The Colonial Germantown Historic District is a designated

National Historic Landmark District National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

in the

Germantown Germantown or German Town may refer to: Places Australia * Germantown, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region United States * Germantown, California, the former name of Artois, a census-designated place in Glenn County * Ge ...

and Mount Airy neighborhoods of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

along both sides of Germantown Avenue. This road followed a Native American path from the Delaware River just north of Old City Philadelphia, through Germantown, about 6 miles northwest of

Center City Philadelphia Center City includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of Philadelphia. It comprises the area that made up the City of Philadelphia prior to the Act of Consolidation, 1854, which extended the city borders to be coterminous wi ...

, and on to Pottstown. Settlement in the Germantown area began, at the invitation of

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...

, in 1683 by Nederlanders and Germans under the leadership of

Francis Daniel Pastorius Francis Daniel Pastorius (September 26, 1651) was a German born educator, lawyer, poet, and public official. He was the founder of Germantown, Pennsylvania, now part of Philadelphia, the first permanent German-American settlement and the gatewa ...

fleeing religious persecution. NRHP 1966? Nomination FormEnter "public" for ID and "public" for password to access the site. NRHP 1987? Nomination FormEnter "public" for ID and "public" for password to access the site. Colonial Germantown was a leader in religious thought, printing, and education. Important dates in Germantown's early history include: p. 7 *August 16, 1683, Pastorius arrives in Philadelphia *October 25, 1683, Lots are drawn for land among Pastorius's followers and settlement begins *1688, first American anti-slavery protest published *1690, first paper-mill built in America is built near Germantown *1705, possibly the first portrait painted in oil in America painted by Christopher Witt in Germantown *1708, first Mennonite Meetinghouse in America built in Germantown *1719, first Dunkards in America arrive in Germantown *1743, first Bible printed in America in any European language (in this case German), printed by Christoph Sauer *1760,

Germantown Academy Germantown Academy, informally known as GA and originally known as the Union School, is the oldest nonsectarian day school in the United States. The school was founded on December 6, 1759, by a group of prominent Germantown citizens in the Gree ...

founded *1762, invasion of the

Paxton Boys The Paxton Boys were Pennsylvania's most aggressive colonists according to historian Kevin Kenny. While not many specifics are known about the individuals in the group their overall profile is clear. Paxton Boys Lived in hill country northwest of ...

*1770, first American book on

pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

written by

Christopher Dock Christopher Dock (16981771) was a Mennonite educator who worked primarily in South-East Pennsylvania. His teaching techniques stood in contrast to the norm of the day, and emphasized character building and discussion in lieu of physical punis ...

and published in Germantown *October 4, 1777, Battle of Germantown *1793, during the Philadelphia Yellow Fever Epidemic,

President Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of t ...

and his cabinet move to Germantown *1794, Washington spends two months in Germantown to avoid the heat in Philadelphia *July 20, 1825, General Lafayette visits Germantown *June 6, 1832, railroad from Philadelphia to Germantown opens

Historic designation and extent

The district was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1965 and 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 1966. The original district included the 4500 to 6600 blocks of Germantown Avenue (between Windrim Avenue and Sharpnack Street). In 1987 the district was expanded north to the 7600 block of Germantown Avenue (up to Cresheim Valley Drive), which is the southern boundary of the Chestnut Hill Historic District. The district's two parts contain 579 properties, of which 514 are considered contributing, and only 65 non-contributing. The

northwest Philadelphia Northwest Philadelphia is a section of the city of Philadelphia. The official boundary is Stenton Avenue to the north, the Schuylkill River to the southwest, Northwestern Avenue to the northwest, Roosevelt Boulevard to the south, and Wister Stree ...

area, which promotes itself as "Freedom's Backyard," contains 11 historic districts listed by the National Register of Historic Places, as well as 58 separately listed properties. Eight state historical markers are located on Germantown Avenue. Nearly complete inventories prepared for the National Register of Historic Places, both for the original district and for the expanded area are available. NRHP 1966? InventoryEnter "public" for ID and "public" for password to access the site. NRHP 1987? InventoryEnter "public" for ID and "public" for password to access the site. A 1907 inventory of historic buildings in the area was printed in the "History of Old Germantown."

Selected contributing properties

Contributing properties In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distri ...

in the district include the following. Even street numbers are on the west side of Germantown Avenue, odd numbers on the east. Original construction dates may be approximate.

References

External links

1982 National Register of Historic Places Inventory--Nomination Form, Addendum to Colonial Germantown Historic District
at

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United ...

* at Bryn Mawr College *

Videos

Germantown History
2010, VisitPhilly,

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

.
Down Germantown Avenue, Part One
2007, James Flatley and Etienne Jackson with Robert Wood, YouTube. Student film travels from Chestnut Hill south.
Down Germantown Avenue, Part Two
2007, James Flatley and Etienne Jackson with Robert Wood, YouTube. From Chelten Avenue south {{National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania National Historic Landmarks in Pennsylvania Federal architecture in Pennsylvania Georgian architecture in Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia Historic districts in Philadelphia Germantown, Philadelphia Mount Airy, Philadelphia Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania 1683 establishments in Pennsylvania

Historic designation and extent

Selected contributing properties

See also

References

Further reading

External links

Videos