Feltonville is a working-class neighborhood in

North Philadelphia North Philadelphia, nicknamed North Philly, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is immediately north of Center City. Though the full extent of the region is somewhat vague, "North Philadelphia" is regarded as everything north of either ...

. It is located east of Logan and

Hunting Park Hunting Park is a neighborhood in the North Philadelphia section of the United States city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 2005, the 19140 ZIP code, which roughly consists of Hunting Park and Nicetown–Tioga, had a median home sale price of $ ...

, west of Lawncrest and Juniata, south of Olney, and north of Fairhill and Harrowgate. Feltonville is bounded by Erie Avenue to the south, Front Street to the west, Roosevelt Boulevard to the north,

Tacony Creek 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 meand ...

to the northeast, and G Street to the east.

Demographics

As of the 2010 Census, Feltonville was 42.8% Hispanic, 29.7% African American, 14.1% white, 9.4% Asian, and 4% mixed and all other. Although a large portion of Feltonville's population is made up of middle class Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, and

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

s. Feltonville is a very diverse middle-class neighborhood, with significant populations of

Korean American Korean Americans are Americans of Korean ancestry (mostly from South Korea). In 2015, the Korean-American community constituted about 0.56% of the United States population, or about 1.82 million people, and was the fifth-largest Asian American ...

Cambodian American Cambodian Americans,; also Khmer Americans, are Americans of Cambodian or Khmer ancestry. In addition, Cambodian Americans are also Americans with ancestry of other ethnic groups of Cambodia, such as the Chams and Chinese Cambodians. Accordin ...

Trinidadian American Trinidadian and Tobagonian Americans (also known as Trinbagonian Americans) are people with Trinidadian and Tobagonian ancestry or immigrants who were born in Trinidad and Tobago. Trinidad and Tobago is home to people of many different national, ...

Haitian Americans Haitian Americans (french: Haïtiens-Américains; ht, ayisyen ameriken) are a group of Americans of full or partial Haitian origin or descent. The largest proportion of Haitians in the United States live in Little Haiti to the South Florida are ...

Jamaican American Jamaican Americans are an ethnic group of Caribbean Americans who have full or partial Jamaican ancestry. The largest proportions of Jamaican Americans live in South Florida and New York City, both of which have been home to large Jamaican commu ...

Colombian American Colombian Americans ( es, Colomboestadounidenses), are Americans who trace their ancestry to Colombia. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of full or partial Colombian descent or to someone who has immigrated to the United Sta ...

Salvadoran American Salvadoran Americans ( or ) are Americans of full or partial Salvadoran descent. As of 2010, there are 2,195,477 Salvadoran Americans in the United States, the fourth-largest Hispanic community by nation of ancestry.Honduran American Honduran Americans ( es, link=no, honduro-americano, or ) are Americans who trace their roots to Honduras, Honduran Americans belong to one or more of the follow ethnic groups such as mestizo, white, Lenca, Ladino people, Miskito people, Gar ...

Guatemalan American Guatemalan Americans ( es, guatemalteco-americanos, links=no, or ) are Americans of full or partial Guatemalan descent. The Guatemalan American population at the 2010 Census was 1,044,209. Guatemalans are the sixth largest Hispanic group in the ...

s, Mexican Americans and other immigrants, including a large concentration of

Palestinian Americans Palestinian Americans ( ar, فلسطينيو أمريكا) are Americans who are of full or partial Palestinian descent. It is unclear when the first Palestinian immigrants arrived in the United States, but it is believed that they arrived dur ...

. It is estimated that there are 27 languages spoken in the neighborhoo

History

Feltonville was known around 1890 as "Wyoming Villa" or "Wyoming Valley." In 1927, the City of Philadelphia set aside a corner of the recreation field at "B" St. and Wyoming Ave. for the building of the Wyoming Branch of the

Free Library of Philadelphia The Free Library of Philadelphia is the public library system that serves Philadelphia. It is the 13th-largest public library system in the United States. The Free Library of Philadelphia is a non-Mayoral agency of the City of Philadelphia gover ...

. Completed in 1930, this branch has the distinction of being the last Carnegie library built with funds provided by the noted philanthropist

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...

.History of the Wyoming Branch
provided by the

. Early residents noted Feltonville for its high ground, beautiful rolling farms, and many gracious homes. Before 1900, as a suburb of Philadelphia, public transportation was limited to the

Reading Railroad The Reading Company ( ) was a Philadelphia-headquartered railroad that provided passenger and commercial rail transport in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states that operated from 1924 until its 1976 acquisition by Conrail. Commonly call ...

's train from 3rd and Berks Streets to Newtown, Pennsylvania. The station was located at 2nd Street and Wyoming Avenue, on the northwest boundary of a farm. A local historian, Edna Walmsley Hookway, described what the scene would have looked like in 1891:Hookway, Edna Walmsley, and Arthur Whitehair (eds.), ''Seventy-five Years'', Diamond Jubilee book of the Wyoming Avenue Baptist Church, 1891-1966. Today the neighborhood has a large Latino population consisting of Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Colombians, and Mexicans.

Across from the station, on Wyoming Avenue, stood the Rau mansion built in 1888. Mr. David Titlow, the undertaker, lived in a stately home with a lake in front of it at Wyoming Avenue and "C" Street. Across Wyoming Avenue on the north side stood the large residences of Mr. Edwin P. Frick and Mr. Thomas Harvey, side by side.

On old Second Street Pike, now named Rising Sun Avenue, and Fisher's Lane stood the Feltonville School, having twelve grades, all taught by one teacher. Some of the classes had only five or six pupils. Several branches of the Felton family, for whom the community was named, resided on Fisher's Lane, the present "D" Street, which extended all through the community. It ran north and south, turned westward at what is now the Roosevelt Boulevard, bounding the twenty-eight-acre farm of Mr. John Hoffner. Mr. Hoffner was a relative of the Felton family. Mr. Christopher Simon was also a Felton.

A visitor arriving on the Reading train was greeted by the bright, bold sign "Wyoming" hanging on the station. On old Second Street Pike was a picturcsque property occupied by Mr. James Eckersley. On the lawn, "Wyoming Villa" was written in brilliant red plants.

A newly formed real estate company named "Wyoming Land and Improvement Association," and headed by Mr. Eckersley, employed Mr. John Walmsley to divide the fields into building lots. Mr. Walmsley brought his wife and five children to reside on Second Street Pike in the first new house built by the Wyoming Land Company.

Feltonville School No. 2 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 ...

in 1988.

References

External links

ECS Beacon Center
Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania
Historic Photographs of Feltonville
''Philly''History.org {{Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania Neighborhoods in Philadelphia Olney-Oak Lane, Philadelphia