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PHILADELPHIA
A GUIDE TO THE NATION S BIRTHPLACE
PENN IN ARMOR
American Guide Series
PHILADELPHIA
A GUIDE TO THE NATION S BIRTHPLACE
Compiled by the Federal Writers Project
Works Progress Administration for the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Sponsored by the
PENNSYLVANIA HISTORICAL COMMISSION
Illustrated
First Edition
WILLIAM PENN ASSOCIATION
OF PHILADELPHIA, INC.
]937
COPYRIGHT, 1937, BY THE
PENNSYLVANIA HISTORICAL COMMISSION
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INCLUDING THE RIGHT TO REPRODUCE THIS BOOK
OR PARTS THEREOF IN ANY FORM
The Telegraph Press
HARR1SBURG PENNSYLVANIA
PRINTED IN THE U. S. A.
THE AMERICAN GUIDE SERIES
The Philadelphia Guide is one of the publications in the American Guide
Series, written by members of the Federal Writers Project of the Works Progress
Administration. Designed primarily to give useful employment to needy unem
ployed writers and research workers, this project has gradually developed the
ambitious objective of presenting to the American people a portrait of America
its history, folklore, scenery, cultural backgrounds, social and economic trends,
and racial factors. In one respect, at any rate, this undertaking is unique ; it
represents a farflung effort at cooperative research and writing, drawing upon all
the varied abilities of its personnel. All the workers contribute according to their
talents ; the field worker collects data in the field, the research worker burrows
in libraries, the art and literary critics cover material relevant to their own
specialties, architects describe notable historical buildings and monuments ; and
the final editing of copy as it flows in from all corners of a state is done by the
more experienced authors in the central offices. The ultimate product, whatever
its faults or merits, represents a blend of the work of the entire personnel, aided
by consultants, members of university faculties, specialists, officers of learned
societies, oldest residents, who have volunteered their services everywhere most
generously.
A great many books and brochures are being written for this series. As they
appear in increasing numbers we hope the American public will come to ap
preciate more fully not only the unusual scope of this undertaking, but also the
devotion shown by the workers, from the humblest field worker to the most ac
complished editors engaged in the final rewrite. The Federal Writers Project,
directed by Henry G. Alsberg, is in the Division of Women s and Professional
Projects under Ellen S*. Woodward, Assistant Administrator.
Administrator
Works Progress Administration
FOREWORD
A spirit of achievement abounds in Philadelphia, mark
ing the renaissance of Philadelphia s renown as a center
of business, culture and enterprise.
Philadelphia is a rich city. Not only is it wealthy in
memories of those stirring times when a great political
philosophy was born in Independence Hall, but it is
laden with things which are richly American, such as the
warm sincerity and hospitality of its people.
I like to think of Philadelphia as a typical Pennsyl
vania city, shipping the stores of anthracite coal to every
part of the world, marketing the products of the rich
Pennsylvania farmlands, planning its future greatness
with the other communities throughout the Common
wealth.
A book can tell only a part of Philadelphia s story.
The whole story can be known by seeing and enjoying
these things which Philadelphia holds for visitors and
Philadelphians alike.
Mayor of Philadelphia
PREFACE
THE Philadelphia Guide, one of the American Guide series of regional, state,
city, county and sectional Guides being compiled by the Federal Writers
Projects, Works Progress Administration, marks the completion of the first major
publication by the Pennsylvania staff. Representing almost two years work by
the Philadelphia Project and the State staff, it presents the traditions and history
of the old city and the swiftly changing contemporary scene. It should prove in
teresting and instructive to Philadelphians, recalling as it does the quaintness
and peace of the Quaker town, which served as the nucleus for the modern in
dustrial city. It is believed visitors will find it valuable.
The first material was assembled in November 1935, when the Federal Writers
Project was started in Pennsylvania. During the following months a staff of
editors, reporters, copy desk men, artists, map makers, research workers, and
typists compiled, assembled, and edited the material. Historic lore uncovered by
reporters was checked for authenticity by recognized authorities. Among the con
sultants were religious leaders, industrialists, educators, geologists, musicians,
actors, painters, architects, scientists, librarians, physicians, labor leaders, social
service workers, and bankers, who have given freely of their knowledge to ensure
the accuracy of the Philadelphia Guide. During this period, of course, work on
numerous other books and pamphlets was being carried forward.
The project, part of the WPA program, was planned to provide work for un
employed newspapermen and magazine writers in a sphere where their talents
and abilities could find expression in channels of value to the Nation.
The first phase has been passed. It remains for those who read the Guide to
decide whether the second objective has been attained.
The gradual change in personnel and duties which has necessarily occurred dur
ing the long months the Guide was in the course of preparation makes it im
possible to give the entire staff, individually, the credit which each worker so
richly deserves. Since the inception of the task, more than two hundred and
forty men and women have at various times been engaged in some phase of the
work of compiling, writing, checking, editing, and 1 illustrating this modern
Baedeker of the Quaker City, meanwhile carrying on their work on other pub
lications of the American Guide Series. Death has taken the pen from the hands
of some ; opportunity in private industry has called others. But throughout this
kaleidoscopic change in the staff there has persisted a fine esprit cTcorps of which
the Philadelphia Guide is the first tangible memorial.
We offer the Guide with a feeling of satisfaction and confidence ; satisfaction,
that we have contributed something worthy to the city ; and confidence, that it
will prove of real value to those who use it.
Paul Comly French
Pennsylvania State Director
Federal Writers Project
Philadelphia
December 1, 1937
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
THE AMERICAN GUIDE SERIES vii
by Harry L. Hopkins, Administrator
Works Progress Administration
FOREWORD ix
by S. Davis Wilson
Mayor of Philadelphia
PREFACE xi
by Paul Comly French, State Director
Federal Writers Project
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xv
GENERAL INFORMATION xxi
Information Facilities Climate
Travel Sports
Accommodations Theatres
Shopping Night Clubs
CALENDAR OF ANNUAL EVENTS xxviii
POINTS OF SPECIAL INTEREST xxx
THE CITY AND ITS BACKGROUND
PORTRAIT OF PHILADELPHIA 3
NATURE S HANDIWORK 11
THE FIRST INHABITANTS 16
THE SAGA OF A CITY
Prologue 20
Penn and the Holy Experiment 23
Early Settlement 31
The Revolutionary Period 45
A Century of Growth 60
The Modern Metropolis 77
OLD WAYS AND OLD TALES 88
THE IMPRINT OF NATIONS 98
GOVERNMENTAL MACHINERY 109
PHILADELPHIA S ECONOMIC CHARACTER
Hub of Commerce and Industry 112
Cradle of American Finance 125
Public Utilities 137
Transportation 142
Labor and Labor Problems 147
THE CITY S CULTURAL ASPECTS
Religions 159
Education 173
Literature 184
Growth of the Press 202
Stage and Screen 213
Music 234
Painting and Sculpture 243
Colonial Mansion to Skyscraper
Architecture, The City of Yesterday and Today 256
Old Plans and New, The City of Tomorrow 279
Science 284
Medicine 293
Social Service 304
xiii
POINTS OF SPECIAL INTEREST
INDEPENDENCE SQUARE GROUP 319
CARPENTERS HALL 339
BETSY ROSS HOUSE AND THE LEGEND OF THE FLAG 342
THE POWEL HOUSE 345
THE ACADEMY OF MUSIC 348
LOGAN SQUARE LIBRARY 350
FRANKLIN INSTITUTE AND THE FELS PLANETARIUM 353
PENNSYLVANIA MUSEUM OF ART 360
GIRARD COLLEGE 370
UNITED STATES MINT 375
ROADS AND RAMBLES IN AND AROUND THE CITY
(Maps with all tours)
HEART OF THE CITY 379
WHERE THE FATHERS WALKED
1. North of old "High Street" (City Tour 1) 385
2. From City Hall to "Society Hall" (City Tour 2) 399
TO THE SCHUYLKILL S BANK (City Tour 3) 431
"LONGEST STRAIGHT STREET"
1. South Broad Street Through the Melting Pot (City Tour 4) . . 441
2. North Broad Street Where Houses Stand in Regiments
(City Tour 5) 450
HISTORIC GERMANTOWN (City Tour 6) 475
WEST PHILADELPHIA
1. City of Apartments (City Tour 7) 493
2. Toward the Suburbs (City Tour 8) 505
THROUGH INDUSTRIAL PHILADELPHIA (City Tour 9) 513
ALONG THE WATER FRONT (City Tour 10) 533
FAIRMOUNT PARK
1. East Park (City Tour 11) 547
2. West Park (City Tour 12) 561
THE TREE-LINED PARKWAY (City Tour 13) 575
AROUND PENN S CAMPUS (City Tour 14) 587
SIX WOODLAND HIKES
Hills and Dales of the Wissahickon
1. The Lower Valley (City Tour 15) 601
2. Along Sparkling Cresheim Creek (City Tour 16) 607
3. Around Valley Green (City Tour 17) 615
Woodland Shadows of the Pennypack
1. By the "OF Swimming Hole" (City Tour 18) 620
2. Rendezvous for Izaak Waltons (City Tour 19) 621
By Placid Cobbs Creek (City Tour 20) , 625
JAUNTS TO THE ENVIRONS
To Brandywine Battlefield (Environs Tour 1) 629
To Bryn Athyn Cathedral (Environs Tour 2) 651
To New Hope and Washington Crossing (Environs Tour 3) 657
Valley Forge (Environs Tour 4) 673
CHRONOLOGY 686
BIBLIOGRAPHY 690
INDEX 692
xiv
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Among the consultants, who gave generously of their time and knowledge are
men and women prominent in many fields of activity in the City. While it would
be impossible to give credit individually to all of those who assisted us, yet we
are anxious for them to know that their advice and suggestions aided materially
in the preparation of the Guide.
There are some, however, to whom we are especially grateful. Included among
these are Henry B. Allen, Director, Franklin Institute; Dr. Jacob Billikopf, Chair
man of the former Philadelphia Regional Labor Relations Board; Reverend
Frederick W. Blatz, St. Peters Church; L. Wharton Bickley, Building Superin
tendent, Federal Reserve Bank; Dr. Samuel Bradbury, Medical Director, Penn
sylvania Hospital; Lieut. Com. William W. Behrens, U. S. N.; Julian P. Boyd,
Historical Society of Pennsylvania; Carl Boyer, Director, Wagner Free Institute
of Science; Charles M. B. Cadwalader, President, Academy of Natural Sciences;
Paul P. Cret, Architect; Horace T. Carpenter, Curator, Independence Hall; Frank
A. Cook, Building Manager, Philadelphia Saving Fund Society; Mabel Corry,
Secretary, New Century Club; Charles N. Christman, Director, Philadelphia Com
mercial Museum; Karl de Schweinitz, Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Pub
lic Assistance; John C. Donecker, Secretary, Girard College; E. H. Dressel,
Superintendent, U. S. Mint; Ross B. Davis, Chief Engineer, Bureau of Fire.
George H. Fairchild, Historical Society of Pennsylvania; Samuel Fleisher,
Graphic Sketch Club; Harry H. Givens, Periodical Department, Historical Society
of Pennsylvania; Samuel G. Gordon, Academy of Natural Sciences; Dorothy Grafly,
Art Critic; Richard Gimbel of the Poe House; Carl F. Haussman, Rector, Zion
German Lutheran Church; WillB Hadley, City Treasurer; Norman F. Hall,
Chamber of Commerce; William Heim, Metropolitan Opera House; J. St. George
Joyce, Director of Public Relations, Temple University; Fiske Kimball, Director,
Pennsylvania Museum of Art; Howard A. Keiser, Superintendent, Academy of
Music; Dorothy Kohl, Executive Director, Philadelphia Art Alliance; Elizabeth
Kunkel, Secretary to the Director of Cedar Grove Mansion, Letitia Street House,
Memorial Hall and Rodin Museum; George I. Lovatt, Architect; Reverend
Clarence Long of Old Pine Street Church; Percy E. Lawler, Manager, Rosenr>ach
galleries; Albert Mordell, Author; J. Hampton Moore, former Mayor of Phik
delphia; Henry T. Murdock, Dramatic Editor, Evening Public Ledger; Henri
Marceau, Assistant Director, Pennsylvania Museum of Art; Edith P. MacKendrick,
Assist. Treas., Monthly Meeting of Friends; Reverend W. R. McKean, Minister in
charge of Christ Church; Dr. Louis Nusbaum, Board of Education.
Reverend Dr. E. A. E. Palmquist, Executive Secretary, Philadelphia Federation
of Churches; Dr. Francis W. Pennell, Academy of Natural Sciences; Franklin H.
Price, Librarian, Logan Square Library; Richard Peters, Jr., Secretary, Historical
Society of Pennsylvania; David Philips, Public Relations Manager, P. R. T.;
William J. Patterson, Librarian, Masonic Temple library; Ormond Rambo, Jr.,
American Swedish Historical Museum; Reverend John Craig Roak, of Gloria Dei
Church; Dr. C. Dudley Saul, Physician; Judge Frank Smith; Dr. Frank G. Speck,
Professor of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania; Dr. Witmer Stone Acad
emy of Natural Sciences; R. C. Sutton, Chief Administrative Assistant, Fort Mifflin;
Herbert J. Tily, President, Strawbridge and Clothier; Dr. Francis H. Tees, Minister
of St. George s Church; William Henry Welsh, Dir. of School Extension, Board
of Education; Frances A. Wister, President, Philadelphia Society for Preservation
of Landmarks; Louis W. Wilgarde, Secretary to Mayor Wilson; Harold A. West,
Librarian, Mercantile Library; Thomas Washington, Rear Admiral, U. S. N.; and
John E. Zimmermann, President, U. G. I.
The editors of the Philadelphia Guide are indebted to Mr. William M. Camp
bell, delineator ; the Philadelphia Chapter, A.I.A. copyright holders ; and the
J. L. Smith Co., publishers ; for permission to reproduce as an end piece the
map Philadelphia from the map made by Johri Reed in 1774.
XV
ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS
Perm in Armor
Liberty Bell
Delaware River Bridge Drawing by
Christ Church Tower Drawing by
Scene in Fairmount Park
Penn s Ship "Welcome" Drawing by
Workmans Place
Friend s Meeting House
Portrait of Benjamin Franklin
by Joseph Wright
State House
1776 and 1876
Declaration Table in Independence Hall
Betsy Ross House Today
Before Its Restoration
Shippen-Wistar House
James Wilson s Grave at Christ Church
Musical Fund Hall Drawing by
Monument to Negro Soldiers
Smith Memorial
Dewey s "Olympia," Philadelphia Navy Yard
Tacony-Palmyra Bridge Drawing by
Stum Scene
New Year "Shooter" Drawing by
Fire Plaques
Old Market
Curb Market at Ninth Street and
Washington Avenue
City Hall Tower
Hosiery Worker
Breaking up the Final
Courtesy of the Historical
Society of Pennsylvania
Ritter
Schmidt
Palmer
Ritter
Schmidt
Ritter
Ritter
Courtesy of the
Academy of Fine Arts
From old prints
Courtesy of the Historical
Society of Pennsylvania
Ritter
Ritter
Carter
Ritter
Ritter
Schmidt
Ritter
Ritter
Ritter
Schmidt
Ritter
Palmer
Kalmar
Ritter
Frontis
piece
2
7
Old Ships and New
Statue of Robert Morris at the
Old Custom House
Girard Bank
Old Schuylkill Navigation Canal Lock
in Fairmount Park
Melted Steel
St. Paul s Protestant Episcopal Churdi
S tenton House
Gateway of Old Christ Church
Board of Education Administration Building
Penn Charter School
The Poe House
Poe House Interior
Thomas Paine Drawing by
Front Page News in The Pennsylvania
Evening Post
Transmitting Station of WCAU
Walnut Street Theatre
First Chestnut Street Theatre Drawing by
Hedgerow Theatre
Memorial Arch at Valley Forge Drawing by
Academy of Music
Egan
Ritter
Drawing by Palmer
Courtesy of John P. Mudd
The Midvale Company
Egan
Ritter
Ritter
Ritter
Courtesy of John P. Mudd
The Midvale Company
Ritter
Barnum
Ritter
Egan
Egan
Kalmar
Kalmar
Schmidt
Reproduction copy
Courtesy of WCAU
Egan
Schmidt
Ritter
Palmer
Ritter
XVI
Rodin s "The Kiss"
T osaic, "The Dream Garden" after
Maxfield Parrish
our Towers
City Hall and Independence Hall
Old Stock Exchange and Philadelphia
Saving Fund Society
The Chew Mansion
Doorway of Mt. Pleasant
""" me of Robert Morris
iming Pool at the Carl Mackley House
A Mackley House
rounder s Hall, Girard College
Federal Reserve Bank Building
Natural Habitat Exhibits
Academy of Natural Sciences
Fitch s Steamboat "Perseverance
Laboratory
Ritter
Courtesy of Curtis
Publishing Comparty
Ritter
Ritter
Highton
Courtesy of the Pennsyl
vania Museum of Art
Egan
Courtesy of Museum of
Modern Art, New York
Ritter
Egan
Ritter
An Operation at Hahnemann
Preston Retreat
City Skyline from the Art Museum
Ritter
Drawing by Palmer
Courlsey of
Sharp & Dohme
Courtesy of Hahnemann
Medical College
Kalmar
Egan
Points of Special Interest
Old Gate at Independence Square Drawing by Schmidt
Statue of Barry and Independence Hall Highton"
Congress Hall Ritter
Old City Hall Ritter
American Philosophical Society Ritter
Interior of Independence Hall Ritter
Benjamin Franklin s Chair Ritter
Carpenters Hall JRitter
The Powel House Ritter
Franklin Institute by Night Egan
League Island Navy Yard Crane Drawing by Palmer
Zeiss Projector in the Fels Planetarium Ritter
East Wing of Art Museum Egan
Art Museum and the Old Water Works Kalmar
Founder s Hall at Girard College Egan
Stephen Girard Sarcophagus at Girard
College
United States Mint
City Hall and Skyline
Egan
Drawing by Palmer
Ritter
City Tours
St. George s Methodist Church
Elfreth s Alley
Benjamin Franklin s Grave
Christ Church Doorway
Drinker House
St. Peter s Church
St. Joseph s Roman Catholic Church
Philadelphia Conlributionship
Mikveh Israel Cemetery Drawing by
William Penn Statue, Pennsylvania
Hospital
Camac Street
Clinton Street
Kalmar
Ritter
Ritter
Ritter
Drawing by Schmidt
Ritter
Ritter
Ritter
Schmidt
Highton
Ritter
Ritter
Sailing Boat Drawing by Giordano
Doorway of St. Mark s Church Ritter
Armory of First Troop, Philadelphia
City Cavalry Barnum
252
255
260
261
269
269
273
275
275
276
276
291
292
296
302
309
316
318
322
330
330
332
335
338
340
347
354
354
361
364
369
372
372
374
378
389
391
391
397
405
409
409
413
417
419
423
423
429
434
434
xvi i
Rittenhouse Square Ritter
Ridgway Library Ritter
American Swedish Historical Museum Ritter
Academy of Fine Arts Ritter 454
Observatory at Central High School Kalmar 460
Rodeph Shalom Synagogue Egan 460
Dome of Lu Lu Temple Egan
Mitten Hall, Temple University Egan 465
Rear of Temple University Dormitories Barrium 465
Main Altar, Church of the Holy Child Courtesy of William Rittase 472
Germantown Academy Highton
The Wyck House Barnum
Germantown Mennonite Church Barnum
The Billmeyer House Barnum
Convention Hall Kalmar
Detail of Bartram House Ritter
Bartram House Ritter
Interior of Bartram House Highton
U. S. Naval Home Kalmar 502
Thirtieth Street Station, P.R.R. Drawing by Palmer 507
Wynnestay Kalmar 509
Seminary of St. Charles Borromeo Ritter 511
St. Joseph s College Ritter 511
Stetson Hat Company Courtesy of John B.
Stetson Co. 516
Curtis Publishing Company Courtesy of Curtis Pub. Co. 516
Plant of J. G. Brill Co. Kalmar 522
Delaware River Bridge Egan 536
Sail Ship Drawing by Palmer
Delaware Avenue at Noon Ritter 539
Old Swedes Church Ritter 541
Old Swedes Church Graveyard Ritter 541
Old Sailing Vessels Egan }]l
Indian Medicine Man RUter 550
Exterior of Mt. Pleasant Ritter 553
Interior of Mt. Pleasant Courtesy of the Pennsylvania
Museum of Art 553
Schuylkill River from West River Drive Ritter 556
Boathouse Row Ritter 558
Old Solitude Himes 563
Interior of Letitia Street House Highton 565
Sweet Briar Highton 567
Letitia Street House Ritter 569
Interior of Cedar Grove Mansion Courtesy of Pennsylvania
Museum of Art 569
Horticultural Hall Kalmar 573
Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul Himes 577
Entrance Gate of Rodin Museum Highton 577
Facade of Rodin Museum Egan 582
Train Drawing by Palmer 585
Irvine Auditorium Ritter 591
Entrance to U. of P. Quadrangle Ritter 591
Franklin Field Drawing by Palmer 593
Dormitories at Pennsylvania Ritter 595
Statue of Benjamin Franklin Ritter 598
Rittenhouse Mill Carter 606
Devil s Pool Barnum 611
Indian Statue Barnum 613
Old Covered Bridge Barnum 616
Livezey House Carter 616
Concrete Bridge over Pennypack Creek Egan 620
Pennypack Baptist Church Egan 623
Cobbs Creek Park Trail Ritter 626
XVI 11
Environs Tours
Swarthmore College
Glen Riddle Homes
Concord Meetinghouse
Octagonal Schoolhouse
Sproul Observatory
Fort Mifflin
Fort Mifflin Basking in an Olden Glory
The Swedenborgian Cathedral
Swedenborgian Cathedral, A Vaulted Portico
Robbins House
Old Forge Inn
Friends Meetinghouse at Horsham
Keith House at Graeme Park
Canal at New Hope
Gulph Mills
Sign at King of Prussia Inn
Valley Forge Chapel Interior
Washington Memorial National Carillon
Cabin at Valley Forge
MAPS
HEART OF PHILADELPHIA
WHERE THE CITY FATHERS WALKED
1. North of old "High Street"
2. From City Hall to Society Hill
TO THE SCHUYLKILL S BANK
"LONGEST STRAIGHT STREET"
1. South Broad Street and Through
the Melting Pot
2. North Broad Street Where Houses
Stand in Regiments
ROOSEVELT BOULEVARD
HISTORIC GERMANTOWN
WEST PHILADELPHIA
1. City of Apartments
2. Towards the Suburbs
THROUGH INDUSTRIAL PHILADELPHIA
ALONG THE WATER FRONT
FAIRMOUNT PARK
1. East Park
2. West Park
THE TREE-LINED PARKWAY
AROUND PENN S CAMPUS
SIX WOODLAND HIKES
Hills and Dales of the Wissahickon
1. The Lower Valley
2. Along Sparkling Cresheim Creek
3. Around Valley Green
Woodland Shadows of the Pennypack
1. By the "OF Swimming Hole"
2. Rendezvous for Izaak Waltons
By Placid Cobbs Creek
FOUR TOURS TO THE CITY S ENVIRONS
Along the Brandywine
Swarthmore College Campus
To Bryn Athyn s Cathedral
New Hope, Artists Colonial
Rendezvous
Valley Forge
TRANSPORTATION IN THE CITY
FAIRMOUNT PARK PICTORIAL (Reverse)
HIGHWAY BY-PASSES AROUND PHILADELPHIA
Ritter
Ritter
Ritter
Ritter
Ritter
Ritter
Ritter
Egan
Egan
Ritter
Ritter
Ritter
Ritter
Ritter
Ritter
Ritter
Himes
Himes
Ritter
Introductory Tour
City Tour 1
City Tour 2
City Tour 3
City Tour 4
City Tour 5
City Tour 5A
City Tour 6
City Tour 7
City Tour 8
City Tour 9
City Tour 10
City Tour 11
City Tour 12
City Tour 13
City Tour 14
City Tour 15
City Tour 16
City Tour 17
City Tour 18
City Tour 19
City Tour 20
Environs Tour 1
Environs Tour 1A
Environs Tour 2
Environs Tour 3
Environs Tour 4
633
635
635
642
642
647
647
652
655
659
659
662
662
668
675
675
677
680
682
384
398
430
442
451
470
476
492
506
514
534
548
560
574
586
600
608
614
618
622
624
628
630
650
656
672
Pocket
Pocket
XIX
SEVENTEENTH
1 THE CITY
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UNNSYLVANIA^
FEDERAL COURTS BUILDING
1. City
la. Citv
Ha
u
ill Annex
NINTH
lb. Market Street Nat l
Bank Bldg.
v2. Wanamaker Store
3. Lincoln-Liberty Bldg.
4. Girard Trust Co. Bld{
5. Mitten Bank
6. Broad Street Station
1. Reyburn Plaza
8. Masonic Temple
9. Bulletin Building
Legend numbers refer i
points of interest describf
in chapter, Heart of tl
City, page 379.
GENERAL INFORMATION
The Philadelphia which greeted travelers
in former days is revealed in the excerpts
from old Baedeker Guides.
Information Facilities in Philadelphia
Information Service. General information concerning Philadelphia may be
obtained at railroad and bus stations ; street railway, air line, and steamship
offices ; department stores ; newspaper offices ; and various civic agencies. (See
Transportation section.)
Travelers Aid Society, 307 S. Juniper St., maintains information desks at
principal railroad stations.
Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company (P. R. T.), 224 S. Broad St., supplies
information concerning trolleys, busses, subways, and elevated railways.
American Airlines, Inc., Eastern Airlines, Inc., and United Air Lines, ticket
office, 1339 Walnut St.; Pan-American Airway System, 1620 Walnut St.; Trans
continental & Western Air Lines, Inc., 1417 Chestnut St.
The two major automobile clubs the A. A. A., at 23 S. 23d St., and the
Keystone, at Broad and Vine Sts. furnish road maps and special service to mem
ber and keep on file folders descriptive of places of special interest to visitors.
They outline motor routes, indicating detours and roads under construction.
The Chamber of Commerce, 12th and Walnut Sts., and the Board of Trade,
Bourse Bldg., 5th St. near Chestnut, supply data concerning commercial Phila
delphia.
The leading daily newspapers are: Record (morning); Inquirer (morning);
Evening Bulletin; Evening Public Ledger; Daily News (evening). All except the
Bulletin" and Daily News conduct resort and travel bureaus.
Publications. The following will be found useful: BoycFs Official Philadelphia
Street and Trolley Guide and the Bulletin Almartac and Year Book, both avail
able at newsstands and stationery stores; Glimpses of Philadelphia, Chamber of
Commerce, 12th and Walnut Sts.; Hotel Greeters Guide of Philadelphia and
This Week in Philadelphia, both available at most of the large hotels; Philadel
phia Guide Book, Horn and Hardart "Automat" restaurants; The PJ?.T. Traveler,
P.R.T. Traveler s Lecture List, and P.R.T. Route Map, Philadelphia Rapid Transit
Co., N.W. corner Broad and Locust Sts.; and Unique Tours, Automobile Club of
Philadelphia, 23 S. 23d St.
Transportation
Railroad Stations. Pennsylvania R.R. Thirtieth St. Station, 30th and Market
Sts.; Broad St. Station, Broad and Market Sts.; Suburban Station, 16th St. and
Pennsylvania Boulevard; North Philadelphia Station, Broad St. and Glenwood Ave.
Baltimore & Ohio 24th and Chestnut Sts.
Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines Market St. Ferry.
Reading Company Terminal, 12th and Market Sts.; North Broad St. Station,
Broad and Huntingdon Sts.
Baedeker s (1893); . . . Tramways run from all . . . suburban
stations ... or ferries to the chief centres of the city and Hotel
Omnibuses (25c) meet the principal trains.
xxi
Highways. Six US highways lead into Philadelphia.
(See Philadelphia and vicinity map for highways and by-passes) Two bridges
connect Philadelphia with New Jersey: Delaware River Bridge from Camden
(toll 20 cents) ; Tacony-Palmyra Bridge (toll 30 cents).
Bus Stations. Greyhound Lines terminal, Broad Street Station.
Reading Transportation Co. terminal, 12th and Market Sts.
Doylestown and Easton Coach Co. terminals, Broad Street Station, Reading
Terminal, 12th and Filbert Sts., and Broad St. and Erie Ave.
Island Beach Stages terminal, 1233 Filbert St.
Martz Trailways terminal, 13th and Filbert Sts.
Public Service Interstate Transportation Co. terminal, 13th and Filbert Sts.
Trenton-Philadelphia Coach Co. terminals, 13th and Filbert Sts., Broad St.
and Erie Ave., 5th St. and Roosevelt Blvd.
Short Line terminal, 1311 Arch S t.
Safeways Trails System terminal, 13th and Filbert Sts.
Red Star terminal, 13th and Filbert Sts.
Pan-American Bus Lines terminal, 1233 Filbert St.
In addition there are fleets of busses, with terminals on Filbert St. between
12th and 13th Sts., that cover metropolitan Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and ad
jacent States. Broad Street (east side), is the converging place for most busses
from New Jersey points.
Suburban electric railway lines with their terminus at 69th St. provide access
to the city via 69th St. Terminal.
The High-Speed Line (fare 10 cents), between Philadelphia and Camden, across
the Delaware River Bridge, connects with subway lines at 8th and Market Sts.,
Philadelphia, and with seashore trains in Camden.
Airports. Central Airport, Crescent Blvd., Camden, 5 mi. S. E. of city for
American Airlines, Inc., Eastern Airlines, Inc., Pan-American Airways System,
and United Airlines. Ticket office, 1339 Walnut St. ; Transcontinental and Western
Airlines, Inc., 1417 Chestnut St. (regular limousine service from 1417 Chestnut St.
and Bellevue-Stratford Hotel, 75 cents; taxi fare from City Hall, $1.50; bus
fare, 20 cents).
Planes entering Central Airport are served from the Eastern Airlines, T.W.A.,
American Airlines, and United States Airmail Service.
Ferries across Delaware River. Pennsylvania ferries dock at the Market St.
wharf (fare 5 cents, 10 tokens for 30 cents; automobiles, 20 cents, strip of 10
tickets, $1.50). Reading ferries dock at the Chestnut St. wharf and South St.
wharf (fare 4 cents, 10 tickets for 25 cents ; automobiles, 25 cents).
Passen ger Steamship Piers. Wilson Line, Delaware Ave. and Chestnut St.; to
Pennsgrove, N. J., Chester, Pa., and Wilmington, Del. This line also offers moon
light excursions on the river.
Ericsson Line, Inc., Delaware Ave. and South St.; to Baltimore, by way of the
Delaware & Chesapeake Canal.
Local Street cars and busses. The Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company (trolley
and subway fare, 8 cents; 2 tokens, 15 cents; bus fare, 10 cents) operates trolleys,
subway lines, and busses to virtually every part of the city.
Baedeker s (1893) : . . . Electric, Cable or Horse cars traverse
all the principal Sts., (fare 5c, transfer tickets 8c) . . . Omni
buses ply up arid down Broad St. and in Diamond Street. . . .
Passengers may obtain free transfer tickets, when fare is paid by cash or
token, enabling them to connect with other trolleys or subway lines. These are
accepted on most of the routes. To connect with certain other routes an "ex
change ticket" is sold for three cents, at the time fare is paid. Conductors will
xxii
explain when a free transfer will do and when an exchange is necessary, if in
formed of the destination desired.
Taxis. Adequate service to all parts of city and suburbs (rates 20 cents for
first l /4, mile, 5 cents each additional Vi mile).
Baedekers (1893) : . . . Hansoms (1-2 persons) iy z M., 25c . . .
Four wheelers, l->2 pers. 50c., 75c . . . One trunk or valise free,
each extra article of luggage 6c . . .
Sight-seeing Busses. Tours of the historical, business, and residential sections,
Fairmount Park, and Valley Forge are offered daily by two companies: the Royal
Blue Line Company of Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin Hotel, Ninth and
Chestnut Sis.; the Gray Line, Keith s Theatre Bldg., 1116 Chestnut St. (rates,
city tour, 3 hours $2.00; l l / 2 hours, $1.00; Valley Forge tour, $3.00).
Chartered bus transportation is obtainable through the Mertz White Way Lines,
Inc., 3210 Spring Garden St.; the P.R.T. Co., Broad and Locust S ts.; and the
two sight-seeing bus companies listed above.
Accommodations
Hotels. These run the gamut from 25-cent "flop-houses" to the palatial central
city hotels. Room rates in the better hotels range from $2 up. (See Central
City map.)
Baedeker s (1893) : . . . Aldirie, 1910 Chestnut St., a good family
hotel, $3y>-5 . . . Greens, 8th and Ches.nut Sts., R. from $1, for
men . . .
Restaurants. Every type, from lunch wagons and automats to famous sea food
houses and pretentious dining rooms. There are a number of foreign restaurants,
including Italian, French, Jewish, Russian, Swedish, German, Rumanian, and
Chinese.
Baedeker s (1893) . . . Bellevue Hotel (somewhat expensive) . . .
Reisser, 5th St. above Chestnut, for men, with a "Rathskeller" down
stairs . . . Dennett s Lunch Room, 529 Chestnut St., 13 S. 9th St.,
arid 1313 Market St. (Low prices.)
Liquor Stores. As the sale of liquors and wines in Pennsylvania is a State
monopoly, spirituous beverages in Philadelphia are dispensed through State
liquor stores operated by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. Beverages are
sold in sealed containers, which must not be opened on the premises. Liquor is
sold by the drink only in taprooms and restaurants licensed for the purpose.
Beer, ale, and porter cannot be obtained in liquor stores, but are offered for
sale in thousands of taprooms throughout the city.
State liquor stores, conveniently placed in every section of the city, are open
from 10 to 9 daily, except Sundays and legal holidays. However, two central
stores are open until 11 p. m one at 1334 Walnut St., the other at 734 Market St.
Street Numbering
The numbered streets run north and south. A system which allots one hundred
numbers to each block is used for designating all addresses. In general, the
north and south streets are numbered each way from Market St. odd numbers
on the east side, even numbers on the west.
In the central section of the city, the east-west streets are numbered westward
from Delaware Ave., on the eastern water front. Farther north, where the city
xxiii
stretches eastward, Front St. is the dividing line from which the numbers start
in either direction. On all east and west streets, odd numbers are on the north
side, and even numbers on the south.
Germantown, Manayunk, Kensington, and other outlying sections have their
own numbering arrangements, dating back to the time when they were separate
towns.
Shopping Information
The shopping center of Philadelphia a half century ago was at 8th and Market
Sts. Today most of the leading stores are on Chestnut St. from 10th to 19th, on
Walnut St. from 10th to 17th, and on Market St. from 7th to Broad. Most of
the city s largest department stores are in the last-named section.
On Market St. from 6th to 16th, and on cross streets between Arch and Wal
nut, may be found a great number of smaller shops which deal mainly in lower-
priced merchandise.
The important retail jewelry establishments are on Chestnut St., east of Broad.
The wholesale jewelry trade is centered on Sansom St. between 7th and 8th, and
the jewelers "curb market" operates in this vicinity.
Exclusive dress and fur shops are on Chestnut and Walnut Sts. between 10th
and 17th, as well as on cross streets between these thoroughfares. Stores carrying
select men s goods are also on Chestnut St. between 10th and 19th, and on
Walnut St. east of Broad.
Some of the downtown stores have branches in sections outside the congested
areas. These sections include West Philadelphia, Germantown, Kensington, and
Frankford, and such suburbs as Upper Darby (69th St.) , Ardmore, and Jenkin-
town.
The Dock St. Market is the largest wholesale produce center in Philadelphia.
Prominent among the retail produce centers is the Reading Terminal Market,
12th St. between Filbert and Arch. On South and Bainbridge Sts., from 2d to
10th Sts., schleppers, or barkers, buttonhole the passerby in front of many stores.
On 9th St., between Christian and Wharton, is the city s colorful Italian market.
Here pushcarts, filled with fish, meats, and vegetables, line the curbs on both
sides of the street. The typical Jewish market is on 4th St. between South and
Catharine. Here, in addition to foodstuffs, a large assortment of dry goods and
wearing apparel of the cheaper grade is offered for sale. Along Marshall St. be
tween Poplar St. and Girard Ave. is another Jewish market.
The oldest market in the city is the Second St. or "Headhouse" Market, at 2d
and Pine Sts. The first section of the market house was built in 1745, the "Head-
house" in 1800. Here is carried on a flourishing trade in meats and general
produce.
Climate and Clothing
Summer temperatures in Philadelphia occasionally rise above 100, but the
summer mean is well below that figure. The high humidity, however, often
renders the atmosphere oppressive. Garments suggested for the warm season are
those of pongee, silk, linen, cotton, Palm Beach cloth, and other lightweight
fabrics.
In winter, as a rule, there are fewer than 100 days with a temperature below
freezing. Here again, however, the high humidity accentuates the discomfort. Zero
temperatures are seldom experienced. During part of the season it is possible to
get along in comfort with a light overcoat. It is advisable to be equipped with all
xxiv
the accessories for winter wear, including raincoats and overshoes, since much of
the precipitation occurs in the form of rain or sleet, rather than snow. Blizzards
are rare only once or twice in a lifetime does the average Philadelphian see
his city snowbound.
Amusements and Sports
Philadelphia is well supplied with facilities for every type of sport and amuse
ment, both indoor and outdoor. The city s great breathing spot, Fairmount Park,
furnishes exceptional opportunities for recreation. In addition there are, in the
city and vicinity, numerous baseball fields, among them the two major-league
parks, football and other athletic stadia, golf links, tennis courts, bathing beaches,
swimming pools, a famous regatta course, gymnasiums, concert halls, auditoriums,
theatres, and night clubs.
Public Parks. Numbering nearly 150 and set here and there in the various sec
tions of the city, these help fill the recreational needs of both children and
adults. Except for the extensive areas covered by Fairmount and the other large
parks, each occupies one or two city blocks.
The central city parks are: Rittenhouse Square, 19th and Walnut Sis.; Logan
Circle, 19lh St. and the Parkway; the Parkway proper; Independence Square, 6th
and Chestnut Sts. ; Washington Square, 6th and Walnut Sis.; arod Franklin
Square, 6th and Race Sts.
Amusement Parks. Woodside Park, Ford Road and Monument Ave., in Fair-
mount Park (open June, July, and August), is the only amusement park within
the city limits. Fireworks displays are a regular Friday evening feature.
Willow Grove Park, Easton and Old York Roads, Willow Grove, (open, June,
July and August), has served as a popular amusement park for Philadelphians
for more than 40 years.
Lakeview Park, 8400 Pine Road, Fox Chase, and Penn Valley Park, Trevose,
are on the outskirts of the city.
Stadia and Other Athletic Fields. Municipal Stadium, Broad St. and Pattison
Ave. (seating capacity, 102.000), owned by the city, is one of the largest stadia
in the world. Among the sports presented here are football, baseball, track,
boxing, wrestling, midget, auto racing, bicycle racing, and soccer.
Major league baseball fields: National League, Broad and Huntingdon Sts.
(seating capacity, 18,500) ; American League, 21st St. and Lehigh Ave., (seating
capacity, 29,000). The latter is generally known as Shibe Park.
Franklin Field, 34th and Spruce Sts. (seating capacity, 80,000), is the outdoor
stadium of the LTniversity of Pennsylvania.
Temple University Stadium, Vernon Road and Michener St. (seating capacity,
40,000) .
German-American Field, 8th St. and Tabor Road (seating capacity, 1,500), is
equipped for soccer, tennis, and trapshooting.
Yellowjackets Field, Frankford Ave. and Devereaux St. (seating capacity,
5,000), is the scene of motorcycle and midget auto races and football games.
Indoor sports events are presented at the Arena, 4500 Market St. (seating
capacity, 6,000 to 10,000). Boxing, wrestling, and tennis matches and ice-hockey
and basketball games are presented here. At times it is turned into a public ice-
skating rink. Adjoining is an outdoor stadium (seating capacity, 9,500) in which
boxing and wrestling matches are held in warm weather.
The University of Pennsylvania Palestra, 33d and Chancellor Sts. (seating
capacity, 10,000), is equipped for basketball.
Golf Links and Tennis Courts: (See map for complete list.)
Municipal and semipublic golf courses within city limits : Karakung and
XXV
Cobbs Creek, 72d St. and Lansdowne Ave.; Holmesburg, 9500 Frankford Ave.;
Juniata, M and Cayuga Sts.; and League Island, League Island Park.
In suburban sections: Baederwood at Noble; Beverly Hills at Beverly Hills;
Glenside at Glenside ; Hi-Top at Drexel Hill ; Langhorne at Langhorne ; Mary
Lyon and Sharpless at S warthmore; Pennsylvania at Llanerch; Valley Forge at
King of Prussia; and Wissahickon at Ft. Washington. In all of these the "pay
as you play" plan is in force.
Numerous private golf courses and country clubs lie within a 25-mile radius of
the center of Philadelphia. Most of these are available only to members and
their guests.
Municipal and public tennis courts within city limits: Allen s Lane, 283 Roch-
elle Ave.; Baederwood, Old York Road, north of Hart Lane; Chamounix, Return
Drive east of Ford Road; Cobbs Creek, 63d and Walnut Sts.; English Building,
52d St. and Parkside Ave.; Fisher s Park, 5th and Spencer Sts.; Garden Court,
47th and Pine Sts.; Hunting Park, 9th St. and Hunting Park Ave.; Kingsessing
Recreation Center, 49th St. and Chester Ave.; League Island Park, Broad St. and
Pattison Ave.; Passon, B St. and Olney Ave.; Spruce Tennis Club, 49th and
Spruce Sts.; Walnut Park Plaza, 62 d and Walnut Sts.; and Woodford, 33d and
Dauphin Sts.
Private tennis courts are connected with colleges, country clubs, and athletic
organizations, such as the Penri Athletic Club, Drexel University, Y.M.C.A.,
Philadelphia Country Club, Racquet Club, etc. Their use is limited to members
and their guests.
Swimming Pools and Bathing Beaches. Most of the public recreation grounds
have outdoor swimming pools, and virtually every sport and social club, as well
as every branch of the Y.M.C.A. and Y.W.C.A., has its pool. Most of the latter
are indoors. Other swimming pools to which the general public is admitted are
in hotels, apartment houses, athletic fields, etc.
The city s two public bathing beaches are Pleasant Hill Park, Toi-resdale, on
the Delaware River, and League Island Park, near the junction of the Delaware
and Schuylkill Rivers. These facilities, open to all, are well policed and care
fully guarded.
Concert Halls and Auditoriums. Academy of Music, Broad and Locust Sts.
(seating capacity, 2,729), and the Academy of Music Foyer, in the same build
ing, are used for musical productions and for lectures, debates, and addresses.
This building is the home of the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Philadelphia
Forum.
Municipal Auditorium, better known as Convention Hall, 34th St. and Vintage
Ave. (seating capacity, 13,500).
Witherspoon Auditorium, Juniper and Walnut Sts. (seating capacity, 1,000).
Among the auditoriums on the University of Pennsylvania campus is Irvine
Auditorium. 34th and Spruce S ts. (seating capacity, 2,127).
All the leading hotels have ballrooms which are used for amateur theatricals
as well as for dancing.
Robin Hood Dell, in the heart of Fairmount Park, (seating capacity, 6,000), is
an open-air amphitheatre, where both symphony and opera are presented on
summer evenings.
Theatres. Philadelphia supports four legitimate theatres, although the bookings
9 r nnfU 0t C nt n " ous: Forres t Theatre, Walnut and Quince Sts. (seating capacity,
) ; the brlanger Theatre, 21st and Market Sts. (seating capacity, 2.000) ; the
Locust Theatre, Broad and Locust Sts. (seating capacity, 1,580) ; and the Chest-
nut Street Opera House, Chestnut St. between 10th and llth (seating capacity,
1646)
Several of Philadelphia s theatres have become landmarks. Among them are
xxvi
the Walnut Street Theatre, 9lh and Walnut Sts. (seating capacity, 1,512), which
presents Yiddish plays; the Metropolitan Opera House, Broad and Poplar Sts.,
(seating capacity, 3,482), which lends itself to various forms of entertainment
from motion pictures to opera ; and the Academy of Music, mentioned above.
Burlesque : Bijou, 8th and Race Sts. (seating capacity, 1,400) ; Trocadero, 10th
and Arch Sts. (seating capacity, 1,100) ; and Shubert, Broad St. below Locust
(seating capacity, 1,700).
Negro productions: Nixon Grand, Broad St. and Montgomery Ave. (seating
capacity, 3,200).
Amateur and semi-professional : Plays and Players, 1714 Delancey St. ; Alden
Park Little Theatre, Chelten and Wissahickon Aves.; Students Little Theatre,
2032 Chancellor St. ; the Germantown Theatre Guild, 4821 Germantown Ave.
Motion Pictures: There are approximately 200 motion picture houses. The
largest of those in central city are the Aldine, 19th and Chestnut S ts. (seating
capacity, 1,400) ; the Boyd, Chestnut St. west of 19th, (seating capacity, 2,500) ;
the Fox, 16th and Market Sts. (seating capacity, 2,467) ; the Stanley, 19th and
Market Sts. (seating capacity, 3,100).
Night Clubs: Philadelphia has numerous night clubs and cabarets, ranging
from those having a cover charge to the less luxurious with neither cover nor
minimum charge. Some of the best of the night clubs are operated in hotels and
restaurants of established reputation, mostly in the central city section.
Broadcasting Stations
WCAU (1170 kw) 1622 Chestnut Street. (An affiliate of the Columbia Broad
casting System)
KYW (1020 kw) 1622 Chestnut Street.
WFIL (560 kw) Widener Building (KYW and WFIL are affiliated with the
National Broadcasting Co., Inc.)
WIP Broadcasting Station (610 kw) 35 So. 9th St. (An affiliate of the Mutual
Broadcasting System)
WDAS Broadcasting Station, Inc. (1370 kw) 1211 Chestnut St.
WHAT Broadcasting Station (1310 kw) Ledger Building
WPEN Studios (920 kw) 22d and Walnut Sts.
WTEL Studios (1310 kw) 3701 N. Broad St.
All may be visited by tourists.
xxvil
ANNUAL EVENTS
January
1
1
17
30
n.f.d.
February
3dwk
n.f.d.
n.f.d.
March
2d wk
last wk
n.f.d.
n.f.d.
April
last wk
Easter
May
30
1st wk
2d wk
2d wk
2dwk
3dwk
3dwk
n.f.d.
Dates in many of the following events of general interest
vary annually. Events lacking definite dates are either listed
irt the week in which they usually occur or are marked
"rt.f.d." (no fixed date) and take place during the month
under which they are listed.
Mummers Parade, northward on Broad St.
Welsh Eisteddfod, auspices of First Presbyterian Church.
Poor Richard Celebration; Christ Church Services; Wreath on
Franklin s grave; Banquet at Bellevue-Stratford Hotel.
Franklin D. Roosevelt s Birthday Ball, Convention Hall. (While
President).
Saddle Horse Association Indoor Show, 103d Cavalry Armory.
National Home Show, Commercial Museum.
Presentation of Bok Award for greatest service to city, Academy
of Music.
Chinese New Year Celebration date depending on lunar con
dition Race St. between 9th & 10th.
Exhibition of works by blind, Gimbel Brothers Store.
Flower Show, Commercial Museum.
Charity Horse Show, 103d Cavalry Armory.
Motorboat and Sportsmen s Show, Commercial Museum.
Penn Relay Carnival, Franklin Field. (Last Friday and Saturday).
Sunrise Services, Reyburn Plaza, Franklin Field, and Temple
Stadium.
Launching of ship of flowers on the Delaware in memory of
deceased naval veterans, Race St. Pier.
Boys Week, ending Saturday with parade on the Parkway to In
dependence Hall via Chestnut St.
Dewey Day Celebration at Navy Yard.
Folklore Festival, Academy of Music.
Philadelphia on Parade, Convention Hall.
Flower Mart, Rittenhouse Square.
Germantown May Market, Vernon Park.
Hobby League, Annual Show and Exhibition, Franklin Institute.
(Usually held early in May, but some years in latter part of
April).
XXVlll
June
14
1st wk
1st wk
1st wk
2dwk
last wk
July
4
4
4
September
6
1st wk
October
12
27
1st wk
2dwk
n.f.d.
n.f.d.
November
1-2
2d wk
last wk
last wk
December
24
24
31
n.f.d.
n.f.d.
Flag Day Celebration, Betsy Ross House.
Field Mass for Police and Firemen, Logan Circle.
Clothes Line Art Exhibit, Rittenhouse Square.
Wissahickon Day, Riders and Drivers Meet, Wissahiekon Farms.
Historical Pageant and Fete at Old Swedes (Gloria Dei) Church.
Opening of Robin Hood Dell concert season, Fairmount Park.
Celebration in Independence Square.
People s Regatta on the Schuylkill River.
Clan-na-Gael Athletic Games, Northeast High School Field.
Lafayette Day, observed at Independence Hall.
Constatter Volkfest Verein. (German Celebration held Labor Day
and following Tuesday), Philadelphia Rifle Club.
Columbus Day Celebration at monument in Fairmount Park.
Navy Day, open house at Navy Yard.
Electrical and Radio Show, Convention Hall.
Opening of Philadelphia Orchestra concert season, Academy of
Music.
Food Fair and Better Homes Exposition at Commercial Museum.
Opening of Philadelphia Forum season, Academy of Music.
Kennel Club dog show, Convention Hall.
Automobile show, Convention Hall.
Thanksgiving Day Gimbel Toyland Parade (morning).
Penn-Cornell Football Game (afternoon).
Army-Navy Football Game, Municipal Stadium. (Schedule for
Philadelphia from 1936 to 1938.
Takes place Saturday following Thanksgiving Day.
Christmas Ball, Bellevue-Stratford Hotel.
Christmas Eve carol singing, Reyburn Plaza.
Sounding of Liberty Bell, Independence Hall.
Assembly Ball, Bellevue-Stratford Hotel. (Held 1st or 2d Friday).
Charity Ball, Bellevue-Stratford Hotel. (Some years held late in
Nov.).
XXIX
POINTS OF SPECIAL INTEREST
Its position as a center of many of the cultural fields enables Phila
delphia to offer, from its wealth of sight-seeing treasures, an array of
places of special interest to the visitor. Reference to the index will
guide the reader to more complete information on the places included
in the following lists :
HISTORIC BUILDINGS
Carpenters Hall, Chestnut St., east of 4th.
Christ Church, 2d St., north of Market.
Independence Hall, Independence Square, 6th and Chestnut Sts.
Old Swedes Church, Swanson St., south of Christian.
William Penn (Letitia Street) House, Fairmount Park, west of
Girard Ave. Bridge.
Betsy Ross House, 239 Arch St.
HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
American Philosophical Society, 5th and Chestnut Sts.
Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 13th and Locust Sts.
Independence Hall, Independence Square, 6th and Chestnut Sts.
Library Company of Philadelphia, Juniper and Locust Sts.
PERMANENT ART COLLECTIONS
Free Library of Philadelphia, 19th St. and the Parkway.
Graphic Sketch Club, 711-19 Catharine St.
La France Art Museum, 4420 Paul St., Frankford.
Memorial Hall, Parkside Ave. at 43d St.
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Broad and Cherry Sts.
Pennsylvania Museum of Art, 25th St. and the Parkway.
Rodin Museum, 22d St. and the Parkway.
SCIENTIFIC COLLECTIONS
Academy of Natural Sciences, 19th St. and the Parkway.
Franklin Institute Museum and Fels Planetarium, 20th St. and
the Parkway.
Wagner Free Institute of Science Museum, 17th St. and Mont
gomery Ave.
Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology, 36th St. and Woodland
Ave.
xxx
LITERARY
Edgar Allan Poe House, 530 N. 7th St.
Free Library of Philadelphia, 19th St. and the Parkway
Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 13th and Locust Sts.
Leary s Book Store, 9 S. 9th St.
Library of University of Pennsylvania, 34th St., north of Spruce.
Mercantile Library of Philadelphia, 14 S. 10th St.
Sullivan Memorial Library, Park Ave. and Berks St.
BOTANICAL
Awbury Arboretum, Washington Lane and Chew St.
Bartram s Gardens, 54th St. and Eastwick Ave.
Botanical Gardens of University of Pennsylvania, South St., west
of Schuylkill River.
Fairmount Park.
Herbarium of Academy of Natural Sciences, 19th St. and the
Parkway.
Horticultural Hall, Fairmount Park at 44th St. and Parkside Ave.
Morris Arboretum, Meadowbrook Lane and Stenton Ave.
Woodward Estate, Mermaid Lane and McCallum St.
RELIGIOUS
Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul, 18th St. and the Parkway.
Church of the Brethren, 6613-Germantown Ave.
Friends Arch Street Meeting House (Orthodox), 4th and Arch
Sts.
Old Pine Street Presbyterian Church, 4th and Pine Sts.
Rodeph Shalom Synagogue, Broad and Mount Vernon Sts.
St. George s Methodist Episcopal Church, 4th St., above Race.
St. Joseph s R. C. Church, Willing s Alley (between 3d and 4th
Sts., south of Walnut) .
Race Street Meeting House (Hicksite), S. W. Cor. 15th and Race
Sts.
First Church of Christ (Scientist), 4012 Walnut St.
Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, S. W. Cor. 19th and Walnut Sts.
Grace Baptist Temple, S. E. Cor. Broad and Berks Sts.
Swedenborgian Church (Church of the New Jerusalem), N. E.
Cor. 22nd and Chestnut Sts.
MUSIC
Academy of Music, Broad and Locust Sts.
Curtis Institute of Music, 18th and Locust Sts.
Robin Hood Dell, Fairmount Park, west of Ridge Ave. and Hun
tingdon St.
Settlement Music School, 416 Queen St.
xxxi
ART CLUBS
Art Alliance, 251 S. 18th St.
Art Club of Philadelphia, 220 S. Broad St.
Philadelphia Sketch Club, 235 S. Camac St.
Plastic Club, 247 S. Camac St.
Print Club, 1614 Latimer St.
Graphic Sketch Club, 719 Catharine St.
COMMERCIAL ART GALLERIES
Boyer Galleries, Broad St. Suburban Station Building, 16th St.
and Pennsylvania Blvd.
Gimbel Galleries, Gimbel Store, 9th and Chestnut Sts.
Modern Galleries, 1720 Chestnut St.
Newman Galleries, 1625 Walnut St.
Rosenbach Galleries, 1320 Walnut St.
BURIAL GROUNDS
Christ Church Burial Ground, 5th and Arch Sts. (Grave of Benja
min Franklin) .
Portuguese Hebrew Burial Grounds, Spruce Street, east of Ninth.
(Grave of Rebecca Gratz).
STATUES AND MEMORIALS
Benjamin Franklin Statue, 9th and Chestnut Sts.
Catholic Total Abstinence Union Fountain, Fairmount Park near
52d St. and Parkside Ave.
Christopher Columbus Statute, Belmont and Parkside Aves.
Cowboy Monument (Frederic Remington), East River Drive
above Girard Ave. Bridge.
Equestrian Statue of Gen. U. S. Grant, East River Drive, Fair-
mount Park.
Equestrian Statues of Generals McClellan, Reynolds, and Meade,
north plaza of City Hall.
Joan of Arc Statue, Fairmount Park near 31st St. and Girard
Ave.
Lincoln Monument, Lemon Hill, Fairmount Park.
Robert Morris Statue, Chestnut St., between 4th and 5th Sts.
Smith Memorial, Fairmount Park near 42d St. and Parkside Ave.
Washington Monument, 25th St. and the Parkway.
Washington Statue, Chestnut St. between 5th and 6th Sts.
William Penn Statue, atop City Hall.
xxx 11
SeaZ of Philadelphia
"Let Brotherly Love Continue 9
The
CITY
and its
BACKGROUND
U" : .,:,:..., :,,
Liberty Bell
Ring out for Liberty
PORTRAIT OF PHILADELPHIA
PHILADELPHIA through the countless changes of the past two
hundred and fifty years has retained something of the rhythm
and color of its pioneer days and some of the spirit and inten
tions of its founder. While it lacks a certain sophistication common
in the larger American cities, yet beneath its surface calm throbs a
pulse of activity peculiarly Philadephian. Despite its air of provin
cialism, the City of Penn claims justly a record of solid accomplish
ments not only in the arts and sciences, but in industry and commerce.
Actually, Philadelphia is neither "slow" nor quiet. Against the
bronze statue of William Penn atop City Hall beat the sound waves
of a million-tongued titan ; alien accents and the stridency of the
Machine mingling wdth the gentler tones of an older day. (Gone
is the "Greene Countrie Towne" established among the tall pines
two and one-half centuries ago ; the alchemy of progress has trans
muted it into a great industrial city, and the ferment of commerce
has altered its face.) Its voice is the voice of ( ai city of contrasts
a city of wealth and poverty, of turmoil and tranquillity, of stern
laws often mitigated by mild enforcement ; a city proud of its world-
molding past and sometimes slow to heed the promptings of modern
thought.
Its Colonial primacy, which the Republic s growth has long since
annulled, has set it apart, in some respects, from its American sisters.
But, like many other centers of conservatism, Philadelphia during
the 1930 s has given evidence of a better understanding of the place
it should occupy in the national scene.
Although it wears with somber dignity the halo of great age, it
was only yesterday that its colonization ceased, and time began to
amalgamate the many nationalities composing its citizenry. Thus
it bears the stamp in greater or less degree of a polyglot humanity
the sedate Quaker; the Swede, touched by mysticism; the thrifty
and methodical German; the imperturbable Englishman; the Celt,
excitable, idealistic; the energetic and vivid Jew; the underprivileged
Negro ; the mercurial Italian ; and the fatalistic Slav.
Except for its tree-shaded squares and parks, Penn could not have
envisioned the present municipality, with its 129 square miles en-
PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
compassing a far-flung checkerboard of streets thoroughfares
crowded with raucous traffic and flanked by solid rows of buildings.
With one exception, Penn s open squares are preserved in the city s
heart just as he laid them out.
A spirit of reserve has become proverbially characteristic of the
city and its people. Philadelphia is hesitant in proclaiming the
efficiency of its soundly welded commercial and industrial mechanism.
Sanctuary of artist and scientist though it is, it makes no vulgar
display of the refinements of cultural and scientific preeminence
which clothe it with traditions reminiscent of Old World capitals.
Nucleus of a "holy experiment" in colonization, it was dearly
loved by the early settlers, and that love endures among its people
today. Though ranking among the great cities of America, there sur
vives beneath its urbanity more than a trace of provincialism. Like
most American centers of population, its growth has been the re
sult of consolidation. Made up of a number of communities, it is
essentially a city of faubourgs combined with Penn s original town
under a dual city and county government. Today, despite mass trans
portation, mass schooling, and mass thought, these sections retain
many of the mannerisms, local loyalties, and physical idiosyncrasies
inherited from the Quaker, Swede, and German communities of early
days. Districts such as Frankford, Kensington, Nicetown, Rox-
borough, Manayunk, Germantown, and West Philadelphia inde
pendent in local government until the Act of Consolidation of 1854
have their own newspapers, community interests, shopping centers,
and Main Streets.
The staid manner of the early Quakers has left its impress on the
city s character and has perhaps been responsible for the long pres
ervation of such anachronistic statutes as the Sunday Blue Laws of
1794. Some of these laws were repealed in 1935. Although the
Quaker element in general has abandoned its traditional sedateness
for more modern modes and manners, there are many Friends who
still observe quaint amenities of the past in the intimacy of their
homes, thee-ing and thou-ing one another as in the days of Penn.
Philadelphia s broad expanse rests upon lands generally flat or
rolling, except where the Wissahickon and Fairmount hills or the
Chestnut Hill and the Manayunk elevations break the terrain. To
the stranger it may seem peculiar that, in a city with so much room,
the houses crouch side by side in rows; and that in congested areas
where space is scarce there are notably few skyscrapers. The reason
for the prevailing "row house" may have its root in the pro
vincialism of the city, but skyscrapers are few for a reason obviously
economic there is no great demand for them.
Until comparatively recent years the city s low horizon was broken
only by the looming tower of City Hall. This building is still the
PORTRAIT OF PHILADELPHIA
city s highest, but now its eminence is challenged by newer giants
nearby in particular, the ultra-modern Philadelphia Saving Fund
Society building, two blocks eastward. Nearby to the northwestward,
where in former years sprawled an ugly melange of dilapidated
dwellings, rise stately temples of art and science which overlook the
landscaped Parkway and lend grace and dignity to the central city.
Also pleasing to the eye are such remote portions of the city as
Germantown, Chestnut Hill, Overbrook, and Oak Lane. These are
residential sections where imposing homes, spacious lawns, and a
multiplicity of trees provide the dominant scene. Even the row
houses here have individuality. The traditional red brick often
gives way to stucco and field stone, and variations in design break
the monotony of constant repetition.
In its multiplex building design, Philadelphia presents another
facet of its paradoxical make-up. Within and around it is preserved
a heritage of fine Colonial architecture in brick and stone, perhaps
unsurpassed by that of any other city in the Nation. To the first
structures, built by the Swedes, have been added buildings by Welsh
men, Englishmen, and later craftsmen of various nationalities.
A short walk in older sections of Penn s "Towne" reveals a wealth
of historic buildings public, ecclesiastical, and domestic and
quaint back streets and courts. The many well-designed doorways,
dormer windows, iron handrails, foot scrapers, and fire plaques make
a stroll through these streets an interesting adventure. Interspersed
with pre-Revolutionary structures are public buildings of the early
Republic and the grotesque architecture of the late nineteenth cen
tury. The twentieth century, too, has thrust its bulk and ultra-
modernism upon the city, without effacing the Philadelphia of yester
year. Though the shadow of skyscrapers may fall across such hal
lowed shrines as Independence Hall and Christ Church, the heavy
hand of commerce leaves them unscathed.
But Philadelphia has its "tenderloin" and its slums. The former
finds its fullest expression in the region bordering Eighth Street north
of Arch, where for several blocks it basks in the tawdry glory of
brash neon signs and burlesque posters. Cheap restaurants and hot-
dog stands fill the air with odors that mingle with the reek of alcohol,
the stench of uncollected garbage, and the smell of humanity un
washed. Here, in this section of flophouses, shooting galleries, mis
sions, and bawdy houses, live and circulate the least prepossessing
of Philadelphia s citizenry.
Even more odious are the city s slums. Two areas especially
poisonous have their eastern extremities along the Delaware River:
one bounded, approximately, on the south by Race Street, on the
west by Fifth, and on the north by Girard Avenue; the other em
braced in the area between Christian Street on the south and Lombard
PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
on the north, with its western limit near Eighth Street. These are
neighborhoods of the bandbox house and the vermin-infested hovel.
Here man s need for shelter has been exploited to the utmost. It is
only fair to add that preliminary steps have been taken to eliminate
not only these slum sections, but also others scattered in various parts
of the city.
Viewed from an airplane, central Philadelphia presents ian orderly
pattern of squares laid within the angles formed by two coordinate
axes: Broad Street and Market Street. The former, reputedly the
longest straight intracity thoroughfare in the world, forms the north-
to-south axis; the latter, the east-to-west. Diagonal avenues, many
following across the city the course of Colonial highways, occasion
ally modify the geometrical rigidity of these squares.
If the plane approaches from the west, Fairmount Park s wooded
hills and glens appear as a small wilderness entrapped, but un-
ravaged, by the encircling tentacles of municipal and suburban
development. From the southernmost limit of its green depths, the
broad, tree-lined Parkway sweeps majestically toward City Hall,
which stands directly upon what would be the intersection of Broad
and Market Streets.
The mammoth Thirtieth Street Station of the Pennsylvania Railroad
and the new Post Office building can be picked out readily from
above, standing as they do on the west bank of the Schuylkill River
a stream silvery in Penn s time, but now blackened and polluted
by the waste of factories. The railroad tracks leap across the river to
parallel Market Street, flanking the northern side of the Market Street
axis with a gigantic welt of masonry and steel. This elevated right-of-
way, or "Chinese Wall" as it is locally termed, has long been con
sidered a civic nuisance.
Not far south of the wall stand ancient dwellings, once the homes
of Philadelphia s old families. The old families have long since de
parted, and many of the homes have become rooming houses or tap
rooms. Nearby are the luxurious apartment hotels of Ritlenhouse
Square and the age-mellowed dwellings of Delancey Street last
strongholds of that old aristocracy most of whose members have re
treated to the suburbs, leaving a diminishing rear guard to stem the
tide of change.
A point directly over City Hall offers the best view of the blocks
of squares spreading in every direction big blocks, for Penn in
tended that each householder should have sufficient space for a garden
plot. There are few such plots now; all available footage has been
given over to solid ranks of houses, one row backed up against an
other in shameless intimacy.
Farther eastward, beyond the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society
skyscraper, the skyline undulates to the water front, where the city
PORTRAIT OF PHILADELPHIA
ends abruptly in a region of piers, wharves, and warehouses. Here,
on the Delaware River s west bank and stretching for miles to north
and south, lies the only large fresh-water port on the Atlantic sea
board a port which, though 88 miles from the Delaware capes,
ranks among the world s greatest shipping terminals in point of
cargo tonnage as well as in wharfage facilities.
Stretching across the river is one of the world s largest suspension
bridges the Delaware River Bridge, linking Philadelphia with
Camden, N. J. Beneath its span move tug and barge in endless pro
cession ; in its shadow huge freighters are constantly loading and un
loading cargoes consigned to or brought from every corner of the
globe.
Southward lies a virtual honeycomb of homes. Block after block
of houses extend to the brink of the Delaware River, to within a mile
and a half of the Philadelphia Navy Yard and to the gigantic oil
refineries that have added to Philadelphia s economic worth at the
expense of its fragrance.
Immediately south of the business district is the second largest
Negro section, a patchwork made up of bits of Memphis, Birming
ham, and New Orleans transplanted to Philadelphia. Here are the
laborers and the children of laborers, imported principally by the
politico-contractor firms.
Philadelphia s "Little Italy" stretches south from the Negro sec
tion to the oil-suffused flats of the Delaware near the Navy Yard. This
district, thoroughly alive, teems with humanity; reflecting struggle,
emotion, and Latin intrigue. Provalone cheeses dangle in store win
dows, sloe-eyed sons of Sicily and Calabria loiter on corners, and the
musty odor of red wine predominates.
Delaware River Bridge
PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
South of Oregon Avenue and a bit west, the marshes that fringe
the Delaware are dotted with huge silvery tanks. Here and there cabins
and the frame shacks of produce farmers appear, but the rustic cry
of the rooster is lost in the mournful blasts of foghorns as oil tankers
move into their slips in the Delaware or the lower Schuylkill.
Considering facets which, even though intangible, are important
in a summation of the city s character, Philadelphia is figuratively
two cities. One is the sprawling municipality of two million persons
living and working compactly within the corporate limits. The other
is the "city" of a half million which does its work within Philadelphia,
but lives its private life on the exclusive Main Line or in other sub
urbs. Each morning by train, motorcar, bus and trolley the half
million descend upon the city to assume their duties in its offices and
mills and factories, until evening speeds them homeward.
Among these half-million commuters are most of those who hold
social and commercial hegemony over Philadelphia members of
old families who regard themselves as the real Philadelphians. They
are the holders of the city s vested trusts, members of its exclusive
Assembly ; and of such organizations as the Racquet Club and the
Union League the latter a political stronghold, where tenets of
the Republican party have been entrenched since the Civil War. They
govern the city s banks and its insurance companies, and establish
the financial policies of its industries.
Endowed with inherited wealth and traditional conservatism, most
of them are reluctant to change. Under their guidance, until recently,
the average citizen remained quiescent; with few exceptions labor
troubles were of little consequence, despite the city s heritage in
unionism, and radical economic philosophies made no appreciable
headway. Much of this apathy may have been due to the fact that
Philadelphia, prior to the Wall Street panic of 1929, had an aver
age of owner-occupied homes reaching 50 per cent or higher. It is
significant that when many of those homes were forfeited by fore
closures, chiefly because of the collapse of building and loan associa
tions, the yeast of change began to ferment. In the political and
economical mutations of the current decade, moreover, there per
meated through every strata of society the realization that the right
of the worker to a job is an essential factor in the economic well-
being of the nation.
Locally known as the "City of Homes" and the "Workshop of the
World," Philadelphia is both of these within certain limitations. The
former designation has lost much of its appropriateness since the
social cataclysm of the early 1930 s, when thousands of homeowners,
bereft of their property, had to rent apartments or portions of single
dwellings. With the easing of the economic tension, some of these
again began to acquire homes for themselves, but the majority have
8
PORTRAIT OF PHILADELPHIA
demonstrated their ability to live contentedly in apartments or rented
dwellings.
The city s reputation as a world s workshop has continued up to
the present materially undamaged. Philadelphia has fulfilled the
economic destiny prescribed for it by its geographical position close
to nature s storehouses of ores and fuel, and linked to them by
ample facilities for rail and water transportation. Within its bound
aries are contained thousands of factories engaged in scores of differ
ent industries. While its industrial activities are centered in no partic
ular section, the northeast region, embracing Kensington, Frankford,
and Tacony, has the most diversified manufactures and the greatest
number of plants in operation. This is the country s leading district
for textiles and the home of the largest saw-making plant in existence.
Other famous Philadelphia-made products are radio reception units,
hats, streetcars, automobile bodies, cigars, and carpets. The value
of its industrial output is approximately a billion dollars annually.
Since the days of Benjamin Franklin, David Rittenhouse, James
Logan, and Benjamin West, Philadelphia has maintained a high posi
tion in the world of culture and learning. Although such a skyscraper
institution as Temple University is symptomatic of the intrusion of
modern influences upon the city s ancient dignity, this college has
become as much a part of educational Philadelphia as has a much
older institution, the famed University of Pennsylvania. The city
of Penn may cherish the old, but it does not shun the new. Thus
there are century-old banks, hospitals, colleges, manufactories, clubs,
hotels, and libraries standing side by side with those of recent origin.
Forces ancient and modern, along with those transitional influences
which link the new and the old in Philadelphia, impart to the city
an atmosphere distinctly its own, and place their indelible imprint
upon the living mosaic of its people.
Thousands of its residents have never seen the Liberty Bell ; many
thousands have never attended a concert of the world-famous Phila
delphia Orchestra. Naturally, only a small percentage of the city s
population is represented in the student bodies of its art academies,
music schools, and other institutions of specialized or general in
struction. But these cultural and historic institutions, whether or
not they are of traditional prominence in their various realms, give
to the Philadelphian a complacent pride which outsiders often mis
interpret as deliberate snobbery.
The city can be seen in its most rollicking aspect on New Year s
Day, when King Momus and his court rule Broad Street, filling the
wide thoroughfare with joyous nonsense. It can be seen in its quietest
hours from two to five every morning, when even downtown streets
are virtually deserted. After seven and up to nine in the morning, and
from five until seven in the evening the central area is a bedlam
PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
of clanging trolleys, rumbling busses, snarling motorcars, and hurry
ing throngs.
Commuters and shoppers from outlying districts and suburbs en
train at Reading Terminal or the Pennsylvania Railroad stations, or
take subway or elevated line leading west to 69th Street, north to
Olney, northeast to Frankford, or east across the Delaware River
Bridge to Camden. Out the broad Parkway from City Hall flows a
river of automobiles, halting at regular intervals before the command
ing glare of intersection lights.
By 7:30 there is a lull in the central city as the sphere of activity
shifts to the home. Though in any large community the suspension
of traffic at this hour is noticeable, in Philadelphia the dinner hour
quietude is as definite a demarcation between the day s work and
the evening s recreation as twilight is between sunshine and darkness.
To many Philadelphians the evening s entertainment may include
a "show" at one of the few remaining theaters, a film at one of the
numerous movie palaces, or perhaps an athletic contest at one of the
sports centers. Others may attend a concert or a lecture at the Academy
of Music, while another element inevitably gravitates toward taproom
or night club. But the greater number of Philadelphians will remain
at their hearths. From countless
rows of houses, standing in
block-long anonymity against
the blackness of night, will come
in imperishable steadfastness
the soft, warm lights of home,
and the gentle tumult of chil
dren being marshaled for bed.
On the morrow the city will
arise to cope anew with its cur
rent problems; it will turn an
inquiring face to the future,
even while looking back in mem
ory to the misted glory of its
yesterdays.
Christ Church Tower
Whose bells rang on market day"
10
NATURE S HANDIWORK
Topography
PHILADELPHIA and its suburbs comprise an area unusual in
the variety of its landscape. The region lies in parts of three
distinct physiographic provinces tracts of country in which
geographic and topographic features derive from definitely different
geological conditions. These three provinces, which form the border
lands of the Philadelphia area, are known scientifically as the At
lantic Coastal Plain, the Piedmont Plateau, and the Triassic Lowland.
Philadelphia County, coextensive with the city, forms an area of
129.714 square miles. The entire Philadelphia district, geologically,
comprises 915.285 square miles, extending approximately 34.50 miles
from north to south and 26.53 miles from east to west.
The county itself is bounded on the south by Bow Creek, Back
Channel, Delaware County line, and the Delaware River ; on the east
by the Delaware River and Poquessing Creek ; on the north by Po-
quessing Creek, the Montgomery County line, the Philadelphia, New-
town & New York Railroad (a branch of the Reading Co.), Chelten
ham Avenue, Cresheim Avenue, Stenton Avenue, and Northwestern
Avenue ; on the west by the Schuylkill River, City Line Avenue, and
Cobbs Creek.
The Coastal Plain, within which the southeastern corner of the
county lies, consists of a raised section of sea deposits, covered in part
by subsequent erosion products brought down largely by the Dela
ware and Schuylkill Rivers from higher land nearby, and in part by
"glacial outwashes," glacial clay, and sands washed down from the
region north of Easton.
The process by which the Coastal Plain originated causes the Phila
delphia area to be flat, with a gentle rise eastward from the Schuyl
kill, and a gradual decline southward to the Delaware. The formations
in this area are composed of sands, clays, and gravels, with subter
ranean watercourses here and there which form quicksands.
The Piedmont Plateau, a higher elevation, underlies the major
part of the Philadelphia area. The rock formations of this area, very
ancient geologically, appear along the East River Drive in Fairmount
Park, along Wissahickon Creek, and in the Germantown and Chest
nut Hill sections.
11
PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
The rock structure of the Triassic Lowland is scientifically the least
revealing within the Philadelphia area. It lies to the north of White-
marsh Valley, and includes the wide region of flat and rolling country
extending northeast and west from Fort Washington, Norristown, and
the Trenton cutoff of the Pennsylvania Railroad, running as far as
the Reading Hills and even extending into Lancaster County. The
Triassic Lowland includes a great part of Bucks, Montgomery, Lan
caster, Chester, and Delaware Counties.
Rivers : Two major streams, the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers,
form a junction at the southernmost extremity of Philadelphia. The
former skirts the city on the east ; the latter takes a southerly course
through the city before flowing into the larger stream.
The Delaware River, from its source to the point where it flows into
Delaware Bay, is 410 miles long, and drains an area of 12,012 square
miles. It is navigable by ocean steamers as far as Trenton, the tidal
limit, 130 miles from the Delaware capes. For approximately 35 miles
the Delaware flows through the Philadelphia area. The stream is sub
ject to seasonal fluctuations in volume.
The Schuylkill, approximately 100 miles long, has a drainage area
of 1,915 square miles. With headwaters in the anthracite belt of
Schuylkill County, it flows across the Triassic Lowland and the Pied
mont Plateau. Its chief tributaries are the Perkiomen and Wissa-
hickon Creeks.
The divide separating the basins of the Delaware and Schuylkill
Rivers in the southwest is marked in general by the route of the
western division of the Pennsylvania Railroad. In this southern re
gion, the Delaware watershed is drained by Cobbs, Darby, Crum,
Ridley, and Chester Creeks, which empty into the Delaware River ;
and the Brandywine, Red Clay, and White Clay Creeks, which empty
into the Christiana River, a tributary of the Delaware. On the divide
between the Schuylkill and Delaware basins on the northeast are
Germantown and Chestnut Hill. In this section the watershed is
drained by Pennypack, Tacony, Poquessing, Neshaminy, Mill, Com
mon, Durham, Brock, and Pidcock Creeks.
Flora
PHILADELPHIA S flora differs little from that of other large cities
- in the East. However, the city s progress in the field of experi
mental horticulture is noteworthy. This experimentation was begun
by pioneer settlers in the district. Members of the Penn family, in
fact, brought to the New World saplings of cherished trees, shoots of
cultivated plants, and many types of shrubs and flowers.
By far the greatest of early horticulturists was John Bartram.
Not satisfied to confine his researches to his home area, Bartram
12
NATURE S HANDIWORK
roved from Canada to Florida, obtaining an inclusive collection of
American plants for the botanical gardens of Colonial Philadelphia,
and for shipment to England. Many of the trees he planted before the
Revolutionary War still stand.
The horticultural halls and greenhouses of Philadelphia contain a
myriad of trees, plants and shrubs, and the naturalist finds the flora of
Fairmount Park most interesting. Trees comparatively rare may be
found throughout the city s park system. These include the trans
planted balsam fir, red spruce, Chinese juniper, and Chinese elm,
and the native shagbark hickory and sweet gum. Poisonous plants
found in the section are poison ivy and poison sumach.
Among the more common American trees growing in the Phila
delphia district are the red or soft maple, a tree that graces the banks
of streams or marshes ; the flowering dogwood ; the white ash ; the
black oak ; the white oak ; and the beech.
Common locally are the black locust, the wood of which is valuable
for shipbuilding and lathe work ; the American plum, a small tree
productive of delicious fruit ; the wild cherry ; the black or sour
gum ; the black ash ; the green ash ; the hackberry, and the red
mulberry.
Other trees familiar in the area include the sycamore or button-
wood ; the black walnut ; the butternut ; the mockernut hickory ;
the shellbark hickory ; the red birch ; the sweet or black birch ; the
hop-hornbeam or ironwood ; the linden, and the sugar or hard maple.
In the glades and woods of the area are found the blue-water
beech ; the large-toothed poplar ; the hemlock spruce, and the red
cedar.
Members of Philadelphia s arboreal family more rarely encountered
in or near the city include the tulip tree ; the papaw, a small tree
found in the rich bottom lands ; the horse chestnut, originally a
native of southern Asia but long since naturalized as a shade tree ;
the box elder, or ash-leaved maple, a tree that occasionally beautifies
the banks of streams and lakes in the area, and the white pine.
According to tree census figures for 1937, Philadelphia contains
more trees than any other city in the world. Reports of the Fairmount
Park Commission show that there are 157,773 trees on the city streets,
and approximately 500,000 in Fairmount Park, and a million in the
various other parks throughout the city.
Some curious kinds of plants may be found in certain sections
of Philadelphia. Some are indigenous, others have been transplanted
from foreign countries and various parts of the United States. The
common dodder s or love vine has small white flowers ; a parasite,
it feeds on the herbs and shrubs to which it clings. The ghost plant,
usually found under pine or oak trees, takes its nourishment from
the roots of other plants. The compass plant, a foreign species, re-
13
PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
ceives its name from the fact that some of the leaves point north,
others south, enabling the lost traveler to reestablish his position.
The mad dog skullcap, found in shaded, wet places, was once con
sidered a cure for rabid dogs ; this plant belongs to the mint family,
and has blue flowers and a smooth stem.
The indigenous skunk cabbage, known to the early Swedish settlers
in the Philadelphia section as "bear weed," is among the first har
bingers of spring. It has a thick rootstalk and a cluster of large veiny
leaves. It is a perennial herb, with an unpleasant odor. Brightening
sandy spots of suburban Philadelphia is the butterfly weed, so named
because of its gaily colored flowers. The flowers are brilliant orange
and borne in dense clusters.
Fauna
DURING the migratory season, many transient birds visit south
eastern Pennsylvania. Among the winter birds are the song,
tree, and English sparrows; starling, winter wren, slate-colored snow
bird, white-throated cardinal, tufted titmouse, red and white-winged
crossbills, pine finch and gold finch, herring gull, titlark, brown
creeper, and golden-crowned kinglet. Birds of prey include the red-
tailed, sharp-shinned and sparrow hawks ; the snowy owl, and the
long-eared, short-eared and saw-whet owls.
With the arrival of spring, Philadelphia s bird kingdom is well es
tablished. Crows fill the moist, warm air with raucous cries, snow
birds and tree sparrows linger in the fields, the fox-colored sparrow
appears, cedar birds perch on the branches of red cedars, and the
melody of song sparrows vies with the hammered tattoo of the wood
peckers. Other visitors are the robin, bluebird, house wren, dove,
red-winged blackbird, and purple grackle. The crow, quail, horned
owl, downy woodpecker, screech owl, barn owl, and cedar bird are
found here through the year.
The European starling, now common to many Atlantic coastal
cities, where it nests in the niches of public buildings, first appeared
in Philadelphia in 1904. According to ornithologists, the starling now
outnumbers even the English sparrow in the city and suburbs.
The starling has "taken over" many of Philadelphia s central city
commercial buildings and many public buildings on the Parkway. In
the autumn countless flocks nightly perch in the eaves of the Art
Museum and the Public Library, to the annoyance of custodians. At
tempts to discourage this pest by firing roman candles at their roost
ing places have resulted in only temporary relief.
With so much of the wildwood atmosphere still preserved, Phila
delphia has its share of bats, squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, weasels,
and the smaller rodents, such as the meadow mouse and the white-
14
NATURE S HANDIWORK
footed deer mouse. The raccoon and opossum are now rarely found,
but are still encountered in the deeper rural sections of this district.
Scene in Fairmount Park
"Sylvan glades and purling streams"
THE FIRST INHABITANTS
THE first men known to occupy what is now Philadelphia were
Indians of the Lenni-Lenape tribes. The Lenni-Lenape, whom
the English later named the Delawares, were one of the more
important nations inhabiting the eastern regions when Europeans
first arrived. They belonged to the great Algonkian linguistic stock
and, according to their own legends, had migrated eastward from the
country beyond the Mississippi.
The Lenni-Lenape nation was divided into three main tribal groups
the Munsee, Unami, and Unalachtigo. Philadelphia history is con
cerned chiefly with the Unami (or "Turtle") tribe of Lenape, though
the Susquehannocks and Shawnees (the former of Iroquoian stock,
the latter of Central Algonkian) figured in the city s early history.
Penn s land treaties were negotiated with the Unami, who occupied
both sides of the Delaware from the mouth of the Lehigh River to
what is now New Castle, Del. Their main village or capital, Shacka-
maxon, (Ind., place of eels) is generally supposed to have been the
scene of the famous treaty conference held by William Penn on the
west bank of the Delaware in the autumn of 1682. The village site,
now part of Philadelphia, is known as Penn Treaty Park, and one of
the streets in the vicinity bears the name "Shackamaxon."
Many other sections of the city retain names given them by the
Indians. Some of the more picturesque are Manayunk, "where we go
to drink" ; Wissahickon, "yellow stream" or "catfish stream" ; Pass-
yunk, "in the valley" ; and Wingohocking, "a favorite spot for plant
ing." Others are Kingsessing, "bog meadow" or "the place where
there is a meadow" ; Pennypack, "still water" ; Tacony, "wood or
uninhabited place" ; Tioga, "at the forks" ; Tulpehocken, "the land
of turtles" ; and Wissinoming, or Wissinaming, "where we were
frightened" or "a place where grapes grow." The area embraced in
Philadelphia was called Coaquannock, or "grove of tall pines."
The Unamis had large heads and faces, and their noses were
sharply hooked. Mainly a sedentary and agricultural people, they
lived on maize, fish, and game. Men of the tribe dressed in breech
clout, leggings, and moccasins, with skin mantle or blanket thrown
over one shoulder. Their heads were shaved or clipped, except for a
scalp lock generously pomaded with bear s grease and bedecked with
ornaments. The women garbed themselves in leather shirt or bodice,
16
FIRST INHABITANTS
with skirt of the same material. They wore their hair plaited, the
long tails falling over their shoulders.
Before the advent of Dutch and Swede upon the Philadelphia
scene, the Indians lived in lodges of birch hark. The more sturdy log
hut of later date probably was copied from the whites, although Iro-
quoian peoples lived in log dwellings prior to white contact. .
Not long before Penn arrived in the New World, a group of
Shawnees had migrated northward into Pennsylvania, some of them
locating for a time on the flats below Philadelphia. The Susquehan-
nocks from Maryland, known as "Black Minquas" to the Swedes, had
preceded them and were well known to the early settlers.
After a brief sojourn in the vicinity, the Shawnees moved north
ward to the Wyoming Valley, and thence to western Pennsylvania and
Ohio. The Susquehannocks, waging bitter warfare with the Iroquois
Confederacy, were driven from their Pennsylvania strongholds early
in the period of white colonization.
Probably no more intimate picture of the Indian living in and near
Philadelphia can be given than that of William Penn to the Free
Society of Traders in his letter of 1683. Penn wrote :
For their persons, they are generally tall, straight, well built, and
of singular Proportion. They tread strong and clever, and mostly walk
with a lofty Chin. Of complexion Black, but by design, as the Gipsies
in England. They grease themselves with Bear s fat clarified ; and us
ing no defence against sun or weather, their skins must needs be
swarthy. Their eye is little and black, not unlike a straight-look t
Jew. The thick Lip and flat Nose, so frequent with the East Indians
and Blacks, are not common to them ; for I have seen as comely
European-like faces among them, of both sexes, as on your side of
the Sea. And truly an Italian Complexion hath not much more of
the White ; and the Noses of several of them have as much of the
Roman. Their Language is lofty, yet narrow ; but like the Hebrew in
signification, full. Like short-hand in writing, one word serveth in the
place of three, and the rest are supplied by the Understanding of the
Hearer ; Imperfect in their Tenses, wanting in their Moods, Parti
ciples, Adverbs, Conjunctions and Interjections. I have made it my
business to understand it that I might not want an Interpreter on any
occasion, and I must say that I know not of a language spoken in
Europe that hath words of more sweetness or greatness, in Accent
and Emphasis than theirs ; For instance, Octokekon, Rancocas,
Oricton, Shak, Marian, Poquesian, all of which are names of places,
and have grandeur in them Sepassen, Passijon, the names of places;
Tamane, Secane, Menanse and Secatareus, are the names of persons.
If an European comes to see them, or calls for Lodgings at their
House or Wigwam, they give him the best place, and first cut. If they
come to visit us they salute us with an Itah! which is as much as to
say, "Good be to you !" and set them down, which is mostly on the
ground, close to their heels, their legs upright ; it may be they speak
not a word, but observe all passages. If you give them anything to
17
PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
eat or drink, be it little or much, if it is given with kindness they
are well pleased ; else they will go away sullen, but say nothing.
In sickness, impatient to be cured ; and for it give anything, es
pecially for their children to whom they are extremely natural. They
drink at those times a tisan, or Decoction of some Roots in Spring
Water ; and if they eat any flesh it must be of the Female of any
Creature. If they dye, they bury them with their Apparel, be they
Men or Women, and the nearest of Kin fling in something precious
with them as a token of Love. Their Mourning is blacking of their
faces, which they continue for a year. Some of the young women are
said to take undue liberty before Marriage for a portion ; but when
married chaste.
Their Government is by Kings, which they call Sachama, and those
by succession, but always of the Mother s side. For instance, children
of him who is now King will not succeed, but his Brother by the
Mother, or the Children of his Sister, whose Sons (and after them the
Children of her Daughters) will reign ; for Woman inherits. The
Reason they render for this way of Descent is, that their issue may
not be spurious. The Justice they have is Pecuniary. In case of any
Wrong or evil Fact, be it Murther itself, they atone by Feasts and
Presents of their wampun, which is proportioned to the quality of
the Offence, or Person injured or of the S ex they are of.
For their Original, I am ready to believe them of the Jewish Races.
Perm s entire approach to the native was the outgrowth of a com
bination of characteristics that today seem contradictory. He held an
unquestioning helief in the right of the white men, whom he con
sidered God s chosen people, to populate the new land, in the right
of Christians to dispossess the aborigines. But his abiding sense of
humanity softened to gentleness the stern measures to which such a
belief would appear naturally to lead. Although a shrewd real estate
man, promoting his interests even to the extent of circularizing
Europe, he dealt generously with the Indians. The result indicated
the promptings of his heart, which softened his views on the subject
of white invasions and confirmed his belief that peaceful expansion
of the Colony depended on the courteous and kind treatment of the
natives.
It is doubtful if even the best intentions could have saved the
Indians from a fate that hinged, not so much on the wishes of in
dividual men, as on the inexorable forces working upon European
society. Penn treated the Indians with more consideration than any
other Colonial Governor. His successors acted in a quite different
spirit. It was not long after Penn was in his grave, that the Pro
prietors tricked the Indians out of a large slice of land by means of
the notorious Walking Purchase.
The Walking Purchase of 1737 was resorted to in settling a contro
versy due to a loosely drawn deed covering a tract extending from a
point a short distance above Trenton, west to Wrightstown in Bucks
County, northwest and paralleling the Delaware River as far as a
18
FIRST INHABITANTS
man could walk in a day and a half, and then east to the Delaware,
following a line not defined in the deed.
Thomas Penn finally prevailed upon the Indians to agree to the
terms of the document, and preparations were made for the walk.
Instead of the leisurely method of walking, which the natives ex
pected, the whites advertised for fast walkers, marked trees to in
sure a straight line of travel, and made every effort to procure the
greatest amount of land. Three walkers were hired, two of whom fell
out, but the third reached a point more than 60 miles from the start.
The deceit was continued by drawing the line at an angle, rather than
straight, thus claiming the best lands of the Minisink region.
With the development of Philadelphia, Indians retreated to the
outskirts, and finally to remoter regions, being pushed northward and
westward as the frontiers spread out. Not long after the Walking
Purchase, the last Delaware council fire died out upon the Wis-
sahickon s hills, leaving Philadelphia to the white man and the white
man s ways. Today about 150 Indians live in the city. They are not
subjected to discrimination, and on the whole are entirely adjusted
socially. The descendants of the Delawares and their historic allies
are now domiciled in Oklahoma, numbering about 1,200 ; in Ontario
about 400; with some scattered in Kansas and Wisconsin. Research
in this important field, long neglected, has been carried on since 1928
through the University of Pennsylvania Research Fund.
Two small plots of ground were set aside in 1755 by John Penn,
William Penn s grandson, as camping sites for Indian delegations
visiting the city. One plot, formerly part of the Penn lawn, is off
Second Street, behind the Keystone Telephone Building, between
Walnut and Chestnut Streets. The other is behind the Ritz Carlton
Hotel. Believed to have been deeded to the Six Nations, the grants in
recent years have been the source of much publicity and a certain
amount of legal bickering. In 1922 five Indian chiefs from New York
visited Philadelphia to ascertain the legal status of their claim upon
the onetime reservations. At this time, John Caskell Hall, a descendant
of William Penn, "rededicated" the Second Street tract as an Indian
camping site in the presence of Pennsylvania s Governor and Phila
delphia s mayor. The ceremony was considered, even by the visiting
chiefs, as nothing more than a rhetorical gesture.
Philadelphia is unimportant archeologically. Although most of the
city stands upon a very ancient land mass, possibly rich in paleonto-
logical and archeological remains, no evidence that man existed in
the area prior to the coming of the Indian has been found. The
nearest approach to a paleontological discovery was a section of a
petrified tree dug up in 1931 by workmen excavating for the Eighth
Street Subway. Even that find has not yet proved to be of scientific
value, since neither its age nor its origin has been determined.
19
HISTORY
And thou, Philadelphia, the virgin settlement named before thou
wert born, what love, what care, what service and what travail has
there been to bring thee forth, and to preserve thee from such as
would abuse and defile thee.
WILLIAM PENN
A
PROLOGUE
TINY ship, with weather-
beaten sails billowing above
her cluttered deck, limped
into Delaware Bay on the after
noon of October 24, 1682, and beat
slowly upriver against a northerly
wind. She was the 300-ton Wel
come, bound from Deal, England,
to New Castle, Delaware, with
Capt. Robert Greenway in com
mand and William Penn as one
of her 70 passengers,
low at the stem, the vessel was
Penn s Ship Welcome"
High-sterned, and perilously
crowded with men, women, and children. Cows, pigs, and sheep took
up much of her deck space ; her alleyways were glutted with masses
of baggage, household utensils, and boxes of provisions. Her tween-
decks exuded the miasma of contagion ; and from everywhere came
the stench of crowded humans and penned-up livestock.
For eight weeks the Welcome., pushing her slender bow through
the North Atlantic seas, had battled gales and the scourge of small
pox. On September 1, she had raised anchor and stood down the
English Channel with 100 passengers, among them one who had come
aboard at Deal bearing the deadly germs. Within a few weeks nearly
half the crew and passengers were down with the plague. The
bodies of 30 victims had been committed to the sea before land was
sighted.
Under such discouraging circumstances did William Penn first look
upon American soil, and to the travail of storm and death there was
20
HISTORY-PROLOGUE
now to be added the opposition of wind and tide. Though within the
capes, the Welcome had to struggle against headwinds for three days
before reaching New Castle.
On the morning of the 28th (the Welcome actually had arrived the
evening before) Penn landed in New Castle, there to be greeted by
his cousin, Capt. William Markham, resplendent in naval uniform,
and by a gathering of Dutch, Welsh and English settlers. Tall, hand
some, and still of slender figure, Penn made an impressive appearance
on that autumn Saturday as he formally took possession of the Dela
ware territory by receiving the "turf, twig and water" symbols of
ownership, and renewed the commissions of incumbent magistrates.
Impatient to see his Province of Pennsylvania, he proceeded that
afternoon to Upland (now Chester) settled by the Swedes about 40
years before and landed at the mouth of Chester Creek, named by
the Indians Mee-chop-penack-han, or "the stream where large pota
toes grow." Here he was entertained over the weekend at Essex
House, home of Robert Wade, a Friend whom Penn had known in
London.
Sometime during the first week in November, Penn and a party of
friends rowed up river to the tongue of land formed by the converg
ing Schuylkill and Delaware Rivers, where the town of Philadelphia
was being laid out. They continued past the Schuylkill s mouth, pro
ceeding up the Delaware to where Dock Creek led into a large green
clearing on the west bank of the river. The place was called Coaquan-
nock by the Indians because of its tall pines. In the vicinity such
small Swedish settlements as Wicaco and Tacony had been estab
lished.
Some of the land desired by Penn was owned by these early
Swedes, and still more belonged to the original owners the Indians,
particularly the Unamis of the Lenni-Lenape nation. Adjustments
were made later with the Swedes ; but since Penn s agents already
had acquired considerable acreage from the Indians, the clearing on
the Delaware was even now taking on the semblance of a real estate
development.
Under the supervision of Capt. Thomas Holme, the surveyor gen
eral whom Penn had sent to America with the advance guard of
settlers, trees were being felled and cut into logs, plots were being
leveled, streets graded, houses built, and the city was being laid out
in accordance with Penn s plan.
During the next few weeks Penn was busy. He visited New York to
pay his respects to representatives of the Duke of York (from whom
he had received the Lower Counties), made frequent trips to Phila
delphia to observe the growth of his "greene countrie towne," and in
Chester worked on the plan of government for his Province. Mean
while he kept in contact with his agents in London, circularizing
21
PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
Europe with pamphlets in English, German, and other languages
which pictured the beauties of America and outlined the ad
vantages to be gained by coming to the new land.
As a result of this promotion campaign, immigrants poured into
Pennsylvania during the ensuing years. Among them were so many
Germans that James Logan, Penn s secretary, expressed a fear that it
would become a German colony. One of the features attracting
Europeans was Penn s Great Law and Frame of Government, which
made provisions for free education, promotion of the arts and
sciences, religious toleration, freely elected representatives, and trial
by jury in open court.
Many of the earliest settlers in Philadelphia found existence far
from comfortable. Great numbers of them had to live for a time in
dug-outs gouged from the Delaware s banks. There was no let-up in
building ; during the first year after Penn s arrival more than 100
dwellings of brick, logs, and wide clapboards were constructed, among
them homes with balconies as well as porches. Brick houses were few
at first, but the number increased rapidly as soon as bricks could be
manufactured locally, making importation of that material unneces
sary.
Within a year of Penn s landing the growing town boasted 600
houses. The Blue Anchor Inn, built in 1682 on the bank at the mouth
of Dock Creek, and serving as Philadelphia s tavern, trade head
quarters, and community center, was no longer the most substantial
building in town. Some of the homes were becoming almost pre
tentious, wharves were growing in size and number along the Dela
ware, and surrounding farms by the hundreds were being cleared
and tilled. Penn, with pardonable pride, was able to write to his
friends in England : "I have led the greatest colony into America
that ever man did upon a private credit. I will show a province in
seven years equal to her neighbors of forty years planting."
Thus was founded the City of Brotherly Love not only a haven
for the persecuted, but also a sound business venture promoted by
one who had a clearer understanding of human nature than most
men of his time. This latter trait was especially made manifest in
his dealings with the Indians. "Be grave," he had importuned his
commissioners before coming himself to America, "they (the Indians)
like not to be smiled upon."
22
PENN AND THE HOLY EXPERIMENT
BORN October 14, 1644, the son of Admiral Sir William Perm,
Pennsylvania s founder received his early education at a small
free school at Chigwell, near Wanstead, England. A brooding
lad, with a leaning toward spiritual thoughts, his behavior frequently
exasperated his energetic sire. On October 26, 1660, after being tu
tored at home, young Penn was sent to Christ Church College, Ox
ford. Here he associated with members of a growing sect known as
Friends, or Quakers, and became a convert. In this environment he
heard Quaker leaders discussing plans for a colony across the sea.
Members of the established Anglican Church already had such a
settlement in Virginia ; the Puritans had a refuge in New England ;
and the Quakers now dreamed of escaping persecution by establish
ing a colony in America.
At first intimation of his son s interest in the Quaker faith, Sir Wil
liam became greatly perturbed. Then, when young Penn was expelled
for refusing to wear a surplice in chapel, he ordered his son home
and attempted to break the boy s will by physical discipline. In ref
erence to the incident, Pennsylvania s founder later spoke bitterly
of the "Usage I underwent when I returned to my father ; whipping,
beating, and turning out of doors in 1662."
But punishment proved useless, so young Penn was sent on a tour
of France. At Saumur he spent a year and a half studying in the
Huguenot College under Moses Amyraut. Upon his return to England
he studied law for a while, then accompanied his father to sea with
the British fleet. Naval life did not appeal to him, however, and in
1666 (the year of the great London fire) he was sent to Ireland to
manage his father s Shannigary estate. Once again Penn came under
Quaker influence, and this time he was committed irrevocably to the
faith.
In 1668, at the age of 24, he began to preach and write, producing
the pamphlet The Sandy Foundation Shaken, which offended the
Anglican clergy. That same year he was confined in the Tower of
London for nine months because of his religious activities. A few
years later he was a prisoner in Newgate. "My prison shall be my
grave before I will budge a jot," he declared stubbornly. After his
release he continued to campaign, winning a wide reputation as a
Quaker leader and as author of No Cross, No Crown and Innocency
23
PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
With Her Open Face. His father at last in 1670 was forced to recon
cile himself to the son s work, but that reconciliation did not come
until the elder Penn lay upon his deathbed.
On April 4, 1672, Penn married Gulielma Maria Springett. There
followed an idyllic interlude, marred only by repeated persecution
of the Quakers. In 1680 more than 10,000 were thrown into prison,
243 dying in loathsome cells. On others exorbitant fines were imposed,
or their estates confiscated. By this time Penn s wife had given birth
to seven children, three of whom, including twins, died in infancy.
In 1681, as payment for a debt of 16,000 owed by Charles II to his
father "for money advanced and services rendered," Penn received
the grant of a vast territory in the New World. Thus his role in
history entered a newer, brighter, and more glorious period.
In signing the patent, the King stipulated that "two beaver skins
be delivered at our castle of Windsor on the first day of January in
every year, and also the fifth part of all gold and silver ore found."
The patent was signed March 4, 1681, and on April 2 Charles issued
a public proclamation to the inhabitants of the Province, enjoining
them to yield obedience to Penn and his deputies. At the same time
Penn addressed a message to the colonists, expressing the hope that
he would be able to join them without delay, and urging them to
pay their dues to his deputy governor, Captain Markham, who left
for America that summer.
On April 25, 1682, he completed his famous "Frame of Govern
ment." He called the document The Frame of Government of the
Province of Pennsylvania in America, together with certain laws
agreed upon in England by the Governor and divers Freemen of the
aforesaid Province to be further explained by the First Provincial
Council that shall be held if they see fit. In the constitution he de
clared the divine right of government was twofold, to "terrify evil
doers and to cherish those that do well." He also pointed out that
"any government is free to the people under it, whatever be the frame,
where the laws rule and the people are a party to those laws."
Meanwhile the Free Society of Traders was incorporated, with a
capital stock of 10,000 for the purpose of developing the Province.
Penn sold the society 20,000 acres in a single tract. The company did
not prosper, but the generous terms under which the land was offered
resulted in many purchases in London, Bristol, and even in Dutch
and German cities.
On May 5, 1682, Penn s Code of Laws was passed in England to be
altered or amended in Pennsylvania. In this historic document, 40
statements were promulgated which, in large measure, became the
fundamental law of the Province. Among the provisions were that
elections should be voluntary ; taxes were to be levied by law for
purposes specified ; complaints were to be received upon oath or af-
24
HISTORY PENN AND THE HOLY EXPERIMENT
firmation ; trials were to be by a jury of twelve men, peers of good
character and of the neighborhood. If the crime carried the death
penalty, the sheriff was to summon a grand inquest of twenty-four
men ; fees were to be moderate ; each county was to have a prison
that would serve also as a workhouse for felons, vagrants, and idle
persons ; and public officers and legislators were to take oath to speak
the truth and profess belief in Jesus Christ.
Penn was now ready to turn his back upon England and start a new
chapter in the wilderness of America. So, winding up the last of his
affairs, he boarded the Welcome at Deal on September 1, 1682, and
set sail for Pennsylvania. For three quarters of a century Europe had
looked with covetous eyes upon that virgin wilderness, and for about
40 years there had been attempts to colonize it. Now it was to become
the scene of action of one of history s most colorful characters the
testing ground for his "holy experiment."
The Years of Discovery
A MAJESTIC river skirted one boundary of the wilderness com-
J -*- monwealth in which Penn was to make his great experiment. Im
portant to the Indians before the arrival of the whites, the Delaware
River later played an important part in the development of town and
Province, city and State.
The first European known to have viewed the stream was Henry
Hudson, who on August 28, 1609, sailed his Half Moon up the bay
while seeking a northwest passage to China. The second recorded
voyage to Delaware Bay was made in July 1610, by Capt. Samuel
Argall, English navigator. Argall named the bay Delaware, in honor
of Thomas West Lord de La Warr who but recently had arrived
in Jamestown as Governor of Virginia.
In 1614 the Dutch States General passed an ordinance claiming ex
clusive trade privileges to all America. That same year Capt. Corne-
lis Jacobson Mey, representing the United New Netherland Company,
explored Delaware Bay, giving to the east cape the name of Cape Mey
(May), and to the west cape the name of Cornelis, which he after
wards changed to Hindlopen later corrupted to Henlopen. When
Mey returned to Europe, Capt. Cornelis Hendricksen, an associate of
Mey, determined to explore the Zuydt, or South (now Delaware)
River more fully. He went as far north as the mouth of the Schuyl-
kill, and in his report to the States General declared he had dis
covered a bay and three rivers.
In 1621 the States General chartered the Dutch West India Com
pany with sovereign powers, giving it a trade monopoly and rights
to colonize on the coast of Africa from the Tropic of Cancer to the
Cape of Good Hope, and on the American coast from the Straits of
25
PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
Magellan to Newfoundland. The territory claimed by the company in
North America was called the Province of New Netherland. Thus
culminated a long-drawn fight by the Amsterdam merchant, William
Usselincx, for a powerful colonizing, navigation, and trading organi
zation. The company did not prove successful. Usselincx was later
appointed Swedish agent in Holland.
The company sent its first ship to America in March 1623, under
command of Captain Mey. The latter erected Fort Nassau on the New
Jersey side of the Delaware at Timber (now Sassackon) Creek, op
posite what is now League Island. Here trade with the Indians was
carried on for a time, the site being alternately abandoned and re-
occupied by the Dutch until 1651, when they moved to Fort Casimir
at New Castle, Del. This was the first European attempt at permanent
settlement on the Delaware.
Some time after the formation of the Dutch West India Company,
the disappointed Usselincx persuaded Gustavus Adolphus, King
of Sweden, to grant him a commission to form a Swedish West India
Company. Letters patent were issued July 2, 1626, and the project
was recommended to the people of Sweden and Germany. Gustavus
himself pledging the Royal Treasury up to 450,000 riksdalers. The
Diet confirmed the measure in 1627, but the German war delayed
organization. Gustavus was killed in battle, in 1632, and the plan was
dropped temporarily. Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna, regent and guard
ian for the little Queen Christina, soon renewed the patent of the
company, with Usselincx as director. Pamphlets and circulars outlin
ing the project were distributed throughout Europe. Several wealthy
Dutchmen became interested in the enterprise, and by 1637 actual
preparations were under way to found a Swedish colony on the Dela
ware.
Meanwhile, in America, the Dutch West India Company had per
mitted a landed aristocracy to develop. Wealthy Dutchmen, acquir
ing large grants from the company, set themselves up as patroons or
feudal chiefs of extensive territories. Among those interested in colon
izing the Delaware was David Pieterszen (or Pieterszoon) De Vries.
The site of Philadelphia, however, lay untouched by white coloniza
tion, in fact, unseen until on January 10, 1633, De Vries sailed his
ship up the river beyond the SchuylkilFs mouth, anchoring off what
is now Camden, N. J. The Indians were then at war with one another,
and De Vries, afraid to trust them, did not go ashore, but dropped
down the river to Chester Creek, where his vessel was ice-bound for
two weeks. He then sailed down the Delaware and went on to Vir
ginia. Returning to the river in March, he captured a few whales, but
because of their small yield in oil he decided to return to Holland.
That same year Arent Corssen, commissary at Fort Nassau, was
commissioned by the Dutch governor at New Amsterdam to buy from
26
Workman s Place
A Bit of Stockholm
PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
the Indians a tract of land on the Schuylkill. Upon this land, about
a half mile north of the present Penrose Ferry Bridge, Fort Beversrede
later was erected. In the meantime, difficulties sprang up between the
patroons of New Netherland and the Dutch West India Company. It
finally was agreed that the company would purchase the property
and rights of the patroons, and on November 27, 1634, all the claims
to the land on both sides of the Delaware passed to the West India
Company.
The influence of the Swedes on the Delaware was now to be felt.
The New Sweden Company, a hybrid organization financed equally
by Dutch and Swedes, founded its first colony in 1638, on the present
site of Wilmington, Del. The first governor, Peter Minuit, had been
the Dutch governor at New Amsterdam for six years, until replaced
by Wouter Van Twiller. As governor of New Sweden, Minuit erected
Fort Christiana and purchased from the Indians all the land on the
west bank of the Delaware as far north as the Schuylkill. Pursuing a
policy of fair dealing with the Indians, Minuit gained their good will
and succeeded in obtaining almost all the fur trade.
Settlement of the Swedes upon the Delaware was sharply resented
by the Dutch at New Amsterdam, who declared the Zuydt River of
New Netherland had long been in their possession. Minuit was suc
ceeded in 1640 by Peter Hollandaer (or Hollander) , who purchased
the land extending from the Schuylkill north to Falls of the Delaware,
at what is now Trenton.
Then came John Printz, a huge man of 400 pounds. Printz was to
become the greatest of New Sweden s governors. After a career in five
universities and meritorious service in the Baltic wars, he had been
knighted and sent to America. In 1643 he built New Gotheberg (or
Gottenburg) a log fort, and a cluster of rude shelters for the im
migrants on Tinicum Island, now part of Tinicum Township, Dela
ware County. For himself he erected a fine brick house called "Printz
Hall," which stood as a landmark for a century and a half. The fort
was soon destroyed by an accidental fire.
Printz, known among the Indians as the "Big Tub," ruled Tinicum
for ten years. He liked neither the Indians nor the Dutch, and his
hatred of the latter was intensified when in 1645 the New Amsterdam
governor sent Andreas Hudde to erect Fort Beversrede. Despite his
grievances, Printz developed a brisk trade in pelts and tobacco, and
made plans for the building of mills and forts. He married off his
daughter, Armegat, to the valiant Johan Papegoja, vice governor of
the Swedes on the Delaware. This was the first marriage ceremony
between white persons within the present limits of Pennsylvania.
Printz then returned to Sweden, leaving affairs in the hands of his
new son-in-law. Papegoja was soon relieved by John Classon Rysingh.
At last the friction between Dutch and Swedes resulted in open
28
HISTORY PENN AND THE HOLY EXPERIMENT
violence. A new governor, "Headstrong" Peter Stuyvesant, had come
to New Amsterdam. Passionate, honest, and blunt, Stuyvesant stumped
through the affairs of the New World on his wooden leg, hating the
Swedes with characteristic intensity. He removed the Fort Nassau gar
rison to Fort Casimir, and when told of the fall of his new fort, he
gave way to a mighty rage. In the autumn of 1655, with an expedition
of seven vessels and 600 men, he entered the Delaware, lowered the
Swedish flag everywhere and hoisted the Dutch in its place, reestab
lishing the mastery of Holland throughout the lower valley.
Rysingh returned to Sweden and died in poverty. The leading Swed
ish settlers followed him home, while others surrendered their fur
trade and moved upstream ahead of the conquering Dutch. Thus the
wavelets of Swedish migration beat upon the shores of the Delaware,
to leave the church, Gloria Dei, as a monument to their courage and
their faith.
But there was never any extensive settlement by either Swedes or
Dutch. In the entire section of Tacony, as the Swedes called what is
now Philadelphia, court records in 1677 showed 65 males between the
ages of 16 and 60. The Dutch as well as the Swedes were destined to
lose their hold in this part of the New World, and at last evil days
fell upon "Old Wooden Leg" Stuyvesant. Geographically, the English
had him bottled up and were pressing their advantage. "Alas," he
wrote in despair to the West India Company, "the English are ten to
one in number to us, and are able to deprive us of the country when
they please."
English Encroachment
A S early as 1634, two Englishmen, Thomas Young and Robert
-^~*- Evelyn, journeyed as far north on the Delaware as the present
site of Philadelphia. They built a small fort at the mouth of the
Schuylkill River, but remained there only five days. The next year,
by order of the Governor of Virginia, an expedition under Capt.
George Holmes attempted to seize Fort Nassau on the New Jersey
side. The attempt was frustrated by the Dutch, who captured Holmes
and sent him to New Amsterdam in chains. In 1641, sixty Puritans
from New Haven went up the Delaware with the intention of settling
permanently at the Schuylkill s mouth. (All Delaware River way
farers recognized the value of that particular spot, the embryonic
Philadelphia) . The Puritans erected a blockhouse, but before long
it was burned to the ground by raiders in the Dutch service, and the
Connecticut colonizers were sent to New Amsterdam.
At last, after the long years of claims and counter-claims, of voyages
of exploration and attempts at colonization, came the Treaty of Breda
in 1667, whereby England gained possession of the territory now con-
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PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
tained in the States of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and New
York. Vital changes in affairs of the New World were linked inti
mately with developments in the Old. On March 20, 1664, Charles II
presented to his brother James, Duke of York and Albany, the lands
between the Connecticut and Delaware Rivers. James gave to Sir
George Carteret and John, Lord Berkeley, courtiers and favorites,
possession of the territory between the Hudson and the Delaware.
Carteret had held the Island of Jersey for the Cavaliers against the
might of Cromwell, and so the new province, at first named Nova
Caesarea, was then called New Jersey.
The fortunes of Col. Richard Nicolls, a follower of the Duke of
York, also entered a period of brightness under the favor of the royal
brothers. Nicolls dispossessed Stuyvesant in 1664 but he treated the
Dutch and Swedes on the Delaware with consideration. He established
the Duke of York s system of laws, which provided for trial by jury,
religious freedom, and equality of taxation.
After Nicolls, Col. Francis Lovelace governed on the Delaware
(1667-1673), and then the Dutch gained ascendancy in 1673, follow
ing the fortunes of a fresh war overseas. They maintained this posi
tion for only a year, during which time Peter Alrichs was deputy
governor of the Colonies on the west side of the Delaware. With the
Treaty of Westminster, in 1674, the English again were masters on
this side of the Atlantic.
Four years later, in 1678, the English ship Shield sailed up the
Delaware, passing the Indian place, Coaquannock, which lay under
a thin mantle of snow on the river s western bank. The site of Phila
delphia was then an almost unbroken wilderness, save for a few
scattered clearings and an occasional log cabin sending its wreaths of
smoke upward through the trees.
The Shield, bound up-river for the new settlement of Burlington
(N. J.), tacked close in to shore so close that some of the rigging
scraped against branches of trees lining the water s edge. One of the
crew gazed in awe at the broad flat forests stretching away from the
placid Delaware, then turned to a shipmate and exclaimed : "Here
is a fine place for a town !"
30
EARLY SETTLEMENT
ON April 23, 1682, Captain Holme set sail from London
on the Amity., having been commissioned by William Penn as
surveyor general of Pennsylvania. Holme arrived on the site of
Philadelphia late in June, and immediately began the task of laying
out the city on the elevated ground between the Delaware and Schuyl-
kill Rivers.
The starting point of the city rose from tide level to an altitude of
no more than 50 feet, its forest-covered surface drained by a half
dozen creeks. Most of the area, except for early Swedish clearings
along rivers and creeks, was primitive wilderness ; Indian encamp
ments had encroached very little upon the tall pines.
Several plots had already been surveyed before the arrival of
Holme, and a small number of buildings had been erected, princi
pally along Dock Creek. Choice sections of water-front land were ob
tained from the Swedes, who were given other tracts in exchange,
and during midsummer a large area in what is now Bucks County
was purchased from the Indians.
The acreage obtained from the Swedes included frontage on both
rivers. In plan at least, the city was extended westward to the Schuyl-
kill River and from Vine Street to South two miles east to west,
and one mile north to south. In the shadow of the Coaquannock
woods Philadelphia thus slowly began to rise, while in England Wil
liam Penn was busily engaged in preaching the gospel of emigra
tion and making last-minute preparations for departure.
Among his many schemes for development of the city and Province,
Penn set great store on the Free Society of Traders, a land and com
mercial company chartered in London. Its president was Nicholas
Moore, a London doctor, who came to Philadelphia shortly after
Penn s arrival and later became speaker of the assembly and chief
justice. The treasurer was James Claypoole, an able and energetic
man who also made his home in the New World.
One of the plans of the society was to erect an autonomous "Manor
of Frank, which should hold its court-baron, court-leet and view of
frankpledge." For this purpose to the society was granted a tract of
20,000 acres about 20 miles northwest of the city. By June 1682, the
total stock subscribed to the company had reached 10,000, but the
undertaking later collapsed for a reason still undetermined. Possibly
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PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
the society had made plans on too vast a scale. At any rate, manorial
reservations and courts were not adaptable to democratic society.
In order to attract wealthy individuals, Penn offered parcels of
5,000 acres for 100, with 50 acres additional for every indentured
servant brought to Pennsylvania. An opportunity was given entire
families to purchase tracts of 500 acres, to be paid for in annual in
stallments over a period of years. Moreover, Philadelphia was to be
built up "after the proportion of 10 acres for each 500 acres pur
chased, if the place would allow it." (Instead of becoming a colony
of landed gentry, Philadelphia became a center for tradesmen, labor
ers, and seekers after homesteads.)
Penn had been expected in Philadelphia for a long time before
he arrived. The reason for his delay was that he was busy on his
Frame of Government constitution. He consulted many persons,
notably Algernon Sidney, who wished England to become a republic
and who finally gave his life for his liberal principles. Sidney did
not approve some of Penn s ideas, although both were Whigs, and
each was in his own way eager to help mankind. Penn made as many
as 20 drafts of his constitution, each a considerable advance over the
first, which would have created a landed aristocracy.
Under Penn s rule there was to be a governor, a provincial council,
and an assembly. The council was to be composed of 72 freemen, who
were to serve for three years, one-third being replaced each year. The
governor was to have three votes in the council, but no power of veto.
The council alone had the right to originate bills. The governor and
council together constituted the executive power, and by division into
committees were to manage the affairs of the Province. The assembly
was to consist, for the first year, of all the freemen of the Province,
and after that of 200 persons to be elected each year.
It soon became evident that changes were necessary. Under the
existing arrangement, the governor was impotent, and therefore the
right of veto was granted him in 1696. Penn also modernized the
method of impeachment, and was the first person to lay down the
principle that any law which violated the constitution should be void.
The final draft was completed April 25, 1682.
When Penn and his contingent of settlers finally arrived, they
found the season well advanced and the problem of shelter for their
first winter in the new land a grave one. Of the situation Pastorius
wrote: "The caves of that time were only holes digged in the ground,
covered with earth, a matter of 5 or 6 feet deep, 10 or 12 feet wide
and about 20 feet long. Whereof neither the sides or the floors have
been planked. Herein we lived more contentedly than many nowa
days in their painted and wainscoted palaces, as I, without the least
hyperbole, may call them in comparison of the aforesaid subter
raneous catacombs or dens."
32
HISTORY EARLY SETTLEMENT
Building construction was carried on with renewed vigor in the
spring. For himself Penn had ordered a house commanding a view
of the Delaware, but it was not until March 10, 1683, that he took
up residence in Philadelphia. By this time the Province had been
divided into Philadelphia, Chester and Bucks counties, and both the
Great Law and the Frame of Government had been adopted by
the assembly, which had its first session in Chester, December 4, 1682.
During 1683 a number of settlers made their way into the wilder
ness. More than 20 vessels loaded with immigrants arrived in Phila
delphia before the end of the year. Penn s great plan apparently was
moving toward the success for which he had prayed and labored.
His gratification at the progress of his Province found expression in
many letters. "Colonies," he wrote, "are the seeds of the Nation." He
called the Delaware a "glorious river," and declared that the Schuyl-
kill being "boatable 100 miles above the falls and opening the way
to the heart of the Province, is likely to attract settlers in that di
rection."
In sending back to England a copy of the city plan, he wrote:
This I will say for the good Providence of God, that of all the many
places I have seen in the world, I remember not one better seated,
so that it seems to me to have been appointed for a town, whether
we regard the rivers or the conveniency of the coves, docks, springs,
the loftiness and soundness of the land and the air held by the people
of these parts to be very good. It is advanced within less than a year
to about fourscore houses and cottages, such as they are, where mer
chants and handicrafts are following their vocations as fast as they
can, while the countrymen are close at their farms.
Thomas Paschall, a pewterer, may be taken as a typical colonist.
He came from Bristol, and with his family of seven children set
tled on a 500-acre tract between what are now Angora and Mount
Moriah Cemetery. Paschallville was named for him. "Here is a place
called Philadelphia where is a market kept as also at Upland," he
wrote in 1683. Attending a fair at Burlington, N. J., he saw "most
sorts of goods to be sold and a great resort of people. The country
is full of goods." He declared that within a year 24 ships had sailed
up the Delaware, which he termed "a brave, pleasant river as can be
desired." The same year saw the arrival of at least 50 ships, bringing
hundreds of Welsh settlers and the first of the German immigrants.
From the very beginning the Welsh seemed to prefer the Schuyl-
kill. In a short time other Quaker colonists arrived from Wales, pur
chasing 5,000 acres of unsurveyed land, a part of a larger tract set
aside by Penn for the exclusive use of the Welsh. Penn s charter per
mitted him to erect manors, and perhaps the Welsh expected to have
"manorial jurisdiction." However, only for a time did they enjoy
special privileges of local self-government. The tract of 40,000 acres
which they ultimately obtained was often called the Welsh Barony.
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PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
Here were founded the townships of Merion, Radnor, and Haverford,
west of the Schuylkill. Many notable Philadelphians trace their an
cestry to the first settlers of the Welsh tract.
Gwynne Friends canie later than the Quakers who settled on the
Welsh tract. Hugh Roberts, "a man of much enthusiasm," went to
Wales and stirred up the ancient Britons to a realization of the ad
vantages of the new Province. As a result a new group arrived and
purchased from Robert Turner a tract 18 miles from the heart of
Philadelphia.
Not all the Welsh immigrants were Quakers, however. A large num
ber of Welsh churchmen from Radnorshire settled at Radnor, some
times called Welshtown, and built the famous St. David s Protestant
Episcopal Church. Here the old Tory, Judge Moore, of Moore Hall,
and the patriot, Gen. Anthony Wayne, worshiped and were buried,
Pastorius and the Founding of Germantown
ON JUNE 10, 1683, the ship America, with Capt. Joseph Wasey in
command, sailed from Deal, England, with a scholarly gentleman
aboard a man who was to play an important role in the history of
Philadelphia. He was Francis Daniel Pastorius, founder of German-
town and forerunner of a great wave of immigration. Pastorius and
his party of nine arrived in Philadelphia on August 20, six weeks
earlier than the main body of the first Germantown colonists, the so-
called Mennonite weavers. These, coming from Crefeld, arrived on
the Concord, commanded by Capt. William Jefferies, on October 6,
1683. They were not of German origin, as is commonly supposed, but
were Dutch Quaker descendants of Mennonites who had taken up
residence in the Rhine country after being driven from the Nether
lands.
The Krisheimers (or Cresheimers) likewise had their origin in the
Netherlands, afterwards migrating to Switzerland and then to Ger
many before coming to America. Preceding the bulk of German mi
gration to Germantown and its environs, the Krisheimers and Cre-
felders did much to industrialize the Wissahickon region and develop
agriculture along Cresheim Creek before the turn of the eighteenth
century.
Pastorius was born at Sommerhausen on the Main, Franconia, Sept.
26, 1651, three years after the close of the Thirty Years War. His
name in Low German was Scepers, but was Latinized into Pastorius.
He attended four universities and spent years in study, travel, and
association with cultured persons, becoming one of the great scholars
of his time. One of the Frankfort Pietists, he was an important in
fluence in the great religious awakening that took place in the second
half of the seventeenth century.
34
HISTORY EARLY SETTLEMENT
Pastorius had as a fellow-passenger on the trip from Deal, Thomas
Lloyd, who was accompanied by his wife and nine children. The
weather was foul, whales struck the ship, and sailors went crazy ; hut
Pastorius and Lloyd paced the deck, conversing in Latin and discuss
ing their hopes for the new colony.
The America brought over 80 persons, among them Catholics,
Lutherans, Calvinists, Anabaptists, Episcopalians, and one Quaker.
Pastorius at first lived in a cave dwelling, but soon built a "little house
in Philadelphia 30 feet long and 15 feet wide." Further describing
his home, he wrote : "Because of the scarcity of glass, the windows
were of oiled paper. Over the house door I had written : Parva
domus, sed arnica bonis, procul este prophani (A little house, but a
friend of the good ; remain at a distance, ye profane) ."
Six days after his arrival, Pastorius obtained from Penn a warrant
for approximately 6,000 acres on the east side of the Schuylkill. The
tract was divided between the German Company or Society (the so-
called Frankfurters) and the Cref elders. German Town settlement
was laid out with a main street 60 feet wide, and cross streets 40 feet
wide. For each house a lot of three acres was provided. Pastorius
doubling the acreage for his own dwelling. The little settlement
grew, and in 1685, Pastorius reported that 12 families, numbering 41
persons, were living in the colony.
Germantown was incorporated as a borough in 1689, by a patent
William Penn had issued in England. Pastorius acted as the bor
ough s first bailiff. Two members of the Op de Graeff family, and
Jacob Fellner, were selected to serve as magistrates. These, together
with eight yeomen, formed a general court which sat once a month,
making laws and levying taxes.
In August 1700, Pastorius turned over to the agents of the reorgan
ized German Company all the property in his charge. Then he be
came lawgiver, schoolmaster, burgher, scrivener, and writer of prose
and verse. He served as schoolmaster of the Friends School from
1698 to 1700. He was the prototype of the titular character in Whit-
tier s Pennsylvania Pilgrim.
Perm s Policy of Good Will
TN LONDON on March 4, 1681, Penn had written triumphantly to
- Robert Turner : "This day my country was confirmed to me under
the great seal of England." On April 8 he sent a letter to America,
assuring the Swedes on the Delaware and all other settlers in his
Province that "You shall be governed by laws of your own making,
and live a free, and if you will, a sober and industrious people."
Under the Duke of York, the Swedes had obtained title to large
tracts of fine land. Penn either purchased their properties or gave
35
PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
better lands in exchange for them. One instance of this policy is
furnished in his treatment of the Svenssons or Swansons. These were
Sven, Olave, and Andrew, the sons of Sven Gunnasson, all of whom,
including the father, had settled at Wicaco, in the vicinity of what
is now Front Street and Washington Avenue. Penn gave the Swansons
good land on the Schuylkill, and they surrendered the Wicaco title.
On April 10, 1681, Penn sent his cousin, William Markham, as
deputy governor, to take possession of the Province. Markham was
to read the King s proclamation and the proprietor s letter to the
inhabitants, call a council, settle boundary disputes, erect courts, and
preserve order. Markham was bold, resolute, and devoted to the
proprietor. He is believed to have landed at Boston. By June 26 he
was in New York, where Lieut. Anthony Brockholls, president of
the council, governing in the absence of Sir Edmund Andros, yielded
his authority on the Delaware in the name of the Duke of York
At Upland (or Mecopanoca, as the Indians called it) , nine men,
selected by Markham, met in council on August 3. A court was set
up, and government was established. Thomas Revail was chosen clerk
of the court, and John Test named sheriff. The court took the place
of the Kingsesse or Kingsessing Court on the West Bank of the Schuyl
kill Philadelphia s Blockley Township. There were two Swedes in
Penn s first council : Justice Otto Ernest Cock, an old Tinicum man,
and Capt. Lasse Cock of Passyunk. Among the English members was
Robert Wade, of Upland, first Quaker west of the Delaware. His
place, Essex House, was a popular resort for Friends.
Others in the Council were the Burlington settlers : Morgan
Drewet, of Marcus Hook ; William Warner, William Clayton, William
Woodmanson, Friends of the Upland section ; and Thomas Fairman,
surveyor, who had built a house in the projected town of Shacka-
maxon on a 300-acre tract. Fairman had boats and horses, and was
of great service in the founding of Philadelphia.
Philadelphia is a name taken out of ancient history (from Lydia,
in Asia Minor) and means "brotherly love," a term that expresses
the very essence of Penn s philosophy. Another ancient city also was
said to have been in Penn s mind, not for its name, but for its plan
Babylon, with its miracles in masonry.
At any rate, Penn did astonish the world by the Babylonian big
ness of his plans. He told Markham to allocate 10,000 acres as a site
for the new city. Holme s assistant, Henry Rollings worth, is said to
have left a journal, believed destroyed by the British at Elkton in
1777, in which he declared that notwithstanding the manifest advan
tages of the Philadelphia site, Penn would have located his capital
at Upland if he had not feared that place was too close to the
northern boundary of Lord Baltimore s grant.
According to Watson, Penn said : "Let the rivers and creeks be
36
HISTORY EARLY SETTLEMENT
sounded on my side of the Delaware River, especially Upland, in
order to settle a great towne." Watson also mentions the once pro
jected site of "Old Philadelphia" near the "Bakehouse," on the south
side of Poquessing Creek in Byberry, which was abandoned, it is
said, because of sunken rocks known as "the hen and chickens."
"Pennsbury (in Bucks County) was rejected after survey," says
Westcott, "probably because the water was insufficient." Other sites
were considered, but all were rejected for Coaquannock, the grove of
tall pines between the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers.
Boundaries and Treaties
A LTHOUGH the infant colony continued to make steady progress,
** Penn soon became troubled by boundary disputes. In June.
1683, the year after his arrival, Maryland commissioners crossed from
Chesapeake Bay to the Delaware on a grand hunt for the fortieth de
gree of latitude, which had been fixed by Charles I as the northern
boundary of the Maryland grant.
At New Castle the Marylanders borrowed a ship sextant. To their
intense joy they found, according to their calculations, that they were
far below the fortieth degree. With Lord Baltimore and 40 armed
men, they proceeded to Upland that autumn, telling Markham that
Upland, and probably Philadelphia itself, was in Maryland territory,
and the Quakers would have to vacate. The Marylanders charged
Perm s London lawyers with trickery in an effort to obtain a water
exit at the mouth of the Susquehanna.
Markham pointed out that Penn had no seacoast, and all he wanted
was an outlet to the Atlantic. Penn, Markham informed them, had
an instrument with which to lay out the bounds, but the instrument
was out of order. The Marylanders laughed at this, and told Markham
they already had determined the latitude at Upland by means of the
borrowed sextant, and that it was 39 47 5".
Markham reminded them that whatever Charles I might have
granted to Cecil Calvert, Charles II had granted to William Penn
the land "from 12 miles distance northward of New Castle Towne."
The Marylanders replied that "His Majesty must have long com
passes." Markham refused permission for the expedition to proceed
farther up the Delaware, and Lord Baltimore demanded and re
ceived the refusal in writing. As the Chesapeake party journeyed
homeward, they stopped at Marcus Hook to warn the residents
against paying quit-rent to Penn.
The dispute in the London courts over Penn s southern boundary
lasted as long as did the proprietorships of the contending families.
A compromise in 1760 fixed the line at 39 43 26.3", and in 1767
Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon ran the line that exists as the
boundary today.
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PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
Concerning this trouble with Lord Baltimore, Penn wrote to Lord
Halifax in England :
The only interruption I meet with is from the unkindness of
my neighbour proprietor, who not only refuseth compliance to the
King s commands, and the grant he and the duke have gratuitously
made me, but as impatient of the decision of our joynt sovereign,
would anticipate that by indirect ways of his own. He taketh himself
to be a prince, that, even to his fellow subject and brother proprietor,
can by right determine difference by force, and we have been
threatened with troops of horse.
Penn s relations with the Indians, however, were always amicable.
Before his arrival in America, he had entrusted to Markham the task
of making several land treaties with the red men, and also had sent
letters addressed to them to be read at treaty conferences, When he
came to Pennsylvania he visited the various tribes, cultivating their
good will and establishing friendships that were to last throughout
his lifetime.
He sat with them at feasts, watched their games, took part in their
sports, and smoked (though he detested smoking) the pipe of peace
with them. To white audiences Penn may often have seemed verbose,
pompous, and somewhat of a bore, but the Indians received him as
a man without guile, a man in whom dwelt a passion for fair play.
Among relics preserved by The Historical Society of Pennsylvania
in Philadelphia is a wampum belt of white and purple shells. This
commemorates the treaty "not sworn to and never broken." The
Indians gave it to Penn in token of their love and friendship, to
last "as long as the sun and moon shall endure." The emblem tradi
tionally has been identified with the celebrated Elm Treaty of
Shackamaxon, which treaty may have been negotiated in the autumn
of 1682 or the summer of 1683, on the site marked by a erigantic elm
until 1810, and now by a marble obelisk. This meeting with the Dela-
wares, Susquehannocks, and possibly the Shawnees has been incor
rectly portrayed on canvas by Benjamin West, and embroidered with
fiction by careless writers. Some of the most dependable historians
are prone to regard the Great Elm Treaty as a beautiful legend rather
than as a historic fact, because the time and place of the meeting
have been a source of so much dispute. No written record was pre
served ; Penn never specifically mentioned it in anv of his numerous
letters ; and repeated searches disclosed no land deeds associating
Shackamaxon with Penn and the Indians.
These arguments, however, do not have sufficient force to dislodge
the monument of marble from the site of Shackamaxon s famous elm.
And this is as it should be. In time s inexorable perspective, Penn
has to some extent lost fame as a colonizer, as an administrator, and
as a true leader in the cause for which, earlier in life, he braved
38
HISTORY EARLY SETTLEMENT
the wrath of kings and suffered the ignominy of prison. However,
no historian can annul the covenants of amity written by Penn
under countless unmarked trees. Whether or not he held a treaty
conference with the Indians at Shackamaxon is immaterial ; he
treated with them often, and in various places. The monument should
be regarded not as a memorial to a single historic episode, but as a
symbol of that quality in Penn which alone would give him im
mortality the quality that made him the beloved Miquon of Indian
council fires long after land-hungry heirs had succeeded him.
Later Years of Proprietorship
IN 1684, Penn sailed for Europe, to remain there 15 years. During
this protracted sojourn in England and on the Continent, he ex
perienced many important changes in his private and public life.
Becoming involved in royal intrigue, he was arrested on several oc
casions and had to submit to humiliating investigations. He was
ousted from the proprietorship of Pennsylvania on March 10, 1692 ;
not until August 9, 1694, was the Province restored to him.
On February 23 of the latter year his wife died, and was buried
beside four of their children. A fifth child died in 1696. In February,
1696, Penn married Hannah Callowhill, daughter of a Bristol linen
dealer, a woman of character and determination. Of his second union
there were six children : John, born in the slate-roofed house in
Philadelphia ; Thomas, Hannah, Margaret, Richard, and Dennis. He
was 64 when his youngest child was born.
Eager now to return to Pennsylvania, the Founder set about
winding up his affairs in England. He made a preaching tour through
Ireland, stayed for a while at the Shannigarry estate, and then sailed
for America with his wife and daughter, Letitia. They took passage
on the Canterbury, which left Cowes Road, Isle of Wight, on Sep
tember 9, 1699. The passage was long and tedious, and by the time
they arrived in Philadelphia winter had set in. It was not a pleasant
home-coming, though Penn s heart must have thrilled at sight of the
busy water front, the long rows of red-brick houses, and the tidy
little farms girdling his compact town.
At Chester he had found yellow fever epidemic, and in Phila
delphia he was to find the assembly a difficult body of men with
which to deal. This latter fact was not long in making itself ap
parent. Two bills presented by Penn one to prohibit the sale of
rum to Indians, the other to provide for the decent marriage of
Negroes were rejected with humiliating blimtness, The council
was even more hostile. Penn soon realized he was proprietor in
name only. To the Indians he was still the great sachem, the King
of Men, but to the settlers in Philadelphia and the growing Province
he was an over-scrupulous old man obstructing progress.
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PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
For a while the Founder lived in the slate-roofed house at Second
Street and Norris Alley (now Sansom Street) , afterward moving to his
Pennsbury estate along the Delaware River in Bucks County. Here he
lived in more or less political seclusion, though his restless nature
took him abroad throughout the Province on visits to Indian villages
and to outlying settlements. He maintained a six-oared barge on the
river ; he kept blooded horses, a well-stocked pantry and cellar.
Always a lover of good victuals, he now began to take on consider
able weight.
This bucolic existence was rudely interrupted in 1701 by news
that the English Parliament was attempting to bring Pennsylvania
under direct royal control. Though keenly desirous that Penn should
hurry to England and thwart the bill, the assembly appropriated
money for the purpose only after repeated and maddening delays.
By that time Penn s finances were in a deplorable condition, and even
the large acreage of his Pennsbury estate had dwindled.
Word of the Founder s imminent departure was treated with in
difference by Philadelphians, but Indians by the score came into
the little city to say farewell to their On as. Penn appointed Col.
Andrew Hamilton, the former Governor of East and West Jersey,
as deputy governor of Pennsylvania, and James Logan as Colonial
secretary. Then, in October, 1701, he set sail for Portsmouth, England,
with his wife and family.
Penn intended to remain abroad only long enough to straighten
out the affairs of the Province. However, forces which had no con
nection with problems of state kept him from ever returning to
America. By 1705 he had obtained unquestioned autonomy for Penn
sylvania, through a grant obtained from Queen Anne, despite the
Crown s growing tendency to check proprietary power in the New
World. His private affairs, however, became so involved in claims
and counter-claims that eventually he became a voluntary inmate
of a debtor s prison.
The autumn of 1708 found him living quietly with his wife and
some of their children at Brentford, England. Penn was now in his
middle sixties, extremely corpulent, and constantly ailing. His health
declined rapidly and his mind became affected. In spite of this mental
and physical decay, there persisted a stubborn spark of that energy
which in middle age had driven him to wild frontiers, and now in
the twilight of life guided his tottering footsteps in restless walks
through the garden.
In the spring of 1712 he suffered a paralytic stroke while on a
visit in London. He had a second stroke in Bristol that autumn, and
a third at Ruscombe in January 1713. During 1715 he suffered several
minor strokes ; his memory for long periods at a time thereafter
was a complete blank. He died July 30, 1718, at the age of 74, and
40
HISTORY EARLY SETTLEMENT
was buried August 5 at Jordan s Cemetery near Chalfont St. Giles,
Buckinghamshire.
Ben Franklin Appears
THE next score of years saw the waning of Penn s empire in Penn
sylvania, and the gradual decline of Quaker dominance in the
political affairs of Philadelphia. These years also witnessed civic im
provement, expansion of foreign industry, and periodic epidemics
of malignant diseases. While Philadelphia itself was engaged in pav
ing streets, organizing fire companies, and developing industries,
pioneers on the remote frontiers were struggling with a stubborn
wilderness.
Probably the greatest public figure to make an impression upon
Philadelphia s consciousness during this era was Benjamin Franklin.
His influence began to be felt shortly after his arrival from Boston
in the summer of 1723, but it was not until after his two-year so
journ in England that he became a really important factor in Phila
delphia affairs.
Franklin had little sympathy with the pacific leanings of the
Quakers, and less with their stern sectarian morality. He badgered
them and ridiculed them. Though he earned the lifelong enmity of
many, he managed to win over others, together with the Germans
and the Irish, in his relentless campaign against British pretensions.
He entertained a lasting dislike for Thomas Penn, who took over
the proprietorship of Pennsylvania after the death of his mother,
Hannah. Of the Founder s son, Franklin in 1758 wrote : "I conceive
a more cordial and thorough contempt for him than I ever felt for
any man living, a contempt that I cannot express in words." Ten
years before, Thomas Penn had written of Franklin : "Mr. Franklin s
doctrine that obedience to governors is no more due them than pro
tection to the people is not fit to be in the heads of the unthinking
multitude. He is a dangerous man and I should be glad if he in
habited any other country. However, as he is a sort of tribune of the
people, he must be treated with regard."
Printer, scientist, journalist, lawmaker, business man, and philoso
pher, Franklin was concerned with every trend and every movement
affecting Philadelphia from long before the Revolutionary War until
his death in 1790. At the outbreak of the French and Indian War,
he went to the frontiers to superintend personally the building of
forts, and through his untiring efforts among Pennsylvania farmers
General Braddock was supplied with wagons for the march upon
Fort Duquesne.
After the French and Indian War he was conspicuous in the con
troversy with the proprietary government, meanwhile receiving a
membership in the Royal Society for his contributions to science.
41
PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
For some years he represented the Colony in England, and upon
his return in 1762 was considered the foremost personage in America.
Franklin hardly had become settled at home when the Paxton
Massacre occurred at Lancaster. A band of enraged Scotch-Irish set
tlers in Lancaster County, aroused by an Indian uprising on the
frontier, had slaughtered an unresisting group of Conestoga (Susque-
hannock) Indians who had sought refuge in the Lancaster jail. As a
result of this atrocity, about 150 peaceful Indians from nearby regions
fled in terror to Philadelphia. The Lancaster men, known as the
Paxton Boys, from the township of that name, recruited a large force
and began to march on Philadelphia, determined to slay these ref
ugees.
Franklin quickly organized a force of 1,000 armed citizens to pro
tect the Indians. Even the peace-loving Quakers declared their will
ingness to aid in the defense. There was no bloodshed, however. The
Paxton Boys reached Germantown, and there Franklin and three
others conferred with their leaders and persuaded them to return
home.
In the autumn of 1763, John Penn, last of the proprietaries, arrived
in Philadelphia to assume his duties as governor. He was followed in
a few days by Mason and Dixon, who immediately undertook their
boundary line survey.
Meanwhile, most Philadelphia merchants, like those of other lead
ing ports, were engaged in a brisk smuggling business. England had
attempted to obtain a monopoly of Colonial trade by means of the
Navigation Act, but this measure was flagrantly evaded. Shipping
men in Philadelphia we^e building up fortunes by trading with
countries other than Britain, in violation of the law. As long as King
and Parliament were occupied in warfare, no serious attempt was
made to enforce the act.
Not long after the French and Indian War, however, Great Britain
began to tighten her reins of government in the Colonies in order to
bring them under direct control, and at the same time enjoy increased
revenue by taxation. Although some members of parliament saw
danger in this step, the King and landed interests did not. On this
side of the Atlantic, men of vision read clearly the handwriting upon
the wall, and prepared to resist usurpation.
In 1765 the Stamp Act was passed by Parliament. This measure
stipulated that certain types of legal, commercial, religious, and
academic papers could not be used in the Colonies unless stamped
bv the British Government. As soon as word reached Philadelphia
that the bill had become law, a wave of indignation spread through
out the city. Merchants assembled at the courthouse to adopt non
importation resolutions; and on the day the law went into effect,
law offices, newspapers, and other publishing houses closed their
42
HISTORY EARLY SETTLEMENT
doors, while the populace refrained from eating imported foods or
wearing imported clothes. Stamps were destroyed whenever they were
found, and ship captains carrying them were burned in effigy and at
times threatened with bodily harm.
King and Parliament soon came to realize they had stirred up a
gigantic hornet s nest. To pass a law was one thing ; to enforce it was
another. Strong opposition to the Stamp Act rose belatedly among
several of the ministry, and its days thereafter were numbered.
Friends Meeting House
"Gray-clad they came to worship
43
PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
44
Portrait of Benjamin Franklin (by Joseph Wright)
"Statesman, Scientist and Philosopher"
THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD
ON March 18, 1766, the hated Stamp Act was repealed hy Parlia
ment. The joyous tidings were brought to Philadelphia on May
20 hy the hrig Minerva, commanded hy Captain Wise. Im
mediately there was public rejoicing. The people gave Wise an ef
fusive reception, and huge bonfires blazed throughout the night as
the town celebrated the great event. The following day toasts of al
legiance were drunk to the King at a public dinner held in the
State House, and on June 4 the King s birthday was loyally com
memorated with a great open-air feast on the banks of the Schuylkill.
The general feeling of amity toward the mother country turned
to indignation, however, when it became apparent that the Crown
had no intention of abandoning the rich revenues to be derived from
the Colonies. The repeal of the Stamp Act had a string attached to
it in the way of an accompanying Declaratory Act, which reiterated
the right of Parliament to tax the Colonies in any way it deemed
fit. Those colonists who were disposed to minimize the significance of
this proviso were disillusioned when the Townshend Acts, levying
heavy duties on paper, glass, tea and lead, were passed by Parliament,
June 29, 1767.
The reaction of the colonists to this new imposition manifested it
self in a boycott of all British goods. The trenchant arguments of
John Dickinson s famous Farmer s Letters, a series of articles, of
which the first appeared on December 2, 1767, and the last on Febru
ary 15, 1768, in William Goddard s Pennsylvania Chronicle, helped
to stiffen the determination of the colonists to resist taxation
without representation. Philadelphia, as the metropolis of the Colo
nies, fittingly assumed the lead in the movement of resistance, which
grew in intensity during the following six years.
The situation became increasingly ominous when Goddard s
Chronicle on September 27, 1773, reported that a shipload of British
tea was on the way to Philadelphia. Successive amendments had
modified the acts of 1767 to a tax on tea only, importation of which
now had become the main issue. By permitting the financially em
barrassed East India Company to ship untaxed tea to American con
signees, the British government was forcing the issue, in that a three
penny Colonial tax was to be imposed upon the commodity. The
Colonies retaliated by refusing to permit the landing of the tea. In
45
PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
Boston citizens disguised as Indians boarded a newly arrived tea ship
one night and dumped the cargo into the harbor. In Philadelphia
the resistance, though less destructive, was no less determined.
News of the Boston Tea Party reached Philadelphia on December
24. On the following day word was received that the Polly, a ship
from London, commanded by Captain Ayres and carrying a consign
ment of tea to Philadelphia from the East India Company, was ly
ing off Chester. This fanned the flames of resentment into brighter
glow. A committee of action was organized, and threats were openly
made that any pilot who dared to bring a British tea ship to Phila
delphia would be hanged. Promises to reject the consignment were
obtained from the two Philadelphia tea firms involved.
Meanwhile the Polly continued her course up the Delaware to
Gloucester, N. J., where Captain Ayres was told politely but firmly
that he would not be permitted to land his cargo. After conferring
with the committee, he agreed to leave the ship and go over to Phila
delphia to determine more fully the popular feeling. On the next
day, December 27, a large public meeting was held in the State House,
and it was unanimously resolved that the tea should be rejected and
returned at once to England, and that Ayres should be allowed one
day in which to provision his ship for the return voyage. After mak
ing a formal protest, Ayres agreed to comply with the demands of
the committee, and on December 28 boarded the Polly at Reedy
Island, whence he set sail for London with the cargo of rejected tea.
This incident, together with the Tea Party at Boston, constituted
acts of defiance which the London government could no longer afford
to ignore. As a consequence, Parliament enacted a bill to close the
port of Boston to all shipping. This act was put into effect in June
1774, by the arrival of royal troops under General Gage and the com
ing of British men-of-war to the New England port. Paul Revere had
reached Philadelphia in May, bringing a letter concerning the King s
threat to close the Port of Boston, and earnest requests from the
Boston leaders for support.
In Philadelphia public excitement increased daily. At a meeting
of leading citizens held in the City Tavern, a resolution favoring
support of Boston was adopted. Letters were dispatched to the
Southern Colonies to enlist their support, and the Governor was asked
to convoke the assembly. On June 1 a popular demonstration against
the Boston Port Bill was staged. Stores were closed, the chimes in
Christ Church were muffled, and flags were hung at half-staff. Neces
sity for drastic action was fast becoming acute.
46
|^
House. in 1776
Where freedom was fledged"
State House in 1876
A
PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
The First Continental Congress
T A MEETING held June 18, 1774, at the State House, the calling
of a general congress for all the Colonies was decided upon. A
committee of correspondence for the city and county was formed,
with John Dickinson as chairman. The counties were urged to send
delegates to a preliminary state conference to be held at Carpenters
Hall on July 15.
This conference, attended by 77 delegates from 11 counties, was
presided over by Thomas Willing, as chairman ; Charles Thomson
served as secretary. The meeting asserted the right of the Colonies
to resist the unjust measures of Parliament and requested the Provin
cial Assembly to appoint delegates to the forthcoming Continental
Congress. Meeting July 21, the Provincial Assembly named the fol
lowing as delegates to the Continental Congress : Joseph Galloway,
Samuel Rhoades, Charles Humphreys, Edward Biddle, George Ross,
and Thomas Mifflin.
Since the Provincial Assembly was holding sessions in the State
House, the First Continental Congress was perforce obliged to con
vene in Carpenters Hall. The opening session was held on Septem
ber 4, 1774, with 44 delegates first assembled and within a few weeks
the number increased to 52, who represented eleven of the Thirteen
Colonies. Peyton Randolph of Virginia was chosen president, and
Charles Thomson secretary. Other prominent delegates were John
Adams, Richard Henry Lee, George Washington, John Jay, Patrick
Henry, and Samuel Adams.
In keeping with the gravity of the situation, deliberations of the
Congress were held behind closed doors, and continued through a
period of six weeks. When the body finally adjourned on October
26, resolutions foreshadowing the movement for independence had
been adopted. The most important of these were the Declaration of
Rights and the Articles of Association. The latter may be regarded
as the forerunner of the Articles of Confederation.
At the close of the Congress, the Provincial Assembly entertained
the delegates at a banquet in the City Tavern, at which time hopes
of reconciliation with the Crown were still expressed. The proceed
ings of the Congress, which had been submitted to the assembly for
approval, were unanimously ratified December 10, 1774.
By the opening months of 1775, tension between the mother
country and the Colonies had increased. The Articles of Association
adopted by the Continental Congress especially aroused the ire of
King George, who saw in this covenant an overt act of treason against
the Crown. On April 19 the long-brewing storm broke at last when
the King s troops clashed with the Minute Men at Lexington and
Concord. The War for Independence had begun !
48
HISTORY REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD
News of the hostilities in Massachusetts reached Philadelphia 011
April 24, and the machinery of war was immediately set in motion.
Military committees were organized for the enlisting and drilling
of soldiers. The Second Continental Congress convened May 10 in the
State House, in a session which lasted until December 30. As the
delegates arrived in town they were greeted by officers of the mili
tary companies with their bands. In addition to the delegates who
had figured prominently in the first Congress, there were present
John Hancock, who subsequently replaced Peyton Randolph as presi
dent of the body, and Benjamin Franklin, who had lately returned
from London. Seventy-eight delegates representing the Thirteen
Colonies attended the Congress, which adjourned August 1, reas
sembled September 5, and finally adjourned December 30. Through
out its sessions in 1775, the Congress assumed to a great extent the
responsibility of government, and appointed George Washington
commander-in-chief of the army of the United Colonies.
Receiving his commission on June 17, Washington left for Cam
bridge, Mass., to take command of the Continental Army. He was ac
companied by Thomas Mifflin, Joseph Reed, and Philip John Schuy-
ler. The light-horse troop, since known as the First City Troop, and
all the officers of the city militia served as Washington s escort as far
as Kingsbridge, N. Y.
Beginning with the Second Continental Congress, Philadelphia be
came the center of the movement for independence. There was no
longer any hesitation among local patriots in regard to the course
to be taken. Young and old alike were eager to offer their services to
the cause of freedom. A Committee of Safety was formed, consist
ing of 25 members, with Franklin at its head. The committee was
organized May 11, 1775, and was empowered to call out troops and
provide for the defense of the Province.
Except for brief intervals of disturbance occasioned by the prog
ress of the war, the Congress sat in Philadelphia from 1774 to 1783.
Military, financial, and legislative affairs of the Colonies were ad
ministered here; Philadelphia s geographical position, midway be
tween the North and the South, made it the logical choice as the war
time capital.
The Declaration of Independence
Vj^THILE the Congress was in session, the question of independence
** assumed greater importance in public debates. Although
many of the more conservative leaders held that the time was not
yet ripe for so drastic a step, public opinion was veering steadily to
ward action. Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson,
and others succeeded in convincing the majority of the people that
49
Declaration Table iri Independence Hall
. . . tve mutually pledge to each other our Lives . . .
HISTORY REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD
the time was past for any conciliation with Britain and that complete
independence was the only worthwhile goal. It was this growing con
viction which led delegates in the Second Continental Congress to
sign the death warrant of British authority in the Thirteen Colonies.
On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee, acting on instructions from
the Virginia Convention, offered to Congress the resolution that
"these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and in
dependent States, and that they are absolved from all allegiance
to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them
and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved."
The resolution was debated in the Congress for three days, and then
held over until July 1 in order to allow the Colonies sufficient time
in which to instruct their delegates. Meanwhile two committees
were appointed by the Congress : one to prepare a declaration of
independence, the other to draw up a plan of confederation for the
Colonies.
The committee appointed to draw up a declaration consisted of
Thomas Jefferson (who had replaced Richard Henry Lee of Vir
ginia), John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Livingston, and
Roger Sherman. As head of the committee, Jefferson prepared the
draft at his lodgings in a house which stood on the southwest corner
of Seventh and High (now Market) Streets.
The draft of the Declaration had been reported to the Congress by
the committee, but was held over pending the vote on Lee s resolu
tion. After nine hours of debate on July 1, there were still four
Colonies not in favor of the resolution. Pennsylvania and South Caro
lina voted against it, Delaware was divided, and the New York dele
gates were unable to vote pending instructions from home. It was
decided to postpone the final vote until the next day.
By the evening of July 2, however, Delaware and South Carolina
had voted in the affirmative. Pennsylvania had reconsidered its ac
tion and had voted in favor of the motion by a slim margin. New
York alone of all the Colonies failed to participate in the voting.
Two days later, on July 4, the Declaration of Independence was for
mally adopted, after some alterations had been made in Jefferson s
original draft. John Hancock, as presiding officer, and Charles Thom
son, as secretary, signed the document. On the morning of July 8,
John Nixon read it in public in the State House yard. The crowd
responded with enthusiastic cheers, the militia fired their guns in
salute, and the Liberty Bell in the State House clanged lustily. Bells
were rung all that day and night as the city gave itself up to celebrat
ing the birth of the Nation. The royal coat-of-arms, which had hung
on the wall of the State House, was torn down and burned in a great
bonfire in the State House yard. Thus ended, in an uproar of rebel
lious jubilation, British rule in the Colonies.
51
PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
The Wartime City
"TkESPITE Philadelphia s preoccupation with political matters, the
*-^ social and economic growth of the city had steadily increased in
the decade since 1768. Civic improvements in the way of additional
fire companies, newspapers, shops, and theatres continued to be made.
Ships loaded with immigrants from the British Isles sailed up the
Delaware. In the years just prior to the Revolution, several thousand
Irish immigrants arrived in the city. Several enterprising merchants
were making Philadelphia an ever more important center of com
merce and finance. Improvements had been made along the Delaware
for the protection of shipping.
With the war under way, civic activities moved into the back
ground. Every effort was made to strengthen the city s defenses and to
speed the enlistment of troops. The old British barracks in the
vicinity of what is today Third and Green Streets had been evacuated
by the royal troops in 1775, and were now used as a training camp
for local recruits of the Continental Army. In July 1776, five Phila
delphia battalions were sent to support Washington s forces around
New York, and saw service there for several weeks. River defenses
below the city were constructed, and a fleet of boats was armed to
patrol the Delaware.
The general optimism that had prevailed in Philadelphia during
the early months of the war began to fade as succeeding weeks
brought news of defeat in the north. The theatre of war was moving
nearer. Sick and wounded troops were being brought in greater
numbers to the city. Smallpox and camp fever broke out among the
soldiers and the civilian populace, causing many deaths. Trenches
were hastily dug in Washington Square to bury the bodies.
On November 19, 1776, the city was thrown into a state of alarm
by news that General Howe had driven back the Continentals in New
York and had captured Fort Washington on the Hudson. A month
later the British were at New Brunswick in New Jersey, and this
news caused a veritable panic in Philadelphia. Fear that the city
would be captured led many families to load their belongings on
wagons and leave for safer places. The Congress hastily departed for
Baltimore, leaving a committee in charge. All able-bodied men were
ordered to muster for the militia, as martial law was declared.
Fortunately, Washington s bold tactics at Trenton and Princeton
in the last weeks of 1776 relieved the situation, and for a time the
city was safe from capture. During the middle months of 1777, ani
mosity against the activities of local Tories was manifested by the
arrest of about 40 pro-British citizens, many of whom, such as
John Penn, Jared Ingersoll, and Benjamin Chew, were men of promi
nence in the city. Some Tories were jailed, others were banished.
52
(Above) Betsy Ross House Today
(Left) Before Its Restoration
Here linger rich traditions of the nation s early days.
On June 14, 1777, the Congress decreed that the first American
flag should have 13 stripes, alternately red and white, with a circle
of 13 white stars on a field of blue. The first Fourth of July anniver
sary was celebrated with enthusiasm. A salute of 13 guns was fired in
the afternoon, and a great dinner was given for the Congress and
the leading military and civil leaders. Music was furnished by a band
of captured Hessians. In the evening the Congress reviewed a parade
of troops and observed a display of fireworks.
Meanwhile, Howe s army, which had been moved south to Chesa
peake Bay, had landed near the head of the Elk River in Maryland
and was advancing northward. The city was again in danger.
53
PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
The Philadelphia Campaign
T EARNING on August 22 of Howe s advance, Washington prepared
"to meet the British. His troops, concentrated north of Phila
delphia, were marched into the town on August 24, prior to meeting
the enemy at the Brandywine Creek. The army made an imposing
sight as it marched through the city, with Washington riding at the
head and Lafayette at his side. The troops crossed the Schuylkill
and moved south toward Wilmington.
By constant pressure against Washington s right flank, Howe forced
the Americans to fall back. On September 11 the artillery duel across
the Brandywine at Chadd s Ford could be heard in Philadelphia.
By more skillful maneuvering, Howe had succeeded in placing his
forces between Washington s positions and Philadelphia. As the battle
progressed, fears increased in the city. After the fierce night attack
of the British at Paoli on September 20, little hope was held for
success. The Congress had fled to Lancaster on September 27, 1777,
and to York on September 30. The battle of the Brandywine was a
distinct defeat for the Americans, and enabled the British to occupy
Philadelphia.
By September 25 Howe s army had reached Germantown, and the
next day Cornwallis s division marched into Philadelphia. Local
Tories emerged from hiding to welcome the British. On October 4,
eight days after Howe s occupation of Philadelphia, Washington
launched a surprise attack on British positions around Germantown
and Mount Airy. After three hours of fierce combat, the American
attack was repulsed. Washington withdrew his men to the upper
Perkiomen, while Howe strengthened his position north of Phila
delphia.
Towards the end of October 1777, Washington again advanced
nearer to the city, concentrating his troops around Whitemarsh. On
December 3 Howe moved a large body of troops out of Philadelphia,
intending to take the Americans by surprise at Whitemarsh. Warned
beforehand, Washington was prepared for the attack. After several
sharp skirmishes, Howe abandoned his offensive and marched his
men back to Philadelphia on December 8, while Washington moved
his troops across the Schuylkill and lay at Gulph Mills until Decem
ber 19, when he marched to Valley Forge.
The hills at Valley Forge, overlooking all the approaches from
Philadelphia, constituted a vantage point that precluded any success
ful surprise attack by the British, and there Washington established
his winter quarters, remaining until evacuation of Philadelphia by
the enemy the following summer.
A tragicomic incident occurring on the Delaware River off Phila
delphia during this period has gained immortality by reason of
54
HISTORY REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD
Yankee cunning and Colonial wit. The affair took place while Wash
ington was bivouacked at Valley Forge and the British were billeted
in Philadelphia.
Some "rebels" on the Delaware north of the city conceived the
idea of sending down on the ebb tide a number of kegs loaded with
gunpowder and so arranged that any impact would cause them to
explode. The purpose was to sink or damage British ships then lying
at anchor in the river off Philadelphia.
A heavy frost came the night the kegs were put into the water
upstream, and the ships in the meantime were hauled into the docks
unwittingly removed out of harm s way. One of the first kegs to
come down the river, however, was observed by an inquisitive barge
man, who attempted to lift it aboard. The innocent-appearing object
exploded, killing the man and several of his companions. The noise
and confusion caused considerable alarm throughout the city ; British
troops massed at the water front, firing at every obstacle they saw
floating by.
Rumors flew thick and fast. It was asserted that the wily Conti
nentals were drifting down the river doubled up in kegs, determined
to retake Philadelphia somewhat as the ancient Greeks in the
wooden horse took Troy. While squads of British soldiers on the
bank were keeping up an incessant fire at the kegs, others went out
on the river in vessels, bent upon checking the "invasion" at close
quarters. It is related that just about the time the furor began to die
down, an old marketwoman dropped a keg of cheese into the water ;
and the strange "battle" was renewed with vigor.
The incident is commonly referred to as the "Battle of the Kegs,"
after Francis Hopkinson s doggerel of that title. The Philadelphia
poet s version puts these words in the mouth of a terrified redcoat :
"These kegs I m told, the rebels hold,
Packed up like pickled herring ;
And they ve come down to attack the town,
In this new way of ferrying."
Of General Howe, Hopkinson gleefully relates :
Now in a fright he starts upright,
Awak ed by such a clatter ;
He rubbed both eyes and boldly cries ;
"For God s sake, what s the matter?"
At his bedside he espied
Sir Erskine, at command, sir ;
Upon one foot he had one boot,
The other in his hand, sir.
"Arise, arise!" Sir Erskine cries,
"The rebels more s the pity
Without a boat are all afloat
And ranged before the city. ..."
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PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
Save for minor skirmishes and forays, military operations around
Philadelphia were suspended during the winter and spring of 1778.
While the American troops were enduring cold and hunger in the
snow at Valley Forge, the British were snugly billeted in Philadelphia
during the long winter months. Howe s officers whiled away the time
pleasantly. Balls, theatre-going, and gambling were the chief diver
sions. The troops were quartered in the old British barracks, in pub
lic buildings, and in private homes. The artillery was parked on
Chestnut Street from Third to Sixth Streets, and in the yard of the
State House. Until British transports arrived in the Delaware with
provisions, conditions in the city were straitened. Food and other
commodities were scarce, and there was much privation among the
poor. Pillaging of private homes was a common occurrence.
The crowning social event of the British occupation was the Mis-
chianza pageant, held May 18, 1778, as a farewell to General Howe,
who was returning to England after relinquishing his command to
Sir Henry Clinton. Lasting throughout the day and evening, the Mis-
chianza was a combination of regatta, military parade and tourna
ment, ball and banquet, attended by Tory belles and British officers.
When Howe departed for England on May 24, preparations had
already been made to abandon the city. Clinton called a council of
war, and by June 18 had moved his army across the Delaware to
New Jersey and was marching to New York. News of the British
evacuation reached Washington at Valley Forge within a few hours ;
and before the last of the enemy had left, the American advance
guard had entered the city and was picking up British stragglers in
the streets. The general aspect of the town was one of disorder,
squalor, and desolation after the nine months of British occupation.
Many houses had been plundered and burned.
The Congress returned to the city on June 25 and convened in In
dependence Hall. Benedict Arnold, who later was to become in
famous for his treacherous conduct at West Point, was appointed
military commander of the city by General Washington. The follow
ing months were marked by extreme bitterness against the Tories, by
treason trials, law suits, and heated controversies.
French support of the American cause changed the tide of war and
led to the final capitulation of the British at Yorktown. On April 16,
1783, the conclusion of peace and Britain s acknowledgment of Ameri
can independence were officially proclaimed in Philadelphia amid
great public rejoicing.
With the return of peace, industry and commerce soon revived.
Despite high prices, money became more abundant, and the general
prosperity of the city increased. By the middle of June, 1783, 200
vessels had sailed up the Delaware River. While many fortunes had
been lost by the Revolution, many others had been acquired. The
56
Shippen-Wistar House
they spoke of ships and sealing wax and cabbages an d kings
old Tory families for the most part had lost their affluence and social
standing, and were now supplanted by a new aristocracy composed
mainly of Whigs.
The Bank of North America, first to be chartered by the Congress,
was opened on January 17, 1782, on Chestnut Street near Third. Two
years earlier, Robert Morris and others had founded the Bank of
Pennsylvania. In 1786 the first medical dispensary in America was
opened in the city by Dr. Benjamin Rush. In the following year, the
archetype of present-day chambers of commerce was established as
the Pennsylvania Society for the Encouragement of Manufactures
and Useful Arts. Mail and stagecoach service to Reading and Pitts
burgh was inaugurated.
During this period, the population of the city had grown from
about 30,000 in 1778, during the British occupation, to about 42,000.
New houses and shops were built to replace those destroyed during
the war, and it was not long before the city had all the aspects of a
thriving center of trade, with clean and neatly ordered streets and
substantial homes.
57
PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
The Constitutional Convention
WWTITH political activity centering on problems of internal organi-
zation, a growing need for a framework of stable government
began to be felt. The earlier Articles of Confederation had proved
inadequate for an integrated national government. Men of promi
nence were urging that a convention be called to consider a new sys
tem of unification. Finally, by a resolution of the Congress, the Con
stitutional Convention was called to meet on May 14, 1787, for the
ostensible purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation.
Presided over by Washington, the Convention met (behind closed
doors) in Independence Hall. Delegates from half of the States
did not arrive in the city until ten days after the opening. Soon after
the proceedings began, the sentiment increased for discarding alto
gether the obsolescent Articles of Confederation, and the drafting of
a new constitution was urged.
This new measure engendered considerable excitement among the
delegates. Heated debates continued for many weeks, feeling ran high.
Franklin, now grown old and garrulous, had to be accompanied con
stantly by a delegate, whose duty it was to keep him from talking too
freely about the secret sessions.
Supporters of the doctrine of State sovereignty violently assailed
the new Constitution, the provisions and amendments of which finally
were adopted by the Convention. A committee, consisting of James
Madison, Alexander Hamil+on, William Samuel Johnson, Rufus King,
and Gouverneur Morris, was appointed to arrange and draft the docu
ment, which was ready for signing on September 17. The Convention
recommended to the Congress that the new instrument be submitted
to the sovereign people for ratification. This was accordingly done
and the Constitution became the basic law of the United States when
it was ratified by the ninth State on June 21, 1788.
In connection with the Pennsylvania State convention, called
on November 21 to ratify the Constitution, considerable disorder
occurred. Two of the State delegates, Jacob Miley of Dauphin County
and James McCalmont of Franklin County, incurred the displeasure
of the people by deliberately absenting themselves from the conven
tion hall in order to prevent a quorum. Rioters did considerable
damage to their property, and the authorities, including Benjamin
Franklin, made no real effort to find and punish the guilty parties.
The following Fourth of July, ratification of the new Constitution
was celebrated with fitting enthusiasm. Ships decorated to represent
the ratifying States were anchored in the Delaware River from Cal-
lowhill to South Streets. General Mifflin led 5,000 soldiers and civilians
in a parade through the streets. One of the features of the parade was
a float with a great dome supported by 13 columns.
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HISTORY REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD
The new city charter, superseding the old charter of 1701, became
operative in March, 1789. It inaugurated a system of popular self-
government, establishing the electoral offices of mayor, aldermen,
and members of a common council.
During the last decade of the century, Philadelphia was the seat
of National Government. However, with the removal of the Federal
Capital to Washington in 1800, and the State Capital to Lancaster
in 1799, Philadelphia ceased to be the center of National and State
politics.
James Wilson s Grave at Christ Church
"they sleep among the immortals"
Friend
Vpril HI I ; -;
p%^t ; - ^f I
tHi rl^f^ ^UlP
*^
s-"
A CENTURY OF GROWTH
THE first decade of the nineteenth century was marked by grad
ual expansion of the city, with emphasis upon municipal affairs,
industry, and commerce. Hunting Park was laid out, and what is
now Nicetown became a pleasure resort known as Bellevue, where
sports events and picnics were held. The tongue of land between the
rivers was now fairly well developed, and much of the city s activity
was spreading westward beyond the Schuylkill. Traffic across the
stream had been handled adequately by ferries until the Revolution
ary War, when a temporary bridge on floating barges was constructed
at Market Street late in August 1776. It was used by the Continental
Army when enroute to the Brandywine in 1777.
This bridge was removed at the approach of the British ; replaced
when the enemy evacuated the city ; and then washed away by a
freshet in 1780. It was replaced by a wooden bridge completed in
1805 and covered the year following. This served for a half century,
when it was reconstructed to bear the increased weight of railroad
traffic. Fire destroyed it in 1875, and for several years traffic was
served by a temporary bridge. Then, in 1881 the City Council passed
an ordinance for the construction of a wrought-iron cantilever span.
In the meantime bridges had been built at Gray s Ferry, at Callowhill
Street and at Chestnut Street.
Impetus was given civic improvements as early as 1800 by the in
stallation of water mains under the city s streets. During that year
the Schuylkill Arsenal was built, and in 1809 the South Street ferry
across the Delaware to connect Philadelphia with Kaighn s Point,
Camden, was opened. Within the decade came the Navy Yard, the
Chamber of Commerce, and the Pennsylvania Company for Insur
ances on Lives and Granting Annuities. Meanwhile, Stephen Girard
was making his influence felt in banking circles. He purchased the
building of the United States Bank, Third Street below Chestnut, and
converted it into the Girard Bank, with a capital of $1,200,000.
In cultural activities the city made headway. Literary clubs,
theatres, and dancing schools, flourished. The Pennsylvania Academy
of Fine Arts was founded, together with the Wistar Museum and the
Academy of Natural Sciences.
The War of 1812, between Great Britain and the United States, was
supported enthusiastically in Philadelphia, where volunteers were
60
HISTORY CENTURY OF GROWTH
recruited without difficulty. Among the Philadelphians to distin
guish themselves in the war were Maj. Gen. Jacob Brown, who cap
tured Fort Erie, and Capt. Thomas Biddle, commander of artillery at
Lundy s Lane. While some of the Philadelphia troops were serving
on the Canadian border, others under Col. Lewis Rush served on the
Delaware peninsula. In 1815, there were 21 companies on duty there
under Gen. Thomas Cadwalader. When news was received of the
capture of Bladensburg by the British in 1814, entrenchments were
thrown up by civilian volunteers on the outskirts of the city. Militia
was held in readiness at Kennett Square and at Gray s Ferry. Numer
ous engagements with British men-of-war were fought in Delaware
Bay by Philadelphia naval officers commanding Philadelphia ships.
These were the days when Decatur, Bainbridge, Stewart, Porter,
James Biddle, and others won renown for themselves and the Navy.
When news of the Treaty of Ghent reached Philadelphia in 1815,
the city returned to peacetime pursuits. During the next 20 years
roads, canals, and railroads opened new avenues of trade with the
West. The first railroad in Philadelphia was constructed in 1832
connecting the city with Germantown, six miles away. A few years
later the Camden and Amboy Railroad to New York was completed,
as w T as the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore line. The Schuyl-
kill Canal was opened to traffic in 1825.
New banks were organized, among them the Philadelphia Savings
Fund Society. Jefferson Medical College, the Philadelphia College of
Pharmacy and Science, the Franklin Institute, and the Apprentices
Library were founded. In September 1822 the visit of Lafayette as
"guest of the Nation" was the occasion of a gala celebration.
The third decade saw the first public school for Negroes opened
(1820), the Historical Society of Pennsylvania was organized (1824),
the first locomotive came from the Baldwin Locomotive plant (1831),
the greatest parade thus far held in the city to celebrate the cen
tennial anniversary of Washington s Birthday February 22, 1832,
and the manufacture of the first illuminating gas for general consump
tion (by a private company in 1836) . The concern was soon bought
up by the city, which began operating other gas-works set up in
various districts.
An epidemic of cholera marked 1832. Hundreds died before
the scourge could be checked. Fifty inmates of the Arch Street
Prison alone died of the disease within a few days. Religious and
race riots also, prevalent throughout the country in 1834, had their
repercussions in Philadelphia, where a Negro meeting-house was torn
down by rioters in August of that year.
The disturbances were caused by growing agitation for the abolition
of slavery, with sporadic outbreaks of violence occurring almost every
year until the Civil War. In 1838 a mob destroyed Pennsylvania Hall,
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PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
a large edifice used for public meetings by the Pennsylvania Society
for the Abolition of Slavery. Meanwhile, stations on the "Under
ground Railroad" for the assistance of runaway slaves were main
tained in the Philadelphia area, especially after adoption of the
Fugitive Slave Law.
Riots again broke out in 1840, when the Philadelphia and Trenton
Railroad Company attempted to lay tracks on Front Street in Ken
sington, a populous section of the city. Opposition manifested itself
in the tearing up of rails, burning of houses, and general rioting, in
which many persons w r ere injured.
Despite prevailing disorders during the 1840 s, social reforms and
civic improvement continued. These included abolition of imprison
ment for debt, and granting of property rights to married women.
It was during this period also that Port Richmond was incorporated,
the School of Design for Women founded (1844) and Girard College
for orphan boys established (1848). A year prior to the latter date,
in 1847, the American Medical Association was formed.
The Native American or "Know-Nothing" movement, directed
mainly against foreign-born of the Roman Catholic faith, resulted in
the bloodiest riots in the city s history. Kensington, with its large
Irish population, was the starting point of the disorders. The Irish
resented the insulting implications of the Native Americans ; conse
quently, when the latter held an open-air meeting on May 3, 1844,
at Second and Master Streets, the Irish broke up the gathering. Three
days later, another meeting at American and Master Streets ended in
a pitched battle, during which a member of the Native Americans
was fatally wounded ; by the end of the day three deaths had resulted.
The next day fighting was continued with renewed fury. Six of
the Native Americans were killed. At Nanny Goat Market, near
American and Master Streets, the Hibernia Hose House and a num
ber of dwellings were burned by the Native Americans in reprisal.
The Catholic Church of St. Michael, Second and Jefferson Streets,
was burned to the ground, as was the adjoining girls school con
ducted by Catholic nuns. Although troops under Gen. George Cad-
walader attempted to quell the rioters, another mob that same even
ing attacked the Catholic Church of St. Augustine, Fourth Street be
low Vine, setting fire to the church building and adjoining rectory.
On July 4 there was a recrudescence of rioting. Although the Native
Americans held a big parade without any disturbance arising, a
rumor reached their ears that the Catholics had concealed firearms
in the Church of St. Philip de Neri, on Queen Street in Southwark.
This news so intensified the feeling that, on July 5, enormous crowds
gathered near the church, which was heavily guarded by troops.
Tension still ran high in the neighborhood of the church two days
later. The troops were ordered to disperse the assembled crowds. Re-
62
HISTORY CENTURY OF GROWTH
sistance was shown and the troops opened fire. Some of the rioters
returned the fire. Two soldiers and seven civilians were killed, and
many others were wounded. The Southwark commissioners decided
that withdrawal of troops would ease the situation. The soldiers were
withdrawn, and hostilities gradually ceased.
During the Mexican War, Philadelphia supplied several regiments
of volunteers, who saw service in Texas and Mexico. Gens. George
Cadwalader, Robert Patterson, and Persifor Smith participated in
the war, as did many other Philadelphia officers who later distin
guished themselves in the Civil War.
The year 1848 was marked by the first visit of Abraham Lincoln to
the city, and by the Whig National Convention at which Zachary
Taylor was nominated for the Presidency. In 1849 the Philadelphia
County Medical Society was founded. The next year saw the begin
ning of Philadelphia s police force, with the appointment of two
assistants to the constable. In 1851 the Spring Garden Institute and
the Shakespeare Society were founded.
Consolidation of the City
WW7TTH the growth of the city and its adjoining districts, each of
** which had separate municipal powers, a situation arose that
necessitated the annulment of authority of the petty district govern
ments, and their consolidation with the city. Southwark, Spring
Garden, Moyamensing, Northern Liberties, Richmond, Kensington,
West Philadelphia, Belmont, Germantown, Roxborough, Frankford,
Manayunk, Bridesburg, Kingsessing all of these and other districts
and boroughs formed a congeries of independent and conflicting
municipalities. These overlapping governments and jurisdictions gave
rise to many abuses and costly inefficiencies that hampered develop
ment. The old charter restricted the city to conditions no longer con
sistent with the times. In 1850 the city and suburban population was
more than 360,000. But the city proper, as delimited by the charter
of 1789, had a population of only 121,000. Thus, while the city was
steadily growing, its governmental structure was lagging behind.
Convincing proof of the evils arising from this disjointed local
government was given in connection with the riots of 1844. Because
of the absence of unified authority the rioters in Southwark were
immune to interference from the rest of the city s governing bodies,
as none of the latter had jurisdiction outside its own separate baili
wick. Under such a system a criminal could commit a felony in one
district and evade arrest by crossing the street into the adjoining dis
trict. These evils accumulated to such an extent that, despite com
munity opposition, measures were finally taken to consolidate the
adjacent districts with the city.
The Act of Consolidation was passed January 30, 1854, and was
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PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
signed on February 2 by Governor Bigler. Boundaries of the city were
extended to include the entire county, and the new City of Philadel
phia took over all the property and debts of the incorporated dis
tricts. Twenty-four wards were established with a select councilman
for each, and a common councilman for every 1,200 taxable inhabi
tants. The mayor was elected for a term of two years. Executive
duties were transferred from the councils to the various city depart
ments. The first mayor to head the consolidated city was Robert T.
Conrad, Whig.
With consolidation, the city entered upon a new era of progress.
Save for several financial panics and business depressions, it enjoyed
an interrupted development. On July 24, 1844, Lemon Hill, com
prising a tract of 45 acres, was bought by the city and later dedicated
as an addition to Fairmount Park. On April 28, 1857, the city pur
chased the Sedgeley Park estate, and in 1866 the Lansdowne estate,
adding these to the park also. In 1856 the first Republican National
Convention was held at Musical Fund Hall, when John C. Fremont
was nominated for the Presidency. The Academy of Music was opened
in 1857. It was also in 1857 that Mayor Richard Vaux organized the
fire and police systems. This same year the Schuylkill Navy was
organized, and two years later the Zoological Society. In 1860 Cole-
man Sellers made the first photographic motion pictures.
During this period the city s developments suffered a temporary
setback because of a serious economic depression. The first symptoms
appeared when the Bank of Pennsylvania closed its doors in Sep
tember, 1857. Within a few hours several other banks suspended
specie payments. Excitement ran high, and police were called out to
protect the banks from depositors clamoring for their money. Rival
mass meetings were held in Independence Square either to protest
against or to urge laws to suspend specie payments. George M. Whar-
ton, John Cadwalader, and other leading citizens were opposed to
legalization. The legislature, however, passed the bill.
The financial panic threw the city into such confusion that many
business houses closed their doors, and thousands of unemployed
soon were walking the streets. A general shut-down of mills and
factories augmented the number of idle workers and increased the
general unrest. A mass meeting of 10,000 workmen was held in In
dependence Square to demand action from State and municipal au
thorities toward remedying conditions. In view of the gravity of the
situation and the pressure from the unemployed, Mayor Vaux insti
tuted a program of public works and municipal improvements, al
though the council had favored a drastic reduction of municipal ex
penditures on the ground of economy. Mayor Vaux contended that
the city s funds should be spent freely in order to relieve distress
and allay the discontent then arising among the workers, some of
64
HISTORY CENTURY OF GROWTH
whom already were shouting their slogan : "Bread or fight !" The
sane liberalism of the mayor and other responsible citizens did much
to relieve the suffering of the people and bring about a restoration of
normal conditions.
While the depression that followed the panic of 1857 caused a gen
eral stagnation of business during the following year, railway con
struction in the city was continued on an increasing scale. No fewer
than 14 charters were granted for the construction of railways, and
workmen were kept busy tearing up streets and laying tracks. The
West Philadelphia line on Market Street was put into operation.
Shortly afterwards the Tenth and Eleventh Streets route was com
pleted, as were the lines on Spruce and Pine Street s, and Chestnut
and Walnut Streets. Considerable opposition was manifested for a
time to the running of street cars on Sundays, but this difficulty sub
sequently w r as overcome.
John Brown s raid at Harper s Ferry caused intense and high ex
citement in the city. When he was hanged, December 2, 1859, local
abolitionists gave vent to bitter indignation at the "murder." Feeling
ran so high that Mayor Alexander Henry refused the abolitionists per
mission to bring Brown s body into the city. Prominent business men
viewed with misgivings the predominance of anti-Southern sentiment,
convinced that much of their business with the South would be se
riously curtailed by such hostility. A number of young Southerners
studying at local medical schools withdrew and returned home as a
protest against the furor raised
by the abolitionists. It was only
by the strength and vigilance of
the police force that serious riot
ing was prevented.
Musical Fund Hall
"memories of Jenny Lind
and Adelina Patti"
65
PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
Philadelphia and the Civil War
HP HE abolitionist movement, the birth of the Republican party,
-* John Brown s raid these and other events that had occupied
the attention of Philadelphians during the years preceding the Civil
War slipped into the background as war clouds gathered over the
Nation. By 1860 relations with the South were approaching a crisis.
The threat of war, present so long that people had come to regard it
as nothing more than a remote possibility, now grew serious.
The general sentiment in Philadelphia was one of conciliation, a
feeling inspired mainly by the desire of financial and industrial
leaders to maintain their lucrative trade with the South. Because of
its proximity to the Mason-Dixon line, Philadelphia received the bulk
of Southern business. There were more than 25 millionaires in the
city, many of whom owed their wealth to this trade. Baldwin loco
motives were used on all railroads below the Mason-Dixon line, and
Southern belles showed a preference for shoes and wearing apparel
made in Philadelphia. The city gave the South most of its manu
factured products, and took in return such raw materials as cotton,
turpentine, and lumber. In the latter part of 1860, however, there
was a considerable falling off in this trade.
Despite the efforts of prominent business men to maintain a posi
tion of neutrality, public sentiment in the city began to veer definitely
away from the South. This was due in large part to the Quakers, who
from Colonial times had bitterly opposed slavery. With others it was
a question of preserving the Union, even at the cost of armed conflict.
As the war fever increased, social distress added itself to com
mercial dislocation. Southerners and their sympathizers formed a
considerable part of the population. Many of the city s prominent
families had intermixtures of Southern blood, and with the mounting
agitation these families were rent asunder. It was brother against
brother, and friend against friend.
Abraham Lincoln s appearance in the city as President-elect, his
raising of the Stars and Stripes on Independence Hall, February 22,
1861, and the pomp and circumstance attendant upon the event
earned him his first real popularity in Philadelphia. Until then he
had been considered merely a crude Illinois lawyer. So far as this
city was concerned, his inauguration started a chain of events that
overshadowed everything previous to it. The firing on Fort Sumter
April 12, 1861, and Lincoln s call for volunteers two days later, set
the city ablaze with enthusiasm.
Philadelphia became a veritable armed camp, with the arsenals
working overtime to supply material and munitions. Every section of
the city was filled with cantonments of soldiers. The Navy Yard
seethed with the activity of "quipping men-of-war for active sea serv-
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HISTORY CENTURY OF GROWTH
ice. Every member of the old military units in the city became a hero
overnight. The armories were overtaxed with men and munitions. A
bill appropriating $500,000 for the militia was passed by the legis
lature. The city council appropriated large sums for the care of
soldiers families. The city at last had determined upon one goal
defense of the Union.
Among those taking a prominent part in the drive for volunteers
were Commodore Charles Stewart, hero of the War of 1812, and Maj.
Gen. Robert Patterson. Although 70 years of age, Patterson entered
active service and commanded troops on the Potomac above Harper s
Ferry. The Scott Legion, named for Gen. Winfield Scott, and the
Buena Vista Guards tasted some of the bitterest fighting of the war.
Monument to
Negro Soldiers
"from cotton fields
to Flartders fields
PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
The First City Troop also played a leading part, many of its members
becoming officers in the Union Army. The State Fencibles, the Na
tional Guards, Washington Grays, and other units saw active service.
During this period Philadelphia was one of the principal concen
tration points for New England troops. The Girard House was com
mandeered temporarily by the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment, which
joined the Buena Vista Guards and the Scott Legion at the front.
One regiment would hardly leave Philadelphia for the scene of hos
tilities before another arrived in the city to take its place. Late in
April 1861, General Patterson led his First Division, Pennsylvania
Volunteers, to Washington the first Philadelphia unit to arrive in
the Capital.
About the same time, business in Philadelphia entered a period of
wartime boom. Trade with the South which had been lost was more
than offset by the inrush of war orders. Baldwin s, hitting a peak of
production, turned out 456 locomotives during the war. The South-
wark Navy Yard, employing more than 1,700 mechanics, hummed
with activity. Other shipyards worked at top speed, as did the Schuyl-
kill and Frankford Arsenals, the textile mills, and the armament
factories. Emergency arsenals and storehouses were established in
various parts of the city.
Meanwhile, the steady trek to the battle front was under way.
Among the first troops to reach Fort McHenry were three Philadel
phia regiments under command of Gen. George Cadwalader. The
units were composed of volunteers who had enlisted for three months.
The First City Troop saw service under General Patterson on the
Potomac and elsewhere. In all, about 5,700 short-enlistment soldiers
from such organizations as the Philadelphia Grays, Cadwalader Grays,
Washington Grays, Independent Grays, State Fencibles. and Mc-
Mullin s Independent Rangers were under fire.
When the Confederate Congress voted an appropriation of $50,-
000,000 and called for 100,000 men, President Lincoln sounded a
counter call to arms for enlistments of three years, or for duration
of the war. The early Philadelphia regiments were mustered out and
reorganized. The honor roll of the Union Army was to be studded
with names of Philadelphia men, including nearly 400 officers who
fell in action during the war. Alumni and students of the University
of Pennsylvania, Central High School, and Girard College distin
guished themselves on the fields of battle.
Although the city was preoccupied with war activities during the
four years of conflict, events of local importance continued to fill the
calendar. Religious services in the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul
were held for the first time on April 20, 1862. League Island was
purchased by the city this same year, and an epidemic of scarlet fever
swept the city in 1863.
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HISTORY CENTURY OF GROWTH
After a year and a half of war, the cause of the Union still seemed
to be hanging in the balance. Prominent citizens felt that a more
concerted effort was needed to strengthen the forces of the Govern
ment. It was decided to form a patriotic organization whose members
would pool their resources for raising and equipping additional regi
ments for the Union Army. A meeting was called at the residence of
Benjamin Gerhard, 226 South Fourth Street, on November 15, 1862,
when measures were adopted for the formation of a Union club. The
original founders were Gerhard, George Boker, Morton McMichael,
Judge J. Clarke Hare, Horace Binney, Jr., and Charles Gibbons. The
present title. Union League, was adopted on December 27, 1862.
The league made its headquarters at 1118 Chestnut Street, the site
now occupied by Keith s Theatre. The first president was William
Morris Meredith, Attorney General of the State. By February 1863,
the membership had grown to more than 500. A fund was subscribed
by members to form and equip regiments for the Union, and the
League became a potent factor in the city s contribution to the defeat
of the Confederacy. It published thousands of copies of patriotic cir
culars and pamphlets, and in other ways maintained the city s war
time morale. In May 1865, the league moved into its present quarters
at Broad and Sansom Streets.
One of the outstanding figures of Civil War days in Philadelphia
was Jay Cooke, banker. Formerly with E. W. Clark & Co., Cooke
established his own banking house of Jav Cooke & Co. in Januarv
1861. Until news of the defeat of the Union Army at Bull Run
reached the city on July 22, 1861, Cooke s company had been allotted
only a small part of the Government bond issues, New York and
Boston bankers having received the greater part of the allotments.
During the excitment that followed upon the Union defeat, Cooke on
his own initiative canvassed every financial institution in the city,
and in a few days had obtained pledges to a loan to the Government
of $1,737.500. Cooke became subscription agent for the national loan
on March 7, 1862, and in 1863 he was appointed fiscal agent for the
Government by Secretary of the Treasury Chase.
Cooke organized a small army of agents to cover the country, and
began a national advertising: campaign remarkable for its scope and
originality. It is estimated that he raised from a billion and a half
to two billion dollars during the four years of war. Total profits of
Jay Cooke & Co. on bond issues f^om July 17, 1861, to March 3, 1865
(according to official statement of Secretary of the Treasury Hu.q;h
McCulloch April 23, 1868) were $6,873,934.96. Commission on gold
sales amounted to $293,782.
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PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
Defense of the City
"D Y 1863 Philadelphia had settled down to a routine varied only
*-* by newspaper reports of casualties and losses and gains of the
Federal armies. All the glamor and excitement of the early days had
been replaced by the prosaic day-to-day business of seeing the war
through to the end. Factories still worked to capacity on war orders,
but it was generally believed that the conflict was nearing its con
clusion. The Union League and other organizations began to make
preparations for a gala Fourth of July celebration.
Then came rumors that all was not well with the armies of the
Union. News dispatches began to hint that the Confederate forces
were advancing farther north each day. Confederate cavalry was
thrusting nearer to the lower reaches of the Susquehanna River. Con
sternation mounted in the city at the imminence of danger. When
word first arrived that Lee s army was marching through Maryland,
Philadelphia was thrown into a turmoil. Business was disrupted, shops
were closed, and people gathered in groups, fearing the worst.
On June 15 President Lincoln issued a new call for 100,000 militia
to be enlisted for six months. Governor Curtin and Mayor Henry also
issued calls for volunteers. The mayor ordered all business suspended,
and urged every able-bodied man to volunteer for emergency service
in preparing the city against attack. Breastworks were thrown up at
strategic points in the outskirts. As fast as volunteers were forthcom
ing, they were equipped and sent to Harrisburg, where other Union
forces were assembling.
Meade s smashing repulse of Lee at Gettysburg occurred on July
1-3, but it was not until the 7th that accurate reports of the battle
reached Philadelphia. Gettysburg proved costly to the city of Penn.
Thousands of its citizens fell, killed or wounded, during the three
days. Although won at high cost, the victory saved Philadelphia and
determined the outcome of the war.
Upon the battlefields of Bull Run, Antietam, and Ball s Bluff many
Philadelphians laid down their lives. At Ball s Bluff the Philadelphia
Brigade experienced its first fire, to begin a period of meritorious
service that was to end in glory at Petersburg. Except for three up-
State companies, the brigade was composed of local volunteers. It also
saw service at Gettysburg, turning back a Confederate charge. Sur
vivors fought with other regiments until the final victory at Ap-
pomattox. When the brigade was disbanded on June 28, 1864, its
battle-flag bore 39 shot-holes.
An equally gallant combat unit was the Pennsylvania Reserves, to
which Philadelphia contributed 20 companies of infantry and four
batteries of artillery, numbering in all 3,000 men. Gen. George A.
McCall succeeded Gen. George B. McClellan as its commander. Later,
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HISTORY CENTURY OF GROWTH
Gen. Samuel Wylie Crawford, a surgeon in the Regular Army, led the
remnants of the force down from Little Round Top into the "wheat-
field" on the bloody second day at Gettysburg. Regiments of Phila
delphia Negroes won honor and glory for themselves during the war,
displaying great courage on the fields of battle.
The two most conspicuous military figures of Philadelphia during
the war were Maj. Gen. George Brinton McClellan, commander of the
Army of the Potomac from 1861 to 1862, and Maj. Gen. George Gor
don Meade, who commanded the Army of the Potomac at Gettysburg
and during the remainder of the war. Among the Philadelphians who
figured prominently in naval activities were Rear Admirals Charles
Stewart, John A. Dahlgren, David D. Porter, and George Campbell
Read ; Commodores Joseph Beale, William McKean. William Trux-
tun, Garrett Pendergrast, and John C. Febiger ; and Commander
Abner Reed.
Military hospitals were maintained in the city and suburbs for the
care of the sick and wounded. Local women displayed great ability
and devotion in volunteer relief work. The Christian Commission,
organized by George H. Stuart, John Wanamaker, and others con
nected with the Philadelphia Young Men s Christian Association also
did valuable relief work.
Philadelphia, during these dark days, was the scene of America s
first important fair the Council Fair of the Sanitary Commissions
from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. It was held in Logan
Square, and began June 7, 1864. President Lincoln was unable to at
tend the opening ceremonies, but he and Mrs. Lincoln visited the
fair on June 16, together with Governor Packer of New Jersey, Gov
ernor Cannon of Delaware, and Governor Curtin of Pennsylvania.
On the morning of April 3, 1865, the Philadelphia Inquirer issued
a bulletin announcing the fall of Richmond. Later dispatches con
firmed the occupation of the Southern capital by Grant s troops. This
event was the signal for spontaneous demonstrations on the part of
Philadelphia s war-weary citizens. The bell in Independence Hall
pealed forth the message of jubilation, as thousands formed im
promptu victory processions. School children marched through the
streets, waving flags and singing songs. Steam whistles shrieked
throughout the city, adding their strident tones to the tumult. A
cannon was placed on the top of the Evening Bulletin building and
fired incessantly all afternoon. Business was at a standstill, and at
night the city was ablaze with lights and the jrlare of countless bon
fires. The Union was saved, and war was about to end. What more
fitting cause for jubilation ! On April 10, news of Lee s surrender at
Appomattox threw the city into another riot of celebration. The
names of Grant and Meade were cheered, while guns thundered all
through the day.
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Gaiety and rejoicing changed to sorrow, however, when news of
President Lincoln s assassination arrived on April 15. From a city be
decked with gay colors, Philadelphia was transformed overnight into
a place of mourning. Office buildings, shops, and dwellings were
draped with black. Requiem services were held in all churches. On
Saturday, April 22, when the President s body arrived from Washing
ton, the many bells of the city were tolled. The hearse was escorted
by a vast procession to Independence Hall, and the body lay in state
in the room where the Declaration had been signed.
Early the following morning the hall was opened to the public. By
midnight more than 85,000 persons had viewed Lincoln s remains.
Multitudes paid their last respects to the great man in prayer and
fasting. The next afternoon the casket was borne to the Kensington
Depot, and placed on a train to resume its journey through sorrowing
throngs to its last resting place in Springfield, 111., Lincoln s home
town.
The Post-War Years
A MID the turbulence of national and local politics, returning
-^*- soldiers, loyalist demonstrations, financial panics, and a mush
room growth of saloons, Philadelphia entered upon a post-war era
of expansion. Rise of the saloons was probably one of the most sig
nificant features of the immediate post-war period. Owned for the
most part by Germans and Irish, the saloons at first served only the
finest brews, aged until wholesome and then drawn from the keg at
spring-water temperature. Later, as competition became keen, iced
beer was served almost as soon as brewed. In 1887, when the Brooks
High License Law was passed, there were nearly 6,000 saloons in the
city. A power in politics ever since the days of the first tavern, the
saloon was now a force to be reckoned with in every local political
struggle.
The Democrats and the Andrew Johnson Republicans set the city
aflame with political controversy when they held their famous "arm-
in-arm" convention on August 14, 1866. The picturesque name sprang
from an incident at the gathering in which two convention delegates,
one a Unionist and the other a former Confederate, marched down
the aisle of the Convention Hall arm-in-arm.
Johnson s appearance in the citv with Grant and Seward was the
signal for a series of disorders. Although John W. Geary, Republican
candidate for Governor, carried the city in the following October by
a plurality of 5,000, Col. Peter Lyle, a staunch Democrat, was elected
Sheriff. In November 1868, Grant s presidential plurality in the city
was 5,818, notwithstanding that Daniel Fox, Democratic candidate,
had been elected mayor the preceding month.
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HISTORY CENTURY or GROWTH
With the opening of the Chestnut Street bridge on June 23, 1866,
the city s westward expansion began. An increase in population from
562,529 in 1860 to 673,726 in 1870 necessitated the development of
outlying districts across the Schuylkill. Factories, homes, churches,
and schools sprang up. The central city section had already begun to
take on the appearance of a metropolis. The main streets, such as
Market, Chestnut, and Broad, were crowded with buildings and shops
of substantial size.
Many large industries were making Philadelphia one of the most
important centers of trade in the country. Firms such as the Cramp s
Shipbuilding Company, the Baldwin Locomotive Works, and others
had placed the city in the vanguard of industry and commerce. Dur
ing this period, George W. Childs, who had acquired the Public Ledger
from William M. Swain., built the new home of the newspaper at Sixth
and Chestnut Streets. This building was one of the largest newspaper
plants of the time.
In 1870 the Germans in Philadelphia evinced great interest in the
Franco-Prussian War. A mass meeting of Negro citizens celebrated
the adoption of the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution. In the
same year the city fire department was organized, and the Philadel
phia Record first appeared.
Numerous public disturbances occurred in 1871. Much animosity
was aroused in certain sections by the enfranchisement of the Negroes.
Riots broke out in the Fourth and Fifth Wards, during which two
prominent Negroes, Isaiah Chase and Prof. Octavius Catto, were
slain. Racial bitterness was so intense that the militia was called out
to restore order.
The death of General Meade on November 6, 1872, threw the city
into mourning. His funeral was held with impressive ceremony, and
notables from the entire country, including President Grant, attended.
The failure of the banking houses of E. W. Clarke & Co. and Jay
Cooke & Co., on September 18, 1873, precipitated a financial panic
that resulted in the closing of a number of large banks in the
city and throughout the country. Another local bank, the Franklin
Savings Fund, in which many of the poorer citizens had placed their
meagre savings, went into bankruptcy on February 6, 1874. The pre
vailing financial disorders and the accompanying depression of in
dustry and commerce produced much labor unrest. Strikes occurred
frequently during this period, and labor agitation for an eight-hour
working day was carried on with vehemence.
The new Masonic Temple, at Broad and Filbert Streets, was dedi
cated in the presence of a large gathering on September 26, 1873.
Three events marked July 4, 1874. These were the laying of the cor
nerstone of the new City Hall in Penn Square, the breaking of ground
in West Fairinount Park for the Centennial Exhibition, and the open-
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PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
ing of the Girard Avenue bridge over the Schuylkill. Built at a cost
of nearly a million and a half dollars, this bridge was probably the
widest in the world at the time.
The Centennial
4 S the year 1875 drew to a close, preparations were made to wel-
-^*- come the advent of the Nation s centennial year. On New Year s
Eve the city was ablaze with lights. Particularly resplendent was
Carpenters Hal], which displayed in a sign lighted by candles the
words : "The Nation s Birthplace." A brilliant display of fireworks
was set off at Southwark. Festivities were centered in the area from
South Street to Girard Avenue, and westward to the Schuylkill.
As midnight approached, Independence Hall was surrounded by
dense crowds. At 11:45 Mayor William Stokeley addressed the as
semblage ; and after a prayer by the Rev. Walter Scott and a speech
on the Centennial Exhibition by Benjamin Harris Brewster, the bell
in Independence Hall tolled for the departing year. As the last note
died away, Mayor Stokeley raised a Colonial flag aloft, while a band
played The Star Spangled Banner and the Second Regiment fired
salute after salute.
The Centennial Exhibition, commemorating 100 years of American
Independence, opened on May 10, 1876, in Fairmount Park. President
and Mrs. Grant, with Dom Pedro de Alcantara, Emperor of Brazil,
and his wife as guests of honor, presided at the opening, which was
attended by notables from all over the world and a crowd of 100,000.
The dedication ceremonies were held in the space between the Main
Building and Memorial Hall, two of the 180 buildings erected on the
grounds. A 200-piece orchestra and a chorus of 900 voices accom
panied the action of the President as he unfurled the flag. After the
unfurling a 100-guii salute was fired and chimes were rung. The
President and Dom Pedro started the mammoth Corliss engine in
Machinery Hall, and then a reception was held for them in the
Judges Pavilion.
Thirty-eight foreign nations and 39 States and Territories were
represented. Of these Massachusetts led with an appropriation of
$50,000 ; New Jersey voted $10,000, and Delaware $10,000. The 250
judges of the exposition, of whom 125 were foreigners, were divided
into 28 groups. All through the summer months the city was thronged
with visitors. Record attendance for a single day was reached on
Pennsylvania Day, September 28, when 275.000 persons passed through
the turnstiles. Governor Tilden of New York attracted a crowd of
134,588 on Empire State Day; while his rival for the Presidency,
Rutherford B. Hayes, drew 7 an equally large crowd on Ohio Day,
October 26. Hundreds of special events, such as the first public dem
onstration of the telephone, were held during the six months of the
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HISTORY CENTURY OF GROWTH
exhibition. The German population dedicated a monument to Hum-
boldt, the West Point cadets visited the fair in a body, and a number
of regattas were held on the Schuylkill. On November 10, 1876, the
Exhibition was officially closed by President Grant.
The year 1876 marked the beginning of a new period of archi
tectural expression. Not only to Philadelphia, but to the Nation at
large, the Exhibition had given impetus to the Ecole des Beaux Arts
influence, together with other styles tending toward eclecticism in
building design. The period was marked also by business expansion
and labor troubles.
In July 1877 the great railroad strike that had spread over the
country broke out in Philadelphia. Employees of the Reading and
Pennsylvania Railroads, organized in the Brotherhood of Locomotive
Engineers, struck for better wages and improved working conditions,
such as full crews on all trains, and abolishment of the double train.
There was little rioting, however, as major disorders were prevented
by police and the National Guard.
In Pennsylvania the strike ended July 27, after freight and pas
senger service had for a short time been suspended. The men went
back to work with an understanding that the issues would be settled
by arbitration. Both sides claimed a victory.
Electric lighting came into use in stores and offices in the later
seventies and early eighties. The city council opposed the use of
electricity for municipal lighting, maintaining that its cost would be
too great. The Brush Electric Light Company, however, offered in
1882 to light Chestnut Street for one year without charge. The offices
of the Public Ledger, at Sixth and Chestnut Streets, and those of the
Record, on Chestnut Street near Ninth, were equipped with electric
lights in that year. Within a brief period nearly all the central city
section adopted the new method of lighting. About the same time
came the telephone. The Bell company established its first central
office in the city at 400 Chestnut Street in 1878. In 1884 two other
companies, the Baxter Overland Telephone Companv and the Clay
Commercial Telephone Company, opened offices on Chestnut Street.
As with the telegraph, which had come into use more than 30 years
earlier, the electric light and telephone soon became indispensable
adjuncts to city life. During the next two decades the city, despite
political bossism, enjoyed uninterrupted development.
The Bullitt Act, giving the city a new charter, was passed by the
legislature in 1885. This reduced the number of city departments
from 28 to eight, and placed them under the direct supervision of
the mayor, who was empowered to appoint the department directors.
During the last quarter of the nineteenth century such figures as
Matthew S. Quay, Boies Penrose, Alexander McClure, David and
Peter Lane, William R. Leeds, and Israel Durham occupied the
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PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
political limelight. Graft and corruption were rife in connection
with traction franchises and the administration of the city gas works.
Many large fortunes were made during this period by clever manipu
lators working in connivance with the political bosses. John Wana-
maker, always on the side of civic virtue, attempted to overthrow the
Quay machine in 1898-99, but was unsuccessful. The machine was
too well organized. Would-be reformers were told bluntly by the
"bosses" to stop wasting their breath.
In 1892 the first trolley car was operated on Catharine and Bain-
bridge Streets. The Reading Terminal at Twelfth and Market Streets
was opened the following year. In 1894 Broad Street became the first
thoroughfare in the city to be paved with asphalt. In 1897 the Com
mercial Museum was officially opened by President McKinley. The
next year came the Spanish- American War, in which many Phila-
delphians and organizations, including the First City Troop, saw
service. The first motor car to appear in the city was brought from
France in 1899 by Jules Junker, a local merchant.
Smith Memorial
"We are engaged iri a great civil war"
THE MODERN METROPOLIS
MANY innovations marked the transition from the old city of
the nineteenth century to the high-tensioned metropolis of to
day. By 1900 the population exceeded one and a quarter mil
lions, of which native Americans constituted 75 percent. The influx
of immigrants from Europe and of Negroes from the South, together
with the steadily increasing birthrate, had transformed the city proper
into a hive of human heings living in congested streets. The wealthier
families began their exodus to the outlying districts of the city and
to the suburbs along the Main Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad.
With the advent of the automobile, the city s roughly paved streets,
intended for horse-drawn vehicles, were replaced gradually by thor
oughfares of asphalt.
During the first decade of the twentieth century a new crop of
skyscrapers added height to Philadelphia s skyline. Among the tallest
of these were the Land Title Building and the Real Estate Trust
Building at Broad and Chestnut Streets ; the North American Build
ing, Broad and Sansom Streets ; the Pennsylvania Building, Fifteenth
and Chestnut Streets ; the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel, Broad and Wal
nut Streets ; Wanamaker s, Thirteenth and Market Streets, and the
Morris Building, Chestnut Street west of Broad. Row upon row of
brick dwellings were being constructed. The Market Street subway-
elevated (opened in 1907) and additional trolley lines were built to
link the new sections with the city center.
Events of importance during this period were the Republican Na
tional Convention in June, 1900, at whirh President William Mc-
Kinley was renominated and Governor Theodore Roosevelt of New
York designated as Vice-Presidential nominee ; the purchase by
Gimbel Brothers of the Girard House, at Ninth and Chestnut Streets
(May, 1900), as a site for an addition to their department store ; the
first Mummers Parade (January 1, 1901) to welcome the twentieth
century ; the opening (March 1901) of a new Gray s Ferry Bridge
over the Schuylkill ; the first official message sent (January 1902)
over the Keystone telephone system ; and purchase (March 1902)
of the site of Lit Brothers store. Also in 1902, the Philadelphia Rapid
Transit Company was chartered ; the new Central High School at
Broad and Green Streets was dedicated by Theodore Roosevelt, who
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PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
had succeeded to the Presidency after McKinley s assassination ; and
Keith s Chestnut Street Theatre was opened.
The Poor Richard Club was organized July 23, 1907 ; and on July
1, 1907, the first contract between the city and the Philadelphia
Rapid Transit Company was executed. In April 1908 Shibe Park,
home of the Philadelphia American League baseball club, was
opened. The same year saw the establishment of Oscar Hammerstein s
Philadelphia Opera House, which opened with a presentation of
Bizet s Carmen, and the dedication of the Y. M. C. A. Building on
Arch Street. In 1909 regular passenger service over the new elevated
tracks of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad was begun from the
Reading Terminal.
Motormen and conductors of the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Com
pany declared a strike for higher wages in May 1909. Another fol
lowed in February 1910, the men receiving instructions not to return
to work until their union was recognized by the company and the
hourly wage-rate increased from 20 to 25 cents. During the strike,
which lasted about five months before an agreement was reached,
there was much rioting and disorder. Hundreds of cars were dam
aged, many persons were injured, and numerous arrests of strikers
and union officials were made.
In the same year, the first airplane flight from New York to Phila
delphia was made by Charles K. Hamilton, under the auspices of the
New York Times and the Philadelphia Public Ledger ; the Historical
Society of Pennsylvania opened its new building at Thirteenth and
Locust Streets ; the Aquarium in Fairmount Park was completed ; and
the census of 1910 showed an increase of population to 1,549,008.
During this period and up to the third decade of the century, local
political affairs were controlled by dynasties of boss-rule, in which
such figures as Boies Penrose, James P. McNichol, and the Vare
brothers, George, Edwin, and William, were predominant. Headed
by these bosses, the Republican organization enjoyed uninterrupted
control of Philadelphia politics, save for a temporary setback when
Rudolph Blankenburg, independent reform candidate, won the mayor
alty election in 1911 against the Republican machine controlled by
Penrose, in alliance with McNichol. The tie-up between the political
bosses and the utilities had been scandalously close ; both had waxed
rich at the expense of the citizenry. But under Blankenburg s admin
istration many of these abuses were discontinued. In their stead, there
was maintained a steady campaign of municipal development carried
on in such a forthright manner that even the political machine could
not criticize it.
The great fortunes founded in the previous century by such finar
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HISTORY MODERN METROPOLIS
cial, industrial, and commercial pioneers as Cyrus H. K. Curtis, Francis
and Anthony Drexel, John Wanamaker, Edward T. Stotesbury, Justin
Strawbridge, Isaac Clothier, William L. Elkins, and Peter A. B.
Widener had by now become consolidated, and formed an integral
part of the city s growth. Newcomers were carving their fortunes in
banking, real estate, motion picture theatres, oil, and other fields.
In 1913, militant women suffragists crusaded in the city to win for
their sex the right to vote and participate in the direction of public
affairs. Prominent in the movement was Mrs. Lucretia Blankenburg,
wife of Mayor Blankenburg. President Taft and his Cabinet attended
the Union League s fiftieth anniversary banquet in February of that
year, and in October President Woodrow Wilson dedicated the re
stored Congress Hall.
Philadelphia During the World War
A SLIGHT earthquake shook the city in February 1914. A few
months later, in midsummer, a far greater earthquake, non-
seismic in origin, rocked the entire continent of Europe and the
whole world, with repercussions of gradually heightening intensity in
Philadelphia during the following four years.
The war seemed very remote from the city until the steamship
Lusitania was sunk by a German submarine on May 7, 1915. Then
public sentiment, which had been rather divided in its sympathies
for the belligerents, began to swing towards the side of the Allies.
Meanwhile, Philadelphia industries were obtaining lucrative contracts
for munitions and war material from the Allied powers. Wages
mounted as factories operated day and night to turn out their mer
chandise of death.
A phenomenon of the times was the sudden swarm of "jitney"
blisses which appeared on Broad Street and other main thorough
fares in 1915. Indifferent street-car service and the novelty of riding
in automobiles, which at that time were still luxuries out of reach
of many citizens, accounted for the popularity of the "jitney" (the
name sprang from a slang term meaning five cents, the amount of
fare charged by the new conveyances) . Eventually, opposition insti
tuted by the traction company, under Thomas E. Mitten, forced the
"jitneys" out of business.
On January 22, 1917, the last contingent of Philadelphia troops
which had been sent to the Mexican border the previous July in the
campaign against Villa was ordered home. As if in preparation for
the inevitable, many civilians were joining the National Guard units,
which were conducting sham battles and drills. Army and Navy re
cruiting stations were opened, and the Philadelphia Navy Yard was
closed to the public. Expectation that America would enter the war
grew stronger.
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PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
Prices began to soar as commodities became more scarce and prof
iteering grew rampant. Potatoes sold at $3.60 per bushel. Crowds
kept vigil before bulletin boards of the large newspaper offices, await
ing developments. A mass meeting was held in Independence Square,
where citizens pledged themselves to uphold the national honor
against German aggression. The city adhered to its pledge when Con
gress declared war on the Central Powers on April 6. The machinery
of mobilizing the city for war was set in motion immediately. Within
two months the First Liberty Loan campaign was in full swing, the
Red Cross drive for funds and volunteers had started, and local draft
boards were already conscripting civilians for the Army. In the first
local draft quota, 161,245 Philadelphians were sent to training camps.
On April 10, 1917, a terrific explosion occurred at the Eddystone
Ammunition Works, between Philadelphia and Chester. More than
100 men and women workers, many of them Philadelphians, were
killed in the blast, and more than 300 maimed and injured. So ter
rific was the concussion that the small town of Eddystone was all but
demolished, and thousands of homes in Chester and Philadelphia
were shaken.
During the primary election on September 19, 1917, bitter factional
strife broke out in the Fifth Ward. Patrolman George Eppley was
shot and killed at Sixth and Delancey Street while protecting two
citizens from imported gunmen. The murder resulted in the indict
ment of several public officials on conspiracy charges, though the
most prominent among them were acquitted. Feeling against the gun
men implicated in the murder ran so high that a change of venue was
necessary. Several of the defendants were convicted of second-degree
murder and imprisoned.
The city entered upon its war work with feverish activity. Great
industries, such as the Baldwin Locomotive Works and the Midvale
Steel Company, were transformed into arsenals of the Army and
Navy, turning out war materials. The largest ship construction plant
in the world was established at Hog Island, on the southeastern fringe
of the city. The first keel was laid on February 12, 1918 ; and the
first ship, a cargo vessel of 7,500 tons, slid down the ways on August
5, as Mrs. Woodrow Wilson, accompanied by the President, christened
it the Quistconk.
High wages were paid to both men and women workers in industry.
This tended to some extent to offset the rising cost of living caused by
the scarcity of commodities and the rationing of fuel and foodstuffs.
As intensive drives for recruits and money were carried on, exhorta
tions such as "Give Till It Hurts !" and "Your Country Needs You !"
became the slogans of the time.
One of the most notorious figures in wartime Philadelphia was
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HISTORY MODERN METROPOLIS
Grover C. Bergdoll, scion of a wealthy family of brewers. BergdolFs
refusal to be drafted into the infantry created a cause celebre which
even today remains unsettled. Prominent as a daring aviator and au
tomobile racer, Bergdoll demanded to be assigned to the aviation
corps. Placed under arrest, he escaped from the custody of Federal
agents and fled to Germany.
The city had just reached the height of its production of men,
money, and material for war, when news of the Armistice arrived on
November 11, 1918. All activity was suspended immediately, as the
entire population gave vent to unbounded joy. The months im
mediately following were occupied with celebrations of victory and
the welcoming home of soldiers and sailors. The prevalent elation was
dampened, however, by an epidemic of influenza which caused
thousands of deaths in the city.
The Boom Years
A NEW city charter went into effect on January 5, 1920. By its
-^*- terms the two city councils, select and common, were merged into
one, and, instead of each ward having its councilman, the city was
divided into councilmanic districts, each comprising several wards.
By 1922 Philadelphia had resumed its normal momentum of civic
activity. The deafening obbligato of riveting-machines and roaring
motor-trucks introduced the Golden Age of Prosperity. New resi
dential communities sprang up in the outlying districts of Frankford,
Olney, Logan, and elsewhere. A branch of the Market Street subway-
elevated extending to Frankford Avenue and Bridge Street began
operation November 5, 1922, linking the new residential sections to
the central city. Tall office buildings and apartment houses appeared
with each succeeding year. On Market and Chestnut Streets, palatial
movie theaters were constructed to keep pace with the ever-growing
population, which had increased to nearly 2,000,000.
The streets became congested with automobiles and motor-trucks.
With the advent of prohibition, bootleggers, speakeasies, and gang
sters sprouted like fungi. Vice, racketeering, and official corruption
increased to such an extent that in January 1924, at the request of
Mayor W. Freeland Kendrick, Maj. Gen. Smedley D. Butler obtained
a leave of absence from the Marine Corps to accept the post of
Director of Public Safety. For more than a year General Butler led
an intensive drive against organized crime, whipping into greater
efficiency the police department and its personnel.
Construction of the Delaware River Bridge began in 1922, and
it was opened July 1, 1926. Work on the North Broad Street Subway
started in August 1924. "The City Beautiful" as exemplified in the
Parkway the city s most ornate thoroughfare became a reality,
81
Dewey s Flagship "Olympia" at the Philadelphia Navy Yard
"overshadowed by the Maine"
thanks to the talents of Jacques Greber and Paul Philippe Cret, its
designers.
Culturally, too, the city was expanding. Under the direction of
Leopold Stokowski, the Philadelphia Orchestra had developed into
one of the world s outstanding symphonic organizations. The Curtis
Institute, the Art Alliance, the Academy of the Fine Arts, the Free
Library, the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, and
other institutions were increasing Philadelphia s prestige as a center
of culture and learning.
A stimulus to civic betterment was the founding of the Phila
delphia Award in 1921 by Edward W. Bok, editor of the Ladies
Home Journal. A trust fund of $200,000, established by Mr. Bok, pro
vides the $10,000 award that annually goes to the man or woman
living in Philadelphia or its vicinity who has performed the service,
or brought to culmination the achievement considered most con
ducive to the advancement of the city s best interests.
The Sesqui-Centennial Exposition
"OLANS for celebrating the 150th anniversary of American inde-
pendence with a great international exposition were first formu
lated in 1920, during the first administration of Mayor J. Hampton
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HISTORY MODERN METROPOLIS
Moore. In April 1921 Mayor Moore requested an appropriation of
$50,000 for furtherance of the plans. The public remained apathetic
until the inauguration of Mayor W. Freeland Kendrick, in 1924, and
his election to the presidency of the Sesqui-Centennial Exhibition
Association. Sufficient funds to begin work on the undertaking were
raised by public subscriptions and through appropriations by the
city council. The site chosen for the exposition was a section of 1,000
acres in the southern part of the city, adjacent to the Navy Yard.
From the outset, administration of the exposition was strongly
criticized because of the political graft involved. William S. Vare,
construction contractor and political boss, along with his coterie
of real estate speculators, had convinced the officials that the best
site for the exposition was on their marshlands, upon which it was
almost impossible to build. There resulted a paradoxical situation
in which owners of the swamp were paid by the association not only
for the right to fill it in, but also a rental for using it as a site for the
exposition.
By the time this location finally was chosen, many speculators had
learned the value of caution. Several artifically stimulated real estate
booms had taken place in various parts of the city, after erroneous
information had been given out. Those who bought up tracts near
rumored sites of the fair found themselves in possession of land miles
from where it eventually was held.
The exposition opened on May 31, 1926, although work on some
of the buildings and exhibits was not completed until July 15. A
host of visitors was attracted to Philadelphia during the six months
of the exposition. Hundreds of displays, pageants, special exhibitions,
and sporting events provided endless attractions and interests. (The
Municipal Stadium, erected for the exposition, was the scene of the
famous championship boxing match between Jack Dempsey and
Gene Tunney on September 23, 1926, and the Army-Navy foot
ball game in 1936.) Almost every State in the Union and many foreign
nations were represented at the exposition, either with special pavil
ions and exhibits or with temporary displays. Notables from many
countries attended, among them Queen Marie and the Princess Ileana
of Rumania, Crown Prince Gustavus Adolphus and the Princess
Louise of Sweden, and President Calvin Coolidge and Mrs. Coolidge.
Innovations in architectural design and building illumination, as
well as the latest inventions of applied science, were features of
the exposition. Such new devices as electric refrigerators, audible
motion pictures, radios, and sound amplifiers marked the progress
achieved in invention during the 50 years since the Centennial Ex
hibition of 1876. The national air races and aviation exhibits also
were outstanding features.
When the exposition closed on November 30, the city had expended
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PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
a total of $9,667,896.83 on the enterprise. Owing to the vastness of
the undertaking, financial difficulties were encountered, but a fairly
satisfactory settlement of all expenses and liabilities was eventually
made.
The fact that a once-proposed subway-elevated line to Roxborough
is still in the category of "plans" is traced to the Sesqui-Centennial.
A large sum of money had been set aside by the city council for
use in constructing the subway-elevated line. A referendum, taken
among the citizens of Roxborough, turned the money over to the
exposition as an investment, although it is now generally considered
as having been a gift.
The first commercial transatlantic telephone call between Phila
delphia and London was made on January 29, 1927, when Josiah
H. Penniman, provost of the University of Pennsylvania, spoke to
Lord Dawson of Penn at the other end of the wire. The Free Library
on the Parkway was opened June 2, 1927. On March 26, 1928, the
Art Museum at the head of the Parkway was opened, and the new
Broad Street Subway was placed in operation on September 1 of that
year. On August 14, 1929, the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge was opened,
and the North Philadelphia Station of the Reading Railroad Com
pany was dedicated on September 28. The Rodin Museum on the
Parkway, gift of the late Jules E. Mastbaum, was dedicated on Novem
ber 29, 1929, and the Martin Maloney Memorial Clinic at the Univer
sity of Pennsylvania on September 20, 1929.
Philadelphia and the Great Depression
Philadelphians who awoke on a crisp autumn morning in
late October, 1929, suspected that by the afternoon of that day
the great American dream of unlimited and uninterrupted prosperity
would be rudely dispelled by the crash of the stock market and the
plunge of the entire Nation into the lowest depths of misery, priva
tion, and despair. Not many could have foreseen that the next four
years would be among the darkest in the city s history, and that hun
dreds of thousands of unemployed would walk the streets.
Despite rosy assurances which had been freely broadcast for more
than three years that "recovery was just around the corner" and
"the worst was over," banks continued to close, bankruptcies in
creased, financiers and business men committed suicide, bread lines
in Philadelphia grew longer as unemployment increased, and the
future appeared to be ever more hopeless. There seemed to be no
remedy for the situation. Each day that passed saw conditions grow
worse instead of better, until even the most optimistic became even
tually the most rabid of pessimists.
Meanwhile, numbers of desperate workers were being converted to
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radicalism. In 1931, a large May Day demonstration of radical labor
organizations was broken up by the police ; many arrests were made.
Probably the most impressive result of the depression in Philadel
phia, politically, was the change in party sentiment from Republican
to Democratic and the conviction among die-hard conservatives that
the time had come for property rights and interests to give way to
human rights. The election of November 1932 recorded an amazing
Democratic vote, although the city had been regarded as the strong
hold of entrenched Republicanism since the Civil War, and among
the adherents of the new administration were those who had been
pillars of the old. Meanwhile, greater numbers of desperate workers
were being converted to radicalism. In 1931 a large May Day demon
stration of radical labor organizations was broken up by the police
and many arrests were made.
The election of November 1932 recorded an amazing Democratic
vote, although the city had been regarded as the stronghold of en
trenched Republicanism since the Civil War.
Upon assuming office in March 1933, President Roosevelt adopted
measures to "fight the depression as we fought the war." Federal
funds were appropriated for the relief of the destitute in Phila
delphia, and later for the employment of the jobless. Through the
efforts of the Civil Works Administration and later the Works Prog-
gress Administration, thousands of Philadelphians caught in the mael
strom of the depression were enabled to earn a livelihood for the
first time since the depression. Local business was greatly stimulated
through the increased purchasing power of thousands of WPA em
ployees.
With the repeal of prohibition, State liquor stores were opened in
Philadelphia in 1934, giving employment to many persons and in
creasing the revenue of the State. With repeal of some of the "Blue
Laws" a year later, Sunday baseball games became legalized, while
movie houses and other amusements were permitted to operate on
the Sabbath.
Tacony-Palmyra Bridge
a tie that binds the states 1
85
lt
Slum Scene
the place of abandoned hope
HISTORY MODERN METROPOLIS
In spite of hard times, a number of new and imposing buildings
were erected, such as the new Pennsylvania Station, Thirtieth and
Market Streets ; the new Post Office, directly opposite ; the Franklin
Institute, with the Pels Planetarium, on the Parkway ; the new
Custom House, Second and Chestnut Streets ; the Lincoln-Liberty
Building, Broad and Chestnut Streets; the Philadelphia Saving Fund
Society Building, Twelfth and Market Streets ; and the Administra
tion Building of the Board of Education, Twenty-first Street and
the Parkway.
One of the highlights of 1936 in Philadelphia was the Democratic
National Convention, held in the Municipal Auditorium during the
week of June 23. Democratic delegations from all the States and
Territories thronged the once mighty stronghold of Republicanism
during the week of the convention. President Roosevelt was renomi-
nated by tumultuous acclamation ; and on Saturday evening, June
27, the President made his acceptance speech before a huge crowd in
Franklin Field. Of the throng of nearly 200,000 persons, only 105,000
could be crammed into the stadium, the rest packing the streets out
side.
Local Republicanism received its worst defeat on November 3,
1936, when President Roosevelt and the Democratic ticket swept the
city with a plurality of more than 200,000. As the election returns
began to come in that night, crowds of gleeful Democrats paraded
through the musty courtyards and arcades of City Hall, north and
south on Broad Street, and east and west on Market, Chestnut, and
Walnut Streets. Traffic was at a standstill as one of the most spectacu
lar and uproarious political demonstrations ever held in Philadelphia
rocked the central section.
Some progress in slum clearance was made during the first six
months of 1937. As a result of the collapse of two slum dwellings
in late December 1936 when 7 occupants were killed, a systematic
program for clearing substandard areas of the city was started. More
than 1,200 dwellings and buildings unfit for habitation were con
demned and demolished by order of the municipal authorities. How
ever, no provisions were made for rehousing the tenants.
Celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Constitution of the
United States was officially inaugurated May 14, 1937, with opening
ceremonies in Independence Hall, during which the original draft
of the Constitution was exhibited, and the Liberty Bell was rung
by Mayor S. Davis Wilson, who used a gavel made of wood from old
trees at Valley Forge.
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OLD WAYS AND OLD TALES
MANY nationalities and religions have contributed over a period
of more than 250 years to the traditions, social customs, habits
of dress, entertainment, and folklore of Philadelphia some
elements of which still stand out like broken strands of silk in an old
tapestry.
Although the Swedes were the earliest colonists in Philadelphia,
the Quakers, who followed soon afterwards, were most instrumental
in giving direction to the trend of daily life. They brought to the
New World a philosophy of simplicity and conservatism. Their rather
drab style of dress and staid deportment soon were to be influenced,
however, by the influx of Germans, Scotch-Irish and Welsh. By 1712
the note of rigid simplicity, at least in its superficial aspect, had
begun to change. Human vanity, rather than religious restraint, be
came the dictator of fashion.
The well-dressed Philadelphia belle of that era wore a silk petti
coat, distended by hoops, and a tightly laced stomacher ornamented
with gold braid. The sleeves were short and edged with wide point
lace. Curls fell at her neck, and her head was protected by a light
silk hood. On her feet were satin slippers. Her escort wore a silk
coat, its skirts stiffened with wire and buckram. His waistcoat was
long-flapped, with wide pockets, and short sleeves terminating in
large, rounded cuffs. A point-lace cravat protected his throat. His
shoes were square-toed, with small silver buckles ; his silk stockings
reached above his knees to meet his silk breeches. On his tie-wig
perched a small cocked hat trimmed with lace.
Tradesmen dressed simply. Their garb was generally of stout gray
cloth, trimmed in black, with worsted stockings, and leather breeches
and shoes.
Colonial days in Philadelphia witnessed rapid changes in styles
and fashions. While pro-French feeling was at its height, the styles
of France came into vogue. With the elaboration and brightening
of fashions, the Quakers became so alarmed that at a Yearly Meet
ing of Friends they rigidly enforced their rules regulating dress.
Today the gray garb of the Quaker founders has disappeared al
most entirely, except in some nearby rural sections. In the city, some
elderly ladies still cling to a modified form of the prescribed apparel,
while others dress in real Quaker style.
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OLD WAYS AND OLD TALES
Colonial Philadelphia did not remain a citadel of conservative life
for long, however. Even in pre-Revolutionary days the city became
famous for its entertainment, good food, rare wines, and fine clothes.
Many well-to-do Quakers were not averse to tasting these worldly
pleasures.
The city became noted for its sumptuous dinners, which were in
sharp contrast to the formerly frugal pioneer repast. John Adams,
describing one of these feasts, said : "It was a Quaker hostess who
pressed upon me at a single meal : duck, ham, chicken, beef, pig,
tarts, creams, jellies, truffles, floating island, beer, porter, punch, and
wine."
Tea drinking likewise marked social life, and dancing occupied
the attention of the younger set. In 1740 several young men, members
of families living near Christ Church, established a dancing assembly,
which met every Tuesday during the winter. Concerts were given
from time to time.
In 1748 a group representing the more aristocratic families founded
the Philadelphia Assembly. Subscriptions sold for 40 shillings per
year. The assembly s social affairs usually lasted from 6 p. m. to mid
night, with card tables provided for those who did not dance. Refresh
ments consisted of punch and "milk bisket." The present day As
sembly Ball, held annually in the second week of December, is a
development of the original Philadelphia Assembly.
During the British occupation of Philadelphia in 1777-8, there
was a continuous round of suppers, dances, gay theatre parties, and
entertainments of all kinds. The most notable was the Mischianza,
an elaborate pageant in which British officers and Tory civilians
participated. Much of the gaiety, as far as the patriotic Philadel-
phians were concerned, was undoubtedly simulated.
After the war, Philadelphia returned to a comparative sobriety.
Isaac Weld, a French writer, commenting on the citizenry in general,
said in 1795 : "There is a coldness and reserve, as if they were sus
picious of some designs against them. This chills the very heart of
those who come to visit them." Other foreigners and visitors from
other States likewise criticised the Philadelphia attitude toward
strangers.
Sports and Amusements
the diminishing of the Quaker influence, sports and arnuse-
ments increased in scope and variety. From the earliest days,
however, such sports as riding, swimming, fishing, and skating were
countenanced even by the sedate Quaker founders. Many leaders in
the life of the growing city could be seen in those days skating on
the Delaware River.
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PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
Sleighing, a sport that found favor with the early Colonials, has
survived. The Wissahickon Valley in winter still resounds to the
jingle of sleighbells ; while in summer the creek, once the haunt
of Indians and pioneer fishermen, is popular with anglers.
Horse racing in Philadelphia made its appearance in Colonial
times, and soon became general on the city s streets. Finally it was
stopped by law. Race Street was so named because it led directly
to the race grounds. Cockfighting was popular with the more aristo
cratic families, while bull baiting and bear baiting were patronized
by the working population.
Boxing, a sport later to hold the attention and intereist of thou
sands of Philadelphians, at first was inhospitably received. A prize
fight advertised in 1812 was stopped by constables and aldermen, but
12 years later an English pugilist was able to interest many Phila
delphians in the "manly science whereby gentlemen after a few
lessons will be enabled to chastise those who may offer violence and
protect themselves from attacks of ruffians. "
Thus, as Philadelphia acquired a more cosmopolitan population
and became correspondingly more liberal in its customs, there came
into popular favor many of today s amusements. Billiards, originally
denounced as a means of gambling, became a favorite pastime, along
with bowls, ten-pins, quoits, bullets or lawn-bowls, and shuffleboard.
Even the time-honored English game of cricket had its enthusiasts,
though they were not many. Baseball, the national game, made its
bow in Philadelphia in 1860.
A favorite game of the younger boys, still indulged in to a certain
extent, was "pecking eggs," an amusement popular at Easter time.
Any youngster s challenge, "Upper ! Upper ! Who s got an egg ?"
yelled at the top of his lungs, would be promptly answered by a con
tender. Then would ensue a session in which the boys tested the
strength of their eggs by striking them together, point to point, but
not before a careful examination of the opponent s ammunition, to
make sure that no china or guinea egg or perhaps an egg shell
cleverly filled with plaster had been surreptitiously introduced.
Whichever egg was cracked by the impact became the property of
the boy who owned the uncracked one.
Another interesting game was "plugging tops." The tops were made
of lignum vitae and fitted with long and sharp steel points. The
object of the game was to split the opponent s top while it was spin
ning on the ground by spearing it with another top.
"Shinny" or "bandy," a rudimentary form of hockey, was a sport
for the hardy. "Duck on Davy" was a game in which the players at
tempted from a distance to knock a small stone off a larger one.
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OLD WAYS AND OLD TALES
Annual Celebrations
UT of a maze of recreational pursuits and customs, one has be-
a tradition not only to Philadelphians but to the entire
Nation. This is the Mummers Parade, first held on January 1, 1901.
to celebrate the arrival of the new century. It has become as integral
a part of Philadelphia s lighter life as the Mardi Gras has of that of
New Orleans.
The Mummers Parade is the outgrowth
of a custom imported from England in the
early nineteenth century. At that time,
during Christmas week and on Christmas
Eve, the streets of Philadelphia were alive
with brightly costumed groups of "mum
mers." They went from door to door, ex
plaining in rhyme the meaning of their
strange garb, and requesting donations.
The ancestor of the mummers celebration
was apparently the English saturnalia
celebration, under the direction of the
Lord of Misrule, a fantastic personage
known to the Scotch as the Abbot of Un-
Mummer
The Mummers tradition has been perpetuated by numerous clubs
organized exclusively for the New Year s Day affair. Prizes are offered
by the city and by various civic and business associations. Through
out the year the clubs work diligently upon their costumes in pre
paration for the clebration. Then, on New Years Day, the city s long.
straight thoroughfare, Broad Street, becomes a pattern of moving
color. Groups in fancy dress, with elaborate headgear and huge capes,
march over miles of paved roadway.
String bands, comic divisions, and groups which burlesque current
figures and events weave in gay abandon along the Mummers right-
of-way. At varying intervals in the procession are elaborately deco
rated floats. Along the sidewalk throng hundreds of thousands of
spectators. On New Year s Day Philadelphia s spirit is truly festive.
In recent years many Mummers have been stricken with pneumonia
because of exposure to the cold in their flimsy costumes. As a result.
a movement was started to change the time of the celebration to
spring or summer, in order to insure the comfort of spectators and
participants alike. However, the tradition of holding the parade on
New Year s Day was too strong. An exception was made during the
Democratic National Convention in 1936, when the Mummers paraded
on a hot night in June before more than 1,000,000 persons.
As the "Cradle of Liberty," Philadelphia has long cherished the
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PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
Fourth of July as a day of celebration. One feature is a speech by
the mayor delivered at Independence Hall. There was a time when
Independence Day was marked by the incessant noise of exploding
firecrackers, with an attendant loss of life and limb. A present-day
ordinance bars this method of celebrating, except for controlled pyro
technic displays in parks and recreational centers. Philadelphians on
Independence Day now go to the banks of the Schuylkill to watch
the regatta, spend the day picnicking in the country, or motor to
resorts along New Jersey s seashore.
On July 14, the "Independence Day" of the French Republic, mem
bers of the city s French societies march to the statue of Joan of Arc
at the eastern end of Girard Avenue Bridge. Here a speech is de
livered and a wreath placed upon the statue.
May Day in Philadelphia is greeted by the usual terpsichorean dis
plays at various colleges. In bygone years it was claimed unofficially
by fish hucksters and shad fishermen as their particular holiday.
Maypoles were placed outside the taverns along the water front, and
the day was given over to dancing, drinking, and feasting. Labor s
traditional May Day celebration is observed in a mild manner by
Philadelphia workingmen, who prefer picnics and shore trips to
the standardized oratory frequently offered by old-line labor leaders.
The left-wing groups, however, assemble annually on Reyburn Plaza
in a demonstration of their strength and unity.
Fire Companies
JHILADELPHIA S earliest fire insurance companies, (the first one
- was established in 1752) formed as protecting associations for the
benefit of subscribers, offered generous rewards to encourage volunteer
fire brigades. An alarm was the signal for a race between two or
more brigades, the winner earning the right to save the building and
collect the reward. The losers waited on the sidelines, no doubt
hopeful that the flames would get beyond control, in which event
they would be called into service and share in the reward. Frequently
there were scrimmages between the companies on the way to a fire,
while in the interval, the blaze continued unchecked.
Each insurance company, using its individual device, marked the
houses under its protection with plaques placed high on an outside
wall, so that the fire brigades knew bv whom they would be rewarded.
The unfortunate householder who had neslected to subscribe might
see the apparatus race to his burning home, and then turn back when
the volunteers failed to espy a plaque.
With the formation of the city s paid fire department in 1871 these
"fire marks" no longer served any purpose, but many of them may
still be seen on the older houses, especially in the central part of
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OLD WAYS AND OLD TALES
the city. These plaques depict a hydrant, a hose, or some other form
of early fire-fighting equipment.
Legends and Superstitions
PHILADELPHIA S rich heritage of folklore, the legends inherited
-*- from the many races settling in the tongue of land between the
Schuylkill and Delaware, today is preserved largely in historical an
nals. Some of the quaint beliefs, superstitions, and mythology of
the early and later settlers are still retained, but the majority have
passed like the Indian legends that preceded them.
To understand the legendary background of Philadelphia, a glance
at the racial and religious ancestry of the city is necessary. The
Quakers generally were free from superstitions, yet a few odd beliefs
that arrived with the rather somber followers of Penn are still cher
ished by their descendants. Although Philadelphia s Quaker popula-
Fire Plaques
. . and rang the
midnight fire
alarm . ."
PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
tion is now comparatively small, some Friends still consider it a bad
omen to move into a new house on "Sixth Day" (Friday) .
The early Swedes who preceded the English Quakers in the Phila
delphia section had various legends and superstitions that were looked
upon with disfavor by later settlers. Descendants of the first Scandi
navians still repeat tales of phantom ships and of sailors carried away
in the night by winged devils.
Welsh Quakers who followed William Penn in his search for
religious freedom early acquired a 40,000-acre tract of land to the
west of Philadelphia. This area became known as the Welsh Barony.
Despite the fusion of other nationalities, it still retains a strong
Welsh influence. One of the richest residential sections in the United
States, this suburban territory lends a credulous ear to tales of
haunted houses, lonely roads infested with ghosts, and spirits rising
from dark graveyards.
The Welsh settlers were endowed with the native imagination of
the Celt. Descendants of those in the remoter farmlands have retained
a belief in the supernatural. Charms are supposed to provide im
munity from disease, and are sought as a means to reconcile estranged
lovers.
One of the early Welsh beliefs was that if a person suffering from
a disease were to pass between the forks of a split tree, his malady
would disappear in transit. This superstition is now in the limbo of
forgotten things. Until about 1850, settlers of Welsh ancestry also
believed that horned cattle uttered prayers upon their knees at mid
night on Christmas Eve.
Several interesting legends have clung to the city and the memories
of its inhabitants, and in a measure have become sectional traditions.
One of these centers about the old Chalkley House, or Chalkley Hall
as it is more popularly known, the residence of an old Quaker family
in what is now Frankford. The legend described a tempestuous
romance, disavowed by the Chalkley family, between one of the
Chalkley girls and a suitor who failed to win the family s approval.
The affair culminated in the suicide of the girl, who had been dis
traught over her misfortune. For many years, residents of the dis
trict declared, the wraith of the unhappy young woman hovered
about the old mansion. Even with the advent of modern skepticism
and the apparent disappearance of many ghostly traditions of the
past, there are those who believe the girl s ghost still walks in
Chalkley Hall. A local historian who had been chatting with the
watchman of a factory nearby, was whimsically assured by the latter :
"That Chalkley ghost comes around once in a while at night."
Unlike most other cities in its treatment of so-called "witches" in
the seventeenth century, Philadelphia was not inclined to place
much credence in the stories of witchcraft that were prevalent.
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OLD WAYS AND OLD TALES
In 1683 Margaret Mattson and Yeshro Hendrickson were brought
before the Provincial Council, in session at Philadelphia, on charges
of witchcraft. William Penn presided at the trial. Lasse Cook, or
Cock, an early Swedish settler in the Philadelphia area, acted
as interpreter. Among the witnesses questioned was Henry Drystreet,
who swore that he had been told, twenty years before, that Margaret
Mattson was a witch and had cast spells upon several cows. A woman,
Amnaky Coolin, told of an occasion when she and her husband were
at home boiling the heart of a calf that had died. The Mattson woman
came to the house and asked what they were doing. When they told
her they were boiling flesh, she said, "You had better boil the bones."
The verdict returned was : "Guilty of the common fame of being a
witch, but not guilty in manner and form as indicated."
Since that day no official cognizance has been taken of witchcraft.
The belief may still persist that hags ride through the air on broom
sticks in Pennsylvania, but the police and courts do not interfere
unless the broomstick falls upon someone s head.
Foods
IQUID notes of the Negro oysterman s cry once trembled upon
- the chill air of old Philadelphia during the "R" months. Then,
before the echoes of his voice had died away, there came in a differ
ent key the rousing tones of a lusty Negro, calling: "Here comes de
hominy man f um wa-ay daown b low de Navy Yahd, a-comin wid
he s hom-min-ee !"
During the hot summer, as though to compensate for the absence
of these hucksters and their wares, came the ice cream man, with
his "Tr-r-r-r-ra/i, /a, la, la ! Here s lemon ice cream and vanilla, too !"
And as the trundlebarrow with its cargo of delights appeared, dozens
of children ran to meet it, equipped with cup and spoon. Welcome
also were the cantaloupe man and the strawberry woman, who sang
their songs of luscious fruits to receptive ears.
Still to be heard on the streets on a frosty morning is the
rasping cry of "Horseradish, Hor-r-r-se-radish /" accompanied by a
loud whirr, as the aged vendor grinds his condiment fresh for each
customer on a portable machine operated by a foot pedal.
Philadelphians of earlier years waited anxiously for all the deli
cacies that add the festive touch to an ordinary meal ; but in recent
years restaurants and well-stocked stores have made it easy for con
noisseurs to obtain the food specialties that "tickle their palates."
And there are many dishes of local origin or preparation for which
Philadelphia has gained wide renown.
During the "R" months, from September to April, restaurants
specializing in sea foods enjoy great popularity, and Philadelphia al-
95
PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
ways has had many such eating places. Lack of adequate transporta
tion facilities in the old days prevented the transport of oysters and
other sea foods inland, thus limiting the fisherman s market to sea
ports and to river towns near the sea. Philadelphia thus became an
important sea-food market, and Philadelphians during the years have
retained their fondness for bivalves and shad.
Of the latter species of sea food, the Delaware shad is fast dwind
ling, and within a few years will have disappeared entirely from
the market. The first shad of the season in early spring come
from southern waters, but they do not compare in flavor with those
caught later in the Delaware.
To many there is nothing that delights the taste more than a
fine, fresh Delaware shad, nicely broiled over the coals, or planked,
properly seasoned with salt, pepper, a piece of fresh butter, a dash of
lemon juice, ornamented with sprigs of parsley, and flanked on either
side by roe broiled a delicate brown. The shad is perhaps the only
fish that has given its name to the cut of a garment the shad-belly
coat of the Quaker.
A dish long associated with Philadelphia is pepper pot, a Colonial
soup which has become so popular that large canning factories now
prepare it for export. The pepper pot of Colonial Philadelphia
originally was made in such large quantities that the community
kettle of tradition was employed. Whether or not the amount had
anything to do with the quality is a moot question, but the fact re
mains that the soup became identified exclusively with the Quaker
City. Women trundled their carts through the streets, crying, "Pepper
pot ! Old time pepper pot !" selling the product of their kitchens
from door to door.
The recipe for this spicy dish was evolved in the early days to
utilize beef tripe. It may well be imagined how stintingly the first
colonists prepared every edible part of the imported beef. Finely cut
cubes of tripe were used as the basis for this soup, with red peppers
(possibly to "cover" the flavor of the meat), onions, potatoes, and
carrots to give it body and variety. The broth was thickened with
flour and small egg-dumplings, the whole being well seasoned and
served piping hot.
The early Dutch and Swedes along the Delaware also contributed
a prominent item to the list of dishes of Philadelphia fame. These
settlers accepted many of the savory foods of the Indians as sub
stitutes for those they had left at home, and concocted many dishes
popular today. One of these delicious early foods was scrapple, which
was called pon-haus.
Scrapple is made from the liquid of boiled pig s-head mixed with
corn meal and highly seasoned, then recooked until it has acquired
the proper consistency to be sliced when cold. This is a favorite
96
OLD WAYS AND OLD TALES
local breakfast dish. It is fried to a crisp brown, and served with
fried or poached eggs and fried potatoes. Philadelphia leads in its
production. Though its manufacture has spread to other parts of
the country, the early Colonial recipe alone has the zest really identi
fied with scrapple. There are several meat-packing houses in the
city, specializing in pork products, which prepare great quantities
of scrapple every year. Many farmers in the eastern part of the State
make their own.
And sticky cinnamon buns! Where can they be found better, in
all their sweet "gooey" tastiness, than in Philadelphia, the city of
their origin ? Made of sweet dough, the buns are generously sprinkled
with cinnamon, currants or raisins, and sugar. The dough is spread
out upon the baking board, rolled tight, and cut into sections from
two to three inches long. The buns are baked slowly, so that the syrup
formed by the heated filling will be absorbed by the dough, while a
thin coating will be left on the outside.
Mince pie, which has become a popular dessert in many parts of
the country, is another product that early found favor in Penn s
city ; it is said that a Quaker family from England popularized mince
meat in Philadelphia in 1830.
In Philadelphia ice cream first made its appearance about 1782.
More than a half century later an ingenious Philadelphian, Eben C.
Seaman, invented an ice cream freezer operated by steam power, and
this refreshing dessert became popular the country over. Philadel
phia is now the home of the largest ice cream manufactory in
the world, and its product is widely distributed. One feature that
distinguishes the local product is the use of the powdered vanilla
bean, rather than the extract.
From the beginning, Philadelphia has cherished a full pantry
and a substantial table. That fondness for good food, and plenty of
it, has not diminished with the years.
97
THE IMPRINT OF NATIONS
(Population figures based on 1930 Census)
THE varied characteristics of a majority of the nationalities of
the world have blended with and balanced one another to form
the personality of Philadelphia. Although many of them have
settled in compact national communities established by compatriots
who preceded them, yet the leaven of their customs and culture has
permeated the life of the whole city.
Settlers of Colonial and Revolutionary times, emigrating chiefly
from northern and western Europe and bound in many cases by a
similarity in tongue and customs, found few obstacles to intermar
riage ; thus they merged the characteristics of their respective nations
into a homogeneous whole. Ceasing to think of themselves as Ber-
liners, Londoners, or Amsterdammers, they became Philadelphians.
The Swedes, Dutch, English, and Germans were followed by im
migrants from virtually all parts of Europe and Asia. Numerically
strongest were the Irish, Russians, Jews, and Italians. From China,
and in smaller numbers from Japan, came immigrants who are vir
tually unassimilable. Through the years there was a steady influx of
Jews, reaching its peak during the early part of the twentieth century,
many coming from Russia and Eastern Europe. A few Jews from
other regions are believed to have preceded William Penn to Phila
delphia.
The formation of special quarters by peoples not easily assimilated
the Italians, the Jews, and the Greeks gives the city a certain
cosmopolitan air. Sights and sounds of the Old World characterize
these localities. European peasant customs and folkways, surviving
the pressure or compensating for the meagerness of the new environ
ment, frequently have left an imprint on the American-born children
of immigrants.
The population of Philadelphia, according to the 1930 census, is
composed of 69 percent native white, totaling 1,359,833 ; about 19
percent foreign-born white, totaling 368,624; and 11 percent Negro,
totaling 219,599. The other groups comprise the remainder.
Closest knit of all the various nationalities and races are the
Chinese. This is due, no doubt, to the disinclination of the whites to
accept them socially, as well as to an innate desire on their part to
98
THE IMPRINT OF NATIONS
be left strictly alone. There are approximately 1,500 Chinese in Phila
delphia, of whom about three-fourths reside on Race Street, between
Eighth and Eleventh Streets.
Although small racial groups usually scatter over the city, the
Greeks are an exception. Numbering only 3,415, they live for the most
part in the vicinity of Tenth and Locust Streets.
Early settlers came principally to escape religious persecution.
Hence, religion occupied much of their time and thoughts. Life was
slow, earnest, and conservative ; and Philadelphia came to embody
these characteristics. Not until the later groups arrived did the tempo
of existence become accelerated.
The primary motive for later immigration was a desire for economic
betterment. To that end the later contingents directed their talents
and energies, and to them must go much of the credit for building
industrial and commercial Philadelphia. With their Continental
habits of life and un-Puritanical conception of morality, they did
much to liberalize the outmoded Blue Laws which had made the
Quaker City unique among great metropolitan centers.
Numbering 270,000 according to the 1930 American Jewish Year
Book, the Jews represent a potent force in Philadelphia life. Rep
resenting, as they do, many nations, they can hardly be regarded as
a distinct race. The fact remains, however, that though they differ
Old Market on Second
Street at Pine
PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
from one another in physical characteristics, background, and home
land, they are united hy the common bond of their religion.
Jews are found in the most densely settled sections of Philadelphia,
largely in Strawberry Mansion, Logan, Wynnefield, and the area be
tween Oregon Avenue and South Street from Third Street to Eighth
Street. Other localities with a considerable Jewish population are
the section bounded by Sixth and Eighth Streets, Poplar Street and
Susquehanna Avenue ; the area around Fifty-eighth Street and Osage
Avenue ; and the neighborhood of Fortieth Street and Girard Avenue.
Little is known of the Jews in Philadelphia prior to the Revolution,
although the first Hebrew congregation, Mikveh Israel (Hope of
Israel), was established here in 1747. Many prominent Philadelphia
citizens and American patriots have been members of Mikveh Israel.
Among them were Simon Gratz, merchant prince and philanthropist ;
Isaac Moses, who subscribed three thousand pounds to the Bank of
Pennsylvania so that the Continental Army might be provisioned for
two months ; and Haym Solomon, banker and broker, who came to
the Colonies from Poland and negotiated all Revolutionary War se
curities from France and Holland on his own personal security with
out loss of a cent to America. When Solomon died in 1784, the United
States was indebted to him to the extent of $300,000. This debt, al
though acknowledged by the Federal Government, has never been
paid.
Because the laws of many European countries forbade Jews to own
land, the early Jewish immigrants had little agricultural knowledge.
In 1726 a special act was passed in Pennsylvania permitting Jews
to own land and engage in trade and commerce. This act was in
directly responsible for much of Philadelphia s industrial and com
mercial growth.
Numerous European countries had also denied cultural and edu
cational advantages to the Jews, and, because of this, their apprecia
tion of both became more acute. Since such restrictions were not
maintained by William Penn, the Jews emigrated hopefully to the
New World colony he founded.
Without the Jews, Philadelphia would still have an orchestra and
an Academy of Music, but the impetus given to the musical move
ment in this city by members of the Jewish race cannot be denied.
The Italians, too, with their passion for all forms of music, especially
the opera, share in the credit for its local development. In the ticket
lines at the Academy of Music there are always large numbers of
Italians, their faces alight with anticipation.
The Italian population in Philadelphia numbers 182,368, of which
nearly 70,000 are foreign-born. Apparently preferring the foods and
customs of their homeland, these people do not assimilate as easily
as some of the other groups, and are inclined to settle in sharply de-
100
THE IMPRINT OF NATIONS
fined districts notably South Philadelphia and, to a lesser degree,
in sections of Chestnut Hill, Mount Airy, Germantown, and West
Philadelphia.
Like the Irish, they are much interested in politics, and they
formed an integral part of the huge Vare machine which dominated
Philadelphia for a number of years. As has been the case with other
large immigrant groups, they have been imposed upon by "ward-
heelers," who attach themselves to the bewildered newcomers almost
as soon as they arrive. These small-fry politicans help them to obtain
naturalization papers, and as a result the vote of the immigrant
usually goes to his "benefactor." Naturally light-hearted, and fond of
good music, spicy food, and sour wine, this group has done much to
soften the sterner ways of earlier Quaker and German settlers.
At the top of the Italian social scale are musicians, artists, phy
sicians, jurists, and writers. Others work as barbers, vendors, and
laborers. The restaurant business has attracted them, and Philadel
phia contains a number of establishments specializing in the foods
and wines of Italy.
The vast majority being of Catholic faith, they lend color to the
city with religious festivals. Street parades in which sacred statues
are carried frequently wind through the Italian quarter. Even in
sports the Italian clings to the games of his fatherland. Bocce, a
game related to bowling, is played extensively enough to warrant
space on the sport pages of large daily newspapers, as well as in
the Italian press.
Districts densely settled by Italians are those areas between Snyder
Avenue and Bainbridge Street from Twenty-third to Seventh Streets,
and the neighborhoods near Sixty-fourth and Carleton Streets and
Fiftieth and Thompson Streets.
The German-born population in Philadelphia, numbering 37,923
in 1930, appears to assimilate easily. Intermarriage is common, and
the average German is quick to adopt many American customs and
to acquire a facile knowledge of English. The large numbers of
"German- American" clubs and organizations in the Quaker City,
however, indicate a strong attachment to the Fatherland.
The Germans flock to their 200 singing societies in the city, and
seem glad to drop American ways for an evening devoted to songs of
the Rhine country. This Teutonic love for community singing, in
deed, has done much toward the development of music, especially
of choral work, in this city. That the German in Philadelphia is
reluctant to break away completely from the Old Country, its lan
guage, customs, and viewpoint, is further evidenced by the fact that
there are two daily and two weekly newspapers printed in German.
Rigidly trained in his homeland to respect all forms of con
stituted authority, and imbued with the Teutonic ideal of "Church,
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PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
Home, and Children," the transplanted German makes a good citi
zen. Unspectacular by nature, he goes ahead with his plans in a
determined manner which makes not for brilliant but for lasting
accomplishments.
Philadelphia crime-news seldom features German names. Home-
loving as it is, the German population has played a considerable part
in gaining for Philadelphia its reputation as a "city of homes."
A large percentage of the German-born came to this city in the
years following the Great War, when economic conditions abroad had
become intolerable. Another wave of immigration from Germany fol
lowed the advent of Adolf Hitler as Reichsfuehrer. These immigrants
included many of the Jewish faith who sought relief from laws de
priving them of citizenship and (in many instances) property rights.
This latter group contained a number of educators and scholars seek
ing a land where free expression of ideas would be tolerated. They
have added in large measure to the cultural development of Phila
delphia.
Strangely enough, the principal causes of the latest German immi
gration to Philadelphia were identical with those of the first reli
gious persecution and poverty. Warfare had torn Germany in the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries ; and from the Palatinate, bor
dering the Rhine, came these first immigrants. Most important among
the early Teutonic settlers was Francis Daniel Pastorius, who came to
Philadelphia in 1683 as a representative of the Frankfort Land Com
pany. With him came a group which settled that section of Philadel
phia now known as Germantown. The Teutonic love of home life is
reflected today by this part of the city, Germantown, which is noted
as one of the finer residential sections. Other German neighborhoods
are in the vicinities of Fifth Street and Girard Avenue, Eighth Street
and Lehigh Avenue, Twenty-ninth Street and Girard Avenue, and
Olney.
Spicing the melting pot with Celtic aggressiveness are the Irish,
to the number of 51,941 foreign born who keep in close contact with
the hundreds of thousands of Irish descent among the city s popu
lation. Prime factors in the military and civil work of forming the
new Nation, they are attracted by the hurly-burly of politics per
haps because the element of competition in a political fight appeals
to their traditional pugnacity, or perhaps because a successful poli-
tican must be a successful "mixer," a type to which the Gaelic sense
of humor and love of conversation are peculiarly adapted. At any
rate, the Irish have made themselves a power in shaping the political
destinies of the Quaker City. Many societies named after Ireland s
counties help immigrants to establish themselves and to keep in con
tact with friends from their native soil.
Although the majority of Irish came to Philadelphia after the great
102
THE IMPRINT OF NATIONS
potato famine in Ireland in the middle of the nineteenth century,
and during the early days of the twentieth century, a number resided
here at the time of the Revolutionary War.
The city s Polish population, totaling 30,582 foreign born, is a stabi
lizing influence. Home-loving, hard working, and unobtrusive, they
maintain in large measure the customs and language of their native
country. Nevertheless, Poles prize American citizenship, and the
great majority are either citizens or have applied for citizen s papers.
Polish immigration on a large scale began in 1870, the main reason
for its growth being political persecution in the homeland. Most
Poles are members of the Catholic Church, and in Philadelphia their
children are educated in parochial schools situated in the Polish
districts. The Polish National Church, of recent origin in Pennsyl
vania, has grown steadily as a result of the large Polish immigration
of late years.
Impetus was given to Philadelphia shipping, and to the textile and
lace industries by immigrants from England, Scotland, and Wales,
who were among the earliest groups to settle in the city. Bound close
to one another and to America by a similarity of tongue and custom,
they assimilate readily. Like the Germans, however, the English are
intensely devoted to their homeland. The Empire and the things
which it connotes seem to be forever in the foreground of their in
terest.
Of these foreign-born groups in Philadelphia, the English number
24,415, the Scots 11,313, and the Welsh 865. These groups, for the
most part scattered throughout the city, are slightly predominant in
the vicinity of Kensington.
Old Philadelphia the Quaker City of Colonial, Revolutionary,
and Civil War days was much more influenced by the habits and
viewpoint of the English than is the case today. In the early days,
those of English birth or descent were in the majority, and the names
of most of Philadelphia s leaders in the commercial and professional
fields were of Anglo-Saxon derivation. Today, although not so im
portant in industry and commerce as formerly, those of British de
scent still guard the forbidding portals of the city s "400." In the
Quaker City Social Register, admittedly one of the most select in the
country, the names are preponderantly of English origin.
Canadians, exclusive of the 636 French-Canadians living in the city,
total 3,593. So similar a^e they to Philadelphians in thought, lan
guage, and custom that they can hardly be regarded as a foreign
group. They do not reside in any particular section, nor do they flock
into particular industries or professions.
Only 2,245 Swedes live in the city. They do not support a foreign-
language paper, and are well assimilated. Descendants of the early
Swedish settlers have lost their identity in the melting pot. Little re-
103
PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
mains today of Swedish influence save ancient churches, and grave
stones bearing the names of men who lived, loved, fought, and died
in another and different Philadelphia.
The 970 Danes living here are almost lost in the city s swirl of
humanity. Arriving in Philadelphia around 1890, most of them now
have become an integral part of the American scene. Virtually the
only remaining vestige of their homeland lies in their cookery, al
though there are no Danish restaurants in Philadelphia. The same is
generally true of the city s 1,309 Norwegians.
The Russian population of Philadelphia, totaling 80,959, exclusive
of Russian Jews, is a close-knit group that rarely mingles in a social
way with other groups. Most of its members today work in oil re
fineries, leather plants, cigar factories, textile mills, and steel found
ries, but rarely in executive positions.
Mass immigration from Russia did not begin until 1905. Almost all
the newcomers sought the New World to escape poverty, compulsory
military service, and religious persecution aimed mainly at Russian
Jews. Locomotive works, foundries, and shipyards provided employ
ment for most of them. For convenience sake they settled near their
workshops, first in the area between Tenth Street and the Delaware
River from Spring Garden Street to Girard Avenue. Later they in
habited the section between Point Breeze and Snyder Avenues, from
Twenty-second to Thirtieth Street.
The peak in Russian immigration was reached in 1915-17. In 1921
the vanguard of "White Russians," those loyal to the Tsarist regime,
reached Philadelphia from New York. Approximately 50 White Rus
sians are living here today, and (in contrast with the major Russian
group) virtually all are engaged in either the arts or the professions.
Because of their disinclination to mingle outside their own circles,
Russians have not become prominent in civic affairs. However, they
have aided the artistic development of Philadelphia by their patron
age of dance and music recitals.
Coming to Philadelphia in great numbers during the latter part of
the nineteenth century and the early part of the twentieth, Philadel
phia s 7,639 Rumanians plunged into the active life of the city and
were soon assimilated. They readily adopted American ways and the
English language, and chose to live in widely separated sections of
the city rather than segregate themselves. This Americanization has
become complete in all phases except that of cuisine, for they still
prefer the foods of their mother country. Several restaurants cater
to the Rumanian palate.
The Rumanian population tends toward the "white-collar" occu
pations, music, and the arts in general. A lesser number are laborers.
Aside from their cooking, the one link Philadelphia Rumanians
maintain with their homeland is the celebration of May 10 in com-
104
THE IMPRINT OF NATIONS
memoration of Rumania s independence. On this occasion folk
dances are featured and native dress lends color to the affair.
Although Austrians arrived in Philadelphia as early as 1712, they
were but a handful in number and scarcely influenced the city s
thought. The majority came during the latter nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries. At present, 10,707 live in Philadelphia. They are
closely allied by tongue and customs to the Germans. No definite sec
tions are inhabited by them, although the early settlers lived in the
neighborhood between Fourth and Eighth Streets from Girard Ave
nue to Norris Street. Many now live in the section between Twenty-
fifth and Twenty-eighth Streets from Spring Garden to Oxford Street.
Another group which had but little effect in shaping the city s life
and traditions is the Yugoslavs, of whom there are approximately
1,394. Most of these are factory workers or, in the case of young
womein^ domestics. Yugoslavs are concentrated in numbers in the
vicinity of Twenty-fourth and Wolf Streets.
Czechoslovaks number 3,868. Many of these are Bohemians, gener
ally of fair education. Many find employment in "white-collar" posi
tions. They live mainly in the section between Spring Garden Street
and Columbia Avenue from Front to Sixth Street.
Curb Market at Ninth and Christian Streets
"The Piazza del Mercato of Philadelphia"
PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
Philadelphia s 7,102 Hungarians are scattered throughout the var
ious trades and professions. They mix easily, and are readily assimi
lated. Hungarian and German are spoken by them, in addition to
English. Those coming from a section near the Polish border also
speak Polish. One Hungarian newspaper is printed in Philadelphia,
with a two-page English supplement for American-born readers.
Many of Philadelphia s 3,415 Greeks seem attracted to the restau
rant business above other commercial ventures. Greek domination is
especially true of the smaller quick-lunch establishments, as devoid
of elaborate cuisine as they are of tablecloths. The bulk of the
Greeks came here between 1900 and 1910. They settled in the Rich
mond section, along Gaskill Street between South and Lombard
Streets, and in the area between Eighth and Twelfth Streets from
Locust Street to Spruce Street.
Philadelphia contains many other racial and national groups, but
these are so few in number that their effect in molding the city s
appearance, customs, and institutions have been negligible. Outstand
ing among these minority groups are the Armenians, who are de
voted mostly to the rug business, and the Belgians, who engage
mainly in the textile industry.
Negro Progress
PHE story of the Negro in Philadelphia is a repetition of the saga
*- of struggle marking his progress elsewhere. Here, however, he
found the advantages of what in early days was a comparatively sym
pathetic environment.
A few Negro slaves were owned by the earliest Dutch and Swedes ;
but when the Quakers came to found Penn s city, they looked with
disfavor upon slaveholding, and many began almost immediately to
agitate for its abolition. A State law providing for gradual emancipa
tion was enacted in 1780, just 81 years before the outbreak of the
Civil War. Those who could afford it purchased slaves for the purpose
of freeing them, and then assisted the freedmen in adjusting them
selves to their new life. Others participated in the operation of the
Underground Railroad, a system which assisted escaping slaves to
reach the North and the Canadian border.
Work of the first freedmen was limited to the domestic field, but
by 1800 they were finding employment as seamen, mechanics, car
penters, wagonsmiths, and as skilled workers of other types. Despite
racial oppression, they became home-owners, supported their own
schools, contributed to beneficial societies, and financed their own
business enterprises. A group duplicated in no other city was the
guild of caterers, which had a monopoly on the catering business and
106
THE IMPRINT OF NATIONS
was so successful that some of its members reached affluence. The
business, carried on from generation to generation, deteriorated only
after modern youth became attracted to new fields.
In 1780 Philadelphia s Negro population of about 3,000 was con
centrated in the area between Fifth and Ninth Streets from Pine to
Lombard Street. The population doubled in the next 10 years, spread
ing westward across Broad Street to form a center of Negro business
activity at Sixteenth and Seventeenth Streets, and a residential dis
trict in southwest Philadelphia. The spread took a northward trend
in 1793, when about one-fourth of the Negro population was living
between Market and Vine Streets. The trend continued northward,
until now the north central section rivals South Philadelphia as a
Negro residential center.
Today about 2,500 Negroes are employed in the government of the
city and county, drawing annual salaries totaling approximately $2,-
000,000. They include policemen, detectives, school teachers, clerks,
inspectors, chemists, draftsmen, and janitors.
The mayoralty campaign of 1880 evoked the first sign of concerted
action on the part of the city s Negro voters. Led by William Still,
Robert Purvis, and James Forten, they revolted against the Republi
can Party. The Democrats rewarded them with appointments to the
city police force. Negroes became increasingly political-minded there
after, and today their vote is recognized asi an important factor. Al
though members of the race served on the Common Council as early
as 1893, James H. Irvin, elected councilman in 1935, has been the
only Negro to sit in the new City Council.
A writer on Negro society of the nineteenth century cites the
graciousness of manner and success in entertaining of the Negro
matrons in Philadelphia. A knowledge of music was general. Musical
instruments were found in every home and an interest and appre
ciation for melody and rhythm was cultivated. Often the first music
lessons were given in a church. Still the center of social activity, the
churches have taught the fundamentals of music to talented youth.
In this manner the voice of Marian Anderson, now a marvel to music
lovers the world over, was discovered.
As early as 1820 the African Methodist Episcopal Church in this
city founded a publishing company, which still operates under the
original charter. This institution, the A.M.E. Book Concern, is situ
ated at 716 South Nineteenth Street. Near its former site on South
College Avenue stands another important Negro institution, the
Berean Church, built in the nineteenth century. The Bethel
Methodist Episcopal Church, at Sixth and Lombard Streets, was built
by Bishop Richard Allen in 1794 ; first of its denomination in the
country, the church still stands on the original site. In 1791, St.
Thomas Church, first African Protestant Episcopal Church in
107
PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
America, was founded by Absalom Jones. Originally on Second Street
below Walnut, the church is now on Twelfth Street below Walnut.
Both these men were responsible, in the main, for the formation of
the first Negro religious groups in the country operating alone and
independent of the white sects.
During the decade of 1860-70, there was a decrease of 17 percent
in the Negro population of Philadelphia. Following the Civil War
and emancipation, great hopes were entertained by Negroes for the
rapid cultural and social advancement of their race. Nowhere was
there a more fertile field than Philadelphia, seat of Quakerism in
the United States. A growing spirit of liberalism toward the Negro
was manifested here, many being disposed to grant him a chance to
make his way in the world. Slowly but surely, petty hindrances were
brushed away and the shackles of racial prejudice loosened. The
Negro population increased by degrees, starting in 1870. In the fol
lowing decade the increase amounted to 43.13 percent.
When the influx began, "old Philadelphians" -- Negroes that had
been serving aristocratic Philadelphia families for years regarded
the newcomers with disfavor, partly because Northern Negroes were
better educated and their standard of living was much higher. This
created among Negroes a class-consciousness that still exists.
Poor housing facilities and the rigorous Northern climate took its
toll of these migrants. Census returns in 1880, erroneous in
figures, seemed to indicate the race was dying out. But such was not
the case. The death rate, 32.5 per 1,000 for the period from 1830 to
1840, remained at approximately the same level, 31.25 per 1,000 for
the years 1884-90. Strong constitutions, improved living conditions,
and better educational and medical facilities reduced the death rate
to 24.42 per 1,000 by 1937.
Negro workers were hard hit during the depression that followed
the Wall Street crash in 1929, and the busineste and professional men
depending upon them for success suffered in their turn. Those in the
medical field were affected with especial severity. Negro doctors, de
pendent almost entirely upon their own people for patronage, found
thousands of these patrons unemployed and without funds. Both
white and Negro workers discovered during this period the common
bond of their economic status, and Negroes now form part of the
membership of labor unions, in addition to their own many fraternal
and social organizations.
Numerous social agencies are devoted to the interests of the race
in the city, the principal one being the Armstrong Association, a
member of the Welfare Federation. The city s Negro newspapers are
the Tribune, established in 1884, and the Independent, founded in
1930.
108
GOVERNMENTAL MACHINERY
FAR exceeding even the optimistic hopes of William Penn, Phila
delphia grew in area aind governmental jurisdiction until the
boundaries of the city coincided with those of Philadelphia
County. This was accomplished by the absorption of many small
towns that even as late as the middle of the nineteenth century were
suburbs of the city.
Francisville, Belmont, Kensington, Northern Liberties, Richmond,
Southwark, Penn, Manayunk, Bridesburg, Roxborough, Lower Dub
lin, Crescentville, Fish Town, Morrisville, Holmesburg, Haddington,
Spring Garden, Blockley, Byberry, Delaware, Fox Chase, German-
towin, Frankford, White Hall, Mount Airy, Franklinville, Mechanics-
ville, Hestonville, Kingsessing, Moreland, Moyamensing, Oxford,
Tacony, Aramingo, Coopersville, Feltonville, Hollinsville, Chestnut
Hill, Eastwick, Overbrook, Wynnewood, Oak Lane, Ogontz and Har-
rowgate all of these villages and towns, together with Penn s origi
nal Philadelphia, compose the city of today.
Nevertheless, a legal fiction persists in treating county and city as
separate entities, causing a somewhat complicated dual legislative
and executive machine. For several years action has been proposed
to consolidate the two coextensive governments, in order to simplify
the set-up and to cut down expenditures.
Prior to February 2, 1854, when the Act of Consolidation went into
effect, Philadelphia proper was bounded by South Street, Vine Street,
the Schuylkill, and the Delaware. With the passage of the act, the
boundaries of Philadelphia were fixed virtually as they are today.
A part of Cheltenham Township, in Montgomery County, however,
was annexed in 1916.
The principal law uinder which the present city government oper
ates is the act of June 25, 1919, with a number of amendments,
popularly known as the City Charter. Philadelphia has the "mayor
and council" form of government. The Mayor, who is one of 73
officials elected by the voters of the city at large, is the chief execu
tive, chosen for a term of four years. It is his duty to enforce the
ordinances enacted by the 22 members of the City Council, elected
by voters in the eight Councilmanic Districts (coinciding with State
Senatorial Districts) into which Philadelphia is divided. In all, some
6,400 officials are elected in the various districts and wards.
109
City Hall Tower
where Penrt stands watchfuJ
guard o er his city"
GOVERNMENTAL MACHINERY
Under the Mayor are his thirteen assisting executive departments :
Public Safety; Public Works; Public Welfare; Public Health;
Wharves, Docks and Ferries; City Transit; City Treasurer; City Con
troller; Law (City Solicitor) ; Civil Service Commission; Receiver of
Taxes; Supplies and Purchases; and City Architecture. The City
Treasurer, City Controller, and Receiver of Taxes are elected for
terms of four years.
The Director of Public Safety is the central head of the Police,
Fire, Electrical, Maintenance and Repairs, Building Inspection, Ele
vator Inspection, and Steam Engine and Boiler Inspection Bureaus.
Bureaus under the Department of Public Works include : City
Property, Lighting and Gas, Water, Highways, Street Cleaning, and
the combined department of Engineering, Zoning, and Surveys. The
Department of Public Welfare directs the Bureaus of Charities and
Correction, Personal Assistance, and Recreation.
Several other agencies function along specialized lines. They are
the Sinking Fund Commission, Registration Commission, Gas Com
mission, Board of Pensions, Art Jury, Zoning Commission, and the
Commission on City Planning.
The Commissioners of Fairmount Park, appointed by the Court of
Common Pleas, have charge not only of Fairmount Park, but also of
25 small parks and squares, the Parkway, and Roosevelt Boule
vard. This branch of the city government is virtually autonomous.
It maintains the park guards a special police force which is en
tirely independent of the Municipal Bureau of Police.
The Free Library system and the museums of the city are con
trolled by special boards of trustees.
In addition to the Magistrates Courts, which are not tribunals of
record, there are four trial courts : Common Pleas, Quarter Sessions
of the Peace, Orphan s Court, and the Municipal Court. The Court of
Oyer and Terminer and General Jail Delivery hears only murder
trials.
The division of governmental authority between city and county
is not distinct, some of the principal officers receiving dual salaries
for similar duties in city and county governments. The City Treasurer
is the County Treasurer ; the City Controller is County Controller ;
the City Commissioners serve also as County Commissioners. This
quality exists likewise with the Corner, District Attorney, Clerk of
Quarter Sessions, Prothonotary, Register of Wills, and Recorder of
Deeds.
Public education in Philadelphia is conducted under supervision
of the Board of Public Education, the 15 members of which are ap
pointed by a board of judges of the Common Pleas Court for over
lapping terms of six years.
Ill
HUB OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
PHILADELPHIA was born into a world still in the handicraft
stage of economic development ; the home was no less the pro
ducing than the consuming center of economic life in that slow-
moving, candle-lit period when the prime motive force was the energy
of man and beast. For many the basis of living was a subsistence
standard in the narrowest meaning of the term; for a few there were
some luxuries, but such luxuries as today s Philadelphia worker would
deem commonplace.
The early settlement was on the fringe of the frontier. Its economy
was a pioneer economy in large part, a basic struggle for the bare
necessities of existence. With the passing years, Philadelphia has at
tained maturity in a world where the economics of plentitude have re
placed the pioneer economy a machine world in which the stand
ard of living of the prosperous is so high that it would have astonished
the founding fathers. Despite the productivity of the machine, how
ever, many Philadelphians today live under conditions which are only
a slight improvement over those existing in the days of the pioneers.
In Penn s time industry in the town was centered mainly in the
home. Women and children carded, spun, and wove wool for cloth
ing ; they also produced knitted wear and made articles of leather
and fur. Iron was melted and wrought, bricks were pressed in hand-
operated molds, and stone was quarried by the men according to
their individual needs.
Today Philadelphia is an industrial city. Thousands of factories
meet the diversified needs of a technological civilization, and a
modern transportation system distributes to every quarter of the world
the commodities made here. It is a great and growing port through
which flow the products and resources of a teeming hinterland :
bituminous coal and anthracite, iront, steel, and other mineral prod
ucts, together with the harvests of forest and farm the diversified
output of a giant and highly creative national industry. Great munic
ipal piers for coastwise and transocean shipping, belt line and ele
vated-subway transportation systems, spacious manufacturing and
storage plants, and a river alive with traffic attest the city s share in
the forward thrust of America.
The city s economic destiny was determined by its location and by
the industrious character of its people. It possessed the potentialities
112
HUB OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
of a manufacturing center and a port easily accessible from the sea,
with harborage on a deep and wide river. The neighboring region
was rich in timber, minerals, water power, and arable land. Being
close to the sea, it had the assurance of a constant labor supply in
the steady stream of immigration from the Old World. These natural
advantages are today supplemented by the presence in the city of a
large supply of skilled labor, and the fact that the city itself furnishes
an excellent home market for the products of the industrial plants,
more than 2 billion dollars being expended annually in the whole
sale and retail marts of business.
Philadelphia s first important industry, the manufacture of textiles,
has remained its greatest. Its mills, the majority of which are in the
Kensington and Frankford sections, produce 5 percent of the Nation s
output in textiles. This industry originated with the German settlers,
whose families produced woolen hose on home-made wooden frames,
the product being sold for the equivalent of a dollar a pair. In
another phase of textile manufacture, the making of rugs and car
pets, the city was a pioneer. The first woven carpet produced
in the New World was made in Philadelphia in 1775, and by 1845
the industry had attained considerable magnitude and prosperity.
The manufacture of knitted and hooked rugs, from strips of cloth
torn off wornout garments, began with the city s founding.
The textile industry s 92,573 workers now maintain an average an
nual production with a value exceeding a quarter billion dollars.
A great diversity of items is represented, such as clothing, lace, blan
kets and robes, flags and banners, print goods, tents and awnings,
cordage, burlap and jute bagging, knitted goods, hats, uniforms,
braids, tapes, and bindings.
The manufacture of hats, a specialized branch of textile making,
had Colonial roots in Germantown. The high-crowned Germantown
beaver hat, hand-felted and hand-blocked, adorned the head of many
a Colonial aristocrat and was worn and admired even beyond the
Alleghenies. Today another Philadelphia-made hat, the Stetson,
is so widely known that it
trade name has become a
vernacular synonym for a
man s headgear. The fac
tory in which it is made,
in normal times, provides
employment for 5,460 men
and women and occupies
a floor area of 25 acres.
Multifold are the beavers,
otters, muskrats, Belgian
Hosiery Worker
a maker of silken sheaths"
113
PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
hares, Scottish rabbits, and South American nutria whose fur comes
to commercial use in this establishment.
Closely related to textile manufactures is the leather industry. Its
expansion in Philadelphia has been stimulated by a plentiful supply
of water soft enough to be used in tanning and a climate favorable
to the proper processing of leather. Philadelphia-made shoes are in
many places deemed a superior product, owing doubtless to local
manufacturers concentration on a higher quality of footwear.
In the preparation of glazed kid the city excels. It was a Phila-
delphian, Robert H. Foerderer, who perfected the first American
process for making that type of leather which previously had been
imported. As a consequence of its predominance in the leather in
dustry, the city has become one of the Nation s leading markets for
hides and peltries.
Although the city takes a large proportion of the country s pro
duction of hides, few of them are from animals slaughtered in Phila
delphia. Its supply of meat and other products comes mainly from
the packing houses of the Middle West and the Southwest. There was
a time when the central city was dotted with abattoirs. Now, however,
excepting two large slaughterhouses on Gray s Ferry Avenue, and one
at Third Street and Girard Avenue, all are far from the city center.
The production of other articles of food is a highly diversified and
widely scattered industry. Eight hundred and seventy-six firms are
engaged in it, with an average annual production exceeding $200,-
000,000 in value. Philadelphia scrapple and Philadelphia-made ice
cream are two specialties that have a wide sale within the radius fixed
by their perishable nature.
In the refining of sugar Philadelphia is second in the world. The
first sugar refinery in the United States, established on Vine Street
above Third in 1783, functioned for more than a century. Today
there are three great refineries in the city, giving employment to about
2,477 persons.
From its earliest days, Philadelphia has produced liquors and malt
beverages. The early colonists made sassafras beer, persimmon brandy,
and small beer from Indian maize. As the city expanded, brewhouses
and distilleries were established. Like the public houses, they were
confined to the water front, but their products had a wide distribu
tion. The early brewhouses and distilleries were the beginning of an
important industry, and although the largest distillery is near the
Delaware in South Philadelphia, many large plants have located on
the outskirts or in the suburbs. After the period of "hibernation"
enforced by the Eighteenth Amendment, the industry here prospered
again.
The tobacco trade is also important on Philadelphia s commercial
horizon. Cigars are the chief output of the city s 59 tobacco factories.
114
HUB OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Snuff manufacture, of major importance in the nineteenth century,
has declined in recent years.
A once important Philadelphia industry, the manufacture of cook
ing and heating stoves, has been curtailed. These stoves were turned
out in great numbers for two centuries. In Colonial days the stoves
were small "foot" models, taken along to the unheated churches of
the time. Later, the Franklin and the so-called "cannon" types were
Philadelphia specialties. The market was greatly reduced by the rise
of oil and gas stoves for cooking, and of hot-air furnaces, hot water,
steam, and vapor boilers, and oil-burning devices for heating. The
former importance of this industry may readily be judged by the
fact, that, even under these conditions, the city still produces more
than $3,000,000 worth of stoves and furnaces annually.
Another Philadelphia industry that has languished is the carriage-
building trade. It began humbly in a wheelwright s shop on Market
Street near the water front, a few years before the Revolution. By
the middle of the following century it had progressed to such extent
that the local carriage makers and coach builders were capable of
competing with and in some instances surpassing the craftsmen of
Europe. In an age when the world of fashion drove behind spanking
teams to its gaslit soirees, a barouche or a landau was the moving
symbol of sound social position, and the task of supplying the ve
hicles was one of no little importance.
Carriages gave way before the relentless advance of the internal
combustion engine, and the carriage builders turned to other pursuits.
One branch of the industry still remains in the city, the manufacture
of baby carriages a vehicle conceived in the fertile mind of a
Philadelphia carriage maker in 1831. They were first produced as
miniature coaches for the children of the wealthy, but time has so
democratized them that they have become an embarrassment to male
parents the country over.
The city shares also in the automotive industry. The J. G. Brill
Company, the world s largest maker of city transit equipment, and
pioneer in the development of traction equipment from early horse-
car days, is situated here. Another Philadelphia concern, the Budd
Company, has built many of the modern light-weight streamlined
trains which are revitalizing American railroad transport. It was
here that the Burlington Zephyr, among the first of the streamlined
trains, was designed and constructed.
An outstanding achievement of the Budd Company in 1937 was
the completion of the first "desert dreadnought," a huge, light-weight,
stainless steel bus trailer designed especially for passenger service in
the Syrian desert. Styled for speed and built on principles similar to
115
Midvale Steel Workers
"Breaking up the Final"
HUB OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
those employed in the stainless steel streamlined railroad coaches
produced by the same company, the bus has succeeded in cutting ex
isting schedules more than a third.
It was built for the Nairn Transport Company, Ltd., and delivered
to that company at Beirut. Because the length of the vehicle 57
feet, 6 inches was too great to permit turning of ordinary corners,
it was necessary for the company to make advance studies of the road
to New York and lay out special routes to get it through city streets.
The trailer, drawn by a 150-horsepower Diesel tractor, is an air-
conditioned sleeper with upper and lower berths. It was designed to
make the 600-mile run between Damascus and Baghdad in 15 hours.
Philadelphia has also made an important contribution to steam rail
transport through the Baldwin Locomotive Works which operated
for many years 011 Broad Street at Spring Garden, but was later re
moved to Eddystone, south of the city in Delaware County. The first
Baldwin locomotive, Old Ironsides, was built in Philadelphia in
1832, in the shops of Matthias Baldwin and David H. Mason, at
Fourth and Walnut Streets. It was dubbed the "fair weather engine,"
because its weight of only five tons was not sufficient to give it trac
tion on rails made slippery by rain. It puffed along valiantly on fair
days, but during bad weather horses replaced it. From that uncer
tain beginning the Baldwin production has grown, until today its
locomotives traverse the rails of almost every nation.
In shipbuilding, likewise, Philadelphia has figured largely. The vast
Cramps shipyard on the Delaware, until its closing in recent years,
was the birthplace of fine vessels from the days of the sail to those
of the turbine. Many of the country s war-craft were built in that
yard, and some of the world s renowned pleasure craft took shape
upon its way among them Jay Gould s famed yacht Atalanta. Phila
delphia was also the home of the first propeller steamer built in the
United States. This steamer, the Princeton, was constructed at the
Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1843. Two years earlier, the Mississippi,
in which Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry sailed to Japan where
he negotiated a treaty opening the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate
to United States commerce, was built here.
As it has contributed to speedier transportation, so has the city
had a part in improving the world s means of communication. Two
of its prominent manufacturing plants were pioneers in the radio in
dustry, and some of the improvements which have given the air a
voice had their origin in Philadelphia laboratories. In the related
field of electrical equipment, the city has shared honors with Pitts
burgh and Schenectady.
The manufacture of iron and its alloys is now concentrated around
the sources of raw materials the coal and iron mines west of the
X17
PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
Alleghenies. In Colonial days, however, Philadelphia was the leading
iron producer of the Nation, and today it maintains a prominent
position in the manufacture of light steel and non-ferrous products.
Especially is the city a factor in the production of edged tools es
sential to high-speed machine manufacturing. Toolmaking in the
city had an early beginning, the first saw in America having been
forged in Philadelphia before the Revolution. Today the variety of
tools produced is limited only by the requirements of the market.
From the molten metal there eventually emerge machetes to cut the
cane of Cuba, knives to behead the pineapple plants of Hawaii, and
a great variety of cutting tools for the lathes, shapers, and planers
of American industry.
In two other industries that are factors in modern life, the pro
duction of paper and printing, Philadelphia ranks among the first
flight cities. Its 45 paper factories turn out products ranging from
paper towels and railroad ticket stock to the finest bond and linen
papers. The city s first paper mill was erected about 1693. Its nat
ural corollary, the printing press, soon followed. In the United
States today, only New York exceeds Philadelphia in the volume and
variety of periodicals and commercial matter produced by its publish
ing houses and printing shops. In the allied fields of bookbinding,
engraving, and lithography the city has many establishments.
In still another modern industry, the making of chemicals, Phila
delphia claims a "first." From the Colonial retorts of Christopher
and Charles Marshall emerged in 1793 probably the first American-
made sulphuric acid. John Harrison, a pioneer in the manufacture
of nitric acid, is also credited with having produced sulphuric acid
at that time.
In 1789 Samuel Wetherill and his son Samuel, Jr.. began the pro
duction of white lead, the first to be manufactured in the United
States. In 1804 they erected a white lead factory. Prior to the death
of Christopher Marshall, in 1797, the Marshall laboratory also was
producing white lead regularly. Some years later this firm was making
ether in commercial quantities; in the 1830 s it added quinine and
strychnine to its catalog. The Marshall laboratory is dwarfed in
size now by many Philadelphia chemical plants, in which are pro
duced a diversity of reagents and pharmaceuticals.
In 1839 a Philadelphian discovered that by using superheated
sulphur instead of nitric acid, he could harden India rubber and
still preserve its pliancy. The experimenter was Charles Goodyear.
Aided by his brother-in-law, William De Forrest, and exhausting the
financial resources of his entire family over a period of five years,
Goodyear in 1844 perfected a vulcanizing process that is now fol
lowed in the rubber industry throughout the world, but he lost his
patents for France and England.
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HUB OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
In 1844 Samuel S. White, then only 22 years of age, embarked in
the artificial-tooth manufacturing business at what was then 116 North
Seventh Street, using his attic for a "factory" and a downstairs room
for a "store." Up to that time, dentists carved crude teeth from blocks
of porcelain wretched imitations of nature s handiwork. Young
White strove to make his dental work resemble the original as nearly
as possible. His success was accelerated by the accidental discovery
of feldspar as a base for porcelain, and within a short time he and
two assistants were forced to seek larger quarters. Today there are a
half hundred dentistry laboratories in Philadelphia, turning out ap
proximately 83,000,000 artificial teeth every year.
An interesting sidelight on the history of Philadelphia s industrial
development is afforded by the "Keely Motor Hoax," perpetrated by
John W. Keely on credulous investors during the latter part of the
nineteenth century. About 1872, Keely, who had a laboratory at 1422
North Twentieth Street, invited scientists to watch him demonstrate a
machine which he asserted was motivated by a new and hitherto un
known force. By using a system of concealed rubber bulbs and tube*
and employing compressed air as his power, Keely set a water motor
in operation, the trick being executed so cleverly that it defied even
the scientific scrutiny of the day.
Public interest and excitement was aroused, and before long a
corporation was formed with $5,000,000 capital. The "invention"
failed to show practical results during ensuing years, and interest in
it died out. Meanwhile Keely had spent his money lavisbly ; he was
at the end of his resources when a rich Philadelphia widow came
to his assistance with $100,000.
In 1895, suspecting that she had been swindled, the widow ap
pealed to Addison B. Burk, president of the Spring Garden Institute,
and E. Alexander Scott, of the Engineers Club. These two investigated
and found there was not the slightest evidence that Keely had dis
covered or developed a new force. Other investigators, searching the
laboratory at a later date, unearthed the hidden attachments of
Keely s "force-producing" machine. By that time, however, Keely was
in his grave.
Imports and Exports
A S DEFINED for customs purposes, the port of Philadelphia is
^~*- 88 nautical miles (about 101 statute miles) from the sea. The
total water frontage is 37 miles, of which 20 are along the Delaware
and 17 on the Schuylkill. Main activities are centered on approxi
mately six miles of the Delaware, extending from Greenwich piers,
three miles south of Market Street, to Port Richmond, about the same
distance north of Market. There are 267 wharves of various sizes, in-
119
PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
eluding 84 individual sections of improved bulk-head. Rail service
extending along Delaware Avenue, which parallels the river, has
direct touch with all piers.
The port of Philadelphia had a shipping business of 32,378,567
tons in 1935, with an aggregate value of $958,491,268. All previous
high records in tonnage and value were shattered by those totals.
The principal raw and manufactured materials handled at the piers
were anthracite, bituminous coal, sugar, chemicals, fruits, molasses,
crude drugs, textiles, lumber, iron and steel, automobile parts, general
merchandise, and petroleum and its products. Among these classifica
tions, crude petroleum and petroleum products led by a wide margin.
By 1936 shippers in the foreign and domestic trades were showing
even greater interest in the Philadelphia port. During that year cus
tom receipts increased more than $4,000,000, the total estimated
receipts amounting to $24,105,718 as compared with $28,574,914 for
1935.
Traffic on the Schuylkill, an important arm of the Philadelphia
harbor, increased from 9,268,828 tons, with a value of $103,396,308,
in 1934, to 10,066,667 tons, with a value of $116,047,297, in 1935. The
bulk of the Schuylkill commerce is coastwise, and consequently does
not come under either the export or import classification.
Since the first ships began plying between the Old World and the
New, Philadelphia has been a center of maritime activity. The early
colonization days saw 7 Philadelphia elevated to a leading role in com
merce and trade. Since then the city has kept well up among the
shipping ports of the United States. In his charter, William Penn
designated Philadelphia as the port and harbor of Pennsylvania, em
powering the mayor, aldermen, and councilmen to erect quays and
wharves to accommodate trade.
During the period preceding the Revolution, English statesmen saw
in the Colonies an opportunity to expand the manufacturing and
commercial marts of the King. In attempting to create a huge nation
of agriculturists, Parliament offered bounties to the colonists for the
exportation of agricultural products. What little was manufactured
was shipped to England in English ships as raw material, to be re
turned to the Colonies in the form of finished products.
Thus the colonists were forced to till the soil for their livelihood.
Their products were used first for their own maintenance, and second
as a means of procuring money with which to meet their needs. As
a last resort, to break the English stranglehold on American com
merce, the Colonies banded together and refused either to purchase
British goods or to export tobacco to the British Isles.
At the close of the Revolution, Philadelphia was far from pros
perous. Its commerce was virtually ruined, and its manufacturers were
forced to encounter disastrous competition from! imported goods.
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HUB OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
The collection of debts, suspended during the war, was again taken
up. Court dockets were filled with suits, while goods flooded the
market because of greatly reduced buying power.
When the Constitution went into effect, however, provisions were
made for a custom house, commercial treaties, and duties on imports.
With the revival of commerce it became necessary to increase the
facilities of the port. Stephen Girard led the drive for much-needed
improvements. Until his death Girard was a leading figure in the
advancement of the port, and his will set aside a large sum of money
to continue the work.
In the early years foodstuffs, as well as manufactured goods, were
imported by the Colony. When European crops became acclimated
and native crops developed, imports of foodstuffs grew smaller. Im
plements and tools as well as various manufactured articles, however,
were regularly purchased abroad during the entire Colonial period.
The greater part of the imports from the mother country in 1721
was woolen manufactures, with wrought iron and nails next in im
portance. The others, in the order of their importance, were silk,
leather goods, linen and sailcloths, cordage, pewter, lead and shot,
brass and wrought copper, gunpowder, iron, hemp, and wrought silk.
The colonists early discovered that they could produce more than
they could sell to England. Therefore they engaged in a surreptitious
commerce, chiefly with the West Indies, exporting lumber of all sorts,
fish, beef, pork, butter, horses, cattle, poultry, tobacco, corn, flour,
cider, and even small vessels. This trade, however, was almost entirely
ruined through the rigorous enforcement by Britain of the laws
against smuggling, and the collection of duties in hard money.
The value of foreign trade, which was not quite $4,000,000 in 179L
had risen to more than $17,000,000 in 1796. The chief factor in this
large increase was the life-and-death struggle between France and
England, which began in 1793 and continued with few intermissions
until Napoleon s fall in 1815. The superior naval forces of England
gave her control of the seas, so that her enemies were compelled to
depend upon neutrals to handle their trade. Because the United
States was well situated in relation to the West Indies, and because
it had long before established connection with them, it naturally had
a large part of trade. Philadelphia s trade, however, was not confined
to the West Indies, but extended to the Orient and to a majority of
the ports of the world.
There was a general decline in American commerce during the
War of 1812, and Philadelphia particularly was affected by the de
creased tonnage. With the end of the war, and the realignment of
national interests throughout the world, new commercial and ship
ping trends developed. European nations, their energy no longer
dissipated by war, turned their attention to the protection of their
121
ULULfe
Old Ships and New
"the derelicts of seven seas
manufacturing interests and the development of their commerce.
With the general increase in European sailings, Philadelphia s ship
ping virtually came to an end. Some exports continued, however,
and records indicate that grain, flour, iron utensils, flaxseed, soap
and candles, lumber, pork, and beef left the port in Philadelphia
bottoms.
By 1854 the exports had risen to a little more than $10,000,000,
with imports close to $22,000,000. At this time preparations for the
Crimean War occupied the attention of England, France, Italy, and
Russia ; consequently, the United States, and Philadelphia in par
ticular, obtained an increased share of the carrying trade, which ac
counts for the sudden rise in the value of exports.
Exports and imports increased through many fluctuations from
122
HUB OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
1861 to 1900, the former increasing to $81,145,966. The imports
doubled, climbing to a total of $49,191,003. From 1860 to 1875 there
were only three years in which the balance of trade was unfavorable.
The year 1900 was notable in two respects. First, it set a new high
mark for total exports ; and second, it established a new top not only
in the exportation of manufactured goods but also in the importation
of raw materials.
From 1860 to 1900 the outstanding developments of the export
trade centered in the increasing importance of agriculture, the grow
ing value of minerals, and the rise in volume of manufactured goods.
Of the chief agricultural exports, only cotton showed a decrease in
relative importance. Among the breadstuffs exported, wheat was first.
The substitution of rollers for millstones in flour-making resulted in
a sizable gain in the export of wheat. Also, instead of most of the
wheat going out in the form of grain, as in 1860, more than half
the export wheat, by value, in 1900, left the port as flour. Toward
the close of the period, exports of livestock, mainly beef cattle, were
valued at nearly $3,000,000.
The chief change in the import trade during the period from 1860
to 1900 was a decline in volume of manufactured goods. In 1860,
these articles made up almost half the total value, but by 1900 thev
had declined to slightly more than one third. Wool and cotton ex
ports made little advance over 1860, but silk showed a decided in
crease.
In 1915 the total of the foreign trade combined exports and im
portsat the port of Philadelphia reached $201,911,539. The total
steadily increased until 1920, when the impressive figures of $733,-
201,047 were achieved. The sharp upturn was due to the abnormal
activity induced by the World War.
For the period of 1901-17 inclusive, exports reached a yearly
average of $119,924,514 ; while from 1918 to 1924, the average was
$181,817,267, despite the fact that a slowing down in the demand for
our products followed in the wake of the war. This latter tendency
continued until 1932, when bottom was touched at $42,461,145. The
demand improved in 1933 and increased further in 1934, the exports
for these two years being valued at $48,742,253 and $57,774,738.
respectively.
The important exports in the year 1919 were food products, non-
metallic minerals, metals, and manufactures. Probably the outstand
ing feature in the heavy outgo was the remarkable increase shown
in the value of manufactured goods, which had a combined worth
in excess of $80,000,000. During the war, and for about a year after,
the exportation of foodstuffs was heavy. There was a sharp drop in
this classification in 1920.
While a marked increase was shown in 1933 and 1934 in Phila-
123
PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
delphia s exports to South America, Canada, Asia, Union of South
Africa, and New Zealand, the bulk went to Europe. Generally, the
best customers were France, Great Britain, Japan, Germany, Belgium,
the Netherlands, and Brazil.
Among the ports of the country, Philadelphia ranked fifth in
exports in 1910, with 4.2 percent. In 1914 it was fifth with 2.7 percent.
It became fourth in 1920, with 5.3 percent, dropping to eighth place
in 1933, with 2.9 per cent. In 1934 it was still eighth, with 2.6 percent.
There was a notable increase in the import trade in the 1901-1934
period, with the yearly average from 1901 to 1917, inclusive, reach
ing $76,125,989. A much larger increase was reported for the years
from 1918 to 1924, when the average jumped to $171,351,091. The
peak year was 1920, with a total of $282,157,831. But from that time
there was a decline to a low level of $89,780,480 in 1932, undoubtedly
traceable to the depression which followed the Wall Street crash of
1929.
There were upturns in the dollar value of imports in both 1933
and 1934, the aggregate climbing to $103,468,886 in the former year
and $111,056,443 in 1934. In the present century up to 1934, the port
of Philadelphia ranked third in imports in 1910, 1914, 1920, 1933
and second in 1934, with the percentages, respectively, of 2.6, 5.9, 5.3,
6.2, and 6.0.
The port s foreign shipping, impressive as it is, represents only
about one sixth of the tonnage carried by the ships which ply the
river, the rest of the river traffic being devoted to coastwise, inter-
coastal and local shipping.
Agriculture
DESPITE real estate development, Philadelphia has approximately
13,889 acres of farmland within the city limits. The majority
of these farms (the 1935 farm census listed 286) are devoted to the
cultivation of truck crops. Many are owned by institutions; other
represent country estates and private greenhouses. Some livestock
is raised. The size of the farm holdings is not large enough to make
power farming economical.
124
CRADLE OF AMERICAN FINANCE
ON A WARM spring day in 1754, four men sat around a table
in William Bradford s Coffee House, sometimes called the Old
London Coffee House, at the southwest corner of Front and
High (now Market) Streets, Philadelphia. They were Robert Morris,
Thomas Willing, Tench Francis, and Archibald McCall.
This was the opening day of Bradford s tavern and merchants ex
change. As the four drank their ale and occasionally glanced out the
window at the craft upon the Delaware River, they were figuratively
rocking the cradle of a giant the cradle of American finance. They
were launching a fiscal system that was destined not only to finance
America s first four wars, but to rear the foundation for that colossal
structure which is American finance today.
Second only to that of gunpowder was the part played by finance
in molding the American Colonies into a Nation. Philadelphia, in
the lean days when independence was at stake, had the only fiscal
structure that wag equal to the need. For the existence of this struc
ture, the city and the Nation were indebted to a man who was to
climax a glamorous financial and political career in a debtors prison.
That man was Robert Morris.
Born in Liverpool, England, Morris came to America at an early
age. He was in his teens when he entered the counting house of
Charles Willing (a name perpetuated in Willing s Alley, the city s old
financial district), and only 21 when he helped found Philadelphia s
first stock exchange in 1754. Immortalized as the father of American
banking, Morris not only was the foremost financier of the Revolu
tion, but helped to establish a mint and to found America s first
banks the Bank of Pennsylvania and the Bank of North America
in Philadelphia. Thomas Willing became the first president of the
latter institution, serving for 10 years. He also headed the first Bank
of the United States for the first 17 of its 20 years existence.
It was largely through the leadership of a handful of its citizens
that Philadelphia became the Nation s principal money center. As
early as 1752 it had become the home of the first insurance company,
although a limited amount of underwriting had been done even
earlier. It maintained that leadership through succeeding decades,
by the establishment of the first bank, the first United States Mint,
the first saving fund society, the first building and loan society, and
one of the first trust companies.
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PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
On such firm ground were they built that many of these original
companies are still functioning, among them the Pennsylvania Com
pany for Insurances on Lives and Granting Annuities, the Philadel
phia Saving Fund Society, and the Philadelphia Contributionship for
Insuring Houses from Loss by Fire.
More institutions of a fiduciary character were established within
Philadelphia s borders in its early history than in any other American
city. The scope and ramifications of many of the financial projects
begun in this city more than a century ago have reached world wide
proportions. Philadelphia today has more century-old companies than
any other American municipality.
The record of the first century of America s financial development
may be traced in the careers of three Philadelphia bankers and be
hind that record lie the triumphs and the tragedies of their lives.
Financial giants and chief supporters of the American wars of their
times, Robert Morris, Stephen Girard, and Jay Cooke all knew not
only the pinnacles of success but also the depths of sorrow and defeat.
Girard s sufferings were personal. His business life unmarred, he
nevertheless knew the handicap of semi-blindness, suffered the loss of
his only child, and saw his wife committed to a hospital for the in
sane. Morris and Cooke found their sorrows in financial failure. De
serted by many of those whose admiration they had won while
scaling the heights, one Morris, went to debtors prison with obliga
tions estimated at $3,000,000, and the other, Cooke, saw the collapse
of his financial empire precipitate the panic of 1873.
The seed from which the stock exchange movement grew was sown
by Mayor James Hamilton on October 17, 1746, when he proposed
that 150 be used to erect an exchange or public building for the
purpose of barter. Willing, Morris, Francis, and McCall undertook
its active promotion in 1753. The London Coffee House was opened
in the following year by William Bradford, the printer, as "a licensed
place to which will come and be centered the news from all parts of
the world, an exchange upon which our merchants may walk, and a
place of resort where our chief citizens of every department of life
can meet and converse upon subjects which concern City and State."
A considerable traffic gradually grew in bills of exchange, promissory
notes, and early forms of negotiable capital. Members of the exchange
were known as merchants and traders.
During the Revolution the coffeehouse was closed, and a rival in
stitution known as the City Tavern, later called the Merchants Coffee
House$ at Second Street near Walnut, took its place. From that time
the Merchants Coffee House was the favored gathering place for the
traders. As stock brokerage developed into a separate business, the
brokers finally obtained private quarters in the same establishment
and formed an association.
126
CRADLE OF AMERICAN FINANCE
This group, organized in 1790 and then known as the Philadelphia
Board of Brokers, met regularly in the coffeehouse until 1834, when
it moved into the newly completed Merchants Exchange Building at
Third and Walnut Streets. There it remained until July 1876, when
it moved to Third Street below Chestnut. From 1888 to 1902 the ex
change was in the Drexel Building, at Fifth and Chestnut Streets ;
and then it returned to the Merchants Exchange Building. On March
1, 1913, it moved to its present quarters, at 1411 Walnut Street.
The membership fee was raised at various times from $30, in 1790,
to $50, $250, $300, $400, $500, $1,000, $2,000. In November 1868, it was
increased to $5,000, and in 1881 to $10,000. By 1886 the income from
operation of the exchange was sufficient to make it self-supporting.
On December 8, 1875, its name was changed from the Board of Brokers
to the Philadelphia Stock Exchange. In 1902 the membership was
fixed at 225 ; in February 1923, it was reduced to its present num
ber, 206.
In 1780 and 1781, more than a quarter century after the opening of
Bradford s combined exchange and coffeehouse, Philadelphia estab
lished the first American banks. While the needs of peaceful trade
dictated the founding of the stock exchange, it was war that sired
these first two banks; both were established to finance the needs of
America s armed forces in time of conflict.
The credit of Robert Morris was better than that of the entire
country at the outbreak of the Revolution, and it was said that he gave
his personal notes for $1,400,000 to finance Washington s army in its
Yorktown campaign. This sum was later repaid by the Government.
He was appointed Superintendent of Finance, on February 20, 1781,
and retained office until 1784. Later reelected to the State assem
bly, he was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention and be
came one of the first United States Senators to be elected from Penn
sylvania.
Through the efforts of Morris and his associates, the Bank of
Pennsylvania was opened in July 1780, on Front Street north of
Walnut. Its purpose was to borrow money to purchase rum, pro
visions, and transportation for the Continental Army. The two di
rectors chosen to conduct that business were authorized to borrow
on the credit of the bank for six months or less, and to issue to the
lenders special notes bearing interest at 6 percent. Congress wafe to
reimburse the bank from time to time for sums advanced, and all
moneys borrowed or received from Congress were to be used to sup
ply the needs of the Army and to discharge notes and expenses of
the bank.
To start the bank, 10 percent in cash was required from the
lenders. If money did not come in fast enough, the bond issuers were
to lend a proportionate sum of their subscriptions in cash. Notes
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PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
were to be taken by the creditors. They were to be paid off and
cancelled, accounts settled, and the bank discontinued when Congress
should complete its reimbursements. That was done, and the in
stitution concluded its operations towards the end of 1784.
Morris detailed plan for the Bank of North America was pre
sented to the Continental Congress on May 18, 1781. Nine days later,
Congress reported in favor of its adoption, and the charter was
granted. The bank was organized on November 1 of that year, and
began active operation on January 7, 1782.
Through the services of this bank, supplies were furnished to the
Army, and the expenses of various branches of the Government were
defrayed. Some of the most prominent financiers of the Revolu
tionary period were among its directors and supporters. When the so-
called Whiskey Insurrection reached its climax in the western part
of Pennsylvania in 1794, with an army of 19,500 men engaged in
quelling the disturbance, the bank not only laid aside or renewed
the notes of all persons in military service but also contributed cash
to the expedition.
The Bank of North America was brought into being through the
sale of stock, the first offering being 1,000 shares, tendered at $400
a share. The offering was well received, and was followed in a short
time by another 1,000 shares, this time at $500 each. (This bank, on
March 1, 1923, was merged with the Commercial Trust Company
under the title of the Bank of North America and Trust Company,
and on June 1, 1929, the new company was merged with the Penn
sylvania Company.)
The institution was opened on the north side of Chestnut Street
west of Third, where it remained for 65 years. Subsequently, as busi
ness expanded, it moved several times to other locations. The bank
was brought under the National Bank Act in November 1864, thus
becoming one of the few national banks that did not have the word
"national" in its title.
Before retiring from public life at the expiration of his six-year
term in the United States Senate, Morris became one of the largest
real estate investors in the land. Envisioning a great country, ex
panding rapidly and attracting thousands of immigrant settlers.
Morris in partnership with John Nicholson and James Greenleaf
purchased thousands of lots in the new Federal City, then unnamed
and existing on paper only, and took title to more than 15.000.000
acres in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and elsewhere.
He was the nabob of Philadelphia, with a mansion at 526-530
Market Street and a fine estate in "The Hills," later called Lemon
Hill, and Fairmount Park. With the removal of the seat of National
Government from New York to this city, he placed the Market
Street residence at the disposal of President Washington, and took
128
CRADLE OF AMERICAN FINANCE
up quarters at the southeast corner of Sixth and Market Streets.
Then came the crash ! Although the sound of crumbling timbers
did not press upon his ears until three years later, it was in 1794 that
he made the flourish which at once crowned and destroyed his
achievements. Selecting a lot on the south side of Chestnut Street,
between Seventh and Eighth, for the site of an ornate palace, he
enlisted Maj. Pierre Charles L Enfant, engineer-architect who planned
the city of Washington, to design it.
Three years later, he went to live in a mansion on the north side
of Chestnut Street, at Eighth, a building which stood until 1934 and
was known in its last half century as Green s Hotel. About this time,
his creditors began action. Morris retired to his suburban estate, but
finally was arrested under the Insolvent Debtors Act, and confined
in the debtors prison, at Sixth and Locust Streets. Committed on
February 16, 1798, he remained in prison until August 26, 1801 ;
then, less than five years before his death, his release was obtained
under provisions of the United States Bankruptcy Act of 1800.
"Morris s Folly," as the great palace upon which he had spent
a considerable sum of money came to be known, was never completed.
Upon his release from prison, Morris went to live with his family
in the house then numbered 2 South Twelfth Street. Here he died
on May 8, 1806. He was buried in the family vault of his wife s
brother, Bishop William White, in the churchyard of Christ Church.
The first Bank of the United States had meantime become a
factor in the city s banking activity. It was the materialization of
Alexander Hamilton s idea, conceived in 1779, of a Government-
organized and Government-controlled bank, based on landed security.
The institution was chartered by Congress on February 14, 1791, and
President Washington signed the bill on February 25. It was the
limitation of the Bank of North America by its acceptance of a State
charter narrowing its scope and reducing its capital from $10,000.000
to $2,000,000 that finally brought action on the plan for a Federal
bank.
Two days after subscription books for the new bank were closed,
a premium was being offered for the shares. A general meeting of
stockholders was held in Philadelphia s City Hall on October 21.
1791, and four days later the directors selected Thomas Willing, presi
dent of the Bank of North America and former business partner of
Robert Morris, as president.
By its liberal policy, the Bank of the United States stemmed a
tide of loss and embarrassment resulting from the Coinage Act of
1793. This act decreed that all foreign silver coins, except Spanish
milled dollars and parts of such dollars, should cease to be legal
tender after October 15, 1797. Such foreign coins constituted a con
siderable part of the silver in circulation. The Federal bank, how-
129
Statute of Robert Morris at the Old Custom House
"Financier and Patriot"
CRADLE OF AMERICAN FINANCE
ever, showed a willingness to receive French crowns and other silver
coins at current rates of exchange, and it was not until 1857 that
foreign gold and silver coins ceased to be respected as a medium of
exchange. Despite a three-year controversy involving John Jacob
Astor, Albert Gallatin, and many of the Nation s other financial
leaders, Congress failed to renew the charter of the bank when it
expired in 1811, and the institution was dissolved.
The prologue to the next test of American banking the financ
ing of the War of 1812 had its setting on the deck of a fog-bound
sloop at the mouth of Delaware Bay in June, 1776. On its voyage from
the West Indies to New York, the La Jeuiie Babe had lost its bear
ings ; and when its 26-year-old French master leaned over the rail
to ask directions from a passing vessel, he was told that British men-
of-war were hovering nearby. The young captain, instead of pro
ceeding to New York, brought his sloop up the river to Philadel
phia. Here he sold his interest in the vessel and opened a small
store on Water Street. Thus the career of Stephen Girard as a
sailor ended, and his career as a Philadelphia merchant began. In
1777 he married Mary Lum, daughter of a Kensington shipbuilder;
and during the time the British occupied Philadelphia he ran a
humble store in Mount Holly, N. J.
During the yellow-fever epidemics of 1793 and 1798, Girard first
earned his reputation as a philanthropist. He contributed substantial
sums of money, served as a manager of the Municipal Hospital, and
performed the duties of a nurse when the plagues were at their worst.
The Revolution had turned the French mariner s course up the
Delaware to Philadelphia, and the threat of a second war with Eng
land turned Girard s career into the banking field. Surveying the
gathering war clouds, and foreseeing more of the depredations on
neutral commerce which already had inflicted severe losses on him,
Girard began recalling his ships and converting his property in
foreign lands into American securities. In this manner he became
the owner of a controlling interest in the first Bank of the United
States. In the spring of 1812, when Congress failed to renew the
charter of the Bank of the United States, Girard purchased the
buildings and other assets and embarked on his career as a private
banker, starting the Bank of Stephen Girard. During the struggle
between Great Britain and the United States, the latter having failed
utterly in its efforts to raise funds, Girard risked his entire fortune
for the benefit of his adopted country. (Girard was born in Bordeaux,
France.) With David Parrish and John Jacob Astor of New York,
he took over the unsubscribed portion of the war bonds authorized
by Congress.
Resuming his maritime ventures at the close of the war, and still
actively engaging in banking, Girard accumulated a fortune then
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PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
unequalled in America. He died on December 26, 1831, and his will
became one of the most discussed instruments of its kind. More than
$6,000,000 in cash and real estate represented the residue of his
estate, after provision had been made for improving the entire
eastern front of Philadelphia and for paying bequests to the State
of Pennsylvania and the city of New Orleans for public uses. This
residue was devoted to the founding of Girard College, "for poor
white male orphans." The advancing value of central Philadelphia
real estate, in which $3,000,000 of the total was invested, had in
creased the endowment in 1936 to more than $86,000,000.
In 1816, four years after Girard s debut as a banker and nearly a
half century after the founding of the first American banks, the next
major development in banking appeared in Philadelphia and in
America the founding of the first saving fund society by Col. Condy
Raguet. Although Colonel Raguet turned his talents at various times
to the callings of lawyer, merchant, volunteer soldier, writer on
economic and financial subjects and, in 1822, United States consul
at Rio de Janeiro, his most enduring claim to fame lies in his un
tiring efforts to spread the gospel of thrift.
In witness to the soundness of his principles stands the institution
he founded in 1816 the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society. With
steady, measured strides, romantic in their very consistency and con
tempt of circumstance, the society rose to its present position of
leadership among institutions of its kind in Philadelphia, and to
favorable comparison with leading saving fund societies of the Na
tion. As early as October 1869, when it first occupied its present main
office at Seventh and Walnut Streets, the society boasted 29,000 ac
counts, with deposits totaling approximately $6,380,000. Symbolic of
its progress and growth is the architecturally renowned ultra-modern
skyscraper built by Howe and Lescaze in 1932 at Market and Twelfth
Streets, to house the society s mid-city branch.
The second Bank of the United States, which was destined to be
come a political football and parent of the Bank of the United States
of Pennsylvania, was chartered in 1816. The ultimate collapse of the
latter precipitated the panic of 1841.
Plans for the institution were submitted to Congress by Secretary
of the Treasury Dallas in September 1814. The bank was to have had
a capital of $50,000,000, three fifths to be subscribed by individuals
and corporations and two fifths by the United States. The capital
requirements later were reduced to $35,000,000. Unavailing efforts
to modify the plan were instituted by John C. Calhoun and Daniel
Webster. The bill w T as passed and approved by President Madison
on April 10, 1816, and the bank was chartered to continue until
March 3, 1836.
132
CRADLE OF AMERICAN FINANCE
When, because of financial conditions following the War of 1812,
the bank found no buyers for $3,038,300 worth of its stock, Stephen
Girard subscribed the entire amount. Operations began on January
7, 1817. Nicholas Biddle became a director of the bank in 1819. In
the same year, Langdon Cheves became its president. The bank, al
though virtually bankrupt, engaged in a vigorous effort to fulfill its
obligations. Its efforts toward recovery, however, even at a time when
the depreciation of paper money all over Europe had created a
favorable financial condition in America through increased com
mercial exchange, prostrated the whole industry of the country.
Nicholas Biddle became president of the bank in 1823. Andrew
Jackson, who assumed office as President of the United States in
1829, was hostile to the bank and to Biddle. Open conflict flared in
the summer of 1829, with the refusal of Biddle to remove Jeremiah
Mason, a friend of Webster, from the presidency of the Portsmouth
branch, and with President Jackson s intimations that the charter
of the bank was unconstitutional.
A new charter, applied for in 1832, four years before the ex
piration of the old one, was denied. Upon the expiration of the old
charter in 1836, the institution became the Bank of the United States
of Pennsylvania, under a State charter. The change was made without
loss to either the Government or stockholders. A period of general
expansion and over-trading, led to the failure of the State bank
on September 4, 1841, and the crash spread disaster to business and
trade throughout the Union.
Although the companv that was to conduct it had been formed in
1812, it was not until 1836, two decades after the introduction of the
saving fund idea, that Philadelphia s first trust business came into
being. The Pennsylvania Company for Insurances on Lives and
Granting Annuities was organized for the purpose indicated by its
title. It carried on this business for a number of years, but in 1836
was authorized to accept trusts. Its development from that year
forward was almost entirely along trust lines. The company s powers
were further enlarged in 1853 to permit it to act as executor and
administrator, and in 1872 it discontinued its original activities in
the life insurance field.
The company s first dividend of 4 percent on the amount of capital
then paid in was declared in July 1815. Thus was started a dividend
record that today ranks among the best in American corporation his
tory; beginning with that year, the Pennsylvania Company has made
uninterrupted dividend payments for 122 years. The main office of
the institution is at Fifteenth and Chestnut Streets.
Completing the local banking structure, the Philadelphia Clearing
House Association came into being in 1858 as a voluntary, unincor
porated organization enabling member banks to adjust their daily
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PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
balances without the necessity and accompanying risk of transferring
large sums of money through the streets. Its office is at 311 Chestnut
Street, and it includes trust companies as well as National and State
banks in its membership.
Third and last of the great Philadelphia bankers to uphold the
city s position as the financial center of America was Jay Cooke. Son
of Eleutheros Cooke, lawyer and member of Congress from 1831
to 1833, Jay Cooke left his home in Sandusky, Ohio, at 18, and found
a clerk s job in the Philadelphia office of a packet line. A little later
he entered the employ of the private banking house of E. W. Clark
& Co., and in 1842, at 21, was admitted as a partner.
Hostilities in the Mexican War began three years later, and Cooke a
firm negotiated a large part of the Government loans required to
finance the conflict. He retired from the banking business for a time
to specialize in negotiating railroad securities. His deals included the
sale of the Pennsylvania State canals, but the peak of his career was
to be reached some years later, with the outbreak of the Civil War.
The beginning of the war found the Government in great need
of money. Prospects for preservation of the Union were dark when,
in July, following the Battle of Bull Run, Cooke started to interest
other Philadelphia bankers in the problem of a Government loan.
Cooke had made the acquaintance of Salmon P. Chase, then Secre
tary of the Treasury, and after raising $2,000,000 in his first effort
here, he went with Chase to New York. Bankers of that city were
persuaded to lend an initial sum of $50,000,000. Jay Cooke & Co., with
branch offices in New York, Washington, and later in London, then
advertised and sold the bonds, from the proceeds of which the
bankers were to be repaid.
The next big venture to which Cooke turned, the disposal of securi
ties of the Northern Pacific Railroad, was his last. His firm was com
pelled to close its doors on September 18, 1873, and panic gripped
the country. His failure was the more sensational because of wide
spread belief that the house was of great financial strength. Cooke
turned over all assets to his creditors, and eventually succeeded in
paying off all obligations. Indeed, by 1880 he had regained con
siderable wealth through fortunate investments in the Horn Silver
Mine, Utah. He died on February 16, 1905.
Philadelphia s outstanding financier in the first part of the
twentieth century has been Edward T. Stotesbury, manager and
virtual head of Drexel & Co. since the death of Anthony J. Drexel,
and a partner in the firm since its reorganization on January 1,
1882. Like his predecessors in the field, he lost no time in starting
his business career. When he entered the employ of Drexel & Co.
at the age of 17, he had already been employed in turn by Rutter
& Patterson, wholesale grocers, and by his father s sugar refining
134
Girard Bank
"the hub of early commerce"
firm, Harris & Stotesbury. He was quick to master banking details.
Among the various affiliates of finance which had their American
beginnings in Philadelphia, the first was fire insurance, which ante
dated even the formation of the stock exchange. This business, whose
almost uninterrupted growth has placed it among the Nation s great
est enterprises, was begun by a group of men who met April 13, 1752,
and organized the Philadelphia Contributionship for Insuring Houses
from Loss by Fire. The first insurance issued by the company covered
two houses on King Street, later renamed Water Street. The first
directors were Benjamin Franklin, William Coleman, Philip Syng,
Samuel Rhoads, Hugh Roberts, Israel Pemberton, Jr., John Mifflin,
Joseph Norris, Joseph Fox. Jonathan Lane, William Griffiths, and
Amos Strettell. The plan was that of mutual insurance, and the mem
bers were called "contributors." Policies were issued for a term of
seven years, upon the payment of a deposit, the interest on which,
during the continuance of the policy, belonged to the company. The
"Hand in Hand" seal was adopted 5>y the company in 1768,
Still leading the way, Philadelphia came forward just seven years
later with the first scheme of life insurance established in the Colo-
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PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
nies. On petition of the Synod of Philadelphia, a charter was granted
by the Proprietary government in 1759 to the "Corporation for the
Relief of Poor and Distressed Presbyterian Ministers, and of the Poor
and Distressed Widows and Children of Presbyterian Ministers."
llie first United States Mint was established here in 1792, through
the efforts of Robert Morris, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamil
ton. Hamilton, then Secretary of the Treasury, prepared the plan in
1790 and presented it at the next session of Congress. The act received
President Washington s approval on April 2, 1792. Ground was pur
chased on the east side of Seventh Street, below Arch, and an old
still-house that stood on the lot was demolished. An entry in the
mint s account book of that time, dated July 31, 1792, shows that
the materials of the demolished still-house sold for seven shillings
and six pence. The structure that replaced it and housed the mint
was the first building erected for public use under authority of the
Federal Government. The mint later occupied a structure at the
northwest corner of Chestnut and Juniper Streets, where the Widener
Building now stands. Its present home is on Spring Garden Street,
from Sixteenth to Seventeenth Streets.
The first coinage of the United States was silver half dimes, minted
in October 1792. The use of four different rates of exchange at first
caused much perplexity. In Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts,
Connecticut, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Kentucky the dollar was
reckoned at six shillings ; in New York and North Carolina at eight
shillings ; in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland at seven shil
lings and sixpence ; and in South Carolina and Georgia at four
shillings and eightpence. These differences were corrected by the
Federal Government s passage of a law regulating the exchange rates.
The building and loan movement was largely an importation from
England. It had its local origin in a tavern at what is now 4219 Frank-
ford Avenue, where in 1831 leaders of the community formed the
Oxford Provident Beneficial Association, the first organization of its
kind in the United States. The par value of shares was set at $500
each, with no member holding more than five. Money received as
dues was offered as loans to the highest bidder among the stock
holders, who were entitled to borrow $500 for everv share held. The
first loan was made to Comly Rich, who borrowed $500 at a premium
of $10. In 1854 the association brought its business to an end, some
of its membership merging with a newer organization.
Although many of Philadelphia s ancient financial landmarks have
been razed to make room for modern structures, the imposing edifice
of the old United States Bank, en the south side of Chestnut Street
west of Fourth, still stands. For ntiany years it was used as the Custom
House and by the Assistant United States Treasurer an office
abolished with the advent of the Federal Reserve System.
136
PUBLIC UTILITIES
AUTOMOBILES today traverse well-paved Philadelphia streets
which conceal uncounted pipes and conduits supplying homes
with water, gas, electricity, and telephone communication. An
intricate yet carefully planned network provides conveniences now
considered indispensable. When Philadelphia began to take on the
aspect of a growing urban community, necessary improvements fol
lowed in due course; but development of public utilities to their
present smoothly functioning status required many years of trial and
effort.
Water
THE problem of a water supply was the first to occupy the early
settlers. Individuals dug wells and pumped water for their own
use, charging small sums for supplying their neighbors. In 1713 the
Common Council drafted regulations authorizing owners of pumps
to charge water rent. Not until 1756 did the city actually gain con
trol of the water supply by buying up most of the private pumps
in front of houses.
Philadelphians were forced to depend upon this means of water
supply until 1800. A proposal to bring water from Spring Mill Creek
had been rejected, but the movement for a central supply resulted in
the city s commissioning Benjamin H. Latrobe, architect and engi
neer, to plan a water distributing system.
The result was a waterworks on the east bank of the Schuylkill
River, at about Twenty-second and Chestnut Streets. Here water
was raised from the river and sent by gravity through a six-foot aque
duct under Chestnut Street to a central enginehouse built on the spot
where City Hall now stands. There the water flow was raised by
means of a steam pump to an upper floor to gain pressure, and then
distributed through wooden mains to the consumers.
The system was woefully inadequate. The reservoirs at Broad and
Market Streets stored only a half hour s supply, and repairs were
needed continually. In 1801 only 63 dwellings, four breweries, a
sugar refinery, and 87 hydrants were using the system. The service
was abandoned in 1815 when a new waterworks was constructed at
Fairmount. This plant was constantly improved ; and, with the con
solidation of the city in 1854, the plants of the various districts be
came parts of one large municipal system.
Purification of the water was still inadequate, however. Epidemics
137
PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
of typhoid fever broke out frequently. In 1899 three experts were
commissioned to plan an improved and extended water system. Their
report led to the development of the present plan. By 1909 the
entire city was supplied with filtered water, and the ravages of disease
were lessened greatly.
Today there are 11 pumping stations, eight fresh-water reservoirs,
and four raw-water reservoirs. The average daily supply of 325,-
500,000 gallons comes from both the Schuylkill and Delaware Rivers,
and the water is subjected to constant chemical and bacteriological
analysis.
Gas
T7OR several years after its introduction, gas as an illuminarit was
-* considered not only a novelty but a menace. The first hotels to
employ it displayed large signs near every gas jet, warning their
guests : "Don t blow out the gas." Many leading citizens doubted the
feasibility of its successful use. Even Sir Walter Scott, from his home
across the Atlantic, issued a diatribe against its employment. His
castle at Abbottsford, however, was one of the first buildings to be
piped for illuminating gas.
Agitation for city manufacture of gas for street lighting started
early in the nineteenth century. There was opposition from many
quarters; but in 1835 the city government authorized erection of the
Philadelphia Gas Works as a municipally controlled project. An
area of Ty 2 acres was set aside near Twenty-second and Market
Streets, and a plant established there. By 1852 the total extent of
pipes had reached 115 miles, and the plant had attained a maximum
production of 962.000 cubic feet of gas in 24 hours.
About that time, it was found necessary to remove the gas works
to larger quarters. The site selected was on the banks of the Schuyl
kill at Point Breeze. Meanwhile, constant improvements in the gas
production process were being made.
The Northern Liberties Gas Company was chartered in 1838,
supplying illumination to the Northern Liberties and Kensington
districts. Gas works were also built in Manayunk, Frankford, Ger-
mantown, and Kensington.
In 1887 Philadelphia s new city charter eliminated the Gas Trust,
as the city gas works under the trustee system was called. Duties of
supervision devolved upon a Bureau of Gas, a division of the Depart
ment of Public Works.^A decade later, after much wrangling on the
part of the public both in and out of the courts, the United Gas Im
provement Company, an interstate utility corporation, obtained a
lease on the municipal gas works.
The lease covered a period of 30 years. Before its expiration an-
138
PUBLIC UTILITIES
other lease was signed by the city in 1926 for an undetermined period,
but either party could terminate the lease on December 31, 1937,
or at expiration of any 10-year period thereafter, by giving to the
other 18 months notice of such intention. Under the terms of the
lease, the Philadelphia Gas Works Company is designated as the
operating concern. Supervision of the lease was placed in charge of
a gas commission of three members. The city receives an annual
rental of $4,200,000; the U. G. I. is paid an operating fee of $600,000
annually, plus an amount ranging from $200,000 to $500,000 for
efficiency of management, the extra payment varying directly with
the quantity of gas sold and inversely with the cost per 1,000 cubic
feet. The prevailing rate to consumers is 90 cents per thousand cubic
feet for the first 2,000 cubic feet, with relative reductions for quan
tities used in excess of this amount. All gas used by the city is paid
for at wholesale rates.
Electricity
T^LECTRIC service for the city of Philadelphia and adjacent terri-
i^tories Delaware County and substantial parts of Bucks, Chester,
and Montgomery Counties is supplied by the Philadelphia Electric
Company, which furnishes electric current to homes, factories, and
industrial plants, and supplies street lighting to a majority of the
cities, towns, and boroughs in this area. All electrical energy provided
by the company is of the alternating current type, which can be
transmitted much farther than the direct current type formerly sup
plied to central Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Electric Company
also furnishes gas service to suburban sections near the city.
An area of approximately 1,547 square miles is served by the
company. The population in this territory is 2,757,000, with slightly
more than two million of those served residing in Philadelphia.
Electricity is generated in the company s plants in Philadelphia and
in its hydro-electric plant on the Susquehanna River at Conowingo.
The latter is the second largest hydro-electric plant in the United
States. Its location is four miles above tide water ; the lake is a
mile wide at the dam and extends eighteen miles up the river. Thi?
gigantic plant, opened in 1928, is connected with Philadelphia steam
plants by means of 220,000-volt transmission lines, and its present
capacity is 1,046,015 kilowatts. At its Plymouth Meeting substation,
the largest outdoor substation in the world, the plant s 220,000-volt
transmission lines inter-connect the Philadelphia Electric Company
with two other companies the Pennsylvania Power and Light Com
pany and the Public Service Electric and Gas Company of New Jer
sey the whole forming a pool which distributes more than two mil
lion horsepower in electrical energy.
139
PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
The company furnishes energy for the operation of the Pennsyl
vania Railroad s electrified lines running between Perryville, Mary
land, and the State line at Trenton, New Jersey; the line between
the State Line and New York City ; the Chestnut Hill branch, and
the Main Line as far as Paoli. All the electrified lines of the Reading
Railroad running in the vicinity of Philadelphia, and the Philadel
phia Rapid Transit Company, operators of the city s street car
system, receive their electrical energy from the Philadelphia Electric
Company.
Philadelphia s first electric service was supplied by the Brush
Electric Light Co., which in 1881 installed street arc lights in the
section of Chestnut Street between the Delaware and the Schuylkill
Rivers. Then 26 neighborhood electric companies, all of them gen
erating direct current, opened within the span of 18 years. In 1899
these plants were consolidated to form the Philadelphia Electric Com
pany, the nucleus of the present company. In 1928 the Philadelphia
Electric Company became an affiliate of the United Gas Improve
ment Company. A year later the Philadelphia Electric Company,
which still operates independently, acquired the Philadelphia Sub
urban Counties Gas and Electric Company.
Telephone
A BOUT a quarter-century after the adoption of telegraphy for rail-
-^*- road communications, the world s first public telephone "system"
was successfully demonstrated in Philadelphia at the Centennial
Exhibition of 1876. The device, consisting of two instruments con
nected by 500 feet of wire, was installed in the Exhibition s main
building, where it lay neglected for six weeks until an inquisitive
visitor discovered its amazing potentialities.
The telephone, which has revolutionized transportation and com
munications the world over, was invented by Alexander Graham Bell,
Boston elocution teacher, and sent to Philadelphia at the opening
of the Exhibition. Bell himself was not urged to attend in person, and
only by the promptings of a last-minute impulse did he board a train
to bring him here. Neither he nor his contrivance provoked any at
tention until Dom Pedro de Alcantara, Emperor of Brazil, picked up
the receiver and heard a human voice come from the transmitter at
the other end of the 500-foot wire. "My God !" he exclaimed as-
toundedly to a crowd which included Sir William Thomson, then the
foremost electrical scientist in the world. "It talks!"
Soon thereafter Bell s invention was first applied commercially in
Philadelphia by an organization known as "The Telephone Company
of Philadelphia." Later Bell s name was added. The first practical
switchboard was housed in the second floor of 1111 Chestnut Street.
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PUBLIC UTILITIES
The first directory, which appeared in 1878, contained only 25 sub
scribers. Another, issued later during the same year, had 85 ; the
third, put out the following year, contained the names of 420 sub
scribers.
Today the Bell Telephone Company has 42 central offices in the
city handling 1,377,927 local and 79,362 toll calls daily. In 1937 there
were more than 155,000 business telephones and approximately 191,-
000 residence telephones in operation. The directory has grown to an
issue of 400,000 copies.
The Keystone Telephone Company of Philadelphia came into exist
ence Nov. 12, 1902. Five years later it absorbed the property of the
Keystone State Telephone & Telegraph Company, extending its serv
ice to cities and towns in south New Jersey. Later it acquired the en
tire capital stock of the Eastern Telephone & Telegraph Company,
and a majority of the stock of the Camden & Atlantic Telephone
Company. The United Telephone Company, likewise, was absorbed
in 1923.
The Keystone system operates six exchanges in Philadelphia, and
18 in nearby cities and towns. The company holds a perpetual charter
from the State of Pennsylvania, and a perpetual franchise from the
city of Philadelphia. It cooperates with the Bell system on telephone
service outside the city.
141
TRANSPORTATION
PHILADELPHIA S development from a compact little city to a
sprawling metropolis made public transportation facilities im
perative at an early date. Prior to the establishment of urban
transportation facilities, however, there were only certain ancient dirt
roads to depend on, such as Darby Road, Old York Road, and an
other that went north by way of Second Street. A Federal road was
laid out in 1788 from Gray s Ferry to Southwark. Within city limits,
the so-called streets were not much more than dirt roads either. Ac
cording to the presentment of the Grand Jury in 1738, the streets
were impassable. This was the beginning of a crusade to compel the
paving of certain thoroughfares, notably Front, Sassafras, and High.
The first adequate public means of urban travel was supplied in
1831 by Joseph Boxall, who established a stagecoach line on lower
Chestnut Street with an hourly schedule. "Boxall s Accommodation,"
as the line was called, was the only satisfactory public conveyance
until July 1833, when an additional line was started by Edward Des-
champs, to provide service between the Navy Yard and Kensing
ton, via Second Street and Beach Street. This also proved successful,
and within a short time lines were running on nearly every important
street in the city.
The need of some better mode of transportation to outlying sec
tions became pressing. The first locomotive made at the Baldwin
Works in Philadelphia was "Old Ironsides," which had been placed
on the Philadelphia & Germantown Railroad on November 23, 1832.
Steam transportation had come to stay. There was a project to con
nect the Columbia Railroad and the Philadelphia, Wilmington &
Baltimore Railroad, which led to the passage of the Act of April
15, 1845, by which the Schuylkill Railroad was incorporated.
In 1854 the Philadelphia & Delaware Railroad Company took out
a charter to operate a steam railroad from Kensington to Easton.
Failing to realize their ambition, the promoters envisioned the possi
bility of running a horse-car line from what is now Sixth Street and
Montgomery Avenue, in Kensington, to the village of Southwark.
In 1856 preparations were made by the North Pennsylvania Rail
way Company to establish a line of passenger cars drawn by horses.
On January 3 the company put such a line in operation on a route
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TRANSPORTATION
about a mile and a half in length, extending from Willow Street along
Front to Germantown Road, thence to Second Street, to Cadwalader,
to Washington, to Cherry, connecting with what was known as the
Cohocksink depot. These vehicles were 14 feet long, and seated 24
persons.
In April 1858, by Act of Assembly, the Philadelphia & Delaware
Railroad Company became the Frankford & Southwark Philadelphia
City Passenger Railroad Company, forerunner of the many traction
and motor companies that have been incorporated to serve Phila
delphia. Shortly before reorganization, the Philadelphia & Delaware
Railroad Company, on January 21, 1858, ran its first horsecars from
Kensington to Southwark, carrying 10,000 persons on 15 cars during
the year. Such was the beginning of what long was known as "the
Fifth and Sixth Street line."
For a time the cars were banned from operation on Sundays. Minis
ters complained that the noise interrupted Sunday worship ; but a
Supreme Court decision held that operation on the Sabbath was not
a breach of the peace, and thereafter the cars ran seven days a week.
In 1857 the City Councils passed an ordinance permitting the car
lines to operate sleighs in winter.
Strong opposition to street railways flared up and was slow in
subsiding. Nevertheless, capitalists were stimulated by the success of
the Fifth and Sixth Street line, and immediately began to project
similar railways on Spruce and Pine Streets, Ridge Avenue, Second
and Third, and other thoroughfares. Although the depression that
followed the 1857 panic served to make the year 1858 a dull one
generally in Philadelphia, the stagnation was not evident in railway
circles. The West Philadelphia road, on Market Street, was the
second to go into operation and was closely followed by the Tenth
and Eleventh Street line on July 29. At that time, the Spruce and
Pine, Second and Third, Green and Coates, and Race and Vine Street
lines were in course of construction, and the Chestnut and Walnut
Street Company was still engaged in beating down a bitter opposition.
The fourth road to go into operation was the Spruce and Pine, on
November 2. Among other events of this period was the opening on
March 14, 1859, of the Girard College (Ridge Avenue) Railway.
In 1863, the Frankford & Southwark Company received authority
to operate steam-driven cars over its route from Berks Street to
Frankford. Their noisy engines, usually called "dummies," proved
quite satisfactory. They ran for the first time on November 7, 1863,
and survived about 30 years. Other attempts to use steam power were
made by the West Philadelphia Passenger Railway Company and by
the Haddington Line.
About this time the cable-car system began to be used successfully
in some cities, and Philadelphia decided to experiment with it. The
143
Old Schuylkill Navigation Canal Lock in Fairmount Park
"Alorig its path the straining tow mules plodded"
Assembly passed an act permitting use of the cable, and in April
1883 a line was opened along Columbia Avenue from Twenty-third
Street to Fairmount Park. This proved successful, and two years later
the Philadelphia Traction Company opened a cable line along Mar
ket Street from Front Street to Forty-first Street. The system was
used for 10 years, then was replaced by the electric trolley system.
In 1888 Frank J. Sprague developed in Richmond, Va., a success
ful electric street-car system, and again Philadelphia was eager to try
an innovation. The Philadelphia Traction Company stepped to the
fore and made practical use of the new method, operating in 1892
the first of such railways in Philadelphia. The route ran eastward
from the Schuylkill River, with tracks on Catharine and Bain-
bridge Streets. During the next four years the 400 miles of horse
and steam car lines in Philadelphia, with the exception of the Cal-
lowhill Street line, were electrified ; and on January 15, 1897, the
last horse car was driven over the latter line, marking the end of this
antiquated system in Philadelphia.
The rapid growth of the city made it necessary to evolve a speedier
means of transportation. In 1901 the State Legislature enacted the
legislation necessary to establish such a system (subway-elevated)
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TRANSPORTATION
along Market Street, and six years later the first high-speed line
began operation. In 1902 the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company
was incorporated, taking over all the transit companies in Philadel
phia, with the absorbed companies acting as "underliers," a name
by which they have since been known. They hold the leases of the
systems and collect rent from the P.R.T.
With formation of the P.R.T. the transportation history of Phila
delphia becomes the story of a single large system. The Market Street
Subway-Elevated was opened in March 1907, from Sixty-ninth Street
(Delaware County) to Fifteenth Street. In October 1908 the line was
extended eastward to Delaware Avenue, and thence south to South
Street. In November 1922 another branch extending north to Frank-
ford was built by the city and the three branches became a con
tinuous system.
In 1923 the first P.R.T. double-decked bus began operation, run
ning from Broad Street and Erie Avenue to Frankford Avenue and
Arrott Street. Trackless trolley coaches began operation in 1923 from
Twenty-second Street and Passyunk Avenue to Delaware and Oregon
Avenues.
The Broad Street subway, built by the city and leased to the
P.R.T., began operation in 1928 under Broad Street from Olney
Avenue to Market Street. Two years later it was extended to South
Street. In 1932 the Ridge Avenue and Eighth Street spur was opened;
and on June 7, 1936, the high-speed line over the Delaware River
Bridge, linking Philadelphia and Camden, began operation. The latter
line was built by the city under the direction of the Delaware River
Joint Commission, and was turned over to the Philadelphia Rapid
Transit Company for operation. It connects the Camden downtown
section with the Eighth and Market Street subway station in Phila
delphia.
Figures for 1937 showed the P.R.T. operating 2,150 trolley cars,
303 busses, 465 subway and elevated cars, and 8 trackless trolley
coaches. In 1936 the system had a gross operating revenue of $34,-
732,768. It "also operated about 930 taxicabs until February 1936,
when the cab holdings were sold to another company.
The necessity for some form of transportation of supplies and com
modities across the Delaware River was realized as early as 1695,
when the court at Gloucester, N. J., authorized establishment of a
ferry from the New Jersey shore to Pennsylvania. As traffic grew
through the years, Philadelphia became more and more dependent
upon these ferries. Until 1926, when the Delaware River Bridge was
opened to traffic, ferries were the only means of direct public trans-
river travel.
Besides the horsecars that were used during the early days of the
city s public transportation, steam railroads played an important
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PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
part. The Philadelphia & Germantowii Company as early as 1832
operated a steam railroad from Germantown to the Philadelphia
depot at Green and Ninth Streets. The steam trains ran only in fair
weather, the more reliable horse-drawn trains being depended upon
to maintain the schedule in bad weather.
In 1834 the Philadelphia & West Chester Railroad was begun, pro
viding steam-hauled transportation between the city and West Ches
ter. Many companies were soon in operation, running trains within
Philadelphia, and from Philadelphia to suburban points. Gradually
a strong central company was formed, absorbing the smaller lines
and providing a few great systems, thus increasing efficiency in both
passenger and freight carriage.
The Philadelphia & Reading Railroad began operation in 1842,
running trains between Philadelphia and Pottsville. The purpose of
the new line was to provide some means of shipping from the coal
regions to the industrial center of Philadelphia. The company devel
oped swiftly and in a short time was one of the largest systems in
this section.
The Pennsylvania Railroad, begun as the Columbia Railroad, was
started in 1832. Its development also was swift. It branched into the
western part of the State, carrying freight by means of a gigantic
network of lines to Philadelphia. The Broad Street Station was
erected in 1881, and the Suburban Station in 1930. A short time
later, the Thirtieth Street Station a huge and imposing structure
was opened to traffic.
The third great railroad system serving Philadelphia, the Balti
more & Ohio, was started in Baltimore. It was the first railroad in
the United States to transport both passengers and freight. The com
pany was incorporated in 1827, and started business in 1830. Begin
ning on a small scale, the railroad gradually developed a large inter
state business, fulfilling its purpose of competing with the Erie Canal,
New York s commercial route to Ohio s rich territory.
Philadelphia is without an airport for commercial flying. However,
a WPA project started at Hog Island in 1935 will, when completed,
provide the city with a municipal airport within 20 minutes travel of
Broad and Market Streets. The land for this airport was purchased by
the city from the United States, after its usefulness as a wartime ship
yard had ended. The Central Airport near Camden has served as
Philadelphia s airport since September 1929. When the new post
office was built at Thirtieth and Market Streets, a large flat roof was
laid out upon it to provide a landing place for autogyros. It is
planned eventually to have the autogyros carry mail to the airport,
where it will be transferred to waiting planes for delivery to other
cities.
146
LABOR AND LABOR PROBLEMS
A LARGE part of labor in early Philadelphia was furnished by
semi-servile whites, imported under bond for a term of years,
and by Negroes sold into chattel slavery. Although Penn s city
can claim a certain amount of credit for frowning upon the practice
of bartering in human beings, that odious practice went on un
checked for years at the Delaware River wharf.
William Penn s ingenious advertising in England and on the
European continent brought hundreds of artisans and mechanics to
the new Province, where they hoped to find escape from economic
and religious oppression. Indentured servants, redemptioners, and
debtors swelled the ranks of those who came.
Indentured servants were those men, women, even children
who, unable to pay their passage, signed a contract called an in
denture before leaving the Old World. This contract bound the
owner of the ship to transport such a person to America, and bound
the emigrant to serve the owner or his assigns for a specified number
of years after arrival in this country. Often the owner, upon reaching
port, sold his rights in the contract to the highest bidder, or for
whatever he could get as payment for passage. The redemptioner, on
the other hand, signed no contract before embarking, but agreed
with the shipping merchant to allow himself to be sold to the highest
bidder if, at the expiration of a month, he failed to find someone to
redeem him by paying the passage money. Others were debtors sold
for a fixed time to cancel their obligations, criminals unable to pay
their fines or willing to accept exile instead of prison or death, and
inmates of poorhouses bound out for periods of servitude to defray
the expense of their keeping.
The custom of selling criminals and indigents was brought about
by the inadequate facilities of jails and poorhouses. Directors of the
poor were empowered to bind men and women from the institutions
for periods not exceeding three years, but terms of indenture for
criminals varied. On one occasion a man who had stolen 14 was
sold for 16, his punishment being 21 lashes and six years of bond
age. Immigrant ships came regularly to Philadelphia from European
ports, bearing paupers and criminals whose arrival the newspapers
would announce somewhat like this : "Just arrived in the ship Sallie,
from Amsterdam, a number of men, women, and children redemp-
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PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
tioners. Their times will be disposed of on reasonable terms by the
captain on board." Parents sometimes sold their children in order
to cover their own passage. Husbands and wives became separated,
never again to meet. Sometimes the dreadful ships came up the
Delaware with their human cargo depleted by disease, exposure,
hunger, and ill treatment.
This traffic in humanity was carried on upon a vast scale. Agencies
in European cities set up branches in Philadelphia. Scores of dealers,
known as "newlanders" or "soul-drivers," invaded Germany and
Switzerland, inveigling thousands into leaving their homes for a life
of unsuspected slavery abroad. This continued until 1764, when a
German society in Philadelphia was founded especially for the pro
tection of redemptioners. Organized resistance also militated against
the practice of bringing into Pennsylvania captured Tuscarora
Indians from South Carolina, and selling them as bondmen.
In its more agreeable aspect, the term "indenture" was associated
with apprenticeship. A boy, in order to learn a trade, was bound to
his employer by an agreement known as an indenture. He usually
was taken into the employer s family and treated kindly. After serv
ing his apprenticeship, he often chose to remain with his employer
as a journeyman.
The earliest artisan in Philadelphia commonly started with little
more than tools. At first he went about from house to house, doing
his work with raw materials provided by the householder. Afterward,
it became more convenient for him to establish a shop in the town.
As his business grew, he employed two or three journeymen, in addi
tion to two or three apprentices. He also began to stock up with
finished products made by the journeymen, and to sell them to cus
tomers. The position of the journeyman became changed. He held
on to his tools, but lost ownership of the shops and the raw materials.
He was therefore dependent upon wages for his living, while the re
tail merchant-employer looked to his investment and his managerial
ability for remuneration.
The journeyman sought to protect the value of his skill by trying
to prevent others from entering his trade, knowing his wages would
be higher if there were fewer men with whom he had to compete.
On the other hand, the demand for his work was greater than he
himself could supply, and he was forced to train the unskilled worker
in his trade. But he saw to it that the term of apprenticeship was as
long as possible, thus delaying the apprentice in becoming his
competitor. In spite of limitations and restrictions, the number of
journeymen continued to grow. Immigration brought many recruits,
and industry began to replace skilled workers with unskilled workers.
Then the former started to organize into societies or trade unions,
to protect themselves against the unskilled.
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LABOR AND LABOR PROBLEMS
The first trade associations were organized as price-fixing groups
which regulated particular trades. They guaranteed to the public
products of high quality and fought against inferior ones. They were
benevolent groups, which not only had a form of "insurance" for
members, but also sought to educate apprentices. These associations
sometimes included both masters and journeymen, for some of the
mechanics believed their interests identical with those of their em
ployers. For example, they believed that if prices of goods were high,
wages would also be high. But mostly, the journeymen established
separate mutual-aid societies the division being on social, rather
than economic, lines.
The Carpenters Company of Philadelphia was founded in 1724
purely as a price-fixing association, so that the workman should have
a fair recompense for his labor and the owner the worth of his
money. It is probable that this company was composed solely of
master builders.
The first authentic record of the organization of a single trade and
the first strike of wage-earners in Philadelphia occurred in 1786. In
that year the Philadelphia printers went on strike for a minimum
wage of $6 a week. They won their demands, and the organization
disappeared. In May 1791 the Journeymen Carpenters of the City and
Liberties of Philadelphia struck against the master carpenters. This
was the first strike for a 10-hour working day in this country, but
the strikers lost.
The first continuous organization of wage-earners for the purpose
of maintaining or advancing wages was that of the shoemakers of
Philadelphia. The organization, instituted in 1792, existed less than
a year. The shoemakers again organized in 1794 under the name of
the Federal Society of Journeymen Cordwainers, and continued in
existence until 1806. In that year, and twice in 1809, the shoemakers
were indicted on charges of conspiracy. They were accused of un
lawfully assembling to "unjustly and corruptly conspire, combine,
confederate and agree together that none of them would work for
any master who would thereafter infringe or break the unlawful
rules of the boot and shoemakers." The judge, in instructing the
jury, declared : "A combination of workmen to raise their wages
may be considered in a twofold view : one is to benefit themselves ;
the other to injure those who do not join the society. The rule of
the law condemns both." The jury found the defendants guilty of a
conspiracy to raise wages.
The American labor movement first manifested itself in Philadel
phia in 1827, through a trade union demanding shorter hours of
work. This was soon converted into a political party, primarily urg
ing public education. This movement had for its keynote the desire
for equal citizenship the essentials of which were believed to be
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PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
leisure and education. The American wage-earners joined together
for the first time as a class, regardless of tnade lines, in a struggle
against employers. All previous labor agitation had been confined to
the limits of a single trade. In June 1827, 600 journeymen carpenters
went on strike for a 10-hour day. Other trade societies became in
terested, and a general movement began for the shorter work day.
Out of this movement grew the first union of all organized work
men in any American city. The Mechanics Union of Trade Associa
tions was formed in the latter part of 1827. All trade societies were
invited to join, and those not yet organized were urged to do so.
Its purpose was to establish a just balance of power mental, moral,
political, and scientific among the various classes.
In May of the following year the union resolved to submit to con
stituent societies a proposal for the nomination of persons who would
represent the working classes in the City Council and State Legis
lature. Political action was immediately endorsed by the various
trade unions. From this date, though the political movement ad
vanced, the Mechanics Union declined, and some time after November
1829 it went out of existence.
The Working Men s Party was formed in July 1828. From the start
the new movement was obliged to fight for its existence against the
machinations of professional politicians, who tried either to obtain
control of the meetings or to break them up. As a result of the first
campaign, eight candidates who were exclusively on the Working
Men s Party ticket received from 229 to 539 votes each in the city,
and about 425 votes in the county. All were defeated, but 21 candi
dates on the Jackson ticket endorsed by the Working Men s Party
were elected. The mere number of votes polled did not by any
means measure the influence of the first campaign. Indirectly, it
brought from the candidates for Congress of both the older parties
in the city an open acknowledgment of the justice of the working
people s attempts to lessen the established hours of daily labor.
The paramount emphasis laid upon education shows that the work-
in gmen s movement was a revolt primarily directed against social
and political, rather than economic, inequalities. The workingman
had achieved suffrage and believed that he should have leisure in
which to educate himself for proper use of his franchise. An early
report of the Philadelphia workingmen to the Legislature foreshad
owed the general public school system, the manual training schools,
the junior republics, and probably the kindergartens. This report
was accompanied by two bills for the establishment of a public
school system, and a combination of agricultural, mechanical, literary,
and scientific instruction. A tax on "dealers in ardent spirits" was
proposed as a means of raising the necessary money.
Before establishment of the Working Men s Party, there had been
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LABOR AND LABOR PROBLEMS
a movement to create public charity schools for the poor. But after
the report of the party was published, the plan for charity schools
was abandoned in favor of one for schools where children of rich
and poor might be educated side by side. The public school system
of today owes a large, if unrecognized, debt of gratitude to this effort
of the working classes to exercise independently their citizenship.
The abolition of imprisonment for debt was undoubtedly hastened
by the strong and general support it received from the Working
Men s Party. In Pennsylvania, as a result of attention directed to the
evils of child labor in factories, legislative consideration was given
the subject in 1832, and again in 1837.
Economic changes were causing the shift from mutual insurance
to trade protection. The merchant-capitalist had gained control of
the market and the productive process. Hand tools continued to be
used, yet orders had become wholesale. Competition between masters
in different communities became acute. The merchant-capitalist even
resorted to the use of prison labor. This competitive pressure on the
masters was passed on to the journeymen. Apprentice labor was then
done by children and unskilled workers, and a great number of wo
men entered industrial employment. In 1830 it was said that many
journeymen printers of Philadelphia were out of work because of
the employment of boys. In 1836, 24 of 58 societies of Philadelphia
were seriously affected by female labor, to the impoverishment of
whole families and the benefit chiefly of the employers. The Female
Improvement Society including tailoresses, seamstresses, binders,
folders, stock makers, milliners, corset makers, and mantua makers
had been organized June 20, 1835. This was probably the first
federation of women workers in the country.
During the 1830 s the city central union form of organization ap
peared, two separate trades unions in Philadelphia springing up in
close succession. The Trades Union of Pennsylvania, composed of
delegates from the factory districts surrounding Philadelphia, was
organized in August 1833, but disappeared four months later. The
Trades Union of the City and County of Philadelphia was organized
the same year and lasted only until 1838. It was composed of mech
anics of the city, although later it was opened to factory workers and
day laborers.
The 10-hour day movement, begun in June 1834, took on the aspect
of a crusade in Philadelphia. Coalheavers and common laborers on
the Schuylkill docks started it. Then followed a strike of 14 other
unions. The excitement was intense ; organized processions marched
through the streets to the tune of fife and roll of drum. The general
strike ended in a victory for the trade unionists, a victory so over
whelming; that its influence extended to many other towns.
In 1834 there were 6,000 trade unionists in Philadelphia. Delegates
151
1 1
I
Midvale Steel Works
"Melted Steel"
attended a national convention in New York in August 1834, when
the National Trades Union was formed. The third annual convention
of that organization was held at Military Hall in Philadelphia from
October 24 to 28, 1836. No later meeting was recorded. Education,
speculation in public lands, prison labor, the 10-hour day, and female
and child labor were the problems which concerned the organization
during its existence.
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LABOR AND LABOR PROBLEMS
The labor movement in Philadelphia was virtually wiped out after
the panic of 1837, workers turning to politics and cooperation for
relief. Exponents of Fourierism, based on the socialistic philosophy
of Francois Marie Charles Fourier, succeeded in organizing a few
isolated cooperative and social reform organizations during the forties
and fifties. This movement failed to obtain the sympathy and support
of the workers generally, because people were not inclined to live in
communal colonies, sharing a common kitchen, common living quar
ters, and cooperative cuisine.
Local impetus was given to the formation of national unions dur
ing the industrial depression after the panic of 1857. The Machinists
and Blacksmiths Union was formed the following year, the local
taking the initiative in forming a national organization, as did the
Philadelphia Moulders Union in 1859.
In March 1860 the Machinists and Blacksmiths Union called a
strike in the Baldwin Locomotive Works against a reduction in wags
and payment of arrear wages in company stock. Although the strike
was lost, the workers received nation-wide attention for battling
against the then greatest shop in the country.
The first effects of the Civil War were a paralysis of business and
the increase of unemployment. Prosperity returned after the passage
of the legal tender act in 1862, but wage earners did not benefit by
prosperity, because of low wages and the high cost of living. The
most influential labor paper of that period, pnd one of the best ever
published in the United States, was Fincher s Trades 9 Review, printed
in Philadelphia from 1863 to 1866. The paper was a true mirror of
the national labor movement.
During the war the local trades assembly was the common unit of
organization. The Philadelphia Trades Assembly was organized in
1863 at the instigation of the Philadelphia Journeymen House Paint
ers Association. Within a year 28 local unions were affiliated.
With the upward sweep of prices in 1862, cooperatives were estab
lished by workingmen. The first substantial effort in this direction
was that of the Union Cooperative Association of Philadelphia, the
first to be formed, in December 1862. It expanded, and eventually
established several branches in various parts of the city. In the field
of trade unionism, the nationalization of markets gave birth to the
national trade union. During the Civil War and Reconstruction period,
the American labor movement developed its characteristic national
features.
Four sets of causes operated during the sixties to bring about this
nationalization : competition of products of different localities in
the same market ; competition for employment between migratory
out-of-town journeymen and locally organized mechanics ; organi
zation of employers ; and application of machinery, which introduced
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PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
a division of labor, splitting old established trades and laying them
open to invasion of "green hands."
The most significant event in the local labor movement for many
years was the organization of the Knights of Labor in 1869. Nine
members of the old Philadelphia Garment Cutters Association were
among those who joined. It was a secret society, with an elaborate
ritual. By 1873 more than 80 locals had been organized in or near
Philadelphia, and the organization had become nation-wide in its
scope. This rapid growth was due to several factors. In the seventies,
trade unions were declining or disbanding because of the warfare
which employers were conducting against them. As a result, work-
ingmen were attracted to a society such as the Knights because of
its secrecy, which was maintained until 1878. In addition, industrial
unionism, as opposed to the craft distinctions of the older unions,
was favored by the new organization, thus making eligible for mem
bership all working people regardless of sex, race, or skill.
The membership was grouped in local assemblies on the basis of
residence rather than of occupation or craft. Borrowing from the
First International of Karl Marx the technique of centralized control
and common action, the Knights developed their organization into a
potent instrument for fighting labor s battles. Their chief weaknesses,
however, were their refusal to enter the political field as a labor party,
and a lack of aggressiveness in leadership. The society was brought
into conflict with the craft unions of skilled workers, and this led to
its ultimate submergence under the rising tide of the American Fed
eration of Labor during the nineties.
In July 1877 members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers
employed by the Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia & Reading
Railroads joined the great railroad strike which had broken out over
the country. The strike, directed against a wage reduction and the
open-shop policies of the railroads, was broken by the State militia
and the police.
The internecine war between the Knights of Labor and the craft
unions during the eighties was manifested locally in 1888, when
locomotive engineers and firemen enrolled in the brotherhood broke
a strike of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad employees, which
had been called by the Knights of Labor. Refusal of the Knights to
join the eight-hour day movement widened the rift with the Ameri
can Federation of Labor and allied unions, so that by 1890 the for
mer s membership and prestige had dwindled to almost nothing.
During the nineties and the first decade of the twentieth century
the local labor movement was marked by the increasing strength of
the federated unions, particularly those in the textile industry.
Socialists had entered some of the unions. The Industrial Workers
of the World emerged locally in this period, but made only small
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LABOR AND LABOR PROBLEMS
gains. The activity of the textile unions of Philadelphia since the
eighties had paved the way for one of the most important textile
strikes in the history of the city the strike for a 55-hour work
week in 1903. The city s entire textile industry was forced to close
down when 75,000 workers went out. The strike lasted several
months. In all but a few plants the workers lost the strike.
After the depression of 1907, business conditions improved slowly,
and labor began to press the fight for improved standards of living.
In 1909 the streetcar workers of the Philadelphia Rapid Transit
Co., dissatisfied with their wage of 20 cents an hour, went on strike
for a four-cent increase. The strike was defeated by the company s
use of strikebreakers. A year later the P.R.T. employees struck again,
with instructions from their leaders not to return to work until their
union was recognized by the company and the wage rate increased
from 20 to 25 cents per hour. Strikebreakers were brought in to run
the trolleys and break up the strike. Virtual warfare ensued, much
property being destroyed and many persons injured. The strike
ended in defeat for the workers. A sympathy strike of 15,000 textile
workers, called by the textile unions when the street-car men went
out, gave considerable unity and impetus to the local labor move
ment for the next decade.
To meet the high cost of living that prevailed during the World
War period, wages for labor generally were raised. Consequently,
there was little unrest in local industry throughout the war years.
In 1919 the textile workers won the 48-hour week. Collective bargain
ing helped to preserve stability in industrial relations until the de
pression of 1921, when the open-shop drive of certain manufacturers
started a wave of strikes that has continued unabated up to 1937.
The introduction of labor spies, "yellow-dog" contracts, and strike
breaking tactics has served to sharpen the struggle with each succeed
ing year.
On June 13, 1933, Congress passed the National Industrial Re
covery Act to speed recovery, to foster fair competition, and to pro
vide for construction of certain useful public works. Section 7a of
the act provided that labor should have the right to organize and
bargain collectively through representatives of its own choosing, and
section 7b directed that the President should, as far as practicable,
afford every opportunity for employers and employees to establish by
mutual agreement standard maximum hours of labor and minimum
rates of pay. In order to speed up achievement of the objectives of
the NIRA, a blanket code was presented June 19. This code set maxi
mum hours and minimum wages for labor.
Section 7a was hailed as a sort of Magna Charta for the working-
man. Immediately, thousands of workers began drives for the or
ganization of trade unions, for better wages and shorter hours. Thou-
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PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
sands of Philadelphia workers pocketbook makers, textile workers,
painters, decorators and paperhangers, cab drivers, necktie workers,
and actors went on strike.
But Section 7a did not always prove a boon to the workers. Em
ployers were glad to seize upon the minimum wage and maximum
hours set by the blanket code, and thereby lower wages to a mini
mum (if they had previously been higher) or increase the number
of hours to maximum. Or they chose to interpret "organization of
own choosing" as referring to the company type of union and to
refuse to recognize bona fide unions. And a labor board often spent
its efforts persuading workers to return to shops without having their
demands met.
An outstanding example of defiance of the NIRA was the case of
the E. G. Budd Manufacturing Co. of Philadelphia. On November
14, 1933, 2,000 workers in this plant struck for a wage increase, union
recognition, and a 35-hour week. The regional labor board reviewed
the case and ordered an election to determine which organization
should be the collective bargaining agency. The company defied the
ruling, held a company union election, and hired outsiders to re
place strikers. Feeling was so intense that Gen. Hugh Johnson,
then National Recovery Administrator, gave personal attention to
the case. Finally an election was arranged in which strikebreakers
were permitted to vote as well as strikers. Vigorous protest arose from
labor leaders in Philadelphia. The liberal press of the Nation con
demned the company. However, a total of 5,762 votes were cast, the
strike eventually ending in March 1934, with a defeat for the workers.
One factor which helped mitigate the industrial unrest in which
Philadelphia, a "workshop city," naturally shared, was the Regional
Labor Board, one of the 17 erected in 1933 as an adjunct to the
N.R.A.
Under the chairmanship of Jacob Billikopf, who organized and
directed the handling of the many cases brought before it, this board
served for 19 months without compensation, adjudicating nearly a
thousand disputes affecting more than 1,250,000 workers. Its novel
technique, a panel system, was among the factors which contributed
to the board s success and won it high praise, this system being later
followed in many places. Representatives of industry, and an equal
number of labor leaders were drawn upon in pairs to confer with
disputants and arrange amicable settlements of the points at issue.
Full sessions of the board were held weekly. Its effectiveness is shown
by the fact that less than 10 per cent of the cases brought before it
for settlement were forwarded to the national body in Washington
for review.
Violence sometimes accompanied enforcement of the provisions
of the NIRA. Two hosiery workers were killed during a hosiery
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LABOR AND LABOR PROBLEMS
strike, and many arrests were made. In May 1935 the NIRA was
declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States,
but the National Labor Relations Act which set up a National Labor
Relations Board became a law in July of that year. This act guarantees
to employees the right to organize and to bargain collectively, and has
aided in bringing about a better mutual understanding between
capital and labor. Major Stanley W. Root, who had served as director
of the Regional Labor Board, was named regional director of this new
group.
The city body of American Federation of Labor trade unions in
present-day Philadelphia is the Central Labor Union. In its 1935
directory that organization lists 187 locals of international unions
and 20 Federal unions as affiliates. Thirty-four other unions, mostly
in the railroad trades, are listed as unaffiliated. The secretary of the
local American Federation of Labor estimated that some 225,000
workers were organized in A. F. of L. unions and probably about
15,000 in independent unions. Twenty unions received Federal char
ters during 1936.
The two best organized trade unions in Philadelphia at present
are those of the clothing and the textile workers. Most of the original
textile workers came to Philadelphia from England and Germany,
with long traditions of unionism behind them. Until the period from
1921 to 1931, the textile industry was able to maintain strong unions.
But like many other unions, they were unable to survive the depres
sion of 1931. Some passed out of existence. Since the National Re
covery Administration, some of the groups especially the hosiery
workers have been able to strengthen their organizations greatly.
In September 1934, 28,000 Philadelphia textile workers from 200
mills joined in a nation-wide textile strike. The strikers demands in
cluded a 30-hour week, pay increases, a closed shop, elimination of
the "stretch-out" system, better working conditions and union recog
nition. By the end of the month, peace had been restored in all but
20 mills, where "lock-outs" affected 2,000 workers. It was at the re
quest of President Roosevelt that the textile employees had gone back
to their jobs. Arbitration followed, in which their demands were
lost ; but at least one outcome of the struggle was the President s
creation of the Textile Relations Board, which focused attention in
particular upon the "stretch-out" system denounced by labor.
The Philadelphia department stores were the next to feel the
effects, two years later, of a serious labor dispute. The trouble began
in November 1936, with a walkout of warehouse drivers and other
warehouse employees. The demand was for increased wages, better
working conditions, and union recognition. The warehouse men soon
were joined by clerks, stockkeepers and the sales force in a sym-
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PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
pathy walkout. A temporary truce was agreed upon until after
Christmas, when representatives of labor and the stores met with
Mayor S. Davis Wilson s Labor Arbitration Board. Settlement of the
dispute was finally arrived at in May 1937. This was one of 104
strikes settled by the board during the 16 months of its existence.
While settlement of the department store strike was pending, Phila
delphia became the objective of a drive made by the Committee for
Industrial Organization, or CIO, opposed by the American Feder
ation of Labor because it sponsored industrial organization in op
position to craft unionism. It first appeared in the city on January
4, 1937, when it sponsored a strike of 1,800 employees of the Electric
Storage Battery Company.
This strike was Philadelphia s first experience with the new "sit-
down" technique. All the company s plants were effectually closed
until February 24, when an agreement providing for a five-cents-an-
hour wage increase and one week s vacation with pay was signed in
Mayor Wilson s office.
The CIO thus came out the winner in this first tilt, and the result
was the organization of the Philadelphia CIO Council in March 1937.
Craft members and unorganized workers were now recruited at top
speed, and within 60 days the CIO membership had shot up to 10,000.
A truck drivers strike began July 24 following, in which the CIO
and A. F. of L. affiliates clashed. A reign of terror in which a driver
was dragged from his truck and stabbed, cabs and trucks were over
turned and set afire, and much property damaged or destroyed, finally
caused the Mayor after mobilizing additional police force to quell
the violence, to declare a "state of emergency."
Settlement of the general strike was effected on August 4 through
an exchange of letters between the Mayor and an attorney for the
A. F. of L. union, despite which, violence and disorder ruled the city
that evening and the following day. When the strike was called off,
no contract had been drawn up with the employer with regard to con
tract haulers.
158
RELIGIONS
BEGINNING as a wilderness sanctuary for a persecuted religious
sect, Philadelphia today is marked by hundreds of church
steeples pointing high above surrounding rooftops. The grave
yards in the shadow of these churches hold the mortal remains of
Quaker, Dunkard, Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopalian, Presbyterian,
Baptist, Jew representatives of the many faiths to find refuge in
Penn s city.
Many of the churches had their origin in meetings held outdoors,
in tiny dwellings, in barns, fortresses or even, across the Atlantic,
in places as inaccessible as the catacombs themselves. But in Phila
delphia there was no need to hide, so the spires of many religious
edifices now write upon the sky America s guarantee of religious
freedom.
Lutheran
THE LUTHERAN Church was established in the Philadelphia
area before William Penn arrived in 1682. The early Swedish
colonists on the Delaware were Lutherans. Some of these organized
a congregation at Wicaco (now part of South Philadelphia) in 1638 ;
at Tinicum in 1677 ; and in the Old Swedes Church (Gloria Dei) in
1700. By the end of the eighteenth century, the descendants of the
original colonists had become thoroughly Anglicized, and the Swedish
Lutheran Church, Gloria Dei, became Episcopalian.
New groups of Lutheran immigrants began to come from Germany,
some settling in and about Philadelphia, especially in Germantown,
before the turn of the century. After 17 10 the influx of German
immigrants, half of them Lutherans, assumed larger proportions.
Some of them gathered for worship in Germantown as early as 1726,
and in 1730 they had erected St. Michael s. By 1733 another group
was worshiping in a barn on Arch Street below Fifth. In 1742, with
the arrival of the noted Dr. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, German
Lutheranism was definitely organized and assumed its place in the
religious life of Philadelphia. The Ministerium of Pennsylvania, or
ganized by Muhlenberg and others, is the oldest ecclesiastical organi
zation of its kind in America, dating from 1747.
Since the close of the eighteenth century the Lutheran churches in
Philadelphia have multiplied rapidly. There are now 155 in this
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PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
area. Most of them are affiliated with the Ministerium of Pennsyl
vania and the East Pennsylvania Synod.
Friends Hicksites^and^Orthodox
HPHE Society of Friends, or Quakers, was founded in England in
L the seventeenth century by George Fox. One of his followers,
William Penn, obtained in 1681 the grant of Pennsylvania, and for
70 years the influence of the Friends predominated in Philadelphia.
The essential Christian doctrines of the Friends were in accord
with those of their fellow Christians. Their distinctive doctrine was
that the Holy Spirit spoke immediately to the individual, a precept
often called the "Inner Light." The meetings were marked by silence,
unless some individual was moved by the Spirit to speak. As a sect,
Quakers emphasized spiritual baptism and communion rather than
the outward rites, and maintained that war and oaths were incon
sistent with Christianity.
In 1827 a controversy developed between two groups in the society.
The Orthodox faction contended that the unsound doctrines of the
Hicksites caused the difference ; the Hicksites charged that the
Orthodox were arbitrary in authority. The Hicksites apparently
questioned the divinity of Jesus Christ, the doctrine of atonement,
and the inspiration and authority of the Bible.
The Orthodox Friends school in Philadelphia is Friends Select
School ; the Hicksite Friends are represented by Friends Central
School. There are at present in the city 3,000 Orthodox Friends, with
six meetinghouses, and more than 2,000 Hicksites, with four meeting
houses.
On March 30, 1937, the two groups met in joint session for the first
time since the schism of 1827, when they gathered at the Hicksite
Meeting House to plan for the Friends World Conference.
Protestant Episcopal
f^HE first Church of England congregation in Pennsylvania was
L organized at the instance of Henry Compton, Bishop of London.
Penn s charter specifically empowered the bishop to establish it. As
early as 1695 a small group of churchmen of that denomination pur
chased a plot of ground on Second Street and erected Christ Church.
Rev. Thomas Clayton, appointed by Bishop Compton, came from
England to take charge, and within two years, under his active leader
ship the congregation had increased from 50 persons to 700.
After the death of Rev. Mr. Clayton, Rev. Evan Evans arrived in
1700 to take his place. Evans proved eminently fitted for advancing the
cause of religion in the growing town. He organized many congre-
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RELIGION
gallons and visited them frequently. His flock in Philadelphia in
creased rapidly. Four additional churches had been erected in the
surrounding settlements by 1704. Rapid growth marked the Protes
tant Episcopal faitk until the Revolution, at which time congrega
tions were split by Whig and Tory sympathies.
At the close of the Revolutionary War the church was bereft of its
clergy. Its ministers had been popularly suspected of being represen
tatives of the British Government. The one minister remaining in
Pennsylvania, one who had been a confidant of Washington and the
trusted friend of patriot leaders, was the youthful William White.
He dedicated all his energies to reconstruction of the religious heri
tage, exerting strong influence upon the work of reestablishing the
spiritual and material forces of the Episcopal Church. His immediate
task was to enlist and train native-born ministers. In 1783 he submitted
to his vestry a proposal to form a representative body of the Epis
copal churches in the State. This body met on May 24, 1784, and
three years later White was elected to the episcopate.
In Colonial times most of the prominent non-Quaker Philadel-
phians were members of this church. At present, the Protestant
Episcopal Church has many imposing edifices in Philadelphia. Christ
Church and Gloria Dei are the oldest of this list, each having a long
and rich historical tradition. The city s total number of communi
cants is 75,159.
Presbyterian
A LTHOUGH Philadelphia was destined to become an important
^"*- center of Presbyterian influence, Presbyterianism in America
antedates its first congregation in Philadelphia by more than half
a century. A congregation existed in Virginia as early as 1614, and
another was organized in New England August 6, 1629. But these
were antedated by a church in the Bermudas founded in 1612.
In 1692 groups of Baptists and Presbyterians met in the old Bar
bados storehouse, Second and Chestnut Streets, to lay the foundation
for both denominations. One group held morning services and the
other met in the afternoon. This association continued for three years,
until the arrival from New England of Jedediah Andrews. The con
gregation in the Barbados storehouse became strictly Presbyterian
under his pastoral guidance, the Baptists withdrawing. The year 1698
is generally accepted as the date of the organization of the First
Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia.
By 1704 the congregation had so increased as to be able to erect a
building of its own on High (now Market) Street between Second
and Third. Two years later the first presbytery met there. The num
ber of Presbyterians had increased to such an extent by 1716 that the
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PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
presbytery felt justified in constituting the Synod of Philadelphia.
The meeting for organization was held in First Presbyterian Church.
It was here also, that the General Assembly of the Presbyterian
Church in the United States of America was organized.
First Church continued as the sole Presbyterian church in the city
until, in 1743, the Second Presbyterian Church was organized, with
Gilbert Tennent as pastor. The formation of this church came as a
direct result of the preaching activities of Tennent and George White-
field at the time of the "Great Awakening." In 1762 Third Presby
terian Church was founded. Construction of the church building on
Pine Street near Fourth was not begun, however, until 1766. When
the present structure was erected in 1857, a section of the wall of the
original building was retained. The fourth Presbyterian society to be
organized was the Church of the Northern Liberties, established in
1813.
The close of the Colonial period, therefore, found Philadelphia
Presbyterians with four distinct societies in four houses of worship.
At present there are 108 Presbyterian churches and a Presbyterian
population of 61,000 in the city.
Baptist
THE first permanent Baptist church established in Philadelphia
and still existing is that known as the Lower Dublin or the Old
Pennepek (Pennypack) Church. Organized in January 1688 by Rev.
Elias Keach, it is termed "Mother of All Baptist Churches in Penn
sylvania, New Jersey, New York, Delaware, and Maryland," although
a Baptist congregation existed as early as 1684 at Cold Spring, near
Bristol. Services of the present congregation are held in an edifice
on Krewstown Road, near Welsh Road, in the Bustleton section.
The present First Baptist Church of Penn s city was founded in
1698 as a branch of that at Lower Dublin, and was not formally con
stituted until 1746. (Until 1698 services were held in the Barbados
storehouse) . The present house of worship is at Sansom and Seven
teenth Streets.
The number of Baptists grew rapidly, and the city became the
center of Baptist activities. Perhaps the most noted leader in the
city was Rev. Dr. Russell H. Conwell, who became pastor of Grace
Baptist Church in 1881. Largely by lecturing, Dr. Conwell raised
more than $8,000,000, with which sum he founded Temple University
and three great hospitals : Samaritan (now Temple University Hos
pital), Garretson, and Greatheart. From a little, debt-ridden mission,
Grace Church became the Grace Baptist Temple at Broad and
Berks Streets, with a seating capacity of 3,500. Out of a class of two
or three young men meeting in the pastor s study grew the great
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RELIGION
Temple University from which, at the time of Dr. Conwell s death
in 1925, approximately 125,000 students had been graduated.
Among the larger Baptist churches, in addition to those mentioned,
are : Alpha, York and Hancock Streets ; Chestnut Street, Chestnut
Street west of Fortieth ; and Second, Second Street near Girard
Avenue. The Baptist membership in the metropolitan area of Phila
delphia numbers 46,162 white and approximately 50,000 Negro wor
shipers.
Mennonite
A GROUP of a dozen small bodies of Mennonites regard Menno
Simons, a Dutch Anabaptist, as their founder. Most of them
came to America from Holland, Germany, Switzerland, or Russia.
The first Mennonite colony was formed in Germantown in 1683
by some of the 13 original settlers. By 1708 they had built a little
log meetinghouse on Main Street (now Germantown Avenue) above
Herman Street. William Rittenhouse was the first pastor of the con
gregation. He is buried in the adjoining graveyard. In 1770 the
present Mennonite Meetinghouse replaced the log structure.
Members of the sect believe in adult baptism, non-resistance, and
practical piety, and are opposed to the judicial oath. The Mennonites
(General Conference) have 800 members and three churches in
Philadelphia ; and the Mennonite Brethren in Christ, with 400 mem
bers, also have three churches.
Brethren
I. Brethren Church (Progressive Dunkards) .
II. Church of the Brethren (Conservative Dunkards).
THIS religious group represents the Pietists who came from Cre-
feld, Germany, under the leadership of Peter Becker, and settled
in Germantown in 1719. At 6611 Germantown Avenue is the meeting
house which sheltered the mother congregation of the sect in America.
The front section of the building was erected in 1770. The first Bible
printed in this country in German came from the press of Christopher
Saur, or Sauer, a member of this congregation.
These Germans were called Dunkers (baptizers), because of their
belief in immersionism. Their communion was held in the evening,
preceded by the rite of foot washing and the love feast. Simple, plain-
living, devout Christians of the evangelical type, they are conserva
tive regarding attire ; they are opposed to taking oaths ; and they
advocate non-resistance and temperance.
The Progressives, who are more liberal in their customs and man
ners, and who believe that all ecclesiastical power should be lodged
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PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
in the local church, withdrew from the main body in 1882. They
have 300 members and two churches here. The Conservatives have
1,500 members and five churches.
Reformed
HPHE Reformed Church in the United States, until 1869 known as
-- the German Reformed Church, developed as a result of religious
persecution in Germany and Switzerland. Many did not subscribe to
the doctrines of Luther, finding the teachings of Zwingli and Calvin
more acceptable.
When, in 1684, the first of these refugees came to America, the Re
formed Church had its inception in the New World, although it did
not become fully organized until 1725. The vast majority of the new
settlers flocked to Pennsylvania, most of them proceeding inland be
yond Philadelphia to what is now Montgomery County. The first
German Reformed minister to arrive was Samuel Guldin, who
preached in Germantown in 1718.
The First Reformed Church of Philadelphia, founded in 1727,
was the first of this denomination in the city. Now at Fiftieth and
Locust Streets, it is one of 27 Reformed churches in the Philadelphia
area. Heidelberg, Broad and Grange Streets ; Trinity, Broad and
Venango Streets ; and Grace, Eleventh and Huntingdon Streets, have
the largest congregations.
Evangelical and Reformed
THE Evangelical and Reformed Church was formed in 1934 by a
union of the Evangelical Synod of North America and the Re
formed Church in the United States (German Reformed).
The Evangelical Synod traces its origin from missionaries of the
Evangelical Church of Germany and Switzerland, who organized a
synod in 1840 at Gravois, Mo. The first recorded communion service
of the Reformed Church in the United States was held in 1725. The
original German Reformed Church building was erected in German-
town in 1733, on the site now occupied by the Market Square Presby
terian Church. In 1747 a church was built in Philadelphia proper, on
Race Street near Fourth. Members of both churches numbered 15,800
in 1937.
Roman Catholic
OF ALL who sought friendly shelter in Penn s Province, to none
was it a more welcome haven than to the Catholics. Subjected to
the lash of persecution elsewhere, they found a true refuge in Phila
delphia. Here they could worship openly.
164
St. Paul s Protestant
Episcopal Church
"Here Stephen Girard
was married; here Edwin
Forrest lies"
Stenton House
"Home of
William Perm s
Secretary"
PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
A chapel was established about 1729 in a private house next to
the southeast corner of Second and Chestnut Streets. Although prior
to this period Mass was celebrated in private homes by visiting Jesuits,
this chapel marked the beginning of the Roman Catholic Church
here.
Father Joseph Greaton, a Jesuit who arrived in Philadelphia in
1729, was the first to exercise his ministry in this humble place. Later,
in the years between 1731 and 1733, the exact time not being clear,
he built the tiny chapel of St. Joseph, oldest Catholic church in Phila
delphia. The present building, which was erected in 1838, is the
fourth structure on that site. Standing in Willing s Alley, between
Third and Fourth Streets, and surrounded by the offices of large in
surance companies, it is of lasting interest because of its association
with Colonial and Revolutionary times.
Father Greaton s two successors were responsible for new edifices.
St. Mary s, on Fourth Street north of Spruce, was erected in 1763
through the work of Father Harding. Father Molyneux opened a
parish school there in 1782. Father Steinmeyer, a German Jesuit, who
assisted Father Harding and Father Molyneux, was instrumental in
settling difficulties between Catholics of German origin and those of
Irish origin. In addition to his activities among the Germans in Phila
delphia, he journeyed as a missionary through Pennsylvania, New
Jersey, and New York. The colonists knew him as "Father Farmer."
After "Father Farmer s" death, the German Catholics felt the need
of a church of their own, and in 1788 built Holy Trinity Church at
Sixth and Spruce Streets. Of red and black glazed brick, this edifice
appears now substantially as it did when first built.
In 1793 there arose a demand for a church in the northern section
of the city. Opportunely, the Augustinians were seeking to establish
their order in the United States, and to them was entrusted the pro
ject of erecting a new church. St. Augustine s was dedicated in 1801.
The present structure, rebuilt in 1847, stands on the original site, on
Fourth Street between Race and Vine.
Until 1808 the Catholic Church in Philadelphia had been under
the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Baltimore. In that year, however,
the city was proclaimed a separate diocese, and two years later Bishop
Egan was installed as the first Bishop of Philadelphia.
In 1832 Bishop Francis P. Kenrick established, in an upstairs room
of St. Mary s rectory on Fourth Street, what eventually became the
diocesan seminary of St. Charles Borromeo. The first class consisted
of five students. In 1871 the seminary was transferred to its present
site in Overbrook. Toward the latter part of his 21-vear administra
tion Bishop Kenrick chose a site at Eighteenth and Race Streets for
a cathedral. The first Mass was sung in the Cathedral of SS. Peter
and Paul on Easter Sunday, 1862.
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RELIGION
John Nepomucene Neumann, a Redemptorist, was made bishop of
the diocese in March 1852. One of his first acts was to provide Catholic
schools. At his death eight years later, they numbered nearly 100.
Bishop Neumann has been proclaimed "Blessed" by the Church.
This is a step preliminary to placing him on the calendar of saints.
In 1868 the Holy See divided the diocese of Philadelphia, establish
ing a new diocese at Scranton and another at Harrisburg. Philadel
phia was elevated to the rank of a Metropolitan See in 1875.
His Eminence, Cardinal Dougherty, has been Archbishop of Phila
delphia since July 1918. In 1921 he was created cardinal. The Catholic
population of the archdiocese is estimated at 837,000.
Moravian
T^OLLOWERS of the pre-Reformation faith of Johann Huss, the
*- Moravian immigrants first settled in Georgia in 1735. They moved
to Pennsylvania in 1740, built the towns of Bethlehem and Nazareth,
and for some time adopted a form of communism to help them in
their efforts to conquer the wilderness. Under Count Zinzendorf they
cultivated a closely supervised spiritual discipline and endeavored to
separate themselves from the world. The Moravian Church is broadly
evangelical, and has a liturgy and an episcopal form of government.
The first Moravian church was built in Philadelphia in 1742, at
Race and Broad Streets, through the efforts and ministry of Count
Zinzendorf. The Moravians have 1,000 members in Philadelphia, with
three churches.
Judaism
l^ROM a few scattered pioneers in 1720 to a total of 247,000 in
1936 such is the growth of Judaism and the Jewish population
in Philadelphia.
In 1747 the first congregation in the city was begun, later acquir
ing the name of Kahal Kadosh Mikveh Israel. It is believed to have
held services in a small house in Sterling Alley, which ran from
Cherry Street to Race, just below Front. The first synagogue was
erected on Cherry Street between Third and Fourth and dedicated
in 1782, with Rabbi Gershon Mendes Israel Seixas as first minister.
The services of Mikveh Israel closely resembled the Orthodox
ritual of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews. Many of the early mem
bers were refugees from the Spanish Inquisition. The first Hebrew
Sunday School in America opened in Philadelphia on March 4, 1838,
as an adjunct to Mikveh Israel Congregation. Chief organizer of the
school was Rebecca Gratz, noted for her talent and beauty, as well as
for her strict adherence to the tenets of Judaism.
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PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
Mikveh Israel has had many noted members during its long history.
Among them were Isaac Leeser, first American to translate the Old
Testament into English, and editor of an important Jewish magazine,
The Occident ; Rabbi Sabato Morais, founder of the Jewish Theo
logical Seminary of New York, a profound scholar and a doctor of
laws of the University of Pennsylvania ; Marcus Jastrow, author of
the only Talmudic dictionary in English ; Joseph Krauskopf, founder
of the National Farm School, in Doylestown ; Samuel Hirsch, na
tionally known religious orator ; and Henry Berkowitz, founder of
the Jewish Chautauqua Society. In 1860 Mikveh Israel was removed
to Seventh Street above Arch. It is now located at Broad and York
Streets.
The first synagogue of the German Jews was Rodeph Shalom,
chartered in 1802. First worship was held in a building on Pear Street,
later on Margaretta Street, then, in 1846, on Juliana (now Randolph)
Street, which lies between and parallel to Fifth and Sixth. In 1870
the congregation dedicated a new synagogue at Broad and Mt. Vernon
Streets. The present imposing synagogue was erected in 1927.
For some time this congregation was strictly Orthodox, but in 1866.
under the direction of Dr. Jastrow, many innovations of the liberal
wing of Judaism were adopted. With the coming of Rabbi Henry
Berkowitz in 1892, the congregation definitely allied itself with Re
formed Judaism, and is today one of the outstanding Reformed Con
gregations of America. In 1887 Rodeph Shalom built a school at 956
North Eighth Street. The Jewish Cultural Association also developed
from this congregation.
The third synagogue in Philadelphia was known as Beth Israel,
and held its first services in a rented hall near Fifth and Walnut
Streets in December 1840. The synagogue is now at Thirty-second
Street and Montgomery Avenue.
The Reformed Congregation, Keneseth Israel, largest in the city,
was organized in 1847. Services were held in a hall at 528 North
Second Street. At present the synagogue is on Broad Street above
Columbia Avenue. The congregation supports a free library and read
ing room. There were about 10 synagogues in Philadelphia in 1875.
At the end of 1935 there were 119.
Methodist Episcopal
ETHODISM was introduced into Philadelphia in 1769 by Dr.
Joseph Pilmoor, who preached his first sermon from the steps
of the State House. His teachings, however, were not entirely new,
for a year earlier Thomas Webb, a captain in the British army, had
conducted services. Later, sermons were delivered by Dr. Pilmoor in
open fields around the city. Dr. Pilmoor was assisted by Captain
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RELIGION
Webb. Many were impressed by the latter s stern mien. The first
regular meetings were held in a pothouse in Loxley s Court, between
Arch and Cherry Streets.
The first Methodist Episcopal church in America actually was the
present St. George s, Fourth Street north of Race. It was an un
finished building when purchased from the Dutch settlers in 1769,
and remained floorless even up to Revolutionary times. During the
British occupation the building was used as headquarters for cavalry.
Outstanding among Methodist Episcopal churches in this city are
the Arch Street at Broad and Arch Streets ; Calvary at Forty-eighth
Street and Baltimore Avenue ; and the First Methodist Episcopal of
Germantown at 6023 Germantown Avenue. The church population of
the Philadelphia Conference is more than 100,000. The Philadelphia
membership ranges from 40,000 to 65,000 with 132 churches, 20 of
which are for Negroes.
Universalist
/ORGANIZATION of the Universalists in this city into a separate
^-^ church came about as a result of a dispute arising in the First
Baptist Church of Philadelphia. Its pastor privately upheld the doc
trine of universal salvation. His views, becoming a subject of con
troversy, led to excommunication of himself and his followers. This
ousted group called themselves Universal Baptists.
In 1770 a group gathered by the Rev. John Murry absorbed the
greater part of the Universal Baptists, and the First Universalist
Church of Philadelphia was formed. This body erected a church
building on Lombard Street west of Fourth in 1793.
Today the principal Universalist Church in Philadelphia is the
Church of the Messiah, at Broad Street and Montgomery Avenue.
Unitarian
TPHE First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia, first of all existing
* churches in America to take the Unitarian name, was organized
in 1796 under Dr. Joseph Priestley, eminent scientist. Dr. Priestley
came to Philadelphia in 1794 from Birmingham, England, and began
preaching in this city.
John Adams, the Nation s second President, was a member of the
Unitarian Church of Quincy, Mass. While he was President, he
attended services at the First Unitarian Church in Philadelphia.
The present parish house of the First Unitarian Church, on Chest
nut Street east of Twenty-second, was built in 1886. There is only
one other church of this denomination in Philadelphia, the German-
town Unitarian Church at 6511 Lincoln Drive.
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PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
United Brethren in Christ
DURING the last half of the eighteenth century Philip William Ot-
terbein, a missionary of the German Reformed Church, and
Martin Boehm, of the Mennonite communion, feeling the need of a
deeper spiritual life, conducted evangelistic services throughout Penn
sylvania and the neighboring States. They gained converts rapidly,
and in 1800 there was formed a distinct ecclesiastical body the
United Brethren in Christ. The church was a natural development
of the spiritual needs of many German-Americans. Philadelphia to
day has 700 members of this faith, with four churches.
Christian Science
r I ^HE advent of Christian Science into Philadelphia was not a
L heralded event. The seedling was planted in the later years of
the nineteenth century, and in 1906 work was begun on the erection
of the First Church of Christ, Scientist, on Walnut Street west of
Fortieth. The building was completed in 1910. From that date until
its dedication in 1911 sufficient subscriptions were received to com
plete payment on its construction and to form the nucleus of a fund
for the building of the Second Church of Christ, Scientist, at 5443
Greene Street, Germantown. There are four other churches, each
with its own reading room. Jointly they maintain a city reading room
in the Fidelity-Philadelphia Trust Building at Broad and Sansom
Streets.
Spiritualists
SPIRITUALISM had its origin in the alleged spirit tappings heard
^5 by the Fox sisters of Hydesville, N. Y., in 1848. Through the work
of the elder sister the sect spread rapidly.
There are five churches in Philadelphia: First Association of
Spiritualists at Carlisle and Master Streets ; Third Spiritualist Church
at 1421 North Sixteenth Street ; Universal Spiritualist Brotherhood
Church at 3012 West Girard Avenue ; All Saints Spiritual Church
at 2026 Glenwood Avenue ; and St. John s Spiritual Alliance Church
at 805 West Lehigh Avenue.
Seamen s Church Institute
A LMOST a century ago a barge which had been converted into a
-^- floating church was towed down the Delaware River, moored to
a wharf at Dock Street, and opened as a seamen s church. Arrival of
the "floating church" aroused a great deal of interest, and throngs
of visitors inspected this unusual structure.
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Gateway of Old Christ Church
Come to me, all ye who labor . .
PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
After sufficient money was subscribed the church was consecrated
by Rt. Rev. Alonzo Potter, and regular Sunday services were begun.
This was the origin of what is now the Seamen s Church Institute.
Work of the mission was transferred later to quarters at Catharine
and Swanson Streets, and in 1878 to the Church of the Redeemer,
Front and Queen Streets.
In 1920 the institute was incorporated as an independent inter
denominational society for rendering every service possible to sea
men, and was moved to its present location, Second and Walnut
Streets. Within a year adjoining properties were acquired. In 1927
the M. Clark Mariner Home for Aged and Disabled Mariners was
merged with the institute. More recently the Pennsylvania Seamen s
Friend, which had operated a sailors home at 422 South Front Street,
transferred its work to the institute.
Miscellaneous
churches represented in Philadelphia are : Latter Day
Saints, one church. 400 members ; Catholic Apostolic, one church
300 members ; Church of God in North America (General Elder
ship), one church, 116 members ; Congregational and Christian, eight
churches, 1,800 members ; Christian Church Disciples of Christ,
four churches, 1,900 members ; Dutch Reformed, four churches, 1,200
members ; Church of God, three churches, 150 members ; Seventh
Day Adventists, seven churches, 2,500 members ; Evangelical Con
gregational, two churches, 389 members ; Reformed Episcopal, ten
churches, 2,677 members.
Among the denominations represented in the Philadelphia Federa
tion of Churches and not previously mentioned are : United Brethren,
Christian Missionary Alliance, Covenanters, Methodist Free, Methodist
Protestant, Pentecostal, Primitive Methodist, Reformed Presbyterian,
Undenominational, and United Presbyterian.
Of the Orthodox (Eastern) Churches, the Greek Hellenic has one
church and 3,000 members in Philadelphia ; the Russian (under
the Patriarch of Moscow) has three churches and 2,266 members ;
the Rumanian (under the Patriarch of Bucharest) has one church
and 400 members ; the Independent Russian and the Albanian Ortho
dox have each one church and 500 members.
The Church of the New Jerusalem (Swedenborgian) has two
churches in Philadelphia ; the Schwenkfelders, one. The Ethical Cul
ture Society, with local headquarters at 1906 Rittenhouse Square, has
a membership of 800. The organization known as Jehovah s Witnesses
has headauarters at 1620 North Broad Street ; this group has no
membership rolls, and meetings are held in private homes.
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EDUCATION
THE Dutch and Swedes, Perm s predecessors in the "Grove of
Tall Pines," laid the foundations for public instruction. Men
who had to rely for survival almost entirely upon the strength
of their backs and the brawn of their arms realized that continued
progress and development depended upon how well the minds of
their children were sharpened upon the whetstone of knowledge.
Accordingly, a school was established on Tinicum Island in 1642,
with Christopher Taylor at its head. In 1657 Evert Pietersen con
ducted a school for Dutch children of new villages near Tinicum.
Penn thus found education established, in a small way, when he
arrived here. One of his first acts was to direct the Pennsylvania
Council to begin a school wherein the youth might be trained. Several
enterprising tutors managed to obtain a few pupils from the wealthier
immigrants. Enoch Flower, a teacher for 20 years, was summoned
from England in 1683 to take charge of a school established by the
council. Charges per quarter were four shillings to read English, six
shillings for reading and writing, and eight shillings for reading and
writing and "casting accounts." Flower also took pupils to board with
him at 10 a year.
Founding of the Friends Public School, now William Penn Char
ter School, was one of the important early steps leading to establish
ment of the public school system. The school was opened in 1689 on
Fourth Street below Chestnut, and was chartered in 1697. Conducted
by Quakers, it admitted pupils of every creed and gave instruction
free to indigent children. George Keith was headmaster.
The University of Pennsylvania was founded in 1749 by Benjamin
Franklin and a group of citizens interested in the "establishment of
educational facilities for the youth of the Pennsylvania colony."
Classes began in 1751 in a two-story brick building which had been
erected for religious services at Fourth and Arch Streets. Franklin
was the first president of the board of trustees.
The first charter was granted in 1753, and a second charter grant
ing the right to confer degrees was issued in 1755. Later, the first
medical school in America was established. In 1779 the charter be
came vested in "The Trustees of the University of the State of Penn
sylvania," and professional schools, distinct from the college, were
instituted.
173
L/J
Board of Education Administration Buildina
Penn Charter School
The first established school of Philadelphia
EDUCATION
The first law school in the Nation was established in 1789 and
three years later the college and the university were merged and
incorporated under the title of "The University of Pennsylvania."
In 1829 the institution moved to Ninth and Chestnut Streets and
thence to its present site at Thirty-fourth Street and Woodland Ave
nue, in 1872. The following year the college buildings, Logan Hall,
Hare Laboratory and the main building of University Hospital were
constructed. From this time forward, the institution expanded rapidly,
adding new buildings and increasing the courses to such extent
that the university today has a faculty numbering 1,333 and a student
enrollment of about 15,000. The campus covers 106 acres and con
tains a total of 164 buildings. The total property value is about
$35,000,000, and the endowment funds amount to $19,000,000.
Temple University was founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell H. Conwell,
pastor of Grace Baptist Temple, Broad and Berks Streets. The in
stitution began when Dr. Conwell started evening classes in his
church for a small group of young men who desired to study for the
ministry. From this modest beginning, the idea expanded so that op
portunity for study was made available to poor students seeking
higher education.
Today the university has more than 12,000 students enrolled.
Its buildings occupy an entire block on the east side of Broad Street,
from Montgomery Avenue to Berks Street. Other buildings include
Temple University Medical College and Hospital at Broad and On
tario Streets ; the former Oak Lane Country Day School in Oak Lane;
and the School of Art in Elkins Park. The university is maintained
by two funds, one being obtained from student tuition, the other
from periodic appropriations made by the State.
In 1761 the Germantown Academy was established in Bensell s
(now School House) Lane, Germantown. It was sponsored by Ger
man settlers and English Quakers. It is the oldest school in the United
States having a continuous existence in the same building. Twenty-
three years after its founding the school obtained a charter as the
Public School of Germantown, but an advertisement in the Pennsyl
vania Gazette of 1794 listed it as Germantown Academy, and that
name has been retained.
These new schools did not, however, alleviate the sore need for
educational facilities for poor children. The Declaration of Inde
pendence, written and signed in this city, proclaimed that all men
were created equal and entitled to "life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness." Nevertheless, the problem of free education in Phila
delphia received no adequate local attention until 1818. That year
the Legislature passed an act setting up the city of Philadelphia as
the first school district of Pennsylvania. New schools were opened,
and a board of control was established to supervise them. Among the
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PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
institutions started then was the "Model School," which opened
December 21, 1818.
This type school, originated in England by Joseph Lancaster, was
used there to some extent. It provided for a headmaster and a group
of monitors to act as teachers, each monitor handling 15 or 20 pupils.
Under this arrangement it was possible to educate more children at
smaller cost than under previous systems. A special committee which
had been named to study this Lancaster plan reported upon it favor
ably ; 10 such schools were opened and a special building set aside
for the eleventh.
Thus, the "Model School" was established and placed under the
direct supervision of Lancaster, who crossed the Atlantic to take
charge of it. It trained young men and women in the teaching pro
fession, and its graduates received posts in the new school districts
set up in the State by the law of 1834, which levied a tax to provide
necessary revenue.
The advances made in the Legislature s act of 1834 were seriously
threatened the following year when members of the Assembly were
yielding to the pressure of those opposed to the new taxes. A masterly
address by Thaddeus Stevens, "Father of the Pennsylvania Free
Schools," completely turned the tide of sentiment.
In 1836 another law was passed, providing for the education of
all children more than four years old. This was the first step toward
compulsory education and one of the greatest strides in free public
instruction. The new law also carried a provision for establishment of
a high school in Philadelphia.
Accordingly, the board of control began erection of Central High
School, on the east side of Juniper Street below Market, facing
what was then Center Square. The school embodied all the dreams
and ideals of the pioneers of free public education. It was a fine
building, well staffed, and was surmounted by an astronomical ob
servatory not surpassed anywhere in the country. Alexander Dallas
Bache, great-grandson of Benjamin Franklin, was appointed first
principal of the school in 1839. Franklin had not lived to see the
fruit of his earlier campaigns for public education, but with Bache s
appointment the tradition was carried on. During his three years at
the school Bache organized a smoothly functioning unit and estab
lished a fine curriculum. The school s fame spread.
By 1853 business had moved westward from the Delaware until
the school was almost surrounded by commercial establishments. The
building was sold to the Pennsylvania Railroad, and in September
1854 Central High School moved to the southeast corner of Broad
and Green Streets. In 1894 another building was erected on the south
west corner of the same intersection. Both buildings still stand but
the earlier, which served as an annex, was condemned in 1937.
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EDUCATION
With the establishment of Central High School the board of con
trol increased its activity and in 1848 opened a school of practice
in conjunction with the Girls Normal School in the old Model School
building on Chester (Darien) Street north of Race. The popularity
of this school of higher education for girls grew at such an amaz
ing rate that by 1853 it became necessary to open a similar school to
accommodate the overflow.
In 1859 the Normal School was closed and replaced by the Girls
High School, which in the second and third terms of its curriculum
gave special instruction to those intending to become teachers. Stu
dents in the senior classes obtained practice by teaching the lower
classes. The school was reorganized in 1861 and renamed Girls High
School and Normal School. Seven years later the word "high" was
dropped, and it was renamed Girls Normal School. It is now the
Philadelphia Normal School.
Increasing registration and new requirements necessitated larger
quarters, and in 1876 the school was moved to Seventeenth and Spring
Garden Streets. Here it operated in conjunction with the Philadel
phia High School for Girls until 1893, when its professional course
having been extended from one to two years, and the Girls High
School course tn four years, new facilities were required. The Normal
School moved to Spring Garden and Thirteenth Streets, its present
site, and the high school remained at Seventeenth Street.
Meanwhile, the school system improved steadily. The number of
schools increased and teachers salaries advanced. Then a campaign
to simplify textbooks, courses, and methods of administration was
launched.
By an act of Legislature in 1870, the name of the control board
was changed to the Board of Public Education. Three years later the
City Councils passed an ordinance creating a loan of $1,000,000 for
the erection of additional school buildings. That same year, a clause
in the new State constitution made provisions for education of chil
dren more than six years old, with $1,000,000 to be set aside yearly
for that purpose. In 1895 the education of children became com
pulsory by legislative enactment.
In 1874 Quakers reorganized the William Penn Charter School,
Fourth Street below Chestnut, and moved it to No. 8 South Twelfth
Street. It occupied this latter site until 1925, when it was removed to
School House Lane, Germantown, not far from Germantown Acad
emy. This school claims direct descent from the old school of the
same name. The Friends Select School, Seventeenth Street and the
Parkway, still under the direction of Friends Meeting, also traces its
origin to the old William Penn Charter School.
The mere enumeration of dates on which changes in the school
system occurred can give little comprehension of the gradual rise of
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PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
the educational idea to a broad and higher plane. Such factors as the
consolidation of the city, in 1854, and the subsequent creation of
separate school districts for each ward were quickly reflected in the
viewpoint and morale of the administrative and teaching staffs.
Similarly, creation of the office of Superintendent of Schools, about
1883, helped toward the establishment of a more professional standard
throughout the city for all wards.
Such changes, however, were utterly inadequate to correct the
abuses which had grown with the system itself, abuses due largely to
the narrow selfishness of politicians. Ward leaders, members of City
Councils, and even the small fry of the political world saw in the
system a mere "grab bag." Teaching jobs were for sale at the political
pay window, provided the applicant had a mere certificate showing
qualifications for the work. There was no such thing as a list of
eligibles to be drawn from in order, so political patronage far out
weighed any excellence in the candidate for the schoolroom work, or
the interests of the children themselves.
Real transformation of the educational picture began with the Act
of 1905, by which the State reorganized the public school system and
established the Board of Education for Philadelphia. This board was
given the power of disposal of the money which Council was au
thorized to collect through a limited tax on real estate.
In Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, this limited power of taxation was
transferred from Council to the Board itself by an act passed in
1911, which established a school code for the entire State.
The Philadelphia public school system today has an enrollment
of about 272,000 day pupils. Adding to this the number attending
evening schools, citizenship classes for mothers, and other extension
activities, the total is about 300,000. The system requires the services
of nearly 10,000 persons in the professional field. At present there
are 4 practice, 14 senior high, 23 junior high, 3 vocational, 201 ele
mentary schools and one industrial art school, one residential school,
one demonstration school, and one normal school.
Negro Education
T^DUCATION of the Negro in early days of the Colony was advo-
-^cated by three groups masters who sought to increase the effi
ciency of their slaves, sympathetic groups interested in the better
ment of the race, and zealous Christian missionaries.
Of these three groups, the first was by far the most effective. Al
though it was undoubtedly selfishness that prompted the slave owners
to pursue their policy of education, their efforts proved far more
productive than those of the other groups. Their methods were based
upon two forms formal education in reading and writing, and
178
EDUCATION
industrial education to further the efficiency of the slave in his work.
The Quakers, however, strove not only to educate the Negro, but
actually to free him from the bonds of slavery. They believed educa
tion would mean little to the Negro until he was free. Among the
first Quaker leaders interested in emancipation were George Fox
and William Penn. A definite scheme was advanced in 1713 whereby
the slaves would be freed, educated, and returned to Africa in the
capacity of missionaries among their own people.
In 1750 Anthony Benezet established a night school for Negroes
in Philadelphia, and 20 years later he took the leading part in estab
lishing a systematic method of education for the Negro. The Monthly
Meeting of Friends in 1770 approved a proposal to establish a school
for Negro and mulatto children. These were to be instructed in read
ing, writing, arithmetic, and other useful subjects. This school was
continued for 16 years. Tuition was free, the school being maintained
by subscriptions.
The first attempt of an organized body to educate the Negro was
made by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign
Parts, organized in London in 1701. Assisted by a private endowment,
known as the Dr. Bray Fund, this society opened two schools in
Philadelphia in 1760, and its educational work continued for nearly
a cenlury.
The period between 1830 and 1860 saw the greatest strides in the
field of Negro education. Until 1830 only two schools for Negro
children were supported by public funds, but in that year the board
of control established another such school in Northern Liberties. In
1844 two more were opened, and others followed thereafter with in
creased frequency.
Meanwhile, the Negroes had begun a campaign of their own to
educate members of their race. Societies were formed for that pur
pose, and libraries were opened. The close of the Civil War and the
emancipation of slaves caused a veritable boom in Negro education.
Previously Negroes had been refused admission to both Central High
School and the Philadelphia Normal School, as well as to the Univer
sity of Pennsylvania. When the bars were lowered, a large number
of Negroes quickly took advantage of the opportunity to gain a
higher education.
Parochial School System
TN THE parish of St. Joseph s, probably as early as the 1730 s, was
-*- established the first parochial school in the city. In 1767 James
White, a merchant, bequeathed 50 "toward a school house"- the
first known bequest made to aid Catholic education in Philadelphia.
In 1781 St. Mary s Church took steps to pay off the old school debt
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PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
arid to buy new ground, presumably for another school building. St.
Joseph s Society for the Education of Poor Orphan Children next
entered the field, obtaining incorporation papers in 1808.
Later, the Germans of St. Mary s parish formed a church of their
own, and immediately opened a school. This new church was known
as Holy Trinity Church. The parish of St. Augustine was founded
in 1796, and almost immediately began to provide facilities for the
education of the parish children.
Parochial schools continued to be opened as the number of Catho
lics in the city increased and made new parishes necessary. Catholic
education was accelerated in 1878, when the will of Thomas E. Cahill
bequeathed almost $1,000,000 for the establishment of a Catholic
high school. In 1890 the Roman Catholic High School was opened
at Broad and Vine Streets. Today the school maintains an athletic
field (Cahill Field) as a memorial to the founder.
At present there are seven Catholic High Schools and 127 parish
elementary schools in Philadelphia. These are augmented by 10
schools conducted by Catholic charitable institutions.
Special Schools
T^HILADELPHIA has a large number of special schools where
- trades, the arts, and various specialized vocations are taught. These
include many preparatory schools, business schools, and schools of
religion.
The Spring Garden Institute, Broad and Spring Garden Streets,
was opened in 1851 to further educational facilities for young men
and women. Reading rooms, night schools, and other features were
included. Today the institute has a large number of students in the
industrial crafts, manual training, and many fields of art.
Gratz College, Broad and York Streets, is the oldest school in the
United States for the training of Jewish religious teachers. It was
established in 1856 with a large bequest made by Hyman Gratz. Next
door is Dropsie College, where Hebrew and cognate languages are
taught to Jewish students and to any others interested.
The Mastbaum Vocational School, Frankford Avenue and Clemen
tine Street, is conducted along the lines of the Smith-Hughes plan
for vocational training. The two-year term provides vocational and
academic training. Students enter directly from both junior high and
senior high schools. Half the school day is spent in practical shop
work, the other half in classroom study. Automobile mechanics, wood
work, textiles, electrical construction, stenography, bookkeeping,
drafting, machine construction, vocational music, and vocational art
are taught. A junior employment service is maintained for students.
In keeping with this progressive policy of making the schools fit
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EDUCATION
the actual needs of the pupils, several other special-purpose schools
have been gradually integrated into the system. These include the
Orthopedic School, the Shallcross School for Truants, and the Flei-
sher Vocational School.
Night schools have also proved an extensive and valuable addition
to the board s ordinary activities, thousands of pupils, young and old,
taking advantage of the opportunity thus offered them to pursue
courses of commercial and cultural advantage.
Included among art schools are the Pennsylvania Museum School
of Industrial Art, Broad and Pine Streets, opened in 1877 ; the
Academy of Fine Arts, Broad and Cherry Streets, founded in 1805
and the oldest art institution in the United States ; and the Philadel
phia School of Design for Women, Broad and Master Streets, founded
in 1844 and incorporated in 1853.
Prominent among several theological seminaries in the city is the
Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1814 South Rittenhouse
Square, which trains men as missionaries, preachers, and teachers.
It is divided into three schools : theology, religious education, and
sacred music. There are accommodations for married men and their
families, as well as for single persons.
St. Vincent s Theological Seminary is conducted by the Vincentian
Order, at Chelten and Magnolia Avenues, Germantown. This seminary
educates young men as priests for Catholic missions. The Lutheran
Theological Seminary, 7301 Germantown Avenue, was founded in
1864 to train ministers for the Lutheran Church. The seminary is
augmented by a graduate school. The Reformed Episcopal Church
conducts a seminary at 25 South Forty-third Street. Westminster
Theological Seminary, Church Road and Willow Grove Avenue,
Chestnut Hill, was formed as a result of a reorganization in modern
istic direction of Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, N. J. in
1929. The course of study includes religious history, Bible study, and
allied subjects. The Divinity School of the Protestant Episcopal
Church, Forty-second and Locust Streets, was chartered in 1862.
This institution maintains a graduate school.
Several private schools in the city, including Germantown Acad
emy, Penn Charter, and many Friends schools offer courses of study
ranging from the early grades through college preparatory work. In
any of these, pupils may enter at kindergarten age and continue
through elemeiitarv grades, high school, and preparatory courses for
college entrance. Thus the pupil s school life is continuous in the
same surroundings and under the same system of education.
Most of the city s hospitals conduct nursing schools. High school
graduates are accepted for a course of training which is augmented
by actual hospital work. Thousands of young women yearly take ad
vantage of these opportunities.
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PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
Many business schools are scattered throughout the city, where
training is given in typewriting, stenography, bookkeeping, and gen
eral office practice. There are also a number of college preparatory
schools such as Brown Preparatory School, Fifteenth and Race Streets.
Girard College, a school for the care and education of white, male
orphans between the ages of six and eighteen, was founded in 1848
under the terms of the will of Stephen Girard.
The entrance to the institution s 42-acre plot of ground is at Corin
thian and Girard Avenues. The present site and group of school build
ings and dormitories are valued at more than $6,000,000. Control of
the school is vested in a board of trustees of 12 members appointed by
the judges of the Courts of Common Pleas of Philadelphia, and the
Mayor and president of City Council.
Conditions for admission give preference (1) to boys born in the
bounds of the old city of Philadelphia ; (2) to boys born elsewhere
in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ; (3) to those born in New
York City ; (4) to boys born in New Orleans.
Founder s Hall, located just within the main gate, is regarded as
a beautiful specimen of Grecian artchitecture. A sarcophagus just in
side the door contains the remains of Girard.
The curriculum includes elementary, grammar, and high school
courses as well as trade school and commercial courses.
Two schools in Philadelphia devoted to the teaching of the blind
and deaf are the Pennsylvania School for the Blind, in Overbrook,
and the Pennsylvania School for the Instruction of the Deaf, in Mount
Airy. At the latter institution, deaf and dumb boys and girls are
taught sign language and lip reading.
Universities and Colleges
T N ADDITION to the University of Pennsylvania and Temple Uni-
- -versity, there are several smaller colleges which are important
factors in making Philadelphia an educational center.
La Salle College, in charge of the Catholic Christian Brothers,
stands on an eminence at Twentieth Street and Olney Avenue. It was
chartered in 1863 as an outgrowth of the old Christian Brothers
Academy, founded in 1862 at 1419 North Second Street. In 1867 the
college wan moved to Juniper and Filbert Streets, and in 1886 to the
old Bouvier mansion at Broad and Stiles Streets. Since 1930 it has
occupied its present quarters, in more spacious surroundings, with
fine new buildings and a large campus. The La Salle College High
School, housed on the campus, offers a complete course in college
preparation.
St. Joseph s College, Fifty-fourth Street and City Line Avenue,
had its inception in the parish house of St. Joseph s Church, Willing s
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EDUCATION
Alley, in 1851. Classes were transferred to a building at Filbert and
Juniper Streets in 1855, these quarters being used until 1860, when
the college returned to old St. Joseph s. In 1876 the school was moved
to new buildings at Seventeenth and Stiles Streets, and in 1927 to
its present site. The old buildings at Seventeenth and Stiles Streets
now house St. Joseph s College High School.
The Drexel Institute of Art, Science, and Industry was founded in
1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, who desired to open a new field of
specific and fundamental education for young men and women. The
school which is at Thirty-second and Chestnut Streets, maintains a
cooperative course in engineering and business administration which
allows its students periods of actual work in Philadelphia industrial
plants.
The Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science, the first of its
kind to be established in this country, was founded in historic Car
penters Hall in 1821 as the College of Apothecaries. With the
development of more scientific methods of compounding prescrip
tions, the school added courses in science and more advanced forms
of pharmacy. In 1921 it received the right to confer the degree of
bachelor of science, and in 1928 moved to its present building at
Forty-third Street and Kingsessing Avenue. It was one of the first
schools in the country to admit women students, this step being taken
in 1876.
The Philadelphia College of Osteopathy, Forty-eighth and Spruce
Streets, was incorporated in 1899. It offers a comprehensive course in
osteopathy, augmenting its regular work with a hospital and a gradu
ate school.
Regular medical colleges, notably Jefferson, Hahnemann, Univer
sity of Pennsylvania, and Temple, have long served the medical world
ably, by producing thoroughly trained graduates.
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LITERATURE
PHILADELPHIA S literary history dates from the earliest
Colonial times. Was not William Penn himself in the way of
being an author, with such expository-polemical works to his
credit as No Cross No Crown, Treatise on Oaths, and The Great Law
or Frame of Government? It was, however, during the second half of
what is commonly distinguished as the Colonial period in the history
of American literature that Philadelphia stepped into the foreground
and became for a term of years the publishing and, to a large extent,
the writing capital of the United States. This was the "Age of Frank
lin," as it is termed by literary historians, an epoch extending from
1727 to 1765 or thereabouts. It followed the darkly brooding era of
Puritan witchcraft and theological writing, as exemplified in New
England by such figures as Cotton and Increase Mather and by
Jonathan Edwards in New Jersey.
If the age of witchcraft held much of the environing darkness of
the primeval forest, the age of Franklin, on the other hand, was an
increasingly practical one, foreshadowing and leading up to the
American Revolution. It is an era instinctively associated with such
productions as Franklin s Poor Richard s Almanac and the same
author s Autobiography (although the latter was not published in
its complete form until 1868) .
With the dawn of the Revolution, there appeared the truly great
personality for he was a personality rather than a writer in the
narrower acceptance of the term of Thomas Paine, a humanitarian
of world stature and a pioneer battler for the rights of man, who
was to have his influence upon British thought and upon the course
of the French Revolution of 1789. Such works as Paine s Crisis, Com
mon Sense, and Age of Reason, pamphlets though they may be in
essential nature, stand out here.
It is, in all likelihood, Franklin and Paine who first come to mind
when one thinks back upon Philadelphia s literary past. If one skips
from the Revolution to the mid-nineteenth century, Walt Whitman,
poet of American democracy, and the tragic figure of Edgar Allan
Poe loom large. Did not Whitman, in the declining years of his life,
live in Camden, N. J., just across the river ? And were not the poet s
"good gray" beard and tossing mane a familiar sight in Philadelphia
streets ? And was it not, probably, in a house at 530 North Seventh
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LITERATURE
Street, that Poe sat in solitary contemplation of the bust of Pallas
Athene above his chamber door to pen the lines that were to make
him immortal?
To this day Philadelphia continues to produce its due quota of
writers novelists, essayists, poets, historians, and scientific, travel
and adventure writers. Such names as those of James Gibbons Hun-
eker, Richard Harding Davis, Frank R. Stockton, Bayard Taylor, S.
Weir Mitchell, Owen Wister, Christopher Morley, Agnes Repplier,
Horace Howard Furness and his son, Horace Howard Furness, Jr., and
John Bach McMaster are enough to lend luster to any city.
In addition to writers, Philadelphia has upon occasion provided
literary material, as it did in the case of Theodore Dreiser s The
Financier, based upon the career of a local capitalist, Charles T. Yerkes.
AS HAS been stated, literature, of a sort at least, began early in
Pennsylvania ; and Pennsylvania meant Philadelphia, where the
printing shops were situated. The printers themselves frequently were
men of letters. Samuel Keimer, who set up a shop in 1723, is looked
upon by many as the first Philadelphia publisher.
Scholarship rather than creation marked the Colonial literary out
put. This, perhaps, was not unnatural ; the colonists with their wives
and children in "Peon s City" desired above all else not to lose con
tact with the Old World culture and civilization which they had left
behind. And so we find, in the first days of the Commonwealth,
Francis Daniel Pastorius, founder of Germantown, giving the public
his encyclopedic Beehive.
That social questions, even at the outset, were not without their
influence upon Pennsylvania writers, is shown by Pastorius interest
in the antislavery cause ; his efforts are said to have led to the
founding of the first American abolitionist society.
Translations of classics also occupied a prominent place in the
picture. William Penn s secretary, James Logan, of Scotch-Irish an
cestry, made a rendering of Cato s Moral Distichs (1735) and one of
Cicero s Cato Major or Discourse on Old Age (1744) . The former was
probably the first translation of its kind in America. Logan s manu
scripts, copied by his wife, Deborah Norris, are now preserved in the
Ridgway Branch of the Library Company of Philadelphia.
Philosophical, theological, and moral-didactic literature also
flourished at this period, although not to the same degree as in New
England ; the prevailing Quaker atmosphere appears to have exerted
a mellowing influence, and the witch hunting, witch baiting of the
Mathers, for instance, is gratifyingly absent for the most part. Never
theless, the temper and cast of mind of the northern colonists were
rather heavily theological, and it is not surprising if we find sermons
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PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
to have been a staple article of intellectual diet. Among the clerics
whose pulpit exhortations were popular were the Muhlenberg broth
ers, Henry Melchior and Frederick Augustus Conrad ; William Ten-
nent and his three sons ; George Whitefield, and Dr. William Smith.
In addition to the sermon writers of this time, there were a number
of mystics, among them Johann Kelpius, Heinrich Bernard Koster,
Dr. Christopher Witt, and Daniel Faulkner.
Yet another early Philadelphia clergyman deserving of notice is
Rev. Jacob Duche, who gained notoriety by a letter which he wrote
to General Washington in 1777, urging the Commander-in-Chief of
the Continental Army to seek a reconciliation with the British. He
was also the author (and publisher) of Caspipina s Letters, later re
printed in England.
John Woolman s journal of his own life and travels, which saw
the light at this period, likewise won notice abroad.
Education vied with religion in the interest of the colonists ; the
first American treatise on school management is said to have been
Christopher Dock s Schulordnung.
Though Colonial life may have been hard in many respects, and
though it may still have worn a certain coating of theological gloom,
it was by no means utterly joyless or lacking in humor, as may be
seen from the satires and comedies of the Quaker, Gabriel Thomas.
His writings were, it is true, rather looked down upon ; but they
were passed from hand to hand and read with glee when no austere
member of the congregation chanced to be looking.
A LL of this, as mav be seen, does not weigh very heavily in the
^*- literary scales. What we have so far is not so much a literature
as the crude beginnings of one or, it might be more accurate to
say, the vestigial reflections of an older literature from beyond the
seas. The appearance of Franklin s Poor Richard, destined to be
America s household companion for more than a score of years, really
marked the inception of a Philadelphia literature in the stricter sense
of the word ; and even that is not pure literature, or literature of a
high order.
The fact that the name of Franklin has been given to an entire
period of our writing annals, means that he must have been an out
standing figure in more ways than one ; and it further implies that
Franklin s home city, where his manifold activities were carried on,
and where the greater part of his works were written and published,
must have occupied the center of the literary stage for that period.
Franklin was indeed a personality that was to become familiar to
two continents. His fat, round, beaming, bespectacled countenance was
to mingle in the popular imagination of Europe and America with a
mental picture of the "good doctor" with his kite, engaged in drawing
186
The Poe House
"The House of
Melaricholy"
HHHPfP
Poe House Interior
". . . rapping at
mr chamber door.""
PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
the lightning from the heavens. For Franklin s scientific experiments
and inventions, his skill as a diplomatic bargainer, his social successes
in pre-revolutionary France and elsewhere, and his correspondence
with the great of the world the whole offset by a personal character
which was at bottom a shrewd and calculating one were to a large
degree to overshadow his forays into the field of literature, and were
to confer upon these sallies their quintessential flavor.
It is doubtful if Franklin ever took himself very seriously as a
litterateur. The Autobiography, his most important work from a
literary standpoint, appears to have been rather carelessly tossed off.
While parts of it were published in France during 1791-98, it was
not until 1868, from a manuscript obtained in France, that the first
complete text was printed, under the editorship of John Bigelow.
The Autobiography is a work which has been extravagantly praised
and vigorously condemned. Charles Angoff, for example, author of
A Literary History of the American People., considers Franklin a
"two-penny philosopher," the first great exponent of the t4 lowbrow
point of view in American letters and precursor of the Rotarians and
Kiwanians of today ; he sees in the creator of Poor Richard a thor
oughgoing vulgarian, lacking in all literary grace.
It was in 1732 that Poor Richard made its bow, continuing to ap
pear regularly thereafter (to the delectation of readers) for a quar
ter of a century. Here, in a way, was true American folk literature,
an embodiment of that spirit of an almost fanatical, at times miserly,
practicality which was so characteristic of the Pennsylvania colonist
and, in a large degree, of the American colonist. "Early to bed and
early to rise." "Take care of the pence, and the pounds will take care
of themselves." This is unquestionably Colonial American to the
bone ; and it is small wonder, then, that Franklin s name, despite
a somewhat scant performance in the realm of literature proper, has
fastened itself upon a literary era. His almanac sold three editions
the first three months it was printed, and 10,000 copies annually
during its quarter century publication.
It was one of Franklin s proteges, a young Scotch tutor named Wil
liam Smith, who was responsible for publishing some of the earliest
American poetry in a magazine which he founded at Philadelphia,
and which was known as the American Magazine and Monthly
Chronicle for the British Colonies. Among the poets to whom this
publication afforded a hearing were Thomas Godfrey, Jr., Nathaniel
Evans, and Elizabeth Graeme Ferguson.
AMONG Philadelphia writers of the Revolutionary period, Thomas
Paine, "penman of the Revolution," is far and away the most
important. It is true that most of Paine s life was spent under a cloud
of deep opprobrium, in which slander of him as a man mingled
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LITERATURE
with condemnations of his religious beliefs. The truth is, Paine s
religious views have caused his greater claim to fame to be more or
less overlooked. His real importance lies in the fact that he was the
first modern internationalist ; his social views in general were far in
advance of his time. He was one of the first, possibly the first, to
advocate a system of governmental social security.
As for posterity s winnowed opinion of Paine, it appears to have
been well summed up by Angoff, who says that Paine "probably did
more to spread religious and theological enlightenment than any
other one man who ever lived."
The Rights of Man, The Age of Reason, Common Sense, and The
Crisis, as well as Agrarian Justice, a work in which Paine dealt with
the problem of poverty somewhat in the manner of a Henry George
all of these are works of which Philadelphia well may be proud.
The Rights of Man, though loathed by the Federalists, was a kind
of Bible to Jefferson, Madison, and other forward-looking spirits.
Written in answer to Burke s Reflections on the French Revolution,
it had its repercussions in England and, especially in revolutionary
France. The publication of Common Sense had made Paine the most
influential political writer in America ; yet to many he still remained
the "atheist and "jailbird." A Trenton stagecoach driver declined
to carry him, declaring that he, the driver, had already had one
team of horses struck by lightning and did not care to take another
chance.
Tom Paine, the Philadelphian whose unhallowed bones were carried
to England by William Cobbett, has his revenge today, when from
5,000 to 10,000 copies of his works are printed annually in New
York City alone.
There are a number of other men of this time of the "Founding
Fathers" whose names have come down to us as associated in one
way or another with literature. Most, if not all, of them were active
in other walks of life, especially politics, and writing with them was
by way of being an expression
of interests not essentially lit
erary. John Dickinson, leader
in the Constitutional Conven-
tion, was one of these. Francis
Hopkinson, chairman of the
Navy Board which designed
Thomas Paine
Precursor of Social Security.
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PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
the American flag, was another. Bishop Samuel Seabury was a leader
of the church ; John Bartram was a botanist. Ralph Saundiford,
Benjamin Lay, Anthony Benezet, Robert Proud, Morgan Edwards,
Joseph Galloway, Thomas Coombe these are no more than names
(or not even so much as names) to the Philadelphian of today ;
yet each in his own day was a distinguished citizen and contributor
to the cultural life of the city, the Commonwealth, and the country.
There are, however, two names which emerge prominently from
this obscurity of the past. One is that of Hugh H. Brackenridge, who
shares with Charles Brockden Brown the honor of creating the novel
in America. He, like Brown, was the author of a number of hair-rais
ing, terror-inspiring tales, of the imported "Gothic Romance" school.
Then, there was James Hector St. John de Crevecoeur, author of an
early romantically exaggerated account of America, which was greatly
to influence the French and other Continentals in their conception
of the transoceanic scene.
r I ^HE close of the Revolution found Philadelphia still the literary
*- capital. Magazines, springing up, began to publish works of some
of the foremost contemporary writers, not merely of Philadelphia but
of the Nation. From about 1792 to 1812, Joseph Dennie and his
circle were to confer upon the city a distinct literary aspect. Political
pamphleteering, a carry-over from Revolutionary days, also con
tinued and was sometimes of a violent character indeed.
Among the most colorful of the post-Revolutionary pamphleteers
was William Cobbett, who is regarded by certain historians as one
of the founders of American party journalism. A political refugee
from the French Revolution, who had settled in Philadelphia as a
teacher of English to his exiled fellow countrymen, Cobbett was ex
tremely violent in his anti-republican prejudices, and was further
possessed of a rare gift of vituperation. Advocating an alliance with
England for a war against republican France, Cobbett braved the
threat of tar and feathers and launched a publication known as
Porcupine s Gazette. He finally became so obstreperous that President
Adams thought seriously of deporting him ; but in 1800, he of his
own accord left America for England.
Samples of the "incomparable Billingsgate" of this "Peter Porcu
pine," as he called himself, will be found in a number of old pam
phlets, published in 1795 and later, such as A Bone to Gnaw for the
Democrats, A Kick for a Bite, A Little Plain English Addressed to
the People of the United States, and A New Year s Gift for the Demo
crats.
Among the magazines launched at this period was the American
Museum, founded by Matthew Carey, in 1787. It numbered among
its contributors such men as Franklin, Dr. Benjamin Rush, Jacob
190
LITERATURE
Duche, and Philip Freneau, best of the American poets before Bry
ant and a pioneer exploiter of American Indian material.
The first American literary magazine really worthy of the name
was The Port Folio, founded by Joseph Dennie in 1806. It ran until
1827, Dennie, under the name of Oliver Oldschool, Esq., being the
editor until the time of his death in 1812. Begun as a weekly pub
lication devoted to literature and politics, the new journal of "polite
letters" had such contributors as John Quincy Adams, Charles Brock-
den Brown, and Dennie himself. A study of the influence exerted by
Dennie and his followers has been made by H. M. Ellis, in Joseph
Dennie and His Circle.
That Philadelphia, as well as America in general, was becoming less
provincial and more cosmopolitan, is indicated by the space accorded
in Dennie s Port Folio to reviews of foreign books. Indeed, beginning
with Dennie, a line of cleavage may be recognized between the Revo
lutionary epoch and the one immediately following, which was
marked by the establishment of the American Nation and the begin
nings of a national literature. The period from 1750 or 1765 (au
thorities differ in their chronology, and there is no hard and fast
demarcation) down to 1789-1792 was what might be described as the
coffee-house era, marked by prolonged and impassioned discussion
and debate on political and religious, but above all political, themes.
With the adoption of the Federal Constitution and inauguration of
the processes of orderly government, life tended to become more
settled. There was a greater margin of leisure free from ideological
preoccupations ; life became more refined, and there was room for a
greater interest in pure literature and for culture in its broader
aspects.
The first distinct movement to manifest itself in our national liter
ature was romanticism, of which the first great exponent was to be
James Fenimore Cooper, with Washington Irving as forerunner and
pathbreaker. It is worthy of note that American romanticism, in a
way, had its origins in Philadelphia, in the writings of Charles Brock-
den Brown, whose Arthur Mervyn is based upon the Philadelphia
yellow-fever epidemic of 1793. The account which the author here
gives us is unusually vivid, inspiring, at once, feelings of fear and
of pity ; it is, moreover, essentially romantic in spirit and techni
que. Brown antedates Cooper by a score or more of years. He is
further remembered, by students of literature at any rate, for his
Wieland (1798) and his Edgar Huntley, or Memoirs of a Sleep-walker
(1799). The degree of romanticism in his work is evidenced by the
fact that in his Wieland, for instance, the author makes use of such
plot elements as spontaneous combustion, ventriloquism, and reli
gious mania. Brown was under the influence of the English horror
school ; while his heroines, in their excessive lachrymose sentiment-
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PHILADELPHIA GUIDE
ality, are modeled after those of Richardson. He has been called the
first professional man of letters in America.
If Philadelphia was for a time the literary capital of America, hav
ing taken this preeminence from Boston, it was, in the long run, to
lose this title to New York City. Not, however, until Philadelphia had
had the honor of publishing or being host to a Walt Whitman and an
Edgar Allan Poe.
Prior to Poe and Whitman, Philadelphia had a number of writers
who, while they could by no means lay claim to so stellar a place as
the two great mid-century luminaries, had a certain importance of
their own. One of these was John Fanning Watson, to whose Annals,
published in 1830, Philadelphians are indebted for much fascinating
and valuable information concerning their city, which would other
wise have been lost. It has become a standard work.
The proletarian-socialistic-humanitarian impulse was also coming
to the fore. The most prominent representative here is George Lip-
pard, journalist, author, reformer, lecturer, and a "Marxist before
Marx," as someone has termed him. He is known today in fraternal
circles as the founder of the Brotherhood of America (originally the
Brotherhood of the Union). As a journalist he was a predecessor of
the modern columnist, and his Our Talisman sketches have been com
pared to Dickens Boz. In his Bread Crust Papers he coined the
name, Thomas Dove Brown, which Poe was to revive. Lippard con
tributed a number of stories to the Saturday Evening Post and other
magazines of the period ; and wrote a best-selling expose of Phila
delphia vice, under the title of Quaker City ; find produced a number
of books, including The Nazarene and Blanche of Brandywine, The
Pilgrim of Eternity, The Man with the Mask,, etc., while his prole
tarian sympathies come out in such a work as New York, Its Upper
Ten and Lower Million. He has been described as "the poet of the
proletariat."
Antislavery agitation, for one thing, played no small part in the
published writings of the decades preceding the Civil War. This was
especially true so far as newspapers were concerned ; the reflection
in other fields was less noticeable.
During the conflict, and immediately before and after the Civil
War, we find such writers of lesser note as Louisa M. Alcott (who
left Philadelphia while a child), author of the perennially popular
Little Women and Little Men ; Sarah Josepha Buell Hale, editor of
Godey s Lady s Book and reputed author of the famous schoolroom
classic of the nineteenth century, Mary Had a Little Lamb ; and T.
S. Arthur (Timothy Shay in private life), author of the exceedingly
bibulous play, Ten Nights in a Barroom, which was to the American
temperance movement what Harriet Beecher Stowe s Uncle Tom s
Cabin was to the abolitionist cause.
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LITERATURE
The period from 1815 on was marked by the rapid rise and
development of an American periodic literature, in which Philadel
phia had its full share. Worthy of note among local publications of
the era are the famous Godey s Lady s Book, the colored fashion
prints which are still sought after; the Casket, which later merged
with the Gentleman s Magazine and was subsequently continued as
Graham s Magazine ; the Salmugundi ; Sartain s Union Magazine ;
and, finally, the Saturday Evening Post, known the world over,
which led to the formation of a distinctive school of professional
writing in America.
It was the presence in the city of such magazines as the Gentle
man s and Graham s that prompted Edgar Allan Poe to come here
and settle with his frail little 16-year-old wife, Virginia Clem. The
poet s ambition was to become a magazine editor. As to just where
Poe made his home or rather, as to all the places where he re
sided while in Philadelphia, there is considerable controversy.
More than a dozen houses have been identified as his place of resi
dence. According to John Sartain s Reminiscences, the Poes first
boarded at Fourth and Arch Streets. They also lived for a time in
Sixteenth Street near Locust. Later, they had a little home in Coates
Street (Fairmount Avenue) near Twenty-fifth, on the border of
Fairmount Park. This at the time was an isolated spot, far from the
city s center. From this dwelling they moved to the little "rose-
covered cottage" set up against a large four-story brick house, which
was occupied by a wealthy Quaker, Poe s landlord. If all reports are
true, the Quaker was not overly fond, or overly proud, of his tenant.
The cottage is now identified as the back-building of a house stand
ing at 530 North Seventh Street. Poe left Philadelphia for New York
in 1844, five years before his death.
While here, Poe contributed some of his best work to the Gentle
man s Magazine and Graham s, and his poem, The Bells, famed for
its tinkling, onomatopoetic melody, first appeared in Sartain s Maga
zine.
Just how much of the poet s work was actually first published, or
wholly written, in Philadelphia is a matter of question. For example,
whil 
