Belmont District is a defunct

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

that existed briefly in

Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania Philadelphia County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the most populous county in Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, Philadelphia County had a population of 1,603,797. The county is the second smallest county in Pennsy ...

. The district was created on 14 April 1853 from northern

Blockley Township Blockley Township is a defunct township that was located in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. Incorporated in 1704, the township was incorporated into the City of Philadelphia under the 1854 Act of Consolidation. History An irregularly shape ...

ceased to exist and on 2 February 1854 and was incorporated into the

City of Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

following the passage of the

Act of Consolidation, 1854 The Act of Consolidation, more formally known as the act of February 2, 1854 (P.L. 21, No. 16), is legislation of the Pennsylvania General Assembly that created the consolidated City and County of Philadelphia, expanding the city's territory t ...

. The name ''Belmont'' is still used as a neighborhood name for the area, although it no longer refers to any legal entity. Similar name-inheritance (where the name of a former municipality lives on as a neighborhood name without formal definition) is also seen in other Philadelphia neighborhoods.

History

Belmont District was created by act of the

Assembly Assembly may refer to: Organisations and meetings * Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions * General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...

on April 14, 1853. It embraced the part of

which lay along the

Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river running northwest to southeast in eastern Pennsylvania. The river was improved by navigations into the Schuylkill Canal, and several of its tributaries drain major parts of Pennsylvania's Coal Region. It fl ...

from the northern boundary-line of

West Philadelphia West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of the city of Philadelphia. Alhough there are no officially defined boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Avenue to the nort ...

to the northern boundary-line between Philadelphia and Montgomery counties, and had also its western boundary on that line. This district had scarcely time to be organized before the Act of Consolidation of February 2, 1854, put an end to its franchises. The name was derived from Belmont, the country seat of the Peters family, which is now part of

Fairmount Park Fairmount Park is the largest municipal park in Philadelphia and the historic name for a group of parks located throughout the city. Fairmount Park consists of two park sections named East Park and West Park, divided by the Schuylkill River, with ...

. The mansion was erected by

William Peters William, Willie, Willy, or Bill Peters may refer to: Arts and entertainment * William Peters (painter) (1742–1814), British painter * William Theodore Peters (1862–1904), American poet and actor *William Wesley Peters (1912–1991), American ar ...

about 1743, and the name was descriptive of the fine position of the property and suggestive of the beautiful views of the river and valley of the Schuylkill. The property became the estate of Judge Richard Peters, Jr., of the

United States District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

; he lived there until his death, August 22, 1828. The Belmont School was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1988.

Resources

''Chronology of the Political Subdivisions of the County of Philadelphia, 1683–1854''
() *

courtesy o
ushistory.org
'

– excerpted from the book at the ushistory.org website {{Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania Municipalities in Philadelphia County prior to the Act of Consolidation, 1854 Populated places established in 1853 1854 disestablishments in Pennsylvania