Wingohocking Creek was once a major tributary of another Philadelphia, Pennsylvania stream, Frankford Creek, which flows into the Delaware River. [1] Frankford Creek was formed by the confluence of Wingohocking Creek and Tacony Creek (sections of which, in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, are also called Tookany Creek). Since Wingohocking Creek is now obliterated, having been piped underground in the late 19th century, it can be confusing to look at a modern map, which shows Tacony Creek suddenly changing names "in the middle of the stream," so to speak, and becoming Frankford Creek. The point at which the name changes is near the present intersection of I and Ramona Streets, where the Wingohocking once joined the Tacony to form the Frankford Creek. What was once a major stream and the site of many mills and factories has been completely wiped off the map—all but the city's sewer maps, that is. The outlet of the Wingohocking Sewer is the largest in the Philadelphia sewer system, about 24 feet (7.3 m) high. It is visible from various points in the Juniata neighborhood and the adjoining golf course.
The word "Wingohocking" may have originated from the indigenous Lenni Lenape for "favorite land for planting" [2] or, perhaps, "crooked water." [3] By other accounts, the stream was named by James Logan in honor of Chief Wingohocking, with whom he traded names in traditional Native American fashion as a sign of mutual respect. [4] [5] [6]
The stream now flows in a combined sewer (carrying both storm water and raw sewage) under Belfield Avenue and close to the route of Wingohocking Street in the Logan neighborhood of Philadelphia. It had two branches, the larger of which, the West Branch, reached as far as the Mount Airy neighborhood. In the 1860s, when municipal engineers drew up the preliminary drainage maps for Philadelphia's 129 square miles (330 km2), the conversion of many of the city's smaller streams into sewers became an integral part of the plan. The Wingohocking was converted beginning in the 1880s, with the final section of 21 miles (34 km) of streams finally obliterated in 1928.
That mistakes were made in this process is evident in the city's Logan neighborhood, where more than 900 houses have been evacuated and demolished because of the threat of subsidence and collapse from weakened foundations caused by the inadequate fill material (fly ash) that was used when the stream was first covered. The city purchased most of the homes in this area (called the Logan Redevelopment Area) and demolished them, leaving only a ghostly, rectangular grid of streets as a reminder of the former urban landscape. The area is slated for commercial redevelopment.
The creek formerly ran upstream from its confluence with the Tacony Creek in the vicinity of I Street and Ramona Avenue, west along Ramona two blocks to Cayuga then along Cayuga past G Street, and then Whitaker Avenue, then roughly parallel to Macalester Street and Hunting Park Avenue, staying north of Hunting Park, following the southerly boundary of Greenmount Cemetery near Front Street and Hunting Park Avenue. Sewer manhole pylons are visible in the lowest ground in this area.
As described above, the Wingohocking Creek system was composed of two branches, which converged at a point located under Belfield Avenue west of modern-day Broad Street. The southerly branch, Wingohocking Creek proper, followed the path taken today by SEPTA's Chestnut Hill East rail line (built by the Philadelphia, Germantown & Norristown Railroad in 1833 and extended by the successor Philadelphia & Reading Railroad in the 1850s) between Sedgwick and Wister stations. The northerly branch, listed on maps as Mill Creek, began in Mt. Airy slightly north of Stenton Avenue and followed the path of Mansfield Avenue which was built on top of Mill Creek when it was arched over. [7]
A small section of Wingohocking Creek has been uncovered, or daylighted, at Awbury Arboretum. This is the only portion of the Wingohocking currently visible above ground.
Although the creek is now extinct, its name lives on in Philadelphia's Wingohocking Street.
Germantown is an area in Northwest Philadelphia. Founded by German, Quaker, and Mennonite families in 1683 as an independent borough, it was absorbed into Philadelphia in 1854. The area, which is about six miles northwest from the city center, now consists of two neighborhoods: 'Germantown' and 'East Germantown'.
Northeast Philadelphia, nicknamed Northeast Philly, the Northeast and the Great Northeast, is a section of the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to the 2000 Census, the Northeast has a sizable percentage of the city's 1.547 million people—a population of between 300,000 and 450,000, depending on how the area is defined. Beginning in the 1980s, many of the Northeast's middle class children graduated from college and settled in suburbs, especially nearby Bucks County. The Northeast is known as being home to a large working class Irish American population, but it is also home to Polish, German, Jewish, Italian, African American, Portuguese, Brazilian, Russian, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Ukrainian, Indian, Chinese, and Vietnamese neighborhoods.
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 southwest, to Cheltenham Avenue on the north and to the Torresdale Avenue on the east. Adjacent neighborhoods are Bridesburg, Kensington, Juniata, Oxford Circle, Summerdale, and Wissinoming.
Lawncrest is a neighborhood in the "Near" (lower) Northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The name is an amalgam of Lawndale and Crescentville, the two primary communities that make up the neighborhood. The Philadelphia Inquirer does not consider Lawncrest to be a neighborhood.
Olney is a neighborhood in North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is roughly bounded by Roosevelt Boulevard to the south, Tacony Creek to the east, Godfrey Avenue to the north, and the railroad right-of-way west of Seventh Street to the west.
Ogontz/Belfield is a neighborhood in Upper Northern Philadelphia that is located adjacent to West Oak Lane, East Germantown, Logan, and Fern Rock, Philadelphia.
West Oak Lane is a neighborhood in the Northwestern Philadelphia. The neighborhood was developed primarily between the early 1920s and late 1930s, with the areas near to Cedarbrook constructed after World War II. At the northeast corner of Limekiln Pike and Washington Lane was the site of the Cedar Park Inn, a historic tavern built in the early 19th century, which was torn down sometime after 1931 as the neighborhood was being fully developed.
Poquessing Creek is a 10.3-mile-long (16.6 km) creek, a right tributary of the Delaware River, that forms part of the boundary between Bucks County and the northeast section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It has been part of the boundary between Bucks and Philadelphia counties since 1682.
Frankford Creek is a minor tributary of the Delaware River in southeast Pennsylvania. It derived its name from the nearby town of Frankford, Philadelphia County. The stream originates as Tookany Creek at Hill Crest in Cheltenham Township and meanders eastward, then southeastward, throughout Cheltenham Township, until a sharp bend near the Philadelphia border at Lawncrest, where the place names Toxony and Tookany were used in historic times; the stream is still known as Tookany Creek in this region, where it flows southwest. Turning south into Philadelphia at the crotch of Philadelphia's V-shaped border, the creek is called Tacony Creek; from here southward, it is considered the informal boundary separating Northeast Philadelphia from the rest of the city. The Philadelphia neighborhoods of Olney and Feltonville lie on the western side of the stream in this area while Northwood, Lawncrest, Summerdale, and Frankford lie on the eastern side. It continues to be called the Tacony at least until the smaller Wingohocking Creek merges with it in Juniata Park, within the city-owned golf course. Beyond Castor Avenue it is known as Frankford Creek until the stream's confluence with the Delaware River in the Bridesburg neighborhood of Philadelphia. The section of stream known as Frankford Creek is 3.1 miles (5.0 km) long, and the upstream section known as Tacony Creek, from Hill Crest, is 11.1 miles (17.9 km) long.
Logan is a neighborhood in the upper North Philadelphia section of the city of Philadelphia, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The majority of the neighborhood falls within the 19141 zip code, but some of it falls within 19140. The neighborhood is sometimes confused with the Olney neighborhood of Philadelphia. Olney Avenue extends from both the Olney and Logan neighborhoods of the city. The Olney Transportation Center is located in Logan.
Tacony is a historic neighborhood in Northeast Philadelphia, about 8 miles (13 km) from downtown Philadelphia. It is bounded by the east side of Frankford Avenue on the northwest, the south side of Cottman Avenue on the northeast, the north side of Robbins Street on the southwest, and the Delaware River and Interstate 95 on the southeast.
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.
Juniata is a working class, predominantly Hispanic and Caucasian neighborhood in Northeast 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.
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.
Pennsylvania Route 73 (PA 73) is a 62.32-mile (100.29 km) long east–west state highway in southeastern Pennsylvania. It runs from PA 61 near Leesport southeast to the New Jersey state line on the Tacony–Palmyra Bridge over the Delaware River in Philadelphia, where the road continues as New Jersey Route 73. The route passes through rural areas of Berks County, crossing U.S. Route 222 (US 222) in Maiden Creek before heading southeast through Oley and Boyertown. PA 73 continues into Montgomery County and intersects PA 100 in Gilbertsville and PA 29 in Schwenksville before it heads into the northwest suburbs of Philadelphia. The route passes through Skippack and intersects US 202 in Center Square, PA 309 in Springfield Township, and PA 611 near Jenkintown. PA 73 continues through Northeast Philadelphia on Cottman Avenue, crossing US 1 and US 13 before coming to an interchange with Interstate 95 (I-95) near the Tacony–Palmyra Bridge.
Nicetown–Tioga is a neighborhood in the North Philadelphia section of the city of Philadelphia, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It comprises two smaller, older neighborhoods, Nicetown and Tioga, although the distinction between the two is rarely emphasized today. The name "Nicetown" is often simply used to refer to any part of Nicetown–Tioga.
U.S. Route 13 is a U.S. highway running from Fayetteville, North Carolina, north to Morrisville, Pennsylvania. The route runs for 49.36 mi (79.44 km) through the Philadelphia metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The route enters the state from Delaware in Marcus Hook, Delaware County. It continues northeast through Delaware County, passing through the city of Chester before heading through suburban areas along Chester Pike to Darby. US 13 enters the city of Philadelphia on Baltimore Avenue and runs through West Philadelphia to University City, where it turns north along several city streets before heading east across the Schuylkill River along Girard Avenue. The route turns north and heads to North Philadelphia, where it runs northeast along Hunting Park Avenue. US 13 becomes concurrent with US 1 on Roosevelt Boulevard, continuing into Northeast Philadelphia. US 13 splits southeast on a one-way pair of streets before heading northeast out of the city on Frankford Avenue. The route continues into Bucks County as Bristol Pike, heading northeast to Bristol, where it turns into a divided highway. US 13 becomes a freeway in Tullytown and continues north to its terminus at US 1 in Falls Township, near Morrisville. US 13 roughly parallels Interstate 95 (I-95) through its course in Pennsylvania.
SEPTA's Trolley Route 56, the Erie and Torresdale Avenues Line, is a former streetcar line that is now served by bus. It is operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The line runs between the Tioga and Tacony neighborhoods primarily along Erie Avenue and Torresdale Avenue. Route 56 was one of three "suspended" by the SEPTA board effective June 12, 1992. The two others, Routes 15 and 23, were then also operated by buses as of the same year; however, the Route 15 Trolley has since been restored back to trolley as of September 5, 2005.
Cheltenham Avenue is a major east-west road in Southeastern Pennsylvania. It is served by many SEPTA bus routes, trolleys, regional rail, and subway. Cheltenham Avenue is designated an unsigned quadrant route numbered State Route 2035 in its western section. It also is a major borderline; it defines the border between Springfield and Cheltenham townships, and Cheltenham Township and the City of Philadelphia, with the latter also being the Montgomery County and Philadelphia County. A section of the road along the Philadelphia–Cheltenham border is part of Pennsylvania Route 309.