Germantown (

Pennsylvania Dutch The Pennsylvania Dutch ( Pennsylvania Dutch: ), also known as Pennsylvania Germans, are a cultural group formed by German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. They emigrated primarily from German-spe ...

: ''Deitscheschteddel'') is an area in

Northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each s ...

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 ...

. Founded by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...

, and

Mennonite Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the R ...

families in 1683 as an independent

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

, it was absorbed into

in 1854. The area, which is about six miles northwest from the city center, now consists of two neighborhoods: 'Germantown' and 'East Germantown'. Germantown has played a significant role in

American history The history of the lands that became the United States began with the arrival of the first people in the Americas around 15,000 BC. Numerous indigenous cultures formed, and many saw transformations in the 16th century away from more densel ...

; it was the birthplace of the American antislavery movement, the site of a Revolutionary War battle, the temporary residence of

George 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 ...

, the location of the first bank of the United States, and the residence of many notable politicians, scholars, artists, and social activists. Today the area remains rich in historic sites and buildings from the colonial era, some of which are open to the public.

Boundaries

Germantown stretches for about two miles along Germantown Avenue northwest from Windrim and Roberts Avenues. Germantown has been consistently bounded on the southwest by Wissahickon Avenue, on the southeast by Roberts Avenue, and on the east by Wister Street and Stenton Avenue, but its northwest border has expanded and contracted over the years. When first incorporated as a borough in 1689, Germantown was separated from the rural Germantown Township by Washington Lane; later, the border was expanded to Carpenter and East Gorgas Lanes; it was then rolled back to Washington Lane in 1846, () and remained there until the borough was absorbed into the city of Philadelphia in 1854. GermantownBorders-modern

Today, the western part of the former borough is the neighborhood known simply as 'Germantown' (though is sometimes called 'West Germantown') and the eastern part is the neighborhood of 'East Germantown'. While the boundary between the two neighborhoods is not well-defined and has varied over time, these days 'Germantown' usually refers to the part of the former borough that lies west of Germantown Avenue, up through West Johnson Street, and 'East Germantown' to the part that lies east of Germantown Avenue, up through East Upsal Street. The neighborhood of Mount Airy lies to the northwest, Ogontz and West Oak Lane to the northeast,

Logan Logan may refer to: Places * Mount Logan (disambiguation) Australia * Logan (Queensland electoral district), an electoral district in the Queensland Legislative Assembly * Logan, Victoria, small locality near St. Arnaud * Logan City, local gov ...

to the east, Nicetown–Tioga to the south, and

East Falls East Falls (also The Falls, formerly the Falls of Schuylkill) is a neighborhood in the Northwest section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It lies on the east bank of the "Falls of the Schuylkill," cataracts submerged in ...

to the southwest. The majority of Germantown is covered by the 19144 zip code, but the area north of Chew Avenue falls in the 19138 zip code.

History and demographics

Although the arrival by ship of the later founders of Germantown in

on October 6, 1683, was later to provide the date for

German-American Day German-American Day (german: Deutsch-Amerikanischer Tag) is a holiday in the United States, observed annually on October 6 under . It celebrates German-American heritage and commemorates the founding of Germantown, Pennsylvania (now part of Phi ...

, a

holiday A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or t ...

in the United States, historical research has shown that nearly all of the first thirteen

and

families were in fact Dutch rather than

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

. These families, which were mainly Dutch but also included some Swiss, had relocated to

Krefeld Krefeld ( , ; li, Krieëvel ), also spelled Crefeld until 1925 (though the spelling was still being used in British papers throughout the Second World War), is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, ...

(near the Dutch border) and Kriegsheim (in

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

) some years prior to their emigration to America to avoid persecution of their Mennonite beliefs in the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands ( Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiograph ...

and Swiss Confederacy. The town was named Germantown by the group's leader Franz Pastorius, a German preacher from

Sommerhausen Sommerhausen is a municipality and market town in the district of Würzburg in Bavaria, Germany. History Sommerhausen has been an important municipality on the Main Main may refer to: Geography * Main River (disambiguation) **Most commonly ...

. The towns population remained largely Dutch-speaking until 1709, after which a number of the Dutch families set out west and a series of major German emigrations reached Germantown and Pennsylvania as a whole. Their initial leader, Pastorius, later aligned himself with newer German arrivals and as the only university-trained and legal and literary man among the early settlers, chronicled and stressed the towns German origins. Adding to the assimilating of Dutch culture was the fact that the direct vicinity of the settlement was already inhabited by fifty-four German families who had accompanied Johan Printz to the Swedish settlement on the Delaware several years before 1683 and had resettled themselves. Francis Daniel Pastorius was the first bailiff. Jacob Telner, Derick Isacks op den Graeff and his brother Abraham Isacks op den Graeff, Reynier Tyson, and Tennis Coender (Thones Kunders) were burgesses, besides six committeemen. They had authority to hold "the general court of the corporation of Germantowne", to make laws for the government of the settlement, and to hold a court of record. This court went into operation in 1690, and continued its services for sixteen years. In 1688, five years after its founding, Germantown became the birthplace of the anti-slavery movement in America. Pastorius, Gerret Hendericks, Derick Updegraeff and Abraham Opdengraef gathered at Thones Kunders's house and wrote a two-page condemnation of slavery and sent it to the governing bodies of their Quaker church, the

Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

. The petition was mainly based upon the Bible's Golden Rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Though the Quaker establishment took no immediate action, the 1688 Germantown Quaker Petition Against Slavery was a clear and forceful argument against slavery and initiated the process of banning slavery in the Society of Friends (1776) and Pennsylvania (1780). In 1723, Germantown became the site of the first congregation of

Schwarzenau Brethren The Schwarzenau Brethren, the German Baptist Brethren, Dunkers, Dunkards, Tunkers, or sometimes simply called the German Baptists, are an Anabaptist group that dissented from Roman Catholic, Lutheran and Reformed European state churches during t ...

in the New World. The

Church of the Brethren The Church of the Brethren is an Anabaptist Christian denomination in the Schwarzenau Brethren (german: link=no, Schwarzenauer Neutäufer "Schwarzenau New Baptists") tradition that was organized in 1708 by Alexander Mack in Schwarzenau, Germ ...

- among other churches - have their roots in the Schwarzenau Brethren. When Philadelphia was occupied by the British 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 ...

, British units were housed in Germantown. In the

Battle of Germantown The Battle of Germantown was a major engagement in the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War. It was fought on October 4, 1777, at Germantown, Pennsylvania, between the British Army led by Sir William Howe, and the American Con ...

, on October 4, 1777, the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

attacked the garrison. During the battle, a group of civilians fired on the British troops as they marched up the avenue, mortally wounding British officer

James Agnew Sir James Willson Agnew (2 October 1815 – 8 November 1901) was an Irish-born Australian politician, who was Premier of Tasmania from 1886 to 1887. Early life Agnew was born in Ballyclare, Ireland and educated at London, Paris and Glasgow; h ...

. The Americans withdrew after firing on one another in the confusion of the battle, which resulted in the battle becoming a British victory. The American losses amounted to 673 men and the British losses consisted of 575 men, but along with the American victory at Saratoga on October 17 when

John Burgoyne General John Burgoyne (24 February 1722 – 4 August 1792) was a British general, dramatist and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1761 to 1792. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several bat ...

surrendered, the battle led to the official recognition of the Americans by France, which formed an alliance with the Americans afterward. During his presidency,

and his family lodged at the

Deshler-Morris House The Germantown White House (also known as the Deshler–Morris House) is a historic mansion in the Germantown section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is the oldest surviving presidential residence, having twice housed Founding Father George Was ...

in Germantown to escape the city and the

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. ...

epidemic of 1793. The first bank of the United States was also located here during his administration. Germantown proper, and the adjacent German Township, were incorporated into the City of Philadelphia in 1854 by the Act of Consolidation. Italians began settling Germantown in 1880, and comprised an active and vibrant part of the community.Di Giacomo, Donna J. ''Italians of Philadelphia''.

Arcadia Publishing Arcadia Publishing is an American publisher of neighborhood, local, and regional history of the United States in pictorial form.(analysis of the successful ''Images of America'' series). Arcadia Publishing also runs the History Press, which publ ...

, 2007. , 9780738550206. p
9
The significant changes that occurred in Philadelphia's demographics at the start of the 20th century caused major shifts in Germantown's ethnic makeup as well. When the first wave of the Great Migration brought more than 140,000 African Americans to the city from the South, long-established Philadelphians started to move to the outskirts. During this time, many German, Scots-Irish, and Irish families moved to Germantown. During the 1940s, a second mass migration of African Americans from the south to Philadelphia occurred. While the majority of middle-class African American newcomers first settled in North Philadelphia, the housing shortages in this area that followed the end of World War II caused later arrivals to move instead to the Northwest. This led to a wave of new housing construction. To meet the housing needs of the growing numbers of African American families moving into southern Germantown, the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority allocated $10.6 million for the creation of public housing. Between 1954 and 1956, Germantown experienced an influx of lower-income African Americans, resulting in a decline in property values and triggering a "

white flight White flight or white exodus is the sudden or gradual large-scale migration of white people from areas becoming more racially or ethnoculturally diverse. Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, the terms became popular in the United States. They refer ...

" of the majority of white residents to the suburbs. The demographic shift caused a slow but steady decline in central Germantown's upscale shopping district, with the last department store, a

J. C. Penney Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Womens, Boys, Girl ...

branch, closing in the early 1980s. The current demographics of Germantown reflects this shift. As of the 2010 US Census, Germantown proper is 77% black, 15% white, 3% non-white Hispanic, and 2% Asian, and East Germantown is 92% black, 3% white, 2% non-white Hispanic, and 2% Asian. Eugene Stackhouse, a retired former president of the Germantown Historical Society says that the demographic transition of Germantown into a predominantly black neighborhood was the result of the now illegal practice of

blockbusting Blockbusting was a business practice in the United States in which real estate agents and building developers convinced white residents in a particular area to sell their property at below-market prices. This was achieved by fearmongering the ho ...

. "It was a great disgrace. Cheap houses would be sold to a black family, then the realtors would go around and tell the neighbors that the blacks are invading", said Stackhouse. The practice was used to trigger

panic selling Panic selling is a large-scale selling of an investment that causes a sharp decline in prices. Specifically, an investor wants to sell an investment with little regard to the price obtained. The sale is problematic because the investor is reacting ...

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

Germantown is zoned to 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 ...

, as is all of Philadelphia. Public schools located in Germantown include the Anna L. Lingelbach School (K–8), the John B. Kelly School (K–6), the John Wister Elementary School (K–6), the Hill Freedman Middle School (6–8), the Theodore Roosevelt Middle School (7–8), the Fitler Academics Plus School (1–8), and the Martin Luther King High School (9–12). The Robert Fulton Elementary School and Germantown High School, a regional public high school located in Germantown, were both closed in 2013.

Charter schools

Mastery Charter Schools Mastery Schools is a network of 24 charter schools with over 14,000 students in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Camden, New Jersey. It is headquartered at the Mastery Charter Pickett Campus in Germantown, Philadelphia Germantown (Pennsylvania Dutc ...

operates the Mastery Charter Pickett Campus (7–12, MCPC) in Germantown. The school opened in August 2007.Pickett Campus : About
."

. Retrieved on September 10, 2012. "Our Location 5700 Wayne Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19144" The charter system headquarters is located at Pickett. Germantown Settlement Charter School (5–8), Imani Education Circle Charter school (pre-K to 8), and the Wissahickon Charter School's Awbury Campus (6th–8th) is located in the neighborhood . The

Pennsylvania School for the Deaf The Pennsylvania School for the Deaf is the third-oldest school of its kind in the United States. Its founder, David G. Seixas (1788–1864), was a Philadelphia crockery maker-dealer who became concerned with the plight of impoverished deaf childr ...

, a private state-chartered school, occupies the former site of

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 ...

, which moved to

Fort Washington, Pennsylvania Fort Washington is a census-designated place and suburb of Philadelphia in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,446 at the 2010 census. History Prior to the Revolutionary War the Fort Washington area was settl ...

in 1965.

Private schools

Germantown's private schools include the DePaul Catholic School (K–8), Waldorf School of Philadelphia (PreK-8), the High Street Christian Academy (K–4), the Germantown Islamic School, the Green Tree School (special education, ages 6–21), and two Quaker schools:

Germantown Friends School Germantown Friends School (GFS) is a coeducational independent PreK–12 school in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States under the supervision of Germantown Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of ...

and

Greene Street Friends School Greene Street Friends School is a coeducational school under the care of Green Street Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends. Located in Germantown, Philadelphia, Greene Street serves 320 students in grades Pre-K to 8. History In ...

. Nearby private schools include Mount Airy's Revival Hill Christian High School (9–12), Blair Christian Academy (PreK–12), Islamic Day School of Philadelphia (PreK–5), Project Learn School (K–8), Classroom on Carpenter Lane (K-2), and Holy Cross School (K–8), as well as Chestnut Hill's Springside School (PreK–12),

Chestnut Hill Academy Springside Chestnut Hill Academy (also known as SCH Academy or SCH) is an independent, non-sectarian Pre-K through grade 12 school located in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, approximately 10 miles from Center City. SCH serves ove ...

(K–12), and Crefeld School (7–12). The

William Penn Charter School William Penn Charter School (commonly known as Penn Charter or simply PC) is an independent school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1689 at the urging of William Penn as the "Public Grammar School" and chartered in 1689 to be op ...

(commonly known as Penn Charter), the oldest Quaker school in the world, is located in nearby

Higher education

La Salle University La Salle University () is a private, Catholic university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The university was founded in 1863 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and named for St. Jean-Baptiste de La Salle. History L ...

is in both Germantown and historic Belfield. Its west campus is centered on the old Germantown Hospital buildings and property, which it purchased in 2007. Other universities and colleges close to Germantown include Drexel University College of Medicine's Queen Lane Medical Campus, Arcadia University,

Chestnut Hill College Chestnut Hill College is a private Catholic college in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The college was founded in 1924 as a women's college by the Sisters of St. Joseph. It was originally named Mount Saint Joseph College ...

, The

Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP), also known as the ''Philadelphia Seminary,'' was one of eight theological seminaries associated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the largest Lutheran denomination in North ...

Philadelphia University Thomas Jefferson University is a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Established in its earliest form in 1824, the university officially combined with Philadelphia University in 2017. To signify its heritage, the univer ...

, and

Saint Joseph's University Saint Joseph's University (SJU or St. Joe's) is a private Jesuit university in Philadelphia and Lower Merion, Pennsylvania. The university was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1851 as Saint Joseph's College. Saint Joseph's is the seventh olde ...

.Education
". Mt. Airy USA. Retrieved on January 20, 2009.

Other teaching institutions

Settlement Music School, the largest community school of the arts in the United States, operates one of its six branches in Germantown. Phila FLP NorthwestRegional

Public libraries

Free Library of Philadelphia operates public libraries. The Joseph E. Coleman Northwest Regional Library is located in Germantown. The library was given its current name in 2002, after Joseph E. Coleman, a member of the

Philadelphia City Council The Philadelphia City Council, the legislative body of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, consists of ten members elected by district and seven members elected at-large. The council president is elected by the members from among their number. Each ...

Transportation

The first railroad in Philadelphia was the Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad, which linked Germantown to a station at 9th and Green Streets in Center City. It opened in 1832, and was initially powered by horses. The inventor

Matthias W. Baldwin Matthias William Baldwin (December 10, 1795 – September 7, 1866) was an American inventor and machinery manufacturer, specializing in the production of steam locomotives. Baldwin's small machine shop, established in 1825, grew to become B ...

built his first commissioned

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the loco ...

for the new railroad. Nicknamed ''Old Ironsides'', it eventually reached a peak speed of 28 mph."Matthias William Baldwin", in Lance Day and Ian Mcneil (eds.), ''Biographical Dictionary of the History of Technology.'' London: Routledge, 1995; pg. 39. Today two

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 ...

Regional Rail Regional rail, also known as local trains and stopping trains, are passenger rail services that operate between towns and cities. These trains operate with more stops over shorter distances than inter-city rail, but fewer stops and faster serv ...

lines connect the neighborhood to Center City: the

Chestnut Hill West Line The Chestnut Hill West Line is a commuter rail line in the SEPTA Regional Rail network. It connects Northwest Philadelphia, including the eponymous neighborhood of Chestnut Hill, as well as West Mount Airy and Germantown, to Center City. ...

with stops at Queen Lane, Chelten Avenue, and Tulpehocken stations; and the Chestnut Hill East Line with stops at Wister,

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 * G ...

, and Washington Lane stations. The neighborhood is also served by bus routes 18, 23 (formerly a trolley line), 26, 53 (formerly a trolley line), 65, H and XH, J, and K. File:Old-Irosides-1832.jpg, Baldwin's "Old Ironsides", 1832 File:2093 Germantown ave april 85 - Flickr - drewj1946.jpg, Route 23 trolley on Germantown Avenue, 1985

Parks and recreation areas

Germantown has numerous parks and recreation areas. These include: * Awbury Arboretum, a historic 55-acre arboretum and estate *Carpenter Park *Clifford Park *Cliveden Park *Cloverly Park *East Germantown Recreation Center *Fernhill Park * Germantown Cricket Club (private) *Hansberry Garden and Nature Center *Happy Hollow Playground *Kelly Playground *Loudoun Park *Vernon Park *Waterview Recreation Center * Wissahickon Valley Park (bordering), a 1400-acre park that is part of the

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, wit ...

system. *Wister's Woods Park (bordering)

Historic sites

National Historic Landmark Districts

Colonial Germantown Historic District The Colonial Germantown Historic District is a designated National Historic Landmark District in the Germantown and Mount Airy neighborhoods of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania along both sides of Germantown Avenue. This road followed a Native Americ ...

* Rittenhousetown Historic District

National Historic Districts

Awbury Historic District The Awbury Historic District is a historic area in the East Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It encompasses the former summer homes and farms of the extended Cope family, who moved to the area starting in 1849 and the entir ...

* Tulpehocken Station Historic District

National Historic Landmarks

Cliveden Cliveden (pronounced ) is an English country house and estate in the care of the National Trust in Buckinghamshire, on the border with Berkshire. The Italianate mansion, also known as Cliveden House, crowns an outlying ridge of the Chiltern ...

, the estate of

Benjamin Chew Benjamin Chew (November 19, 1722 – January 20, 1810) was a fifth-generation American, a Quaker-born legal scholar, a prominent and successful Philadelphia lawyer, slaveowner, head of the Pennsylvania Judiciary System under both Colony and Comm ...

, an important site during the

, open to the public * Germantown Cricket Club * John Johnson House, a site on the Underground Railroad, open to the public * Charles Willson Peale House *

Wyck House The Wyck house, also known as the Haines house or Hans Millan house, is a historic mansion, museum, garden, and urban farm in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was recognized as a National Historic Landmark in 1971 ...

, open to the public

National Register of Historic Places

Other sites listed separately on the

NRHP 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 ...

: * Alden Park Manor *

Beggarstown School The Beggarstown School, built c. 1740, is a historic school in Beggarstown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, now part of the Mount Airy neighborhood. It is a rare example of a school building from the colonial era. Architecture and history The smal ...

* Conyngham-Hacker House * Delmar Apartments *

Fitler School Edwin Fitler Academics Plus School is a historic school located in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is part of the School District of Philadelphia. The building was built in 1897–1898 and is a 3 1/2-story, schist b ...

* Germantown Grammar School *

Grumblethorpe Grumblethorpe, in Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was the home of the Wister family, who lived there for over 160 years. It was built in 1744 as a summer residence, but it became the family's year-round residence in 1793. It is a museum ...

* Howell House * Loudoun Mansion * Ebenezer Maxwell House * Mayfair House *

Oaks Cloister Oaks Cloister, is the name of the former residence of architect, Joseph Miller Huston. Constructed in 1900, the mansion is located at 5829 Wissahickon Ave,, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19141, in the Germantown section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvani ...

* Thomas Meehan School *

Mennonite Meetinghouse Mennonite Meetinghouse (Germantown Mennonite Church) is a historic Mennonite church building at 6119 Germantown Avenue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The first settlers in Germantown in 1683 were Dutch or Germans recruited by William Penn. Mos ...

Charles Schaeffer School Charles Schaeffer School is a historic former school building located in the Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The building was renovated in 2019 and is now the corporate offices of the ...

* Upsala *

Grumblethorpe Tenant House Grumblethorpe Tenant House, also known as the Tenant House of Wister's Big House, is a historic home located in the Wister neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was built about 1744, and expanded in the early 19th-century. It is a -sto ...

* St. Peter's Episcopal Church of Germantown * William C. Sharpless House * Smyser and English Pharmacy *

Sally Watson House Sally Watson House is a historic home located in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was designed by architect Wilson Eyre and built in 1886 for Sarah R. ("Sallie") Watson (1844-1918). It is a three-story, rubble schist ...

* YMCA of Germantown

Gallery of historic houses and architecture

''For a more complete gallery of

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 distr ...

in the

see

here Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to: Software * Here Technologies, a mapping company * Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here Television * Here TV (formerly "here!"), a ...

'' File:4650 Germantown Loudon.JPG, Loudoun Mansion, 4650 Germantown Ave. File:Grumblethorpe Front.JPG,

, 5267 Germantown Ave. File:6620 Germantown b.JPG, Winston Commons, 6620-6624 Germantown Ave File:4705 Germantown.JPG, Original Wakefield Presbyterian Church, 4705 Germantown Ave File:Germantown Civil War Monument & church.jpg, Market Square Presbyterian Church and Civil War Monument File:5218 Germantown Ave.JPG , Howell House, at 5218 Germantown Ave File:6026 Gtown Wyck.JPG, Wyck House, 6026 Germantown Ave. File:Germantown Mennonite Meeting.JPG, Germantown

, 6119 Germantown Ave.

Other historic buildings, places, and sites

* Barron House *Boxwood, 156 W. School House Lane, 1897-98 * Concord School House *The Francis Strawbridge House, Wissahickon Avenue, Germantown *The Germantown Boys' Club, 23 W. Penn Street, 1898-1909 *Germantown High School, 5901-13 and 5915-41 Germantown Avenue *

Gilbert Stuart Gilbert Charles Stuart ( Stewart; December 3, 1755 – July 9, 1828) was an American painter from Rhode Island Colony who is widely considered one of America's foremost portraitists. His best-known work is an unfinished portrait of George Washi ...

Studio * Green Tree Tavern (Germantown) *The Jonathan Graham House, 5356 Chew Avenue, Germantown *The King Green House, 5112-14 Germantown Avenue *The Leibert House, 6950 Germantown Avenue, ca.1800-08 *Little Wakefield, 1701 Lindley Avenue * Lower Burial Ground (Hood Cemetery) *The Lutheran Theological Seminary Historic District, Mt. Airy * The Connie Mack House *The Methodist Episcopal Church of the Advocate, 5250 Wayne Avenue, Germantown, Philadelphia, PA *St. Michael's Lutheran Church, 6671 Germantown Avenue, Mt. Airy, ca.1728-1897 *Mitchell, Fletcher, & Co., Inc., 5708 Germantown Avenue, Germantown, ca.1811-1911 * The Upper Burial Ground * Vernon Park *The Wachsmuth-Henry House, 4908 Germantown Avenue, ca.1760 *Woodside, The Dorfeuille-Hacker Country Seat, 339 E. Wister Street, ca.1797

In popular culture

The 1946 book, '' Bright April'', written and illustrated by Marguerite de Angeli, features scenes of 1940s Germantown while addressing the divisive issue of racial prejudice experienced by

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. The 2015 novel '' Loving Day'' is set in Germantown.

Notable people

* Herb Adderly NFL Hall Of Fame Green Bay Packers *

Louisa May Alcott Louisa May Alcott (; November 29, 1832March 6, 1888) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet best known as the author of the novel ''Little Women'' (1868) and its sequels ''Little Men'' (1871) and '' Jo's Boys'' (1886). Raised in ...

, author of the ''

Little Women ''Little Women'' is a coming-of-age novel written by American novelist Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888). Alcott wrote the book, originally published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869, at the request of her publisher. The story follows the live ...

'' series of books *

M. K. Asante M. K. Asante (born November 3, 1982) is an American author, filmmaker, recording artist, and professor. He is the author of the 2013 best-selling memoir ''Buck''.

, filmmaker, professor, rapper, author * James Barron, naval hero *

Bilal __NOTOC__ Bilal may refer to: People * Bilal (name) (a list of people with the name) * Bilal ibn Rabah, a companion of Muhammad * Bilal (American singer) * Bilal (Lebanese singer) Places * Bilal Colony, a neighbourhood of Korangi Town in Karac ...

, singer-songwriter * Samuel Blair, second

Chaplain of the United States House of Representatives The chaplain of the United States House of Representatives is the officer of the United States House of Representatives responsible for beginning each day's proceedings with a prayer. The House cites the first half of Article 1, Section 2, Claus ...

Anna Richards Brewster Anna Richards Brewster (1870 – August 13, 1952) was an American painter. Biography She was born in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her parents were the poet and playwright Anna Matlack and the landscape painter Wi ...

, painter * Elaine Brown,

Black Panther Party The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxism-Leninism, Marxist-Leninist and Black Power movement, black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. New ...

leader * Martin Grove Brumbaugh, Governor of Pennsylvania, 1914–1919 * Mary Carr, film actress * George Washington Carpenter, scientist *

, Chief Justice of Pennsylvania * Clarence Clark, professional tennis player, winner of the U.S. National Championships * Daniel Clark, Delegate from the

Territory of Orleans The Territory of Orleans or Orleans Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from October 1, 1804, until April 30, 1812, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Louisiana. History In 180 ...

to the U.S. House of Representatives * Walter Leighton Clark, American businessman, inventor, and artist * Joseph Sill Clark, Sr., tennis player * Florence Van Leer Earle Coates, American poet * William M. Colladay, Wisconsin politician * John Conard, member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania *

Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and media personality. He made significant contributions to American and African-American culture, and is well known in the United States for his eccentric ...

, comedian, actor, musician, author, educator * Charles Darrow, credited inventor of the ''

Monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situati ...

'' game * Marguerite de Angeli, writer and illustrator of children's books * Amrit Desai, yogi, founder of the Kripalu Center * Byron W. Dickson, college football coach *

George Ege George Ege (March 9, 1748December 14, 1829) was a United States Congressman, elected to the House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Biography He was born in Germantown in the Province of Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia, to Anna Catherine (H ...

, member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania * James Engle, speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives *

Lola Falana Loletha Elayne Falana or Loletha Elaine Falana (born September 11, 1942), better known by her stage name Lola Falana, is an American singer, dancer, and actress. Early life Lola Falana was born in Camden, New Jersey. She was the third of si ...

, singer, dancer, and actress *

Mantle Fielding Mantle Fielding, Jr. (September 30, 1865 – March 27, 1941) was an American architect, art historian, and tennis player. Career Fielding was born in Manhattan to Mantle Fielding (1837–1890) and Anne Margaret Stone (''maiden''; 1838–1906). H ...

, architect * Sidney George Fisher, author *

Janet Gaynor Janet Gaynor (born Laura Augusta Gainor; October 6, 1906 – September 14, 1984) was an American film, stage, and television actress. Gaynor began her career as an extra in shorts and silent films. After signing with Fox Film Corporation (late ...

, film, stage and television actress and painter *

Frederic Gehring Frederic P. Gehring, C.M. (20 January 1903 – 26 April 1998) was an American Catholic priest who served as a military chaplain during the Guadalcanal Campaign of World War II. As well as serving as a parish priest, he was also for a time the Na ...

, Catholic priest, National Chaplain for the Catholic War Veterans * Henry Gibson, actor *

Walter B. Gibson Walter Brown Gibson (September 12, 1897 – December 6, 1985) was an American writer and professional magician, best known for his work on the pulp fiction character '' The Shadow''. Gibson, under the pen-name Maxwell Grant, wrote "more than ...

, author known for the pulp fiction character

The Shadow The Shadow is a fictional character created by magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator, and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by writer Walter ...

* Thomas Godfrey, inventor of the octant *

William Newport Goodell William Newport Goodell (1908–1999) was an American artist, craftsman, and educator. He was born August 16, 1908, in Germantown, Philadelphia and briefly attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA), including its country school in ...

, artist, craftsman, and educator * Jacob C. Gottschalk, first

bishop in America * Abraham op den Graeff, one of the first settlers from Crevelt, Germany who established Germantown and its surrounding Township six miles northwest of Philadelphia, merchant, politician * Nelson Graves, Philadelphian

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

er * Carolyn Green, competition swimmer and two-time

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is hel ...

gold medalist *

Albert M. Greenfield Albert Monroe Greenfield (August 4, 1887 – January 5, 1967) was a real estate broker and developer who built his company into a vast East Coast network of department stores, banks, finance companies, hotels, newspapers, transportation companie ...

, businessman, political activist, philanthropist; lived in Germantown 1920s–1930s * Rufus Harley, jazz musician *

Alfred C. Harmer Alfred Crout Harmer (August 8, 1825 – March 6, 1900) was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Biography Harmer was born in Germantown section of Philadelphia. Began work as a shoe manufacture ...

, member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania * Ross Granville Harrison, biologist and anatomist *

Charles Hoffner Charles Harvey Hoffner (October 20, 1896 – November 9, 1981) was an American professional golfer. His best finish in an important tournament was a win at the first Philadelphia PGA Championship in 1922. In major championships, Hoffner tied for 1 ...

, pro golfer, member of first Ryder Cup team * Bernard Hopkins, professional boxer *

Marcus Jastrow Marcus Jastrow (June 5, 1829 – October 13, 1903) was a German-born American Talmudic scholar, most famously known for his authorship of the popular and comprehensive ''Dictionary of the Targumim, Talmud Babli, Talmud Yerushalmi and Midrashi ...

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

ic scholar * Eve, rapper, actress * Edwin Jellett, writer *

Lindley Johnson Lindley Johnson (January 18, 1854February 27, 1937) was a noted Philadelphia architect. Johnson was born in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and attended Germantown Academy before graduating from the University of Pennsylv ...

, Philadelphia architect *

Lloyd Jones Lloyd Jones or Lloyd-Jones may refer to: People Sports * Lloyd Jones (athlete) (1884–1971), American athlete in the 1908 Summer Olympics *Lloyd Jones (figure skater) (born 1988), Welsh ice dancer * Lloyd Jones (English footballer) (born 1995), E ...

, Olympic athlete * Florence Kelley, social and political reformer * Khia, rapper, record producer *

Florence Kirk Florence Kirk (1909 – June 6, 1999) was an American dramatic soprano who had an active international performance career in operas and concerts from 1937 to 1954. Born in Philadelphia and trained at the Curtis Institute of Music by Elisabeth Sc ...

, American soprano *

Adam Kuhn Adam Kuhn (28 November 1741 – 5 July 1817) was an American physician and naturalist, and one of the earliest professors of medicine in a North American university. Formative years Kuhn was born in Germantown, Province of Pennsylvania, a s ...

, physician, professor, and botanist * Maggie Kuhn, activist, founder of the Gray Panthers * Maxine Kumin, poet and author * George Cochran Lambdin, Victorian flower painter *

George Landenberger George Bertram Landenberger (May 12, 1879 – January 15, 1936) was a United States Navy Captain and the 23rd (and 21st unique) Governor of American Samoa, from May 12, 1932 to April 10, 1934. Landenberger commanded many ships during his naval car ...

, 23rd

Governor of American Samoa This is a list of governors, etc. of the part of the Samoan Islands (now comprising American Samoa) under United States administration since 1900. From 1900 to 1978 governors were appointed by the Federal government of the United States. Sinc ...

* Noyes Leech (1921–2010), law professor at the

University of Pennsylvania Law School The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (also known as Penn Law or Penn Carey Law) is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is among the most selective and oldes ...

* George Lippard, novelist, journalist, playwright, social activist, labor organizer * Eric Lobron, German chess grand master of American descent * James Logan, statesman * Sarah Logan Wister Starr, humanitarian * John W. Lord, Jr., Pennsylvania State Senator, Philadelphia City Councilman, United States District Judge * Airrion Love, member of the R&B group

The Stylistics The Stylistics are an American, Philadelphia soul group that achieved their greatest chart success in the 1970s. They formed in 1968, with a lineup of singers Russell Thompkins Jr., Herb Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith and James Dunn. All ...

* G. Love, born Garrett Dutton III, front man of the musical band G. Love & Special Sauce * Alexander Mack, leader of the

German Baptists German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

* Connie Mack, the longest-serving manager in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

history * Abe Manley, sports executive *

J. Howard Marshall James Howard Marshall II (January 24, 1905 – August 4, 1995) was an American billionaire businessman, academic, and government official. He was involved with and invested in the petroleum industry via academic, government and commercial ende ...

, wealthy magnate and husband of

Anna Nicole Smith Anna Nicole Smith (born Vickie Lynn Hogan; November 28, 1967 – February 8, 2007) was an American model, actress, and television personality. Smith started her career as a ''Playboy'' magazine centerfold in May 1992 and won the title of 1993 ...

Logan Marshall Logan Marshall (born 18 November 1883), was the pen name of Logan Howard-Smith of Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Howard-Smith was the son of Robert Spurrier and Elizabeth (McKinney) Howard-Smith. The father was an executive of Link-Belt. ...

, author *

John Alden Mason John Alden Mason (January 14, 1885 – November 7, 1967) was an American archaeological anthropologist and linguist. Mason was born in Orland, Indiana, but grew up in Philadelphia's Germantown. He received his undergraduate degree from the Univ ...

, archaeological anthropologist and linguist *

Jimmy McGriff James Harrell McGriff (April 3, 1936 – May 24, 2008) was an American hard bop and soul-jazz organist and organ trio bandleader. Biography Early years and influences Born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, United States, McGriff started playing pi ...

, jazz musician *

Robert L. McNeil, Jr. Robert Lincoln McNeil Jr. (July 13, 1915 – May 20, 2010) was an American chemist and pharmaceutical industry executive. He was responsible for, among other things, the commercial development, naming, and introduction of the pain reliever T ...

, developer of

Tylenol Tylenol may refer to: * Paracetamol Paracetamol, also known as acetaminophen, is a medication used to treat fever and mild to moderate pain. Common brand names include Tylenol and Panadol. At a standard dose, paracetamol only slightly decr ...

and chairman of McNeil LaboratoriesSinger, Natasha
"Robert L. McNeil Jr., Chemist Who Introduced Tylenol, Dies at 94"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', June 3, 2010. Accessed June 4, 2010. * Thomas Meehan, botanist and author *

Thomas Lynch Montgomery Thomas Lynch Montgomery (March 4, 1862 – October 1, 1929) was an American historian and librarian of the Pennsylvania State Library, Harrisburg. Thomas Lynch Montgomery was born in the Germantown area of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March 4 ...

, historian and librarian * George T. Morgan former chief engraver at the

United States Mint The United States Mint is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury responsible for producing coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce, as well as controlling the movement of bullion. It does not produce paper money; tha ...

* James K. Morrow, writer * Eleanor Myers, archaeologist * William Jackson Palmer, founder of

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

* Francis Daniel Pastorius, leader of the Germantown settlement *

James DeWolf Perry James DeWolf Perry (October 3, 1871 – March 20, 1947) was an American Episcopal clergyman and prelate. He was the 7th Bishop of Rhode Island (1911–1946) and the 18th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church (1930–1937). Biography The t ...

, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church *

Christian Frederick Post Christian Frederick Post (an anglicanization of Christian Friedrich Post) (1710 Polish Prussia - 29 April 1785 Germantown, Pennsylvania) was a missionary of the Moravian Church to the indigenous peoples of the Americas who played a brief but signi ...

, Moravian Church missionary *

Ellen Bernard Thompson Pyle Ellen Bernard Thompson Pyle (November 11, 1876 – August 1, 1936) was an American illustrator best known for the 40 covers she created for ''The Saturday Evening Post'' in the 1920s and 1930s under the guidance of ''Post'' editor-in-chief, Georg ...

, illustrator known for her ''

Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely ...

'' covers * Sun Ra, Jazz musician *

Edmund Randolph Edmund Jennings Randolph (August 10, 1753 September 12, 1813) was a Founding Father of the United States, attorney, and the 7th Governor of Virginia. As a delegate from Virginia, he attended the Constitutional Convention and helped to create ...

, the first

United States Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

* Theodore William Richards, recipient of 1914

Nobel Prize in Chemistry ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then "M ...

David Rittenhouse David Rittenhouse (April 8, 1732 – June 26, 1796) was an American astronomer, inventor, clockmaker, mathematician, surveyor, scientific instrument craftsman, and public official. Rittenhouse was a member of the American Philosophical Society a ...

, astronomer, mathematician, first director of the United States Mint * William Rittenhouse, founded the first paper mill in the colonies * Owen J. Roberts, Supreme Court Justice *

Ralph J. Roberts Ralph Joel Roberts (March 13, 1920June 18, 2015) was an American businessman who was the founder of Comcast, serving as its CEO for 46 years. In 2011 he served as founder and chairman emeritus of Comcast's board of directors until his death. E ...

, co-founder and former CEO of

Comcast Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...

* Charley Ross, four-year-old kidnapping victim in 1874 * Charles Frederick Schaeffer, Lutheran clergyman *

Francis Schaeffer Francis August Schaeffer (January 30, 1912 – May 15, 1984) was an American evangelical theologian, philosopher, and Presbyterian pastor. He co-founded the L'Abri community in Switzerland with his wife Edith Schaeffer, , a prolific autho ...

, Christian theologian *

William I. Schaffer William Irwin Schaffer (February 11, 1867January 15, 1953) was an American lawyer and judge from Pennsylvania. He served briefly as the state's Attorney General, resigning to serve on the state's Supreme Court for over twenty years, including th ...

, lawyer, Pennsylvania Attorney General and Supreme Court Justice * J. Barney Sherry, silent film actor * William Shippen, Philadelphia physician, civic and educational leader who represented Pennsylvania in the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

* Benjamin Shoemaker, mayor of Philadelphia * Ron Sider, founder of Evangelicals for Social Action * Frederick Smith, lawyer, Pennsylvania Attorney General and Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice *

Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album ''Horses''. Called the "punk poet ...

, punk rock singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist * Mike Sojourner, professional basketball player * Christopher Sower the elder, printed the first German-language Bible in America * Christopher Sower the younger, clergyman and printer *

Christopher Sower III Christopher Sower (27 January 1754 in Germantown, Pennsylvania – 3 July 1799 in Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and ...

, loyalist printer *

Martin Luther Stoever Martin Luther Stoever (born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, 17 February 1820; died there, 22 July 1870) was a United States Lutheran educator and writer. His biographical work earned him the title of “The Plutarch of the Lutheran Church.” B ...

, Lutheran educator and writer * Witmer Stone, ornithologist and botanist *

, portrait artist * Walter Stuempfig, Romantic realism artist * Clyde Summers, lawyer and educator who advocated for labor union democracy *

Thomas De Lage Sumter Thomas De Lage Sumter (November 14, 1809 – July 2, 1874) was a U.S. Representative from South Carolina, and a grandson of American Revolutionary War General Thomas Sumter. Early life Sumter was born in Pennsylvania, in the Germantown area of ...

, U.S. Representative from South Carolina *

Frederick Winslow Taylor Frederick Winslow Taylor (March 20, 1856 – March 21, 1915) was an American mechanical engineer. He was widely known for his methods to improve industrial efficiency. He was one of the first management consultants. In 1909, Taylor summed up ...

, engineer, management theorist, and consultant * Meldrick Taylor, professional boxer * Russell Thompkins, Jr., songwriter of the R&B group

Bill Tilden William Tatem Tilden II (February 10, 1893 – June 5, 1953), nicknamed "Big Bill", was an American tennis player. Tilden was the world No. 1 amateur for six consecutive years, from 1920 to 1925, and was ranked as the world No. 1 professional ...

, tennis player * Henry van Dyke, author, educator, and clergyman *

, first president of the United States. Lived in Germantown briefly at the

Grover Washington, Jr. Grover Washington Jr. (December 12, 1943 – December 17, 1999) was an American jazz-funk and soul-jazz saxophonist. Along with Wes Montgomery and George Benson, he is considered by many to be one of the founders of the smooth jazz genre. He wr ...

, saxophonist *

Ora Washington Ora Belle Washington (c. 1899 – December 21, 1971) was an American athlete from the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Washington excelled in both tennis and basketball, and she was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall ...

, professional tennis player * William Walter Webb, Episcopal bishop *

Langhorne Wister Langhorne Wesley Wister (September 20, 1834 – March 19, 1891) was a Union Army officer during the American Civil War. Biography Wister was born in Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 20, 1834. His father, William Wister, w ...

, Civil War brevet brigadier general *

Owen Wister Owen Wister (July 14, 1860 – July 21, 1938) was an American writer and historian, considered the "father" of western fiction. He is best remembered for writing '' The Virginian'' and a biography of Ulysses S. Grant. Biography Early life ...

, author * Sally Wister,

Philadelphia campaign The Philadelphia campaign (1777–1778) was a British effort in the American Revolutionary War to gain control of Philadelphia, which was then the seat of the Second Continental Congress. British General William Howe, after failing to dra ...

diarist * Jeremiah Wright,

Black theology Black theology, or black liberation theology, refers to a theological perspective which originated among African-American seminarians and scholars, and in some black churches in the United States and later in other parts of the world. It contex ...

pastor *

John Zacherle John Zacherle ( ; sometimes credited as John Zacherley; September 26, 1918 – October 27, 2016) was an American television host, radio personality, singer, and voice actor. He was best known for his long career as a television horror host, of ...

, television host, radio personality and voice actor * PnB Rock, R&B singer, rapper, composer

Image gallery

File:Bilal with the Roots (cropped).jpg, Bilal, singer-songwriter and producer File:MartinGBrumbaugh.jpg, Martin Grove Brumbaugh, Governor of Pennsylvania File:Bill cosby 1969.JPG, Bill Cosby, comedian, actor, musician, author, educator File:Connie Mack3.jpg, Connie Mack File:Richards Theodore William lab.jpg, Theodore William Richards, first American to receive the Nobel Prize in Chemistry File:Patti Smith performing at TIM Festival, Marina da Gloria, Rio De Janeiro (4).jpg, Patti Smith, musician and visual artist File:Jeremiah Wright ClintonWhitehouse crop.jpg, Jeremiah Wright, pastor

References

External links

Art by Joseph Ropes (1812–1885), ''Scene in Germantown, Pa.'', 1874

Art by William Britton, ''Market Square, Germantown'', c. 1820

Atlas of the Late Borough of Germantown, 22nd Ward, City of Philadelphia, 1871

* ttp://www.ushistory.org/germantown/index.htm Clickable map of Historic Germantown (Independence Hall Association)
Germantown Historical Society

includes land disputes, apprenticeships, sales of goods, personal matters, etc.
History of Old Germantown (1907), online version

* ttp://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/archive/northwest-philadelphia/ Northwest Philadelphia, The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia
''Phillyhistory.org''
Historic Photographs of Philadelphia, City Archives {{Authority control 1683 establishments in Pennsylvania 1854 disestablishments in Pennsylvania German-American culture in Philadelphia German-American history Historic districts in Philadelphia Municipalities in Philadelphia County prior to the Act of Consolidation, 1854 National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia Neighborhoods in Philadelphia Populated places established in 1683