Remembering Kensington & Fishtown : Philadelphia's riverward neighborhoods / Kenneth W. Milano.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Milano, Kenneth W.

Series:

Vaughan, Robert, 1937-2024. American chronicles

American chronicles

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Kensington (Philadelphia, Pa.)--History.

Kensington (Philadelphia, Pa.).

Fishtown (Philadelphia, Pa.)--History.

Fishtown (Philadelphia, Pa.).

Philadelphia (Pa.)--History.

Philadelphia (Pa.).

Physical Description:

128 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm.

Other Title:

Remembering Kensington and Fishtown

Place of Publication:

Charleston, SC : History Press, 2008.

Summary:

The Native Americans Called it Shackamaxon, the "place where the chiefs meet," but Kensington soon became a meeting place of a different kind. Ideologies and demagogues, industry and entrepreneurs all came together in Kensington and Fishtown. Kensington was the epicenter of the American vegetarian movement, and a decade later the area's shipyards gave birth to the U.S. Navy's first submarine. In Kensington & Fishtown, native son Kenneth W. Milano presents a collection of fascinating and diverse articles from his column "The Rest is History." Relive the golden age of Kensington and Fishtown as you learn about their fascinating pasts.

Contents:

Part I Olden Days of Kensington

Lenni-Lenape: Original Inhabitants of Shackamaxon 14

The Swedish Settlement of Shackamaxon 15

Did William Penn's Treaty with the Lenni-Lenape Take Place? 17

Hope Farm and the Founding of Port Richmond 20

The Building and Breakup of the Fairhill Estate 25

Part II Early Industry in Kensington and Fishtown

Early Glassmaking in Kensington 32

John Hewson: Calico Textile Printer and Revolutionary War Hero 35

The Fishermen of Fishtown 37

John Harrison: America's First Industrial Chemist 40

William Cramp: Founder of William Cramp and Sons Shipyard 43

Kensington's Sixth Ward: Textile Capital of Philadelphia 47

Edwin Henry Fitler: Kensington-born Mayor of Philadelphia 49

Hamilton Disston: Industrialist and Real Estate Tycoon 52

Part III Recreation in the Neighborhood

Bachelor's Hall: Kensington's First Gentlemen's Club 58

Point Pleasant: A Colonial Resort 60

Bathtown: Kensington's Colonial Spa 61

Fishtown Park 63

Shackamaxon Square 65

The Bramble Club 69

Benjamin F. Shibe: Baseball Man 71

Part IV Interesting Nineteenth-Century Vignettes

Earliest Known Use of the Name "Fishtown" 76

A Picture of Kensington in 1811 78

Edgar Allan Poe Reports on Kensington in 1840 80

USS Alligator: First Submarine of the United States Navy 82

A Look at Frankford Avenue in 1890 85

Kensington's Elite Addresses of the 1890s 88

The Cohocksink Creek: Kensington's Historical Border 91

Part V Stories of Cemeteries, Churches and Hospitals

West Street Burial Ground 96

Hanover Burial Grounds 98

Early Worship in Kensington 101

The Bible Christian Church and the Founding of the Vegetarian Movement 103

Saint Michael's Church 175th Anniversary 105

The Yellow Fever Comes to Kensington 108

Norris Square: Home of Dr. Kelly's Kensington Hospital for Women, Saint Boniface Church and the Kensington Tuberculosis Dispensary 110

Part VI Some Kensington Biographies

Thomas Moran: American Landscape Painter 116

Albert C. Barnes: Inventor and Art Collector 118

W.C. Fields and Ed Wynn: Actors and Comedians 120

Jack "Legs" Diamond: American Gangster 122

Edward Corner: Marine Merchandiser and Philanthropist 124.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [127]-128).

ISBN:

9781596294486

1596294485

OCLC:

191882022