![Holme's Map of Pennsylvania (1687)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Holme%27s_Map_of_Pennsylvania_%281687%29.jpg)
Moyamensing is an area of Philadelphia established as a Moyamensing Township during British colonial rule on the fast land of the Neck, lying between
Passyunk and
Wicaco
New Sweden ( sv, Nya Sverige) was a Swedish colony along the lower reaches of the Delaware River in what is now the United States from 1638 to 1655, established during the Thirty Years' War when Sweden was a great military power. New Sweden form ...
. It was
incorporated into
Philadelphia County
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 Pennsyl ...
,
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, ...
and today encompasses several neighborhoods along the Moyamensing Avenue corridor in the
South Philadelphia
South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south and the Schuylkill River to the west.[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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. Sinc ...]
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
History
Originally
Lenape Nation
The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...
land, the tract was granted by the
Dutch West India Company
The Dutch West India Company ( nl, Geoctrooieerde Westindische Compagnie, ''WIC'' or ''GWC''; ; en, Chartered West India Company) was a chartered company of Dutch merchants as well as foreign investors. Among its founders was Willem Usselincx ( ...
Lieutenant Alexander d'Hinoyossa, Vice-Director of
New Amstel
New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The city is located six miles (10 km) south of Wilmington and is situated on the Delaware River. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 5,285.
History
New Castl ...
to Marten Roseman (aka Marten Cleinsmit), William Stille and Lawrence Andries. In 1684, when the land was turned over from the
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
to the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
, the title was given by
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 ...
to William Stille, Lassey Andrews, Andrew Bankson and John Matson.
Moyamensing Township included this ground and
Wicaco
New Sweden ( sv, Nya Sverige) was a Swedish colony along the lower reaches of the Delaware River in what is now the United States from 1638 to 1655, established during the Thirty Years' War when Sweden was a great military power. New Sweden form ...
, except such parts of the latter as were included in
Southwark
Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...
. Its northern boundary was
South Street and below the existing parts of Southwark; its eastern boundary was the Delaware River, and its western boundary was Schuylkill Sixth (Seventeenth Street).
In 1816 the greatest length of Moyamensing was estimated to be 3 miles; the greatest breadth, 2 miles; area, 2,560 acres (10 km²). By act of March 24, 1812, the inhabitants of Moyamensing were incorporated by the style of "the commissioners and inhabitants of the township of Moyamensing" and they even had their own police force. By act of April 4, 1831, the township was divided into East and West Moyamensing. The township was one of the earliest created after the settlement of Pennsylvania, and became part of Philadelphia in 1854.
The
Moyamensing Prison
Moyamensing Prison was a prison in Philadelphia, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It was designed by Thomas Ustick Walter. Its cornerstone was laid April 2, 1832; it opened on October 19, 1835, was in use until 1963, and was demolished in 1968. ...
was built between 1822 and 1835 at Reed and 10th Streets. A portion of it also housed a
debtors' prison
A debtors' prison is a prison for people who are unable to pay debt. Until the mid-19th century, debtors' prisons (usually similar in form to locked workhouses) were a common way to deal with unpaid debt in Western Europe.Cory, Lucinda"A Historic ...
. The structure was demolished in 1967.
[http://www.library.upenn.edu/collections/rbm/photos/biswanger/poe-1849-philadelphia.html Raymond Biswanger collection at the University of Pennsylvania]
References
Other sources
*Walther, Rudolph J. ''Happenings in Ye Olde Philadelphia 1680-1900'' (Philadelphia, PA: Walther Printing House, 1925)
*Craig, Peter Stebbins ''Olof Persson Stille and his Family'' (Philadelphia, PA: Swedish Colonial News. Volume 1, Number 16. Fall 1997)
External links
District of Moyamensing Documents
{{Authority control
Neighborhoods in Philadelphia
Municipalities in Philadelphia County prior to the Act of Consolidation, 1854
Populated places established in 1820
1820 establishments in Pennsylvania
1854 disestablishments in Pennsylvania
South Philadelphia