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Far Northeast Philadelphia

Photo Credit: Friends of Pennypack Park

The Far Northeast is a transitional neighborhood between urban Philadelphia and the northern suburbs. As the least densely populated section of the city, the Far Northeast has unique character that more closely resembles some older suburban communities in the region. Its residents, who are fiercely loyal to their community, enjoy a tremendous variety and volume of commercial and entertainment opportunities. The 1.8 million-square-foot Franklin Mills mall, for example, is one of the largest enclosed malls in the northeastern United States and a leading tourist destination in Pennsylvania. Another important landmark and economic generator is the Northeast Philadelphia Airport, which is undergoing significant modernization. Interstate 95 and Route 1 also traverse this area, giving Far Northeast residents ready access to the region and beyond.

Within the Far Northeast are places with names like Bustleton, Byberry, Upper Holmesburg, Pennypack, and Torresdale.

Byberry
A township in the extreme northeastern part of the county of Philadelphia; bounded on the east and northeast by Poquessing Creek and Bucks county; on the northwest by Montgomery county; and on the west and southwest by the township of Moreland.

It was settled by a few Swedes previous to the year 1675, and in that year by four brothers -- Nathaniel, Thomas, Daniel and William Walton -- all young and single men. They had arrived at Newcastle from England early in that year, and, having prospected the land in the neighborhood of the Delaware, chose the country near Poquessing Creek, and settled there. They gave it the name Byberry, in honor of their native town, near Bristol, in England.

Giles and Joseph Knight, John Carver, John Heart, Richard Collett and their families, and others joined them after the arrival of the ship Welcome in 1682.

The township of Byberry was established at a very early date after the coming of Penn. It contained very few villages at the time of consolidation, and was the most rural of all the townships of Philadelphia county.

Holmesburg
Named after William Penn’s Surveyor General, Thomas Holme, present day Holmesburg is one of the older communities of Philadelphia and home to the nation’s oldest stone-arch bridge still carrying the traffic of a major highway. But how did Holmesburg come to be here? Why in the late 1600’s did a village begin to grow at this particular spot along Pennypack Creek? What made this an important location for development along the creek is a geological feature known as the fall-line.

The Pennypack’s fall-line is the point where the creek flows over the last sets of rapids and drops almost to the level of the Delaware River. You can see the fall-line for yourself as you walk across the old bridge on its downstream side. It is not a dramatic feature of the landscape but it has shaped local history by the way it effects the flow of the creek.

In addition to being the best crossing-point, the fall line provided early colonial industrialists with two things they needed: water-power and transportation. A natural water-fall upstream from the bridge became the foundation for a mill-dam. (The old "Holmesburg Dam," now "Rocky Falls").

Being situated at the fall-line area, the Pennypack mills prospered and the mills helped make early Holmesburg. With the mills came the need for workers and housing for them. Merchants set up shops to supply their needs. The local population increased and flourished. Schools were established. Congregations formed and built their churches. In 1803, the Frankford and Bristol Turnpike Company was formed and Holmesburg got its own toll-house and toll-gate. In 1868, the Bustleton railroad was built through Holmesburg, carrying both passengers and freight.

With steam-power running the mills and the railroad transporting goods, the Pennypack began to lose its importance in the local economy. By 1905, lands along the Pennypack had been acquired for parkland. The mills, now in disrepair, were torn down, clearing the way for recreation. But the creek still flows through the heart of Holmesburg, under the old bridge and across the fall-line where the tides still rise and fall in the ancient rhythm. Walk across the bridge and take a look for yourself— see the reason why a town grew here, at this particular spot along the Pennypack.

America’s earliest history reflects the shape of the land and the way its waters flow or shift with the tide. The nature of the land determined what happened here. At Pennypack Creek’s fall-line in the heart of Holmesburg, nature and history flow together.

Pennypack
The Pennypack area of Philadelphia is home to Pennypack Park. Pennypack Park is rich in natural beauty and is prominent in the history of Philadelphia. Pennypack Park contains over 1,600 acres of woodlands, wetlands, fields and meadows. It is the largest watershed park within the Fairmount Park system. Much of the park today is a part of the original Wells Spring Estate of Thomas Holme, who surveyed and mapped the original land grant to William Penn.

The original inhabitants of this area were the Lenni-Lenape Indians. The Lenni-Lenape called the creek “Pennapecka”, which meant deep, slow moving water or the bear fat creek. Native Americans commonly used bear fat for cooking, possibly indicating that the creek flowed slowly like liquid bear grease. The Lenape used the creek for travel, and remnants of their campsites can still be found along the banks.

On June 7, 1684, Lenni-Lenape Chief Mettamicont sold both sides of the Pennypack Creek to William Penn. It was in 1687 that Morris Gwynne built the first water grist mill in the northern section of Pennypack, which was used by local farmers. Roads such as Pine Road (opened to the public in 1705), Shady Lane (opened to the public in 1716) and Verree Road helped the farmers gain access to the mill. In 1697, Charles Saunders and Peter Dale built the second mill along the lower section of the creek. It was located midway between Frankford and Torresdale avenues on the north bank of the creek, until it burned down on October 11, 1880.

Today the park provides playgrounds, hiking and bike trails as well as bridle paths for horseback riding. An adjunct to the Park is the Pennypack Environmental Center on Verree Road, which is also under the management of the Fairmount Park Commission, as is the Fox Chase Farm on Pine Road.

Many historic structures are still intact throughout Pennypack Park. In 1697, the Pennypack Bridge, one of the oldest stone bridges still in use in the United States, was built on King's Highway, now known as Frankford Avenue. The Pennypack Baptist Church, another of the Park's historic sites, was built in 1688. The Verree House on Verree Road was the site of a raid by British troops during the Revolutionary War. The trained eye can rediscover abandoned railroad grades, remnants of early mills, mill races and other reminders that generations of mankind have gathered in the "Green Heart" of Northeast Philadelphia.