborough Poor House, although it is not certain which one as there were two. One at Ridge Avenue 8c Righter Street, and another on Henry Avenue where the Farm School now stands. Dr. Peltz never married and lived for a time at 8948 Ridge Avenue.8 DR. WILLIAM CHARLES TODD: was born in Ireland on February 8, 1824 to James and Mary (Gray) Todd. After receiving his MD. from jefferson Medical College in 1855, he married Sophia Flaherty on january 24, 1856. Their marriage produced two sons, William Crozier (1859-1889) and James C. Todd who later became a druggist. Dr. Todd was the police surgeon of the 13th District (Manayunk). He died at his residence (421 Lyceum Avenue) in Roxborough on October 3, 1907. Although a member of the Leverington Presbyterian Church, he 134 PHYSICIANS was interred in St. Timothy’s Churchyard possibly due to his connection with St. Timothy’s Hospital.9 DR. WILLIAM BUDD TRITES: was born on August 22, 1846 at Sunbury, Nothumberland County, Pennsylvania, to Dr. David T. and Sarah H. Trites. He received his MD. from Hahnemann Medical College in 1869. Dr. Trites married Miss Amanda C. Sutton of Middletown, Delaware on August 2, 1871. They had three children. He died on january 19, 1890 and was interred in West Laurel Hill Cemetery. At the time of his death, he was a professor at Hahnemann Medical College.10 (1) Sources: Philadelphia County Medical Register. Vol. V1, p. 19. United States Census, 1900: Penna.; Phila. Co.; Ward 21; E.D. 462; sheet 12-A; Line 14. (2) Sources: Philadelphia County Medical Register. Vol. IV, p. 1136. Philadelphia Inquirer: (Iuly 15, 1934) “Obituary.” (3) Sources: Philadelphia County Medical Register. Vol. I, p. 304. United States Census, 1900: Penna.; Phila. Co.; Ward 21; E.D. 461; Sheet 2-B; Line 64. , (4) Sources: Philadelphia County Medical Register. Vol. II, p. 1852. United States Census, 1 900: Penna.; Phila. Co.; Ward 21; E.D. 454; Sheet 5-A; Line 14. Alumni records. University of Pennsylvania. “Obituary” (October 16, 1921). (5) Sources: Philadelphia County Medical Register. Vol. II, p. 2225. United States Census, 1900: Penna.; Phila. Co.; Ward 21; E.D. 469; Sheet l-A; Line 1. Marriage Licence No. 29951 (1889 Philadelphia); Marriage Licence No. 124869 (1900 Philadelphia). (6) Sources: United States Census, 1900: Penna.; Phila. Co.; Ward 21; E.D. 472; Sheet 2-A; Line 33. Philadelphia County Marriage Register, 1877, p. 26. (7) Sources: Philadelphia County Medical Register. Vol. I, p. 295. Philadelphia County Death Register, 1894. Entry No. 11705. (8) Sources: Philadelphia County Medical Register. Vol. II, p. 1276. University of Pennsylvania. Alumni Records. (9) Sources: Philadelphia County Medical Register. Vol. I, p. 332. United States Census, 1900: Penna.; Phila. Co.; Ward 21 ; E.D. 469; Sheet 10—A; Line 4. Philadelphia County Death Register, 1 907. Entry No. 24932. (10) Sources: Philadelphia County Medical Register. Vol. I, p. 819. Philadelphia County Death Register, 1890, p. 76. Manayunk Sentinel: (Ianuary 23, 1890), p. 2. 135 The new uniform for the Philadelphia Police, 1892. (Photo courtesy of the Philadel— phia City Archives.) 136 POLICE HISTORY Before the Consolidation Act (1854) was passed that merged the county and city of Philadelphia into a single municipal form of government, law and order were maintained by township-appointed “watchmen” in Roxborough, and the infrequent visits of the county sheriff. The Township of Roxborough appears to have never been incorporated and thus was unable to provide its inhabitants with an organized and paid police force. On the other hand, the Borough of Manayunk was granted the right to incorporate in 1840 and established its own borough police force headed by a “High Constable” appointed by the borough council. A jail did exist in Manayunk as early as 1841 for considerable attention was given in the Manayunk borough council minutes to the reports of their “Lock—Up-House Committee” concerning its use and maintenance.‘ Then in 1853 the criminal element must have gotten out of hand for the borough established the “Manayunk Secret Police.” The borough council minutes read thus: Resolved that Committee on vice and immorality be and are hereby authorized and empowered to employ such number of persons as they may deem proper who shall act under their direction as a Secret Police? The city of Philadelphia’s authority where police matters were concerned, ended at its borders. That is to say, Vine Street and no further north. Hence, the apprehension of the criminal element became increasingly more difficult as the population grew and expanded beyond the city borders into surrounding districts, boroughs, and townships within the county. In an attempt to curb criminal activity within its own boundaries and to apprehend fleeing miscreants, the city of Philadelphia introduced in the Pennsyl- vania Legislature, a bill which would establish a police district within the bound- aries of the city and maintain a police force that had authority not only within the city but in seven surrounding districts as well. This bill was enacted on May 3, 1850.3 Roxborough-Manayunk however, was not one of these seven districts, but the city’s police control over other parts of the county was increasing. 137 POLICE HISTORY Meanwhile, Manayunk’s police appeared to have become more brutal than the criminals they sought. The borough minutes continue: ._ . . that Police Committee be requested to inquire of B orough Solicitor what kind of arms may be carried by the Police Officers of the Borough. 4 Certain police officers were removed from the force for carrying non- regulation weapons and failed to surrender their badges which led to further comment in the borough council’s minutes: On Motion of M r. E. Preston, the Police Committee are directed to call on the former Police Ofi‘icers, who have in their possession M aces or badges and request them to give them up, or return them to the Council and if they refuse, to proceed against them according to law. 5 The problem of supressing criminal activity within the county without politi- cal squables over jurisdictions, ended with the passage of the Act of Consolidation in 1854. This act resulted in the merging of the county and city of Philadelphia, the abolition of the borough of Manayunk and the township of Roxborough, and the reuniting of Manayunk with Roxborough as a single ward of the city. Onjuly 28, 1854 the city councils reorganized the police department through an ordinance which made each ward of the city a separate police district with its own police station, subject to the office of the city’s department of police in city hall then located at 5th 8c Chestnut Streets.6 There appears to be no written evidence of the exact location of the first police station house in the Twenty-first Ward. One would assume that the logical place for such a station house would be in the most densely populated area of the ward, in Manayunk. A second station house was erected in 1869 on the east side of Station Street below Cotton in Manayunk.7 Population growth and the increase in crime that accompanied it, necessitated a larger station house nineteen years later. In 1889, the 13th Police District Station on Station Street was removed to a newly completed building on the northeast corner of Main & Carson Streets, Manayunk.8 As the population began to expand in Lower Roxborough, pressure was brought to bear on the city councils for more police protection. This led to the establishment of a sub-station in the lower end of Roxborough that would be subject to the Manayunk command. The new building (demolished 1984) was opened in 1892 at 473 Leverington Avenue west of Ridge Avenue.9 During the 19203, the populations of both Manayunk and Roxborough began to increase once again, requiring a restructuring of the 13th Police District. Thus in 1928, the 43rd Police District was created to cover Upper and Lower Roxborough, while the older 13th District retained control of Manayunk.10 Another restructuring of police districts within the Twenty-first Ward was carried out in 1949, when the 43rd Police District was given jurisdiction over the entire ward including Manayunk. The 13th Police District was then abolished.ll 138 POLICE HISTORY But the population of the ward was still growing and the little sub-station on Leverington Avenue, now the command center of the largest ward in the city’s northwest section, proved inadequate. The old Manayunk Police Station could not be reopened because it had been sold at auction to the highest bidder on November 14, 1951. The police station on Station Street had by this time become a public bath house, leaving the city with the only choice open to it . . . build anew. The fifth and present station house was completed on the southwest corner of Ridge Avenue 8c Cinnaminson Street about 1952. At the same time the 43rd Police District was then renamed the 5th and now covers the entire ward. (l) Manayunk Borough Council Minutes, 1840-1852. Vol. I., p. 30 (2) Manayunk Corporation Minute—Book No. 2: (Ianuary 3, 1853), p. 3 (3) Russell F. Weigley, et al, Philadelphia: a 300—Year History. (New York: Norton, 1982), p. 359. (4) Manayunk Corporation Minute—Book No. 2: (June 6, 1853), p. 37. (5) Ibid, p. 369. (6) Weigley, op. cit., p. 369 (7) Philadelphia City Archives. Record Series 63.5, (Deeds to City Property); Box: 36-U. 13th District Police Station. (8) Manayunk Sentinel: (july 18, 1889), p. 2 (9) Ibid, (Ianuary 6, 1892). (10) joseph H. Paist, Manual of City Councils of Philadelphia for 1928—1929. (Philadelphia: G.F. Lasher, 1928). (11) Suburban Press: (December 29, 1949), p. 1. 139 AW‘WERX Wag)“ VW~\ ‘ w’"'wu\ "1 m” g, a...“ . m...“ - A A , STRUSE & HAMILTON ”an “m mum I % .HQ‘!”WKFII{,3 4365 Mam Street, Manayunk. (mzv «AW A LKY) ALUAAAAA AAA AND STEAM FITTING ALL KINDS OF SHEET METAL WORK. Galvanized Shingles and Cornices more REPAIRED AND REPAINTED HEATERS AND RANGES. fab f, a, fiittfrzgs, and Pipe 0/ all kinds magma!!!) 01; hand ' Pipe cm. in Order at Short. Notice AAAAAAAAA ATTENTM mm W AAAAAAAA WAAA. AX}! ()r‘dt‘m left in ear charge will be executed in a worb manilke manner and satisfaction guaranteed. V, Gina Fifiures Furnished at Manufacturera’ Prices Newspaper advertisement of 1887. Struse & Hamilton preceded E. C. Struse 1n the local plumbing trade. 140 POST OFFICE HISTORY During the mid—19th, early 20th centuries, there existed three postal stations within the Twenty-first Ward. Manayunk The first record of a post office at Manayunk appears in an 1865 city directory, listed as “Mail Station” letter “I” on Main near Grape Street. This “station” apparently removed in 1870 to Main below Mechanic (now Roxborough) Avenue. By 1880, station “I” was removed to 4448 Main Street just below Green Lane on the canal side of the street. According to city atlases and directories, station “I” remained at that location for the next forty—nine years. In 1929, a new, and by all accounts the fourth post office built in Manayunk, opened on December 30. Located at 132-136 Levering Street and designed by the architect Charles A. Quinn, this structure slightly resembled its Roxborough counterpart erected about the same time. 1 The post office at 132 Levering Street was abandoned about 1978 when a new office opened at Main 8c Carson Streets, the site of the old Manayunk District 13 Police Station from 1888-1949. Roxborough Was establishedjune 23 1823 with Aaron Levering as its first postmaster. The name was changed on November 9, 1831 from “Roxborough” to “Leverington.”2 A Roxborough sub-station first appears in city directories in 1886. No address is given and the listing merely reads “Roxborough Sub-Station.” This station ap- parently received a number by 1898 when it was listed as “Sub-Station No. 23.” The number was changed in 1900 to “N0. 35.” Although no address is given in city directories from 1898 to 1907, an 1892 city atlas gives the location in a building near Morrison’s Drug Store. 3 The number of this sub-station was again changed in 1907 to “No. 61” and the first listing of an address is given at 5107 Ridge Avenue. From 1907-1911 this sub—station number and address remained the same, but subsequent years produced no listing at all. This does not imply that the office did not exist however. The next listing to appear since 1911 occurred in 1927, when 141 POST OFFICE HISTORY the station became a “carrier station” at 6119 Ridge Avenue (now Peck Miller’s Bar). About 1929, a new post office was completed at 508 Green Lane east of Ridge, Where now operates a beer distribution store. In 1961 the post office was again removed to its present location at 555 E. Green Lane where a new post office was completed. Andora Although a sub-station is reputed to have existed in an inn near Port Royal 8c Ridge Avenues, first evidence of it appears in city directories as “Andora” (spelled with a single “r”) in 1886. From 1906 onward, it was known as the “Andora Sub- Station N o. 34” and last appears in city directories in 1911. It is believed to have been closed in 1929 when the Roxborough Sub-Station became a carrier station and assumed mail delivery for the Andorra area. A sub-station now exists at the back of the Andorra Drug Store, but in View of the fact that the population of Upper Roxborough has quadrupled since 1960, it is a wonder that steps have not by now been taken to create a new post office. (1) Suburban Press: (Ianuary 2, 1930). (2) Manayunk Sentinel: (lune 27, 1873), p. 2. (3) G.W. Bromley, Atlas of the City of Philadelphia Volume 12 (let Ward). (Philadelphia: G.W. Bromley, 1892), plate no. 7. 142 SCHOOLS PAROCHIAL ASSUMPTION OF B.V.M. PARISH SCHOOL (Roman Catholic): Now known as St. Mary-of—the-Assumption, was erected in 1867 on Oak (Conarroe) Street west of Wood (Silverwood) Street in Manayunk to educate the children of a German- speaking congregation. This school building was enlarged through the erection of an addition in 1872.1 The 1867 building was demolished and replaced by a new one which opened September 8, 1908.2 The school is still in operation. HOLY FAMILY PARISH SCHOOL (Roman Catholic): was established in 1906 and first held classes in the church’s old chapel. This chapel was demolished in 1911 to make way for a new school building. The architect, George I. Lovatt, Sr., designed a three-story building of dressed granite and limestone trim, having an auditorium and eight classrooms. Its cornerstone was laid on May 14, 191 l, and the school opened in September of the same year. In March, 1954, Holy Family Church purchased a lot at Fountain 8c Fowler Streets, for the purpose of erecting an annex. The annex to this school, designed by the son of the architect who had built the 191 1 building (George I. Lovatt, Jr.) was completed in September, 1958. The school is still in operation today. IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY PARISH SCHOOL (Roman Catholic): Commonly referred to as “I.H.M.,” construction began on December 8, 1953 on land sold'to the church by the Houston Estate of Chestnut Hill.3 The building is probably the work of the architect George M. Ewing of Philadelphia, designer of the church adjacent. Included in the design of the building was a chapel used until the completion of the parish church in 1965. The chapel was then turned into classroom space. Children of this parish attended classes at Holy Family R.C. School in nearby Manayunk until I.H.M. School was opened. Formal dedication of this school occurred onjune 5, 1955. An annex was added in 1981, consisting of additional classrooms and an auditorium/cafeteria.4 143 SCHOOLS ST. JOHN’S HIGH SCHOOL (Roman Catholic): formally the Schofield Mansion located at the corner of Pechin 8c Seville Streets, was purchased in 1921 by St.]ohn- the-Baptist R.C. Church, Manayunk, for use as a secondary school for the boys of that parish. The building was dedicated in September, 1922. A fire badly damaged this school in December, 1933,5 but it was rebuilt and reopened in March, 1934. St. john’s High School was closed in 1956, and later demolished. An apartment complex occupies the site today. ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST PARISH SCHOOL (Roman Catholic): was begun on March 20, 1878 and completed one year later on March 5, 1879. After forty-two years of use, this school was gutted by fire on August 8, 1921 leaving only its walls intact. Reconstruction began at once and the school reopened April 17, 1922. The school is still in active use today. ST. JOSEPHAT’S PARISH SCHOOL (Roman Catholic): built on ground for- merly used as a churchyard by the old Fourth Reformed Church (see Cemeteries). Ground was broken for the school on August 27, 1912 and its cornerstone laid on October 20th of the same year. The architect Louis H. Giele designed a building of brick fronting on Grape Street west of Silverwood. This school was enlarged in 1927 with an addition erected at the rear of Giele’s building. The school continues in use after seventy-five years. ST. LUCY’S PARISH SCHOOL (Roman Catholic): erected on property pur- chased in 1953 at 148 Green Lane, Manayunk. Ground was broken onjanuary 14, 1956 and the building completed nine months later. Although erected for the education of the children of an Italian congregation, any child of any race or national origin may attend. This church was without its own school for nearly thirty years and its children were sent to other parochial schools in the area. It is still an active school. ST. TIMOTHY’S SCHOOL (Episcopal): Began on September 29, 1868 as a night school for the free education of children and adults who were forced by economic necessity to work during the day in the mills of Manayunk.6 The school first met in the parish house behind the church. In 1873 this night school became the foundation of the “institute” affiliated with “St. Timothy’s Workingmen’s Club” in Wissahickon.7 The Parish School was established in 1873,8 and continued until the late 1920s when it suspended classes for a period of about fifteen years. In 1943 it was reopened and within two years employed nineteen teachers with an enrollment of one hundred students under the age of eight years alone.9 St. Timothy’s School 144 SCHOOLS continues today as a private school with no connection to the parish other than the use of its buildings. PUBLIC ANDORA SCHOOL: containing four classrooms, was erected in 1870 by the architect Lewis H. Esler on the southeast corner of Ann (Eva) Street and Shawmont Avenue. This property was exchanged for an adjoining lot in 1927 at the southwest corner of the same intersection, and a new school building named “Shawmont” was erected.10 The 1870 building was demolished sometime after 1940, having been in use up to that year as a community center.11 BLOCK SCHOOL: (see Schuylkill School) COOK SCHOOL: (see Fairview School) CREASE SCHOOL: named for Alfred Crease, a prominent resident of Roxborough and mill owner. The Crease School stands on property purchased in 1873 from Isaac and Patience Rittenhouse. The architect Lewis H. Esler created a one-story gray stone building to which was added a small teacher’s room in 1900. This school, completed in 1875, replaced an earlier one known as the “Old Rittenhouse Academy” which was erected by public subscription in 1839 on the west side of Wissahickon Avenue north of Walnut Lane.12 DICKINSON GRAMMAR SCHOOL: (see Roxborough Public School) DOBSON SCHOOL: (see Schuylkill School) FAIRVIEW SCHOOL: so called because it once held a grand view over Manayunk and the river below. It was erected on the west side of Manayunk Avenue south of Green Lane by the architect Lewis H. Esler who completed it on February 1, 1878. After 1913, the name was changed to “joel Cook.”13 About 1922, the Manayunk School on Green Lane was made an annex of this school. The Fairview (Joel Cook) School was closed in 1968 when it merged with the Wissahickon School in a new building at Salaignac and Righter Streets in Wissahickon. Vandals torched the building during the night of March 30-31, 1975 which resulted in its demolition shortly thereafter.14 GREEN LANE SCHOOL: (see Manayunk School) 145 Ens: 5.5 SEESE 2: as 32:8 82% 65:0qu 336 65: E :53 3:03 Begum GE EOUC< 30 05 mm £2 H< .steoaxom Saab mo €on \wacogm x52: E Ema c0888 a 33 fine 2: mo 83:; ©9695 BEL . bug E uscw>< EoESwsm so 39: mExooA N M WWW“. w ,W/flwvwmw . ,. m way/21,41 «, 4 , 146 SCHOOLS JONES SCHOOL: (see Washington School) LEVERING SCHOOL: was named for William Levering who had given the land for school purposes in 1748. ‘5 The original school house erected in 1750 was badly wrecked by a tornado on April 12, 1856 and then demolished. ‘6 A second building replaced this 18th century structure in 1857. In 1889 an annex was added to the 1857 building17 and in 1895 the architectjoseph W. Anshutz’s design for a granite school building on this site replaced the 1857 structure. ‘8 The 1889 annex remained, being connected by a bridge to the 1895 building until sometime during the 19303 when it too was demolished. In 1929, another building of tan-colored brick was erected on Gerhart Street and connected to the southern facade of the 1895 granite building. MANATAWNA SCHOOL: a two-room structure having an “A” frame roof was erected in 1851 on the northwest corner of Ridge and Manatawna Avenues as a grammar school. The building was later a private residence until its demolition during the widening of Ridge Avenue about 1964.19 MANAYUNK SCHOOL: also known as “the Green Lane School.” Its original building was erected in 1844 on the south side of Green Lane west of Silverwood Street. In 1878 the architect Lewis H. Esler designed a new building that replaced the 1844 building. To this was added a wing having six additional class rooms in 1893. The 1878 building was removed and replaced by another in 1902 which retained the 1893 wing.20 This school became an annex of thejoel Cook (Fairview) School on Manayunk Avenue below Green Lane about 1922, and in 1938 it was closed.21 The building was leased by the board of education to the North Light Boys’ Club from 1938-1940. On April 30, 1940, the club purchased the school building.22 It was demolished (retaining the cellar) in November, 1982 to make way for a new club building.‘23 RITTENHOUSE ACADEMY: (see Crease School) ’ ROXBOROUGH HIGH SCHOOL: stands on ground that was originally intend— ed for the erection of an elementary school in 1906. The type of school to be built on this lot was later changed in favor of a high school. It’s cornerstone was laid in 1922 and the completed building opened in February, 1924. The first graduation took place in June, 1927.24 In 1949 the city of Philadelphia leased a part of Gorgas Park to the board of education which became known as “Westerman Field” and which has been used as the high school’s athletic field ever since. 147 SCHOOLS ROXBOROUGH PUBLIC SCHOOL: also known as the “Dickinson Grammar School” from 1848-1850, and the “Roxborough Primary School,” once stood on the west side of Ridge Avenue south of Parker. It was completed on December 22, 1846 and abandoned upon the completion of the Shawmont School in 1927. The building was demolished in April, 1934.25 SCHUYLKILL SCHOOL: was erected on the northeast corner of Umbria 8c Hermitage Streets replacing the Block School. This latter-named school was erected by private interests and rented by the controllers from 1843 until acquired by them in 1849. The Block School was demolished in 1870 and the Schuylkill School erected on its site. In 1929 the Schuylkill School was itself demolished and replaced by the present structure, the “james Dobson School.”26 SHAWMONT SCHOOL: (see.Andora School) WASHINGTON SCHOOL: was erected in 1854 on the south side of Shurs Lane east of Cresson Street. It was known from 1902 onward as the “Charles Thompson Jones School.”]ones was a late member of the local school board. The building was demolished in 1934.‘27 WISSAHICKON SCHOOL: erected in 1888 on the northeast corner of Rochelle Avenue 8c Kalos Street by the architect joseph W. Anshutz. The yard was later paved with cement. An addition was added onjune 26, 1901 having six rooms. To this was also added an outside iron fire escape.28 In 1968 the Cook (Fairview) and Wissahickon Schools were merged creating the “Cook-Wissahickon School.”29 When a new school building was erected at Salaignac & Righter Streets, the 1888 building at Rochelle 8c Kalos was used as office space for a short time and then demolished. La Noche Park now occupies this site. YELLOW SCHOOL HOUSE: so called because it was originally painted yellow, was erected at the intersection of Shawmont Avenue and Wise’s Mill Road in 1812.30 It is the oldest surviving one-room school house yet standing in this ward. In 1940, the city of Philadelphia appointed William Culp trustee of the premises and empowered him to sell the schoolhouse and grounds.31 William Culp was a descendant of Jacob Culp, one of the original trustees of the former township of Roxborough which first purchased the land in 1811. Culp sold the building in 1946.32 At present the building is a private residence (650 Wise’s Mill Road) and has undergone some alteration over the years. Of the eleven schools built in this ward during the 19th century, the Yellow School House and the 1892 Levering School building are all that remain. 148 SCHOOLS (1) joseph LJ. Kirlin, Catholicity in Philadelphia From the Earliest Missionaries Down to the Present Time. (Philadelphia: john j. McVey, 1909), pp. 347, 8c 456-457. (2) Manayunk Sentinel: (August, 1908), p. 1. (3) Deed. MLS:249;148 (November 5, 1952). (4) The Review: (October 28, 1987), p. 9. (5) Suburban Press: (December 21, 1933), p. 1. (6) James B. Halsey, A Sermon Preached in St. Timothy’s Church on November 28, 1909. p. 15. (7) john C. Manton, A Splendid Legacy: ,St. Timothy’s, Roxborough, 1859—1984. (Philadelphia: St. Timothy’s Church, 1984), p. 46. (8) St. Timothy’s Church Vestry Minutes. (January 27, 1873). (9) Manton, Op. cit., pp. 97-98. (10) F .D. Edmunds, The Public School Buildings of the City of Philadelphia From 1868 to 1874. (Philadelphia: F.D. Edmunds, 1925), p. 37. (11) joseph S. Miles, Historical Sketch of Roxborough, Manayunk, Wissahickon. (Philadelphia: George Fein 84 Co., 1940), p. 166. (12) Edmunds, op cit., Vol. 1875, p. 29. (13) Ibid., Vol. 1875-79, pp. 49-52. (14) The Review: (April 3, 1975), p. 1. (15) Miles, op cit., p. 165. (16) Edmunds, op. cit., Vol. 1818-45, p. 5. (17) Ibid. Vol. 1858-67, p. 45. (18) Ibid. Vol. 1890, p. 145. (19) Ibid. Vol. 1845-52, p. 129. (20) Ibid. Vol. 1875-89, p. 37; Vol. 1818-45, p. 177; Vol. 1900-07, p. 77. (21) Miles, op cit., p. 169. (22) Ibid. pp. 163-164. (23) The Review: (November 10 8c 17, 1982). (24) Miles, op. cit., pp. 169-170. (25) Edmunds, op. cit., Vol. 1845-52, p. 21; Suburban Press: (April, 1934), p. 1. (26) Edmunds, op. cit., Vol. 1845-52, p. 77; Vol. 1863- 74, p. 73. (27) Ibid. Vol. 1853-67, p. 25. (28) Ibid. Vol. 1875—89, p. 189. (29) Miles, op. cit., p. 169. (30) Deed Book IC:17;319. (31) Philadelphia County Court Docket. (December Term, 1939), No. 4314. (32) Deed Book C]P:1287;313. 149 Aéfifigfl $6 ENERESER 2% \c fistsou 823$ .mzun swam 33m: Ewe—18 of mo £09263 2: 8 Sim 35% 9318 mm? :mwgmouosm mEr—L .wmg £35m MECSA 8 £0320 so :to: mciooq 150 Old Name: Adams Adrian Airy Allison Ann Ashland Belair Belmont Bolton Broad Cedar Cemetery Centre Charles Charles Chestnut Church Clay Crease Darrach Dewees Division , Division Ezekiel Fair Fleeson Green Tree Hamilton Harrison New Name: Salaignac Lauriston Boone Wendover Eva Lauriston Dexter Green Ripka Lyceum Jamestown Conarroe Dupont Naomi Markle Baker Krams Boone Livezey Dupont Fowler Conarroe Mansion Boone Green Delmar Shawmont Wilde St. David’s 151 STREETS RENAMED Remarks: Between Pennsdale 8c Shurs Lane. In part. Between Ridge & Main Street. Near Main Street. East of Ridge Avenue. Below Silverwood Street. In part. North of Dupont Street. Below Wilde Street. East of Ridge Avenue. (1859) near Main Street, Manayunk. Between Silverwood & Cresson Streets. North of Hermitage Street. Between Shurs Lane 8c Markle Street. East of Ridge Avenue. West of Ridge Avenue. Old Name: Harvey Hays Hemlock High Highland Hill Hillside Hipples Howard jackson Jackson James jefferson jefferson john Keely’s Alley Kitchen Lea Levering Liebert Linden Linden Magnet Main (Manyunk) Manor Markel Mechanic Mill Monroe Mt. Vernon Moyer’s Alley Mulberry Neff Oak Pearl Penn STREETS RENAMED New Name: Salaignac Lamonte Osborne Lyceum Freeland Dexter Burnside Fountain Burnside Carson Canton jamestown Hermitage Hermitage Dexter St. David’s Gerhard Canton Monastery Silverwood Sheldon Fowler Fleming Nixon Dexter Seville Roxborough Hagy’s Mill Linney Gates Ring Carson Evergreen Connaroe Fleming Pennsdale Remarks: Between Ridge 8c Manayunk Avenues. Between Pennsdale & Shurs Lane. In part. Between Cresson 8c Main Streets. Roxborough part. Manayunk part. Below Shurs Lane. East of Ridge Avenue. Formerly jackson Street. Between Forbidden Drive & Silverwood Street. Between Roxborough Avenue 8c Rector Street. From Fountain to Ripka Streets. i From Ripka to Greenough. In part. North of Leverington Avenue. From Markle to Seville. From Lawnton to Manayunk Avenue. West of Ridge Avenue. From Umbria to Wright Street. Between Fowler 8c Mansion Streets. In part. In part. Between Levering 8c Roxborough. 152 Old Name: Philadelphia & Manayunk Turnpike Pleasant Poplar Prohibition Prospect Riley Rittenhouse Roberts Robeson School Selig Shinkel Ship Spring Thomas Thompson Thorpe Township Line Wabash Walnut Washington Webster Williams Winchester Wissahickon Wood Woodvale STREETS RENAMED New Name: Main Terrace St. David’s Alden Lemonte Dupont Walnut Auraina Rector School House Lawnton jacob Port Royal Carson Manatawna Mansion Bell’s Mill Old Line Smick , Mallory Umbria Fleming Dearnley St. David’s Lincoln Silverwood Kalos >l< Remarks: In» Manayunk. In part. East of Ridge Avenue. In part. East of Ridge Avenue. In Manayunk. East of Ridge Avenue. Between Dupont & Green Lane. From Leverington Avenue to Domino Lane. Between Leverington Avenue 8c Green Lane. Above Leverington Avenue. From Lincoln & Forbidden Drives to Northwestern Avenue along Wissahickon Creek. In Wissahickon. *>l< 153 dgEufix $5 £33332an 3% Ne $6238 2233 .wmm: 1595332 .3025 $003535 9% EOQBQ mo 3?: $32 USN 3&1: mEUMECOU 52,585 2%; 154 THEATERS BORO THEATER: 6184 Ridge Avenue, Roxborough. Now occupied by the Herbert Bobman Department Store Company. DIXIE-ROSE THEATER: Created in 1913 out of the old “Temperance Hall” on Levering Street above Cresson Street in Manayunk.l The building is now demol- ished. ’ EMPRESS THEATER: Erected on site of the old United States (later the Liebert) Hotel on Main Street below Green Lane. Built byJames G. Doak & Company? and designed by the Philadelphia Architect Francis Hoffman,3 the Empress had a seating capacity of 1,600. Opened for business on December 14, 1914. Sold to the Stanley Company (a theater chain) owned by Stanley V. Mastbaum in 1917.4 The theater was again sold in 1929 to the United Chain-Theaters Company which spent a sum of $50,000 to renovate it,5 then renamed it “the Riviera.” It is still standing on Main Street, but has been altered. Where the marquee once stuck out over the sidewalk down to the bottom of the main entrance, has been cut an enormous doorway. The building is now used as a garage/warehouse complex.On the front facade is a large concrete sign with raised letters that have now been cut off. Plainly visible though is the name “Empress.” JEFFRIES ROXBORO THEATER: Built in 1913 at the corner of Manayunk Avenue and Conarroe Street, Roxborough.6 The building is now used as a Masonic lodge. NEW WISSAHICKON THEATER: 5263 Ridge Avenue, Wissahickon. Now known as the “Towne Playhouse,” an acting school and live-performance theater. RIVIERA THEATER: Formerly the “Empress Theater.” ROXY THEATER: 6189 Ridge Avenue, Roxborough. Designed by the Ballinger Company,7 a Philadelphia architectural firm, this theater was erected on the site of the old Leverington Hotel in 1927. A pipe organ was included as part of its interior 155 THEATERS design and used for recitals between shows. This theater was purchased by the United Chain-Theaters Company from the East Coast Theaters Company in 1929.8 About the mid 1970s, multi-screened theaters that were capable of showing more than one film at a time, began to compete with the Roxy for business. Until this time, the Roxy had enjoyed a very non-competitive market in the Roxborough-Manayunk area as the last surviving old time theater. The Boro, Dixie-Rose, jefferies, and Riviera had all gone out of business years before. Unable to compete with these multi-screened theaters moving into the area, the Roxy was forced to close. The building stood vacant for a short time, then became a skating rink for skateboards. This venture too was a short-lived one and the building was again returned to a vacant state. Complaints that the old theater had become a fire trap resulted in its demolition in August, 1982.9 The Roxy was a familiar sight to passers-by for fifty-five years, and memories of Saturday after- noon matinees still linger in the minds of many. Somehow, a doughnut from the doughnut shop that now occupies the site just isn’t the same thing. (1) Manayunk Sentinel: (December 31, 1913), p. 1. (2) Ibid. (November 5, 1913), p. 1. (3) Ibid. (December 16, 1914), p. 1. (4) Ibid. (April 19, 1917), p. l. (5) Chronicle 69’ Advertiser: (December 26, 1929), p. 1. (6) Manayunk Sentinel: (December 17, 1913), p. 1. (7) Chronicle 63’ Advertiser: (November 17, 1927), p. 1. (8) Ibid. (December 26, 1929), p. 1. (9) The Review: (August 11, 1982). 156 TOWNS & VILLAGES Leverington Named in honor of the founding family of Roxborough Township, whose German surname was originally spelled “LOEWERING.” The name itself was anglicized to “LEVERI‘NG” and affixed with the appendage “TON,” an English variant of “TOWN.” Hence “LEVERINGTOWN” or “LEVERINGTON.” The earliest use of the name appears to have begun with the establishment of the Leverington Hotel in 1731 on the southeast corner of Leverington & Ridge Avenues. In 1831, the town post office was renamed “Leverington.”l Incorporat- ion of the Leverington Cemetery Company in 18572 embodyed the town name in its legal title to this day. In 1878, the Leverington Presbyterian Church chose the name,3 but whether or not the name was taken from the avenue on which the church building once fronted, or from the town name, is not certain. Leverington Avenue was the name of this street as early as 1875.4 Manatawna A name of American Indian origin meaning: “Where we drink liquor.”5 The village comprised an area roughly north of Cathedral Road to Bell’s Mill Road and land on both sides of Ridge Avenue.6 This area is the highest point in the city of Philadelphia7 despite what you may have been told by some misinformed people in Chestnut Hill. Manatawna School, a two—room structure, was built on the northwest corner of Ridge 8c Manatawna Avenues in 18518 while Roxborough was still a township. The Manatawna Baptist Church was erected in 1873.9 Next to this church, the architect Arthur H. Brockie built a fine mansion house in 1927 for Reed A. Morgan on a large tract of land running from Ridge Avenue back to Old Line Road. Morgan named his estate “Manatawna” after its location. Gradually the little village was urbanized and the name became less used as time progressed. The Baptist church there was renamed “Andorra” in 1959, probably after the new development of the same name planned by Samuel Houston in 1950. ‘0 The schoolhouse fell victim to the widening of Ridge Avenue about 1964 and was then demolished. 157 ASDEE< $5 EQANEVSSK 2% \o 93:89 Sefid .mom: 5 $3M =215£um «EH mac? wczgmoufl St E RCNU assign—2 95 mo wcmccmmon 2.: 5:3 END mood “NE \ oi £74227 ,27/41 §§é £/§;4134/¢ré$ 183/295? , , , 58 1 TOWNS & VILLAGES “Manatawna,” Morgan’s estate and mansion was sold to an Armenian church congregation in the 19603. Only Manatawna Avenue bears the name of this former village, and even the original name of this street was “Thomas Avenue” “ when the village existed. Manayunk Also a name of American Indian origin similar to “Manatawna” in meaning, it translates to “our drinking place,” possibly because a trail crossed the Schuylkill River at this point. Its original spelling was a phonetic concoction of Roman letters . . . “M anaiung.” The north end of this town was divided into sections for reasons unknown at this time: 1) “S unnyclzfi'e” an area of high ground north of Green Lane near Fleming Street, 2) “Mount Vernon” at the foot of Hermitage Street, and 3) “the Blocks” at the foot of Lamonte Street. ‘2 Manayunk’s history is accounted for in the various institutions and churches discussed elsewhere in this book. Shawmont Shawmont was named in honor of Thomas Shaw, considered by many to be the “Edison of Pennsylvania.” At the time of his death in 1901, he was the holder of 186 patents and the Franklin Institute’s “Scott Legacy Medal.”13 The village at Shawmont was in the 19th century the last hamlet along the Schuylkill River before leaving the county of Philadelphia. Its location is about three miles up river from the former borough of Manayunk. Though the population has never been substantial, Shawmont Village apparently had reached some level of importance, for it was selected by two major railroad corporations as a stopping point. In 1835, the Reading Railroad Company ran a line from Reading to Philadel- phia creating Shawmont Station as a regular stop. 14 Less than fifty years later the Pennsylvania Railroad ran a line to Norristown (1884) also creating a station at Shawmont.15 This latter railroad company constructed an impressive brick and stone-arched bridge over Shawmont Avenue at Nixon Street having a granite stone bearing the date “1883” over the keystone. The city of Philadelphia selected Shawmont as the site for a pumping station in 1865 and completed the now abandoned building there in 1869.16 These various selections by government and railroad corporations alike, resulted in a variety of employment options and business opportunities. With the advent of the railroads came the establishment of a coal yard to fuel the trains, power the pumping station and heat the local residences. An ice house existed at Shawmont prior to 187517 as attested by old maps of the area and was located a quarter mile down river from the village. 159 TOWNS 8c VILLAGES No churches or burial grounds were ever established at Shawmont and the nearest school was Andora School atop a hill overlooking the Shawmont Valley at Shawmont Avenue & Eva Street. Erected in 1870,18 this school was replaced by a modern structure in 1929\and renamed “Shawmont” presumably in honor of Thomas Shaw if not his estate of the same name. Shaw’s mansion, which over- looked the river from atop a hill above Umbria Street, was destroyed by a fire in March, 1931.19 With the erection of the “Frederick Carpenter House” circa 1884, the only grocery store in the village was started, continuing through the 19505. When this store actually closed is not known at this time. The Shawmont Pumping Station was abandoned in 1962.20 A similar fate befell the 1868 and 1892 reservoirs to which the station once pumped water from the river. These reservoirs now stand unused and overgrown with trees and weeds. With the decline of American railroads came the curtailment of service. The successors to the old Penn-Central Railroad abandoned their Norristown line altogether with the subsequent demolition of the station. The tracks were later removed and paved with macadam for the purpose of providing a bicycle path from Manayunk to Conshohocken. The fate of the former Reading Railroad line was less drastic. Its ticket office closed while the station structure was left standing, occupied by a tenant. Service here was also curtailed when the company discontinued service at all stations between Norristown and Reading. Wissahickon Heights Now commonly known as “Wissahickon,” this section of the ward was referred to in records of the Upland Court (1677) as “Wissakitkonk” situated at the mouth of the Wissahickon Creek along the Schuylkill River?1 The village of Wissahickon was originally founded by the officials of Pencoyd Iron Works in the mid 19th century for their managerial employees. A variety of residences, churches, and institutions (some bearing the place name), were established throughout the nineteenth century, i.e. the Reading Railroad’s Wissahickon Station (1834), “Houghton” the Merrick Estate (1861), “Woodvale” the Camac Estate (ca. 1863), Saint Stephen’s P. E. Church (187 6), St. Timothy’s Workingmen’s Club 8c Institute (1877), Wissahickon Methodist Church (1883), Terrace Hall (1889), Wissahickon Baptist Church (1889), Wissahickon Presbyterian Church (1893), the Wissahickon Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia (1909), and the Pencoyd Club (ca. 1910). Many of the buildings of these institutions have been demolished in this century leaving only vacant lots, parks, or parking lots. 160 TOWNS & VILLAGES (1) Manayunk Sentinel: (Iune 27, 1873), p. 2. (2) PL 788 (May 13, 1857). (3) joseph S. Miles, Historical Sketch of Roxborough, Manayunk, Wissahickon. (Philadelphia: George Fein 8c Co., 1940), p. 187. (4) G. M. Hopkins, Atlas of the City of Philadelphia, Vol. 2, (21st Ward). (Philadelphia: G. M. Hopkins, 1875), Plate “B.” _. (5) William B. Campbell, Old Towns and Districts of Philadelphia. (Philadelphia: City History Society of Philadelphia, 1942), p. 122. (6) Ibid, p. 122. (7) W. Ellis Scull, The Cathedral of the Diocese of Pennsylvania. (A 1938 Building Committee Report), p. 2; and Miles, op. cit., p. 172. (8) F.D. Edmunds, The Public School Buildings of the City of Philadelphia From 1845—1852. (Philadelphia: F.D. Edmunds, 1913), p. 129. (9) Manayunk Sentinel: (lune 13, 1873). (10) Suburban Press: (March 16, 1950), pp. 1 8c 8. (11) G.W. Bromley, Atlas of the City of Philadelphia. Volume 12. (Philadelphia: G.W. Bromley, 1892), plate no. 23. (12) Campbell, Op. cit., p. 111. (13) Miles, Op. cit., p. 125. (‘14) Ibid., p. 89. (15) Ibid, p. 92. (16) City of Philadelphia Water Department Annual Report, 1962, p. 14. (17) Hopkins, Op. cit., Plates “E” 8c “F.” (18) Edmunds, Op. cit., Vol. 1868-74, p. 37. (19) Suburban Press: (March 12, 1931). (20) City of Philadelphia Water Department Annual Report, 1962, p. 14. (21) Public Ledger Almanac, 1881, p. 11. 161 St. David’s P.E. Church, Manayunk, 1885. (Photo courtesy of St. David’s Vestry.) 162 UNDERTAKERS JOHN A. DEVER: (Flourished 1891-1942) Opened for business in 1891 at 102 Robeson (Rector) Street, Manayunk. The business was expanded in 1892 with the acquisition of 4249 Main Street where it remained for the next sixteen years. This location was closed in 1908 and the operation consolidated with the main office at 100-102 Rector Street, Manayunk. Mr. Dever’s establishment closed in 1942. CHARLES L. DYKES: (Flourished 1889-1926) Opened for business in 1889 at 3342 Ridge Avenue. From 1893-1896 various addresses are given in the city directories, nos. 3342, 3358, and 3356 Ridge Avenue. In 1898 the business was expanded and removed to two locations, 4208 Ridge Avenue and 148 Queen Lane. Dykes acquired a third business location at 181 Dupont Street, Manayunk, in 1900 thus becoming a part of the Roxborough—Manayunk community. In 1904, the business was removed for the sixth time to 4200 Ridge Avenue, East Falls, where it remained until 1908. Relocating to 4170 Ridge Avenue, Dykes conducted his business here for ten years. The address of 181 Dupont Street does not appear in city business directories after 1904, possibly due to its closure. Dykes joined Turner about 1925 forming the funeral establishment of Dykes 8c Turner at 4813 Ridge Avenue. Under this name the business continued until 1927 when “Dykes” was dropped from the company’s title. Thence onwards it was known simply as William M. Turner. ISAIAH T. RYAN: (Flourished 1878-1936) This was a family business begun by john F. Ryan and his brother in 18781 at 100 Division (Conarroe) Street in Manayunk. In 1879, John F. Ryan moved the business to 4330 Main Street. Subsequent listings dropped his brother’s name from the company title. From 1884-1889 the name of Isaiah T. Ryan became associated with the business which was then located at 4369 Main Street. In 1889 the business became known as “Ryan 8c Cooke” but this apparently did not last, for subsequent listings returned the name of the business to Isaiah T. Ryan. About 1891, Ryan removed the business to 160 Green Lane and in 1901 he opened a second office at 200-202 Queen Lane in East Falls. I.T. Ryan last did business at 433 Lyceum Avenue, Roxborough, in 1936 when the company was acquired by Charles H. Whiteman. 163 UNDERTAKERS ARTHUR M. STETLER: (Flourished 1912-1946) Opened for business in 1912 at 6100 Ridge Avenue, later removing to 6066 Ridge Avenue. In 1940 Stetler’s establishment was located at 6028 Ridge Avenue. This funeral home ceased in 1946 and was also acquired by W.M. Turner. HIERONYMUS STRITTMATTER: (Flourished 1885-1989) Opened for busi- ness in 1885 at 4528 Ritchie Street in Manayunk. In 1889, the business was removed to 168 Mulberry (Carson) Street, and removed again in 1892 to 176 Gay Street, where it remained until 1896. Strittmatter set up shop at 204 Baldwin Street for one year when he removed the business once again to 4327 Cresson Street in 1897.John Strittmatter joined the business in 1906 and continued the work begun by Hieronymus Strittmatter twenty-one years before. The funeral home last did business in 1989 under the direction of John J. Strittmatter at 186 Green Lane when the premises were sold. MICHAEL J. WALSH: (F lourished 1896-1928) Opened for business in 1896 at 118 Robeson (Rector) Street in Manayunk. Walsh expanded his business in 1902 with the purchase of 116' Rector Street. The business ceased in 1928. HENRY F. WHITEMAN: (Flourished 1861-1952) This business, begun in 1861 by Henry F. Whiteman, was first located on Ridge Avenue above Green Lane in Roxborough. His son, Frank S. Whiteman, started his own funeral establishment at 4508-4510 Ridge Avenue in East Falls and assumed control of both locations in 1888. In 1899, Frank Whiteman closed the East Falls location and operated thence onward solely from 6140 Ridge Avenue. His son, Charles H. Whiteman, entered this family enterprise in 1901. Three years later the business was expanded with the purchase of 6138 Ridge Avenue next door. Frank S. Whiteman died in 1909 and his son Charles H. continued the business entering into partnership with]. Burton Corson in 1937. Whiteman relocated the business to 433 Lyceum Avenue sometime prior to his retirement in 1952. The business was succeeded by his partner who renamed it “j. Burton Corson.” ].H. Turner’s Funeral Home also acquired this business as well, but the exact date is unknown.2 (1) Manayunk. Sentinel. (Ianuary 4, 1878), p. 2. (2) Suburban Press: (June 5, 1952), p. 1. 164 VETERANS’ ORGANIZATIONS Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) Post No. 12 The G.A.R. was organized as a fraternal military society of Union veterans of the Civil War. It was founded at Decatur, 111. on April 6, 1866 to preserve the Union, honor the war dead, provide relief for veterans’ children and widows, and to defend the Constitution. Membership was open to any Union veteran who served during the Civil War, no matter how long his enlistment. By 1890, national membership in the G.A.R. reached 409,489. The organization wielded tremen- dous political influence as a lobbying faction before its numbers dwindled through attrition. The G.A.R. was in effect a “last man society” and ceased to exist when its last member died in 1956. In the first twenty years following the war, posts sprang up in nearly every town and city in America, with the exception of the southern states. The first post organized in Roxborough was Post No. 12 in 1874. Begun by Col. John Harper andJohn F. Parker, the post’s first meeting occurred on February 22, 1874 in Odd Fellows Hall, on the northwest corner of Ridge & Lyceum Avenues.‘ The post’s name honors the daughter of the Reverend Horatio Gatesjones (Hetty A.]ones), who was killed in Virgina in 1864 while serving as a Union Army nurse. Her monument stands in the Jones’ family plot near the Civil War monument in Leverington Cemetery. According to joseph S. Miles, Post No. 12 ceased to exist with the death of its “last surviving member” (George Gillet) in 1937. But Gillet’s obituary stated that “he was one of four surviving members”2 of this G.A.R. post, leading one to believe that three members were still living at the time. A charter was not granted this post until November 4, 18923 which enabled them to own real estate as a legal corporation in the Commonwealth of Pennsylva- nia. The G.A.R. Hall, located at 422 Fountain Street across from the old building of Roxborough High School, was originally the site of one of the Good Intent Fire Company fire houses from 1869-1871.4 The land on which the present structure stands was not acquired by the G.A.R. until 1892, when this post was legally incorporated.5 Therefore it is believed that its hall was not erected until after that date. In 1917, G.A.R. Post No. 12 deeded the building over to Samuel Clegg Camp 165 VETERANS’ ORGANIZATIONS No. 9 of the Sons of Veterans of the Civil War, an auxiliary of the Deed’s Grantor. G.A.R. Hall remained in the hands of this auxiliary organization until 19646 when it was sold. The building has suffered an appalling lack of respect for its historic significance when it was remodeled into apartments and a “fast-food shop.” Progress, anyone?! (1) Manayunk Sentinel: (March 6, 1874), p. 2. (2) Obituary. Philadelphia Inquirer: (April 21, 1937), p. 34. . (3) Joseph S. Miles, An Historical Sketch of Roxborough, Manayunk, Wissahickon. (George Fein & C0,, 1940), p. 151. (4) Deeds: (1869) jAH:144;213 and (1871) jAH:144;349. (5) Deed: (1892) TG:281;56. ' (6) Deed: (1964) CAD:176;74. 166 APPENDIX A CITY OF PHILADELPHIA Archives Division Department of Records HOLDINGS 1. Records of the Borough of Manayunk: 1. Council Minutes, 1840-1854. 2. Apprentice Indenture Papers, 1847-1853. 3. Treasurer’s Accounts, 1841—1851. 4. Treasurer’s Day Book, 1847-1854. II. Records of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: 1. Tax Assessment Ledgers, 1779-1782; 1785; 1787-1789. , CONTENTS: name; occupation; item taxed by township; related Com- monwealth Assessment; personal taxes ground rents; name of persons for whom the tax is paid. 111. Records of the County of Philadelphia: 1. Tax Assessment Ledgers, 1791-1806; 1808-1814. 2. Tax Duplicates, 1773; 1775; 1793-1794; 1800; 1810; 1815; 1817; 1819; 1822. CONTENTS: name of taxpayer; assessment; tax paid. 3. Provincial Tax Assessment Ledgers, I 7 69 59’ I 774. 4. Duplicates, 1774-1775. CONTENTS of 3 8c 4 above: name of taxpayer; list of assessed items: ie., lands, buildings, mills, servants, negroes, horses, cattle, sheep, ground rents, and monies received. 5. Road Dackets and Petitions: circa 1690s-19205. t CONTENTS: - Opening and naming of roads and streets within the County of Philadelphia. 6. Liquor Licenses (contained in Dockets of the Quarter Sessions Court), 1753- 1820. Liquor License 1V1 inute Book, 1820-1914. 7. Deeds, 1684-1863. 8. Sheriff’s or Poll Deeds, 1684—1863. IV. County of Philadelphia - Prison Records: 1. Convict Description Dockets, 1794—1956. CONTENTS: name; birthplace; age; occupation; physical description; 167 C301rlk APPENDIX A crime; sentence;'date committed; county in Pennsylvania from which commit- ted; date of discharge. After 1873: Prisoner’s registration number; race; date received; former prisons held in; parents living or deceased; religion; education; industrial status; marital status; number of children; military status; drinking habits. . Intoxication Dockets, 1846-1915. CONTENTS: prisoner’s name; sentence; date and by whom committed; cause; date and by whom discharged. . Vagrancy Docket, 1790-1932. CONTENTS: prisoner’s name; date; cause; date committed; date released. After 1915: - only the name and person committing the prisoner are given. . Register of Prison Births, 1858-1879. . Register of Prison Deaths, 18 19-1914. . Philadelphia County Medical Register, 1 88 1- 1936. CONTENTS: Physician’s name; Physician’s signature; birthplace; residence; medical degrees held; date 8c medical schools of degrees granted; date of Pennsylvania license to practice; Physician’s deposition of truth. . Veterinarian Register, 1889— 191 7. CONTENTS: - see no. 6 above. . Osteopathic Register, 1909-1951. CONTENTS: - see no. 6 above. . City Directories, 1854—1930. 10. 11. City Business Directories, 1867—1918. Photographs of Roxborough-Manayunk, 1925-1962. CONTENTS: Taken by the Philadelphia Department of Streets before and after completion of repairs or installations. Many reveal neighbourhoods in the past showing buildings now gone. *>l<>l< 168 APPENDIX B GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA 1300 Locust Street Philadelphia, PA 19107 HOLDINGS Church Records BAPTIST: Roxborough Baptist Church 6035 Ridge Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19128 - Cemetery Lot Owners, 1782—1925. Cemetery records obtained from Leverington Com- pany, church minute books and plans. Contains alphabetical list of lot owners and interments. - Membership List, 1789— . In two volumes. Indexed. (Microfilm). - Minutes, 1789—1914. (Microfilm). - Minutes, 1833-1893. Contains historical sketch; list of members and dismissals. (Varied years). - Minutes, 1893-1913. - Members Received, 1789-1909. (Indexed). - Members Received, 1910—1968. (Indexed). — Minutes of Church Meetings. Vol. 1. Sept., 1789 to Jan, 1833. (Indexed). - Minutes ofChurch Meetings. Vol. II.jan. 12, 1833 to Nov. 1, 1858. Contains membership list. (Indexed). , — Minutes of Church Meetings. Vol. 111.jan. 31, 1859 to Oct. 6, 1872. (Indexed). - Minutes of Church Meetings. Vol. IV Oct. 21, 1872 to jan., 1883. (Indexed). - Minutes of Church Meetings. Vol. V. jan. 8, 1883 to Sept. 29, 1893. (Indexed). - Minutes of Church Meetings. Vol. VI. Oct. 20, 1893 to May 20, 1906. (Indexed). - Minutes of Church Meetings. Vol. VII. May 25, 1906 to April 13, 1913. (Indexed). 169 APPENDIX B - Minutes ofthe Board ofTrustees. Vol. I. (1817-1867) contains Grave Lot Fund, 1853—1859; Treasurer’s Accounts, 1859-1865. (Indexed). - Minutes of the Board of Trustees. Vol. II. (1867-1897). (Indexed). - Minutes of the Board of Trustees. Vol. 111. (1897-1914). (Indexed). EPISCOPAL: Saint Alban’s Episcopal Church 6769-B Ridge Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19128 - Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriages, Burials, and Communicant Lists, 1862-1882, (1883-1902 missing), 1903-1945. (Not indexed). Saint David’s Episcopal Church Smick 8c Dupont Streets Philadelphia, PA 19127 - Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriages, Burials, and Communicant Lists, 1835-1878; 1878-1907 (not indexed); 1907—1944 indexed. - Burials in Saint David’s Churchyard, 1833—1919. (Indexed by the Roxborough Edwardian Society). Indexed by name of lot holder and by surname. Saint Timothy’s Episcopal Church 5720 Ridge Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19128 - Baptisms. 1861-1906; 1906-1943; 1943-1982. — Confirmations. 1863-1941. - Marriages. 1860-1919; 1920-1981. - Burials Records. 1862—1923; 1923—1981. - Parish Records, 1860—1863. - Communicants. 1860—1864; 1865-1940. - Parishioners, 1862- 1866. - Churchyard Interments, 1863-1919. (Indexed by Roxborough Edwardian Society). METHODIST: Emmanuel Methodist Church 4737 Silverwood Street Philadelphia, PA 19128 - Baptisms, Marriages, Burials, Probationers and Communicants, 1891-1928; 1962- 1975. First Methodist Church 470 Green Lane Philadelphia, PA 19128 — Baptisms, Marriages, and Probationers, 1871-1926 (not indexed); Communicants, 1871-1926 (indexed). 170 APPENDIX B Ridge Avenue Methodist Church 7805 Ridge Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19128 - Baptisms, Marriages, Probationers, Class Records, 1858-1916 (not indexed); Communi- cants, 1858-1916 (indexed). PRESBYTERIAN: Roxborough Presbyterian Church 8230 Ridge Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19128 - Marriages, 1855-1869; 1899-1941. - Churchyard Interments, 1819-1919. (Indexed by the Roxborough Edwardian Society). REFORMED: Fourth Reformed Church Manayunk 8c Monastery Avenues Philadelphia, PA 19128 (defunct) - Baptisms, 1831—1914; Marriages, Burials, Communicants, 1842-1914.,“ ROMAN CATHOLIC: St. Mary of the Assumption Church Manayunk, Philadelphia, PA. - Baptisms, Marriages, Burials, 1849—1877. _, - Churchyard Interments, 1877-1975. (Lemonte Street). Newspaper Notices Roxborough Edwardian Society Indexes M anayunk Sentinel - Marriage Notices, 1870—1875. (Microfilm). (Indexed by surname of bride and groom by year). — Death Notices, 1870—1879. (Microfilm) (Indexed by surname within each year). Public Cemeteries Leverington Cemetery Company Ridge 8c Lyceum Avenues Philadelphia, PA. - Burials in Leverington Cemetery, 1860-1880. Indexed by the Roxborough Edwardian Society. (Microfilm). 171 APPENDIX B U ndertakers’ Records - Wm. M. TuIner, 1906- 1925 (unindexed). - Frank S. 8c Charles H. Whiteman 6140 Ridge Avenue (succeeded by]. H. Turner). - Interments, 1883— 1887 (indexed). - Interments, 1887- 1895 (indexed). - Interments, 1896-1899 (indexed). - Interments, 1900-1902 (indexed). - Interments, 1906. — Interments, 1907-1910 (indexed). - Interments,1911- 1915 (indexed). -Interments,1915-192O (unindexed). - Isaiah T. Ryan (succeeded by]. H. Turner). - Interments, 1885- 1886. *** 172 APPENDIX C FREE LIBRARY OF PHILADELPHIA (Main Building) Database & Newspaper Center HOLDINGS Chronicle 53'" Advertiser Manayunk, Pa. January 4, 1889 - December 27, 1889 September 2, 1892 — December, 1892 January 12, 1922 - December 31, 1925 October 27, 1927 - October 22, 1931 Manayunk Review Manayunk, Pa. January 6, 1926 — August 25, 1949 The Review Roxborough, Pa. (continues Manayunk, Review) September 1, 1949 -July 24, 1952 January 6, 1972 - May 23, 1974 March 12, 1981 - December 29, 1982 March 7, 1984 — Present Sentinel Manayunk, Pa. December 12, 1870 - October 30, 1873 Manayunk Sentinel (Roxborough, and Falls of Schuylkill Gazette) Manayunk, Pa. (continues: Sentinel) October 31, 1873 —June 3, 1880 173 [Weekly] [Weekly] [Weekly] [Weekly] APPENDIX C Manayunk Sentinel (Roxborough, Falls of Schuylkill 69" Lower Merion Gazette) Manayunk, Pa. (continues: Manayunk Sentinel, Roxborough, {5’ Falls of Schuylkill Gazette) june 10, 1880 - May 10, 1883 M anayunk Sentinel ' [Weekly] Manayunk, Pa. (continues: Manayunk Sentinel, Roxborough, Falls of Schuylkill 69’ Lower Merion Gazette) May 17, 1883 -April 14, 1887 Manayunk Sentinel (Roxbarough, Falls of Schuylkill and Wissahickon Star) [Weekly] Manayunk, Pa. (continues: Manayunk Sentinel) April 21, 1887 - May 26, 1898 April 25, 1901 - April 26, 1917 Manayunk Star 59’ Roxborough Gazette [Weekly] Manayunk, Pa. February 5, 1859 -]anuary 4, 1862 Suburban Press [Weekly] Roxborough, Pa. January 2, 1930 - September 29, 1943 April 1, 1949 - December 24, 1970 *>l<>l< 174 APPENDIX C FREE LIBRARY OF PHILADELPHIA (Main Building) Map Collection HOLDINGS Hexamer’s Insurance Maps of the City of Philadelphia Prepared by Ernest Hexamer & Son of Philadelphia between 1866-1895 at the request of various area mill owners for fire insurance purposes. Two particular volumes concern the mills of Manayunk, volume no. 8, which covers the Manayunk mill area, and volume no. 26 which covers Cresson Street and the area just above it. Arranged by plan or plate numbers, not by name of mill. Each plan or plate depicts a relatively small area of several square blocks showing streets, property and building outlines; and indicates height of buildings and materials used in their construction. The following volumes are held by the Free Library of Philadelphia: Volume 8 Volume 8 Volume 8 Volume 8 Volume 8 Volume 26 Volume 26 Volume 26 Volume 26 (1879) (1879) (1891) (1898) (1906) (1895) (1895) (1895) (1895) Uncorrected. Corrected to 1895, 8c 1906. Uncorrected. Corrected to 1916. Corrected to 1916. Uncorrected. Corrected to 1914. Corrected to 1919. Corrected to 1922. Property Atlases of the City of Philadelphia (Twenty-first Ward) A property atlas is a very detailed map of a neighborhood showing the location and street address of each building, its type of construction (i.e.-stone, wood, etc.), the existence of porches, number of stories and location of outbuildings and wells 175 APPENDIX C on the grounds or lot, as well as the building’s type of use (dwelling, grocery, saloon, etc.). The Free Library of Philadelphia’s main library includes the following property atlases for Roxborough-Manayunk in its collection: 1862 Smedley : 1875 Hopkins 1884 Hopkins 1892 Bromley 1901 City—Wide ' 1911 Smith .' 1929 Klinge 1947 Sanborne These maps are crucial to any serious dating of late 19th-century buildings, or their location if the building is now demolished. They also have a limited geneal- ogical value often overlooked by amateur family historians. >l< 176 >l< APPENDIX C FREE LIBRARY OF PHILADELPHIA (Main Building) Print and Picture Department HOLDINGS Aerial Photographic Surveys of Roxborough—Manayunk I 92 0—1 93 9 These are surveys involving aerial photography with bird’s eye and breath- taking views of sections of the 2lst Ward. Each volume listed below, includes a collection of various aerial photographs (approximately 16” X 20") taken of the metropolitan area of Philadelphia between the years 1920—1939. In order to find those photographs of Roxborough-Manayunk, it is necessary to know the infor- mation provided below: For Manayunk: (Airplane Photographic Studies). Y ear Neg. 120. Volume 1920 1652 Vol. 1 1920 1755 Vol. 1 1926, Dec. 19 7049 Vol. 3 1926, Dec. 19 7050 Vol. 3 1928, Sep. 10 8844 Vol. 7 1928, Oct. 30 9091 Vol. 7 1931, Oct. 27 15221 V0]. 12 For Roxborough: (Dallin Aerial Surveys). Y ear Neg. 110. Volume 1926, Dec. 19 7050 Vol. 3 1931, Jun. 6 14381 Vol. 11 1933,]un. 23 15959 Vol. 13 1939, Oct. 7 12423 Vol. 22 177 University of Pennsylvania Library Circulation Department imiflMMWM‘Illl‘lflmmmummmn N/ 1136/ UlEEb/ 7617X . . r , ....y.: 32.. u .3.» . . 33,35 7 fly“ _ ,n if”. 5%.. :5. . . .nA- .fl Mama”. k y A a .2,» l»- “ :n m¢w :. J W? E»... .3 r. » gru . 3. 4m . a Mi .»%w, e 4 E 334: ‘x: :33 9" “avert :2.