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English Pages 894 Year 1884
H ISTORY OF
PHILADELPHIA. 1609 -1884.
BY
J.
THOMAS SCHARF
IN
and
THOMPSON WESTCOTT
THREE
VO
Vol.
L,
U
lVl
E
I.
PHILADELPHIA.: L. ti.
EVERTS 1884. E.M.
& CO.
S.
—
>H
936271
Copyright, 1884, by L. H. Everts
t
PRESS OF J.
B.
LIPPINCOTT
& CO.,
PHILADELPHIA.
&
Co.
PREFACE. In presenting
this
History of Philadelphia to the public no apology
is
necessary.
As
a
record of events, as an exhibition of men, as a chronicle and exposition of institutions and resources, the
work
tory record, in
This
pality.
is
in this particular field,
it is
believed, will be found a complete
and
satisfac-
every department, of the growth, development, and expansion of a munici-
its
asserted with a thorough
knowledge of what has been done elsewhere since
the revival of public interest in and enthusiasm for local details, and with a consciousness also
of the suspicion of arrogance and self-assumption naturally incidental to such pretensions.
accomplish so much, and with such a degree of
self-satisfaction,
the labor, expense, and responsibility involved, very
has been no holiday task.
need be
little
said.
The proof
is
To Of
presented
In their preparation more than twenty times the compass of material,
in these volumes.
expressly procured and arranged, in addition to the great collection of books read and examined for
collateral
information, was digested, condensed, and, in the pertinent newspaper phrase,
" boiled down" to the present limits.
In no sense of the word
is
this
work founded upon,
built up out of, or repeated from, any previous one on the same subject, or any of
It
is
new book,
a
treating
its
theme
in
a new, comprehensive, and
exhaustive research, thorough examination, and the most authentic
critical
original
its
branches.
manner, after
comparison of the best authorities, and
documents and authoritative records.
This digesting and assimilating
process has not, perhaps, been carried as far as exigent critics might demand, but in this busy
and bustling world there
not time enough to polish the front of a city hall as nicely as
is
one would a mantel ornament of Parian marble.
The
proprieties of style have, however, not
been neglected, for carelessness in that respect would have been equally unworthy of a theme so
and of the
dignified,
A
liberality
and beauty of form of the publishers' work.
history so comprehensive in
must
details,
necessarily
have
its
its
objects
limitations
and and
scope,
and embracing such an infinitude of
defects, because of the impossibility of dis-
cussing fully a great variety of subjects without occasional errors.
from them by making the work
to escape
themes, and
playing
all
The
and summing up instead of
dis-
the facts.
events,
repetition.
would have been easy
by avoiding dangerous or controverted
so gliding swiftly over the surface, generalizing
desire to leave nothing untold
of men,
less copious,
It
and
which could
in
institutions in Philadelphia has
any way throw light upon the history
made
it
impossible at times to escape
Facts, which fall within the proper cognizance of the narrative of general events,
will sometimes reappear in another shape in the records of institutions or in special chapters.
But the tale to
fault will claim the reader's indulgence, because intelligent persons prefer a twice-told
one neglected or half
told.
;
:
PKEFACE.
iv
Several of the themes or chapters of the homogeneous whole have been treated by those
who have some
In the diversity
particular association or long acquaintance with the subject.
of writers there will of course be variety of opinions, but they
make good
the poet's description,
"Distinct as the billows, yet one as the sea,"
and may not be the worse
for each offering a reflection, according to its turn to the light, without
marring the unity of the general expanse. aid and invaluable stores of material
on the History
of Philadelphia, which he has been diligently collecting for the past thirty years,
and which have
Without Mr. Westcott's indispensable
been used in every department of this work, of this great city in the satisfactory shape in the following pages,
Mr.
it
it
would have been impossible
now
to present the history
Indeed, as has been frequently stated
assumes.
"Westcott has devoted a lifetime to the faithful, industrious,
intelligent pursuit of this history
;
and
few records have escaped him, and he has supplemented their
evidence with recollections of a trustworthy character, and with testimony from a thousand
none but the most indefatigable antiquarian would seek or could procure.
sources, such as
Mr. Westcott has maps,. plans,
etc.,
also contributed to the
work many valuable and unique drawings,
which are now printed for the
also been constantly consulted
by
from the
proofs,
page
time; and during
and items, he has read and corrected
to the Consolidation of the City, in
" Charitable, Benevolent, and
it
1854;" "Music, Musicians, and Musical Societies;" " Military Organiza-
tions,
Armories, Arsenals, Barracks, Magazines, Powder-Houses, and Forts
State,
and Government Buildings
Bridges, Public Landings and
if
" Court-Houses, Prisons, Reformatory
;"
and Correctional
Wharves ;"
" Telegraph,"
and many other minor
subjects.
authors would be unjust to themselves, and to the city whose history they have written,
they did not acknowledge, in this place, with feelings of profound gratitude, the cordial aid
extended to them and to their undertaking by the press and people of Philadelphia. given the fullest
Important and valuable assistance and information have been received
from the following persons,
To Frederick D.
to
whom
also particular recognition is clue
Stone, librarian of the Pennsylvania Historical Society, for valuable
randa and suggestions made to the authors during the progress of their work Leach, for biographical sketches
Rev.
and
its
W.
They have
encouragement throughout, and have helped materially in elaborating and
perfecting the work.
to
" Municipal,
and Almshouses;" "Public Squares, Parks and Monuments;" "Roads, Ferries,
Institutions,
The
the
the chapters on " Progress from
Religious Institutions and Associations ;"
;"
all
Besides the very efficient aid thus rendered during the
to the last.
various stages of the work, he has specially prepared for
1825
its
engaged in the preparation of the special chapters, and
all
besides furnishing important suggestions, facts, first
first
portraits,
progress he has
and
details in regard to the press
and
;
to
memo-
Frank Willing
libraries of Philadelphia
B. Erben, for the preparation of the hist6ry of the Episcopal Church in Philadelphia
institutions
Church, and
its
and church work
;
to
Martin
institutions, societies, schools,
I. J. Griffin, for
and church work;
to
the history of the Catholic
Bishop Matthew Simpson,
of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Rev. William Cathcart, D.D., of the Baptist Church,
Rev. Charles G. Ames, of the Unitarian Church, Rev. Church, Rev.
W. M.
Rice, of the Presbyterian Church,
W.
J.
Mann, D.D., of the Lutheran
John Edmunds, of
the Congregational
PKEFACE. Church, and Rev. Chauncey Giles and T.
S.
Arthur, of the Swedenborgian Church, for essential
in the preparation of the history of their respective denominations;
assistance
Hoeckley, for his chapter on " Clubs and Club Life
many
the Athenseum, for
many
;"
kindnesses
to
kindnesses of various sorts
;
Lloyd P. Smith,
and courtesies
in
to Albert
H.
Charles R. Hildeburn, the librarian of
H.
to Isaac
on the intricate and important subject of
his complete chapter
of Philadelphia
;" to
Shields, attorney-at-law, for
"The Municipal Government and Ridgway Library, for
librarian of the Philadelphia
smoothing the way, and contributing to the work the
under his charge, including
details for the history of the libraries
who
valuable documents; to William Perrine,
and use of
free access to
work
contributed to the
the chapters on " Progress
from the Consolidation Act, in 1854, to the Civil War," "After the Civil War," and "Educa-
Rev. Jesse Y. Burke
tion ;" to
Mitchell,
of "
for sketch of the Pennsylvania University
kindly revised the chapter on the " Bench and Bar
who
The Bench and Bar of Philadelphia," who
;" to
;
to
furnished valuable Civil Lists, and, with a kind-
ness and courtesy not to be forgotten, allowed the authors to extract all that they
able
and
work S.
;
to
Wm.
B. Atkinson, M.D.,
who
Hon. James T.
John Hill Martin, author
wanted from his
revised the chapter on the " Medical Profession,"
D. Gross, M.D., LL.D., who read the proofs of the same
to Charles
;
A. Kingsbury, M.D.,
D.D.S., for materials on Dental Surgery and Institutions; to Lewis D. Harlow, M.D., for sketches of Pennsylvania and Philadelphia Medical Colleges
chapter furnished by her upon
R. M. Johnston, who Dearden, A.
J.
"The
Distinguished
Bowen,
Roman, John W.
Women
to Miss
J.
H. C. Whiting, and John A. Fowler,
Stokes, George
;
to Clifford P.
May
Forney, for the
of Philadelphia;"
prepared the chapter on " Literature and Literary
the history of insurance in Philadelphia S.
;
for
much
Men
to Professor
;" to
Robert R.
valuable material on
MacCalla, Charles E. Mayer, Edward
Hawkes, Walter Graham, William
Hollis,
John M.
Vanderslice, and John Magargee, for valuable assistance in the preparation of the chapter on " Secret Societies and Orders."
Among
others to
whom
acknowledgments are
especially
due may be mentioned the
late
H. Shinn, Nathaniel Tyler, Professor P. F. de Gournay, John Sartain, Samuel W. Pennypacker, Dr. W. H. Burke, Professor Oswald Seidensticker, James J. Levick, M.D., Rev. W. M. Baum, D.D., Frederick Emory, and Professor W. H. B. Thomas, Edward
Spencer, Charles
who have furnished much valuable information and assistance. The publishers have most liberally met every desire, in respect ings of portraits, maps, and other illustrations
;
they have spared no expense or effort to
the mechanical execution of the volumes equal to difficulty
while the work was in progress.
Philadelphia, March
1,
1884.
of letter-press and engrav-
its
subject,
and they have helped
make
in every
CONTENTS OF VOLUME CHAPTER Topography op Philadelphia
.
I. .
.
CHAPTER The Geological Structure, Vegetation, and Animals
.
.
.
.
III.
CHAPTER
.
CHAPTER
V.
...
CHAPTER
"William Penn
•
VI.
CHAPTER ....
VII.
CHAPTER
VIII.
"William Penn as a Law-Giver and Statesman
17
...
.
.
....
.
52
72
.77
.
87
.
CHAPTER
IX.
Pounding the Great City — Penn in Philadelphia—His Administration
CHAPTER —
94
X.
Rapid Growth of the Province and City " Asylum for the Oppressed of all Nations" Movements of William Penn, 1684-1699
—
.
.
30
61
...
of Philadelphia
...
.
IV.
Discovery and Occupation of the Hudson and Delaware Piters by the Dutch
The Planting
1
...
.
The Swedish Settlements on the Delaware
.
II.
op the Site of Philadelphia
CHAPTER The Indians
I.
113
CHAPTER XL Manners and Customs
of the Primitive Settlers
CHAPTER Penn's Administration, 1699-1701— Pennsbury
City, 1701-1750
XII.
Manor— The Proprietary Returns
CHAPTER The Quaker
129
to England.
157
XIII. 174
.
fii
———
CONTENTS OF VOLUME
viii
CHAPTER
I.
XIV.
....
Benjamin Franklin and Philadelphia
CHAPTER Local History and Growth, 1750 to 1775
Part
XVI.
Prom the Stamp
A'ct to
the Declaration of 267
CHAPTER Philadelphia during the Revolution.
243
.
.
I.
218
XV.
.
CHAPTER Philadelphia during the .Revolution. Independence
PAGE
Part
II.
XVII.
From July
1776, to
4,
the End op the British
Occupation
322
CHAPTER Philadelphia during the Revolution. Part Declaration of Peace, Jan. 22, 1784
XVIII. Prom the American Reoccupation to the
III.
.
.
CHAPTER Growth
.
22, 1784,
to the Passage of the
1794
.
CHAPTER
433
.
XX.
Philadelphia from 1794 to the Close of the Century
CHAPTER
CHAPTER War
From the Treaty
of
Ghent
to the Close of the
476
.
50"
.
530
XXII.
of 1812-15
CHAPTER
.
XXI.
First Years of the Nineteenth Century to the Trial of the Embargo Act in 1807
From the Embargo to the Close of the
386
XIX.
of Philadelphia from the Declaration of Peace, Jan.
Embargo Laws of
....
.
.
.
XXIII.
Quarter-Century
.
.
580
.
CHAPTER XXIV. Progress from 1825 to the Consolidation, in
1854, of the various Corporations, Boroughs, and other Municipal Bodies, which now in their united form constitute the City of Philadelphia
Districts,
...
.
617
CHAPTER XXV. From the Year
of Consolidation, 1854, to
the Beginning of the Civil
War
.
.
716
CHAPTER XXVI. The Civil
War
'
.
.
....
.
735
.
CHAPTER XXVII. Philadelphia after the Civil
War
....
.
.
833
ILLUSTRATIONS OF VOLUME
....
page
......
458
PAGE
Almshouse, Friends' Old
191
Franklin at the Age of Twenty
Andre, Major J
381
Franklin, Benjamin
Arms
op
Penn
80
Arnold, Gen. Benedict Association
Battery
389 .
.
.
.
.
.215
Franklin's Birthplace
I.
220
219
Franklin's Certificate as Member of Assembly, and Receipt for Salary
240
Franklin's Grave
459
Govern-
Franklin's Press
229
ment, and Speakers of Assembly, from 1682 to
Gallatin, Albert
Autographs of Governors, Deputy Governors, Presidents of
Councils, Assistants in the
128
1700
Autographs of Penn and Attesting Witnesses
to
Germantown Academy
.......
580 255
Girard, Stephen
the
630
Ill
Girard's Dwelling and Counting- House in 1831
Bank Meeting-House
121
Goddard, William
285
Barry, John
304
Gordon, Patrick
178
234
Great Seal of Pennsylvania
Charter of 1682
Bartram's House Biddle, Capt. James
Bouquet,
.......
Henry
British Barracks British Stamp
....
.
Cadwalader, John Caricature of Coebett
.
Carpenters' Hall
.
.
.
... ...
.
Chestnut Street in 1803
Chew, Benjamin
... ...
.... .
Chew Mansion Clarke's Hall and Dock Creek Continental Currency
.
Cooper's Prospect
.
252
Head-Dress for the Meschianza
253
Henry, Alexander
271
Holme's
295
Court-House, Town Hall, and
Market
in 1710
Map
Horticultural Hall
511
House where Jefferson wrote the Declaration of
345
356
Independence Hudson,
320
Henry
336
Independence Hall
.
.
831
Indian Autographs
.
.
187
Kane, Dr. Elisha
322
...
K
De
60
Letitia House
41
Lindstrom's
Dickinson, John
276
Lindstrom's
Duche, Rev. Jacob
291
Logan, James
....
.
.
of
......
522
MAcrnERSON Blue,
227
Main Centennial Exhibition Building
391
Map
Fort Casimir or Trinity Fort 'Fort Wilson," Residence of Jajies Wilson
70 .
.
401
of
Delaware Bay and River Col.
73
282 845
A
494
....
Market-House (Second and Pine Streets) McLane,
177
161
Evans' Steam Carriage
....
39
725
74
.
Machinery Hall
"Weekly Mercury"
318
Delaware Bay and River New Sweden on the Delaware.
London Coffee-House
Ferguson, Mrs. Elizabeth
... ...
109
of
521
Fac-Simile of
.
609
292
.
.
.
Evans, Oliver
Duche's, Rev. Jacob, House
245
in 1778
Lafayette Arch
Map Map
53
...
.
Independence Hall in 1876 (Interior)
.
.
96
847
.
Keith, Governor Sir William
.
108
...
290
49
.
380
and Surrounding Ter-
ritory
43
.
122
....
Holme's Portraiture of Philadelphia
Delaware Indian Family Delaware Indian Fort Diagram of Indian House
Obverse and
803
of Philadelphia
Independence Bell
Vries, David Pietersen
1712,
498
frontispiece
Cooper Shop Volunteer Refreshment Saloon
in
Reverse
.181
....... .
557
631
.
.
.
.
.
Allen
841 71
213 375
ix
ILLUSTKATIONS OF VOLUME
I.
page
Meade, Gen. George G
PAGE
812
Plat of Operations on the Delaware
306
102
Poor Richard Almanac, 1733, Title-Page op
237
Memorial Hall
844
President's Chair, and the Desk upon which
Meschianza Procession
379
Meschianza Ticket
378
Provincial Currency
Miles, Gen. Samdel
308
Reed, Joseph
280 106
277
Meeting-Place of the Piest Assembly at Upland
.
Declaration of Independence was Signed
....
......
.
317
.
197
.
279
Residence of Lord Howe
.
351
RlTTENHOUSE, DAVID
.
263
rlttenhouse observatory at norriton
.
261
Sanitary Fair Building
.
815
278
Schuylkill Club Emblem
.
233
Mount Pleasant
390
Scull & Heap's
Mud
361
Seal of Philadelphia
in 1683
321
Seal of Philadelphia
in 1701
Mifflin, Thomas
Monument
to
mark the
Site of the T:reaty-Thee
Morris, Robert
"Morris House" (Samuel ington's Residence in
B. Morris'
House,
Germantown
Wash-
in 1793)
Island in 1777
Nixon, John
Map
of Philadelphia in 1750
Second Street north from
Oath and Signatures of Governor Markham 's Council in 1681
....
94
Edward
Mayor)
(First
Shippen,
425
Slate-Roof House
Paine, Thomas
309
Slave Advertisements
Paoli Monument
349
State-House in 1744
Patterson, Gen. Robert
755
Stewart, Capt. Charles
258
Stone Prison
Oswald, Col.
Eleazer
Penn, John
1800
Shee, John
338
Oath of Allegiance
Market about
Penn, William
77
St. Augustine's
Penn's Burial-Place
82
St. Clair,
.
.... ....
.
14
.
Ill
.
173
.
511
.
307
.
158
.
147
200, 256 .
207 748 202
Catholic Church
.
Gen. Arthur
667
437
Penn's Brew-House
153
Stuart, George H.
Penn's Clock
163
Stuyvesant, Governor Peter
Penn's Treaty-Tree in 1800
104
susquehannah indian
Pennsylvania Hall
651
Thomson, Charles
274
Pennsylvania Journal
2S1
Thomson's, Charles, Residence
275
Philadelphia Arcade
618
Title-Page of Frame's Poem
223
Philadelphia Bank
536
Unite or Die
303
Pillory
201
Walnut Street Prison
.
.
.
.
Plan of Fort Mifflin
.
.
Plan of the Battle of Germantown Plan of the Town and Fort of Christiana Plat of Approaches to Germantown
.
68
33
....
267
Washington's Headquarters at Valley Forge
369
360
Washington Guards
563
363
Welsh, Hon. John
354
Wharton Mansion
Plan of British Fortifications around Philadelphia in 1777
830
64
353
.... .... ....
842 377
Whitefield, George
238
Willing, Thomas
276
HISTORY OF PHILADELPHIA. CHAPTER
actual living frame from inanimate remains, giving
I.
accurately all the details of race, age, sex, complexion, frame, general conformation, and individual peculi-
TOPOGRAPHY OF PHILADELPHIA. " Pulchra duos inter sita Stat Philadelphia rivos
but to show also with firm and irrefutable demonstration what was the lesion under which the vital powers were extinguished, what organs were arity,
;
Inter quos duo aunt
niillia longa via. Delawar hie major, Sculkil minor ille vocatur; India et Suevi6 notus uterque diu. JEdibus oruatur multis urbs limite longo,
Quse parva emicuit tempore
magna
in dissolution.
Hie plateas mensor spatiis delineat acquis, Kt dotnui recto est ordine juncta domus." Thomas Makin, In laiides Pen-nstjlvaniif jwnrn,
—
HlSTOKY,
as
men have come
to learn,
and queens, of
is
1729.
not simply
and parties, nor must it rest with recording the hattles and movements of armies and the proceedings of parliaments and assemblies. To satisfy intelligent inquiry, the annals of kings
and how their disorder came to be climaxed An era or an epoch is as the life of a man, and must be studied with the aid of the scalpel and the microscope. In no other way can an accurate and vivid reproduction of the past be effected. Esaffected,
brevi.
factions
pecially should the historian avoid interpreting a past
age by the feelings, sentiments, and experiences of the He must, as nearly as possible, assimilate
present.
himself to the times and the men he is describing, analyze their shortcomings and prejudices in the same
should present a pic-
atmosphere and light that engendered them, and
and show how external circumstances and internal relations have reciprocally acted one upon the other to mould character and determine events. The court, the forum,
enter into the period as if he belonged to it. Thus, as Taine has acutely said, " through reflection, study,
to instruct as well as
amuse,
it
ture of the country and the people,
the public assemblage are not to be neglected, but the full history
of a country or a period cannot be written
until we have accompanied the people to their firesides,
and seen how they lived, ate, dressed, thought, spoke, and looked. The historian should be an artist, full of sincerity, full of imagination, and even a degree of sentiment for his work, but that work must be founded in the first instance upon close, accurate, exhaustive study of the age, the men, the manners and customs, and all the private concerns, as well as the public performances of the community which is dealt with.
which
is
In the pursuit of such inquiries nothing
relevant can be trivial, for history resembles
which must be so conducted as to enable us not only to reconstruct an a post-mortem examination,
Note.
—The author wishes to state in advance that not only the present
chapter, but
much
of all that succeeds
it,
has been prepared in associa-
and habit we succeed by degrees in producing sentiments in our minds of which we were at first unconscious we find that another man in another age necessarily felt differently from ourselves we enter into his views and then into his tastes, and as we place ourselves at his point of view we comprehend him, and in comprehending him find ourselves a little less ;
;
superficial."
The historian who holds this opinion of his duty and his task must always look with peculiar pleasure upon all that concerns the birth, growth, and development of cities, for it is in these congregated and crowded communities that man is seen working at most freedom from the restrictions and limitations of nature and evolving the greatest results from that complex and co-operative force which we call society. Civilization itself is the product of civic and social life, and depends for its continuance upon the maintenance of society in a healthy civic condition. The city is the fountain of progress it is the type, how;
tion with
Thompson Westcott, and with the indispensable
aid of his
manuscripts, his collections of material, his researches, and his extensive publications on the subject of the history of Philadelphia.
He has
to the faithful, industrious, and intelligent pursuit of few records have escaped him, and he has supplemented their evidence with recollections of a trustworthy character and testimony from a thousand sources, such as none but the most indefatigable antiquarian would seek or could procure access to. Such aid, such cheer-
devoted a lifetime this history;
such fruitful products of untiringindustry in special investigation cannot fail to make the present work luminous in respect of that intimate local information and those obscure but essential par-
ful co-operation,
ticulars into 1
which
so
few
histories descend.
ever,
and exemplar of the
State,
though often
its fore-
runner.
The city of Philadelphia must always be an object of particular and inexhaustible interest to the student of American history and American institutions. Pecu-
—
and initial institutions, a city which was made and did not spring spontaneously from the
liar in its origin
concurrence of circumstances and surroundings,— it yet took its place at a very early day as the focus of 1
—
—
HISTORY OF PHILADELPHIA. American tendencies and aspirations, and became the centre and the birthplace of the United States as an independent Commonwealth. In the military and in
tion of country. The Delaware empties at a distance below into a wide bay, but the Schuylkill has a true delta, comprising several mouths. When the Swedes
the political history of this nation Philadelphia occu-
came upon the spot these outlets were still more numerous than now, and it has been conjectured, not without probability, that in some prehistoric period some one of the main debouches of the stream was from Fairmount, or some point between that and the
an asylum of peace and the home of pacific industry, but it became not only the sport and the prey of contending armies, but the arsenal of the war-making power of the continent during seven years of eager and fluctuating contest. The greatest of deliberations were pies the foremost place.
It
was founded
as
carried forward to national conclusions within
and from
its
ven-
were derived those impulses to sublime action which attain even grander proportions as they recede in the vista of time. Here, too, American industry was first fostered in a peculiarly national and American way, until a continental policy grew out of local practice and the successes which attended local experiment. Philadelphia has besides a history of its own, which catches in a pecuerated walls,
liar
manner the
it
as a centre
light of the genius
In
loci.
many
spects of constitution, institutions, municipal rule
law, construction, manners
and customs,
re-
and
dissimi-
it is
from other cities and possesses a physiognomy all its own. It is the aim of the present work to give the history of Philadelphia with accuracy and intelligence, omitting nothing that will contribute in any
lar
degree to illustrate
importance, and
its
its
origin
and growth,
its
peculiar local features,
a portrait of the city as it
was and
as it
national
—
is,
to paint
in
which
every lineament shall be truthfully portrayed and life and vigor enough to make its acknowledged by all. If these objects can be attained by zeal, sincerity, and faithful, patient, and exhaustive research, the author has no fear of the reception which awaits his formidable undertaking.
represented with fidelity
"Philadelphia," says the worthy Dr. James Mease, "Picture" of the city, published in 1811, "lies
in his
on a plain nearly
level,
and on the western bank of
the river Delaware, in 39 degrees 57 minutes of north latitude, and 75 degrees 8 minutes of longitude west of London.
It
is
about one hundred and twenty miles
distant from the ocean by the course of the river, and sixty in a direct line
;
its
mark ranges from two
elevation above low-water
to forty-six feet, the highest
part being between Seventh and Eighth Streets from
This topographical description
Schuylkill."
is
not,
however, so accurate as that of Mr. Makin, the learned schoolmaster, quoted at the head of this chapter, and
which his successor, Proud, the historian, has rendered into stanzas after the style of Alexander Pope, " Fair Philadelphia
Betwixt two
and
so on.
This
is
next
is
rivei'B plac'd,
rising seen,
two miles between,"
not precisely what Mr. Makin says,
but it will serve. The peculiarity of the site proceeds from the fact that the city, placed upon the western side of one great river, lies almost immediately upon the delta of another stream not so large, yet of considerable length and volume, and draining a wide sec-
first
Falls of the Schuylkill, eastward across to the Dela-
ware at or about Kensington, by the beds of the strea ms, creeks, and coves now or formerly known by the names of Frankford, Cohocksink, Pegg's Run, Gunner's Run, etc. 1 If this were the case really, Philadelphia would properly be described, so far as the original city is concerned, as occupying the upper part of an island in the delta of the Schuylkill, where its several mouths empty into the Delaware. The range of hills and mountains in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania is invariably from northeast to southwest.
The streams of
these sec-
on the other hand, flow in a general course from northwest to southeast. They are thus forced to cut through the ranges transversely in their course to the sea. What the Potomac does at Har-
tions,
per's Ferry and Point of Rocks and the Susquehanna between Harrisburg and Port Deposit, the Delaware
repeats at the "
Water-Gap" and the Schuylkill
at
Fairmount. The Potomac, in bursting through the South Mountain of Maryland and Virginia, needed In the same the waters of the Shenandoah to aid it. way the Schuylkill is reinforced by the Wissahiccon
The it cuts through the Fairmount barriers. Delaware and the Susquehanna neither of them have risen as far west as the loftier and broader breastworks of the Alleghanies, their upper streams passing to the eastward of these ranges and descending almost on north and south parallel courses from the neighborhood of the noble table-lands of central New York, where the flattening out of the mountains has enabled an easy artificial stream for commerce to be constructed from the great lakes to the Hudson River. before
The Schuylkill
rises in the eastern foot-hills
mountains, and, fed by
many small
of these
streams and forest
makes a tortuous way through an uneven counDelaware, with which it mingles by mouths so obscure and insignificant that the Dutch called it " hidden river," and the early Swede cartography confounded it with the minor coves and creeks which indent the western bank of the Delaware in so many places from the Horekill to the Neshaminy. Leaving
rills,
try to the
the rity,1706, the approach of Falls' Eun to the head which flows into Frankford Creek, and the ponds nnd hollows stretching across on the line of Pegg's Run, are marked iu such relief as to give a topographical plausibility to this Idea. A canal was at that time cut across part of the peninsulain such away as toshowadesign l
On
Hill's
map of
of Wingohocking,
to unite the
two
rivers at that point.
An
original cut-off of the Schuyl-
account for this insignificance of the river's mouth where it actually and finally empties into the Delaware. The assumption that there was such a cut-off, however, must be left where it belongs,
kill at the Falls -would
in the
domain of pure conjecture.
,
TOPOGKAPHY. out the it is
strictly alluvial country,
we may assume
delphia County to consist of gentle ranges of hills running from northeast to southwest, separated by valleys or low plains, and cut transversely by numerous streams flowing from northwest to east and southeast, except where the water-shed deflects them into the Schuylkill, in which case their course is from a little east of north to a point or two west of south.
This of course are
many
shown
is
the general description only.
There
exceptions, the character of which will be
farther on.
Each of these streams, cutting
through the ranges of high ground, had its own conterminous valley, and these valleys interrupted and
broke up the
blufl's
bordering on the Delaware, which
These bluffs, must be remarked, on the Delaware side had the
otherwise would have been continuous. it
The
that
the general topographical characteristic of Phila-
true characteristics of river dykes or levees, the result,
from the Atlantic Ocean, 125
city is 96 miles
miles in a direct line northeast of Washington, and
85 miles southwest of New York. north-northeast,
miles
;
is
Its greatest
length
22 miles; breadth, from 5 to 10
area, 82,603 acres, or 129.4 square miles.
surface between the rivers
The
Delaware and Schuylkill
varies in elevation from 30 to 300 feet, the alluvial
however, having originally no actual relief above the line of high tide, while in the district west of the Schuylkill the face of the country is undulating to a degree which is almost rugged in contour and romantic in aspect. The valley of the Wissahiccon and the reservations made for Fairmount Park have long been celebrated for their effective scenery and the fine composition of forest and stream, rocky flats,
deep vales, and wild ravines. Penn's original city was laid off in the narrowest part of the peninsula between the Delaware and the
hillsides;
— the
in part at least, of glacial action.
They rested upon and were higher than the land back of them, so that the original ground upon which Philadelphia stands did not drain to the river directly, but backwards to the smaller streams, which broke through the dyke at intervals. In the tide-washed flat lands near the debouch of the Schuylkill the minor streams originally flowed indifferently between the Delaware and the Schuylkill, with openings into both rivers, like canals. When there was a freshet in the Delaware that river must have overflowed by Hollandaer's Kyi and half a dozen more such estuaries into the
Schuylkill Rivers,
gravel,
regular-shaped urn or vase, so to speak,
Schuylkill.
Delaware and the Schuylkill on Market Street was 10,922 feet 5 inches (2^^ miles). The distance from north side of Vine Street to south side of Cedar (or South) Street was 5370 feet 8 inches, being 90 feet 8 inches over one mile. Excluding the width of streets the space was divided thus From Cedar to
The true latitude and longitude of Philadelphia we give from a compilation made by Prof. B. A. Gould for one of the numbers of "The American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac." The data are determined for the observatories in each case (Independence Hall being here taken) Philadelphia, N. Latitude, 39° 57' 7.5"- (MS. communication from Prof. Kendall) Longitude E. from Washington (U. S. Coast Survey)
which
thus formed,
is
belt of the
—and
ir-
^f::;:;: