Fox Chase is a

neighborhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...

in Northeast Philadelphia,

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, ...

History

Fox Chase was originally part of Lower Dublin Township, also known as Dublin Township, a defunct

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, ...

that was located 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 township ceased to exist and was incorporated into the

City 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 ...

following the passage of the Act of Consolidation, 1854. Philadelphia's elite once flocked to opulent vacation homes built in the lush fringes bordering the city. The area's character changed with the arrival of the railroad in 1876. Many of Philadelphia's

aristocracy Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At the time of the word' ...

began to discover the attractiveness of

suburban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separa ...

living, and built mansions here, using the railroad for convenient transport into the city. Fox Chase was the setting for one of America's longest running cold cases. In February 1957, the battered body of a small boy was found in a cardboard box off in the woods off Susquehanna Road. Investigators were mystified and were unable to determine his identity. Nicknamed " The Boy in the Box", "America's Unknown Child", and sometimes "The Fox Chase Boy", his case remains open. He was identified as Joseph Augustus Zarelli in 2022.

Location and surrounding areas

The Fox Chase section is located on the border with Montgomery County and there is an active and cooperative business community that crosses the county line into Rockledge and

Huntingdon Valley Huntingdon Valley is a village, as well as a suburban mailing address located in Lower Moreland Township, Upper Moreland Township and Abington Township all in Montgomery County, and in small sections of Upper Southampton Township and Lower S ...

. One of many parks located within Fox Chase is

Pennypack Park 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 of woodlan ...

. It is composed of woodlands, meadows and wetlands. The banks of the Pennypack Creek runs through the park from Pine Road in Fox Chase all the way to the Delaware River. The area also includes playgrounds, hiking and bike trails as well as bridle paths for horseback riding. The Pennypack Environmental Center on Verree Road is also located within the neighborhood. Many historic structures are still intact throughout Fox Chase. The Verree House on Verree Road was the site of a raid by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

troops during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. The trained eye can rediscover abandoned railroad grades, remnants of early mills, mill races and other reminders that generations of mankind have gathered in the "Green Heart" of Northeast Philadelphia.

Fox Chase Farm Fox Chase Farm is one of two working farms in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Saul High School of Agricultural Sciences, W.B. Saul High School's Farm in Roxborough is the other). Formerly owned by the Wistar family, the farm is located on ...

is one of the few remaining active farms in Philadelphia County and is used extensively by the

School District of Philadelphia The School District of Philadelphia (SDP) is the school district that includes all school district-operated public schools in Philadelphia. Established in 1818, it is the 8th largest school district in the nation, by enrollment, serving over 200 ...

. It began in 1683 as a land grant from

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 ...

Lord Stanley Earl of Derby ( ) is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby, under a creation of 1139. It continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the en ...

and then passed to the McVeigh family for over 100 years. Later, the Wistar family developed it into a self-sufficient farm until it became a Gentlemen's Farm owned by two farmers, Lorimer and Butler. Friends of Fox Chase Farm, an all-volunteer group, currently assists in maintaining and preserving this pastoral treasure for present and future generations. William Rhawn, president of the

National Bank In banking, the term national bank carries several meanings: * a bank owned by the state * an ordinary private bank which operates nationally (as opposed to regionally or locally or even internationally) * in the United States, an ordinary p ...

of the Republic in 1879, built a summer residence here. To design the project, he chose architect Frank Furness, whose work was synonymous with the mansions and public buildings of the

Gilded Age In United States history, the Gilded Age was an era extending roughly from 1877 to 1900, which was sandwiched between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was a time of rapid economic growth, especially in the Northern and Wes ...

. The banker's country estate includes a carriage house and gatekeeper's house. He called the estate “ Knowlton” because it resembled the estate in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

of Rhawn's wife's great-grandfather, John Knowles. It has since been converted into a catering establishment. Ryerss Mansion is also located in Fox Chase. The house was built by merchant Joseph Waln Ryerss in 1859 and dramatically overlooks Burholme Park, one of the highest vistas in Philadelphia. The mansion is home to a massive and eccentric collection of artifacts and antiquities from around the world, collected during the Ryerss family's extensive travels and exotic sojourns, from Europe, to Africa, to the Far East. Among the historic properties located in this neighborhood are: * Knowlton Mansion, designed by Frank Furness; on the National Register of Historic Places * Ryerss Mansion, home of Joseph Waln Ryerss; on the National Register of Historic Places * The Verree House, site of a raid by British troops during the

Demographics

The median age is 36.6 years for males and 39.0 years for females. Married couples made up 40.3 percent of the neighborhood's population. The neighborhood was 80.37 Caucasian, 8.63 percent African American, 4.75 percent Asian, 2.58 percent mixed race, .07 percent Native Hawaiian and 3.6 percent other race. The median household income for Fox Chase was $54,870 in 2011, compared with $34,207 for Philadelphia as a whole. The population below the poverty level in Fox Chase was 10 percent, compared with 28.4 percent for Philadelphia.

Business

The largest employer of Fox Chase is the internationally known

Fox Chase Cancer Center Fox Chase Cancer Center is a National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center research facility and hospital located in the Fox Chase section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The main facilities of the center are loca ...

, a unique facility that merges cancer research with the treatment of cancer. Its researchers have won

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

s for their contributions.

Transportation

Public transportation is provided by several

SEPTA The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people in five c ...

bus routes and the

Fox Chase Line The Fox Chase Line SEPTA Regional Rail service connecting Center City Philadelphia with Fox Chase. It uses the Fox Chase Branch, which branches off from the SEPTA Main Line at Newtown Junction north of the Wayne Junction station. It runs entirel ...

regional rail service which terminates near Rhawn Street and Oxford Avenue.

Education

Public libraries

The Fox Chase Branch of the

Philadelphia Free Library 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 ...

is located at 501 Rhawn St. at Jeanes Street.

Schools

Fox Chase Elementary School a.k.a. Fox Chase Academics Plus School is a public elementary school of the

. Located at 500 Rhawn St. near the library, it serves children grades K to 5. Students move on to Baldi Middle School, and George Washington High School.George Washington High School Geographic Boundaries
."

. Retrieved on December 11, 2016. Saint Cecilia is a Roman Catholic School, from grades pre-k to 8. Saint Cecilia's is a part of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Saint Cecilia School and church is located on 535 Rhawn St.

Houses of worship

*Fox Chase United Methodist Church is located at 201 Loney St. at the intersection of Filmore and Loney streets. *St. Cecilia Catholic Church, 535 Rhawn St., also has a school with grades from kindergarten to eighth grade. The "new" church opened in 1955 and the first church was located just to the west of the "new" church. It was built underground with the expectations of adding an upper level, but the depression in 1929 and World War II caused this addition to be held off until 1955. *St. Stephen Orthodox Cathedral is located at 8598 Verree Road (next to Pennypack Park). *Bethel International Missions Center, 460 Rhawn St., a Brazilian congregation. *Memorial Presbyterian Church of Fox Chase, 7902 Oxford Ave., founded in 1884.

Location

Fox Chase's boundaries are: * Northeast/East,

Pennypack Creek Pennypack Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 creek in southeastern Pennsylvania in the United States. It runs southeast through lower Bucks Count ...

(

Bustleton, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania The Bustleton section of Northeast Philadelphia is located in the Far Northeast, north of Rhawnhurst and Fox Chase and south of Somerton; sitting between Roosevelt Boulevard to the east, the city boundary to the west, Red Lion Road to the nor ...

) * West/Northwest, Filmore Street (

Rockledge, Pennsylvania Rockledge is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,638 as of the 2020 census. Rockledge is surrounded by Abington Township, and Philadelphia, and shares a ZIP Code with Jenkintown. Geography Accordi ...

and Abington, Pennsylvania) * Southwest, Township Line Road ( Cheltenham, Pennsylvania) * South, Cottman Avenue (

Lawncrest, Philadelphia 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 consi ...

, Cheltenham Township and

Elkins Park, Pennsylvania Elkins Park is an unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is split between Cheltenham and Abington Townships in the northern suburbs outside of Philadelphia, which it borders along Cheltenham Avenue roughly from Ce ...

) * East, Algon Avenue ( Rhawnhurst section 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 ...

)