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 fo ...

. 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

, 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