Holmesburg, Philadelphia

Last updated
Holmesburg
Neighborhood of Philadelphia
Saint-Dominic-Frankford-Avenue.jpg
Saint Dominic Roman Catholic Church, on Frankford Avenue, was established in 1849
Street map of Philadelphia and surrounding area.png
Red pog.svg
Holmesburg
Coordinates: 40°02′31″N75°01′41″W / 40.042°N 75.028°W / 40.042; -75.028
CountryFlag of the United States (23px).png  United States
State Pennsylvania
County Philadelphia County
City Philadelphia
Area code(s) 215, 267, and 445

Holmesburg began as a Village within Lower Dublin Township, Pennsylvania. It is now a neighborhood in the Northeast section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Holmesburg was named in Honor of Surveyor General of Pennsylvania Thomas Holme, who was a cartographer.

Contents

The Surveyor General had no apparent business relationship or blood kinship to one John Holme, a Baptist minister and magistrate who immigrated to Philadelphia in the 1680s from New Jersey. [1]

John Holme's descendants were land speculators and became very prominent citizens in Holmesburg, who owned a portion of the Pennypack grist mill and a lumber business, establishing an estate called Box Grove. [2]

Holmesburg is bordered to the west by Brous Avenue to Ryan Avenue to Sandy Run/Pennypack Creek to Holme Avenue to Holme Circle to Ashton Road to Willits Road, the Delaware River to the east, and Cottman Avenue to the south. The border shared with Torresdale to the north is Welsh/Willits/Academy Road and then over to Linden Avenue. Holmesburg's ZIP code is 19136.

History

The area around Holmesburg was first inhabited by the Lenape. In 1683 William Penn purchased from the natives, the land between the Pennypack and Neshaminy Creeks. In November 1682, Thomas Holme received a grant from Penn of 1,646 acres (666 ha) on either side of Pennypack Creek to establish Wellspring Plantation. In 1790, his descendants divided the land, and this 26-acre (11 ha) section became known as the Village of Holmesburg. [3]

Penn had the King's Highway Bridge erected over the Pennypack Creek in 1697 to connect his mansion with the new city of Philadelphia. Downstream from the bridge Peter Dale and John Holme built a grist mill. A dam was constructed upstream at "Rocky Falls"; water to turn the mill-wheels was brought from the dam through a long mill-race. Welsh farmers from Gwynedd built a road to bring their grain to the mill. At the end of Welsh Road is Mill Street, which leads to where the mills once stood. When Robert Lewis came into ownership, he added a cooperage for the production of barrels and hogsheads, and this required construction of a sawmill, and probably a cider mill. A bit upstream from the sawmill, David Lewis built a textile mill which was burned during the War of 1812, but subsequently rebuilt. [4] The mills contributed to the growth of Holmesburg.

Frankford Avenue bridge over the Pennypack Creek Frankford-Avenue-Bridge.jpg
Frankford Avenue bridge over the Pennypack Creek

The first stagecoach service was established in 1756 between Philadelphia and New York. As the trip took three days, this required rest stops. A a blacksmith shop and an inn were established where Welsh Road met the King's Highway. The Green Tree opened in 1799. [3] U.S. Route 13 between Philadelphia and Morrisville was known as the Frankford and Bristol Turnpike. Ferries had operated near the mouth of the Pennypack from early time. Ferry Lane, (now Pennypack Street) was built to access the Frankford-Bristol Road. In 1803 Holmesburg got its own toll-house and toll-gate, to cover maintenance.

In 1834, the Philadelphia and Trenton Railroad opened. By 1862, a station was established at Delaware Avenue (now Rhawn Street). In 1863, the Frankford and Holmesburg Railroad was incorporated to build a line from Frankford to Holmesburg. State Road was opened in 1870. In 1895, the Holmesburg, Tacony and Frankford Company established trolley service; and the road was renamed Frankford Avenue. [4]

Holmesburg native George A. Castor became a successful merchant tailor with large establishments in New York City, Boston, and Philadelphia. He built the eighteen bedroom mansion "Stoneyhurst" on Solly Avenue overlooking the Pennypack Creek. As of 2018, the site was occupied by the motherhouse of the sisters of the Missionary Servants of the Most Blessed Trinity, a Roman Catholic women's congregation, that relocated there in 1931. [5] The congregation was founded by Vincentian Father Timothy A. Judge, for whom Father Judge High School is named.

Shakespearean actor Edwin Forrest purchased 100 acres (40 ha) of land along Frankford Avenue for a country estate. After his death in 1872, his executors turned it into the Forrest Home for retired actors. It operated from about 1876 to 1927. [4] By 1905 lands along the Pennypack had been acquired for parkland.

In 2020, former New York City Mayor and Donald Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani held a press conference at the Four Seasons Total Landscaping parking lot, which is located in the area.

Act of Consolidation

Around 1701, Lower Dublin Township was established. In 1853, about half the area of the township was separated out into Delaware Township, which comprised Torresdale and Holmesburg. It was superseded the following year by the 1854 Act of Consolidation, 1854 and incorporated into Philadelphia. [6]

Thomas Holme Library

Thomas Holme Branch Library Phila FLP Holmesburg01.jpg
Thomas Holme Branch Library

Completed in 1906, the Thomas Holme Library is the smallest of the Philadelphia branch libraries. It was built through an endowment from industrialist Andrew Carnegie. The funds for construction were contingent on the municipality providing the land. The lot was donated by the local Lower Dublin Academy through an endowment established by the Holme family for educational purposes. While originally providing for a school, a library was considered by the trustees and the community to be a significant educational contribution, a concept shared by the Carnegie Corporation. The Thomas Holme Branch was designed by architect Horace W. Castor, of the firm of Sterns & Castor, in the Beaux Arts style. [7] The Free Library of Philadelphia operates the Holmesburg Branch. [8]

Notable people

Education

The School District of Philadelphia operates Joseph H. Brown Elementary School in Holmesburg. [11] The original Joseph H Brown Elementary School opened in 1895. Brown feeds into Meehan Middle School. [12] All persons assigned to Meehan are zoned to Abraham Lincoln High School. [13] Lincoln was originally scheduled to be named Mayfair High School, but opposition from other neighborhoods, including Holmesburg, meant that the school was instead named after Abraham Lincoln. In 1949 the school's cornerstone was laid. [14]

Saint Dominic Roman Catholic church and grade school are located in Holmesburg. Father Judge High School is also located in Holmesburg. It was established in 1954 by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia and is run by the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales. [15] St. Hubert High School for Girls is also in Holmesburg. [16] Holy Family University is planning on constructing buildings at the former Liddonfield Projects site.

Other private or independent schools in Holmesburg, Philadelphia include Holmesburg Christian Academy, which is affiliated with Holmesburg Baptist Church and includes a preschool, elementary school, and middle school. [17]

Prisons

Holmesburg Prison opened in 1896. The Philadelphia Prison System is located in Holmesburg. It includes the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility (named for Patrick N. Curran, Warden of old Holmesburg Prison, and Robert F. Fromhold, Deputy Warden, both of whom were murdered in an attack by two inmates on May 31, 1973), the Detention Center, the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center, the House of Correction, Riverside Correctional Facility and The Alternative and Special Detention unit. Curran-Fromhold replaced Holmesburg Prison, which was used from 1896 until 1995. Holmesburg Prison was recently reopened. Acres of Skin: Human Experiments at Holmesburg Prison is a 1998 book by Allen Hornblum, which documents clinical non-therapeutic medical experiments on prison inmates at Holmesburg Prison from 1951 to 1974. [18]

Holmesburg contains one of the longest continuous African-American communities in the nation, having been founded by runaway slaves prior to and during the Civil War.[ citation needed ]

Holmesburg is the location of the historic Pennypack Theatre building, built in 1929 in the Art Deco style with a 1,364-seat capacity and designed by acclaimed 20th century theater architect William Harold Lee.

The Frankford Avenue Bridge and Joseph H. Brown School were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. [19]

Recreation and transportation

Recreational facilities include Holmesburg Recreation Center at Rhawn and Ditman Streets, James Ramp Memorial Playground, Pennypack Park and Pennypack on the Delaware.

Transportation to Center City Philadelphia is provided by SEPTA's Trenton Line commuter train, which affords a quick 25-minute ride into the urban center. Holmesburg is also served by SEPTA bus routes 28, 66, 70, 84, and 88, which take riders to other areas around Northeast Philadelphia and surrounding suburban areas. Interstate 95 is also an easy 10-15 minute drive into downtown, accessible either by the Cottman Avenue (PA-73) entrance to the south or Academy Road entrance to the north.

Holmesburg's main thoroughfare, Frankford Avenue (U.S. Route 13), is a historic byway in use for centuries. Frankford Avenue was used as a route from Philadelphia to points north as far back as the 17th century. The Frankford Avenue Bridge across Pennypack Creek, built in 1697, is the oldest stone arch bridge in continuous use in the country.

Holmesburg in print and film

Holmesburg Prison was used for three major motion pictures, Up Close & Personal starring Robert Redford and Michelle Pfeiffer, Animal Factory starring Willem Dafoe, Mickey Rourke, and Edward Furlong, and Law Abiding Citizen starring Jamie Foxx, Gerard Butler, and Colm Meany. Parts of the movie Fallen were also filmed here.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fox Chase, Philadelphia</span> Neighborhood of Philadelphia in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Fox Chase is a neighborhood in the lower Northeast section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northeast Philadelphia</span> Neighborhood of Philadelphia in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Northeast Philadelphia, nicknamed Northeast Philly, the Northeast and the Great Northeast, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to the 2000 census, Northeast Philadelphia has a population of between 300,000 and 450,000, depending on how the area is defined. The Northeast is known as being home to a large and diverse working class population, including Polish, German, Jewish, Russian, African American, Brazilian, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Guatemalan, Ukrainian, Indian, Chinese, Irish, and Vietnamese neighborhoods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frankford, Philadelphia</span> Former Borough in Pennsylvania, United States

Frankford is a neighborhood in the Northeast section of Philadelphia situated about six miles (10 km) northeast of Center City. Although its borders are vaguely defined, the neighborhood is bounded roughly by the original course of Frankford Creek on the south to Castor Avenue on the northwest and southwest, to Cheltenham Avenue on the north, and to Aramingo Avenue and I-95 on the east. Adjacent neighborhoods are Bridesburg, Juniata, Northwood, Summerdale, and Wissinoming.

Roosevelt Boulevard, officially named the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Boulevard and often referred to, chiefly by local Philadelphians, simply as "Roosevelt," is a major traffic artery through North and Northeast Philadelphia. The road begins at Interstate 76 in Fairmount Park, running as a freeway also known as the Roosevelt Boulevard Extension or the Roosevelt Expressway through North Philadelphia, then transitioning into a twelve-lane boulevard that forms the spine of Northeast Philadelphia to its end at the city line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mayfair, Philadelphia</span> Neighborhood of Philadelphia in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, United States

Mayfair is a working class neighborhood in lower Northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, centered on the intersection of Cottman and Frankford Avenues. It is bordered by Tacony and Wissinoming to the south and east, Holmesburg to the east, Pennypack Park to the north, and Oxford Circle and Rhawnhurst to the west. Mayfair is historically home to a large Irish American population, but more recently has seen accelerated growth of Asian American, Hispanic, Russian and mid eastern population

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Torresdale, Philadelphia</span> Neighborhood of Philadelphia in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, United States

Torresdale, also formerly known as Torrisdale, is a neighborhood in the Far Northeast section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Torresdale is located along the Delaware River between Holmesburg and Bensalem Township in neighboring Bucks County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhawnhurst, Philadelphia</span> Neighborhood of Philadelphia, USA

Rhawnhurst is a residential neighborhood in the Northeast section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, named for George and William Rhawn by area real estate developers. Roughly bordered by Cottman Avenue to the south, Pennway Street to the west, the Pennypack Creek to the north, and Roosevelt Boulevard to the east, Rhawnhurst encompasses ZIP codes 19152 and part of ZIP code 19111. The geographic center of Rhawnhurst is at the intersection of Castor Avenue and Rhawn Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennypack Creek</span>

Pennypack Creek is a 22.6-mile-long (36.4 km) creek in southeastern Pennsylvania in the United States. It runs southeast through lower Bucks County, eastern Montgomery County and the northeast section of Philadelphia, before emptying into the Delaware River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frankford Creek</span> River in Pennsylvania, United States

Frankford Creek is a minor tributary of the Delaware River in southeast Pennsylvania. It derived its name from today's Frankford, Philadelphia neighborhood.

Morrell Park is a neighborhood located in the Northeast section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located on the eastern side of the Far Northeast, northwest of Byberry Creek and east of Northeast Philadelphia Airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Connecting Railway</span> Connecting Railway: PRR subsidiary linking Philadelphia and Trenton lines

The Connecting Railway was a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad, incorporated to build a connection between the Philadelphia and Trenton Railroad and the PRR in the city of Philadelphia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juniata, Philadelphia</span> Neighborhood of Philadelphia in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, United States

Juniata is a working class, predominantly Hispanic and Caucasian neighborhood in North Philadelphia, which is a section of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Juniata is located south of the Juniata Golf Club in Tacony Creek Park. It is bordered to the east by Frankford, to the west by Feltonville, and to the south by Harrowgate and Port Richmond. The neighborhood is bordered by G Street to the west, Juniata Park to the north, Tacony Creek to the east, and by SEPTA rail tracks to the south. Juniata shares the ZIP code of 19124 with the nearby neighborhood of Frankford.

Lower Dublin Township, also known as Dublin Township, was a township that was located in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, United States. The township ceased to exist and was incorporated into the City of Philadelphia following the passage of the Act of Consolidation, 1854.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frankford Avenue Bridge</span> United States historic place

The Frankford Avenue Bridge, also known as the Pennypack Creek Bridge, the Pennypack Bridge, the Holmesburg Bridge, and the King's Highway Bridge, erected in 1697 in the Holmesburg section of Northeast Philadelphia, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, is the oldest surviving roadway bridge in the United States. The three-span, 73-foot-long (22 m) twin stone arch bridge carries Frankford Avenue, just north of Solly Avenue, over Pennypack Creek in Pennypack Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxford Circle, Philadelphia</span> Neighborhood of Philadelphia in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, United States

Oxford Circle is a neighborhood in the lower Northeast section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Its namesake is the much used traffic circle at Roosevelt Boulevard and Oxford Avenue. The Oxford Circle neighborhood has traditionally included the areas up to Rhawnhurst and Mayfair but does not really have a fixed boundary, other than in publications about Philadelphia which are of a public relations or informational nature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennypack Park</span>

Pennypack Park is a municipal park, part of the Philadelphia Parks & Recreation system located in Northeast Philadelphia in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Established in 1905 by ordinance of the City of Philadelphia, it includes about 1,600 acres (6 km2) of woodlands, meadows and wetlands. The Pennypack Creek runs through the park from Pine Road to the Delaware River. The park has playgrounds, hiking and bike trails, and bridle paths for horseback riding. An adjunct to the park is the Pennypack Environmental Center on Verree Road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SEPTA City Transit Division surface routes</span>

The City Transit Division of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) operate almost all of Philadelphia's public transit, including all six trolley, three trackless trolley, and 70 bus lines within city limits. Some of the bordering municipalities are served by the City Transit division, despite not being part of the city. For example, Cheltenham Township has 13 city division routes and no Suburban Division ones. The City Transit division also operates the 400 Series routes which are designed to serve students attending schools in the city of Philadelphia.

Upper Holmesburg is a neighborhood in Northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located along the Delaware River and Pennypack Creek, from Frankford Avenue to Willits Road. St. Dominic Roman Catholic parish is located in this section, on the 8500 block of Frankford Avenue.

Winchester Park is a neighborhood in Far Northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the vicinity of Pennypack Park, north and west of Holmesburg.

References

  1. ↑ Menkevich, Joseph, J. "THE LOWER DUBLIN ACADEMY NOMINATION TO THE PHILADELPHIA REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES" (PDF). Philadelphia Historical Commission, Nomination. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-08-07. Retrieved March 18, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ↑ Farnham, Jonathan. "NOMINATION OF BOX GROVE TO THE PHILADELPHIA REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES" (PDF). Philadelphia Historical Commission, Nomination. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2021. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  3. 1 2 ""Holmesburg", Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia". Archived from the original on 2019-08-18. Retrieved 2019-08-06.
  4. 1 2 3 Eleanor P., "Historical Northeast Philadelphia", Friends of the Holmesburg Branch Free Library, 1994 [ permanent dead link ]
  5. ↑ Baldwin, Lou. "Phila.-based Trinitarian sisters continue work for poor, immigrants", Catholic Philly, September 20, 2018
  6. ↑ Brookes, Karin; John Gattuso; Lou Harry; Edward Jardim; Donald Kraybill; Susan Lewis; Dave Nelson; Carol Turkington (2005). Zoë Ross (ed.). Insight Guides: Philadelphia and Surroundings (Second Edition (Updated) ed.). APA Publications. p.  359. ISBN   1-58573-026-2.
  7. ↑ "Free Library of Philadelphia, Thomas Holme Branch, 7810 Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, PA", Historic American Buildings Survey, Library of Congress
  8. ↑ "Holmesburg Branch." Free Library of Philadelphia. Retrieved on October 19, 2012.
  9. ↑ Castor, George Albert", Biographical Dictionary of the United states Congress
  10. ↑ "Gibbon, John", Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, (William S. Powell, ed.) University of North Carolina Press. 1996
  11. ↑ "About Us Archived 2016-03-05 at the Wayback Machine ." J. H. Brown Elementary School. Retrieved on December 10, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Joseph H. Brown Elementary School Geographic Boundaries Archived 2016-12-10 at the Wayback Machine ." School District of Philadelphia. Retrieved on December 10, 2016.
  13. ↑ "High School Directory Fall 2017 Admissions" (Archive). School District of Philadelphia. p. 42/70. Retrieved on December 10, 2016.
  14. ↑ Loftus, John (2015-01-28). "Changes in the classroom". Northeast Times . Archived from the original on 2015-08-01. Retrieved 2016-12-10.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  15. ↑ "School History". www.fatherjudge.com. Archived from the original on 2022-08-17. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  16. ↑ Carlin, Sean (2012-08-23). "Faith in plan for Archdiocese's high schools". Philadelphia Inquirer . Archived from the original on 2015-09-22. Retrieved 2019-11-30.
  17. ↑ "Academics Archived 2017-03-09 at the Wayback Machine ." Holmesburg Christian Academy. Retrieved on March 08, 2017.
  18. ↑ Theresa Richardson. Acres of Skin: Human Experiments at Holmesburg Prison (Review) Canadian Journal of History, April 1, 2001.
  19. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.