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 sep ...
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. Sinc ...
. 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 Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
, 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 Radic ...
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
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. Sinc ...
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 densely ...
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 th ...
, 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.
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
Ogontz/Belfield is a neighborhood in Upper Northern Philadelphia that is located adjacent to West Oak Lane, East Germantown, Logan, and Fern Rock, Philadelphia.
History
Ogontz was named after a Native American chieftain.
According to Philadelp ...
and
West Oak Lane
West Oak Lane is a neighborhood in the Northwestern Philadelphia. The neighborhood was developed primarily between the early 1920s and late 1930s, with the areas near to Cedarbrook constructed after World War II. At the northeast corner of Limekiln ...
Nicetown–Tioga
Nicetown–Tioga is a neighborhood in the North Philadelphia section of the city of Philadelphia, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It comprises two smaller, older neighborhoods, Nicetown and Tioga, although the distinction between the two is ra ...
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 1 ...
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
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. Sinc ...
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 Phil ...
, 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 tra ...
in the United States, historical research has shown that nearly all of the first thirteen
Quaker
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 ...
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 Radic ...
families were in fact
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 ...
. 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, i ...
(near the Dutch border) and
Kriegsheim
Kriegsheim is a commune in the Bas-Rhin département in Grand Est in north-eastern France.
Geography
Kriegsheim lies to the north of Strasbourg and to the southwest of Haguenau, in the Brumath hills on the western edge of the Upper Rhine vall ...
(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 historiography ...
and
Swiss Confederacy
The Old Swiss Confederacy or Swiss Confederacy ( Modern German: ; historically , after the Reformation also , "Confederation of the Swiss") was a loose confederation of independent small states (, German or In the charters of the 14th century ...
. 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 t ...
. 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 Johan
* Johan (given name)
* ''Johan'' (film), a 1921 Swedish film directed by Mauritz Stiller
* Johan (band), a Dutch pop-group
** ''Johan'' (album), a 1996 album by the group
* Johan Peninsula, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada
* Jo-Han, a manu ...
Francis Daniel Pastorius
Francis Daniel Pastorius (September 26, 1651) was a German born educator, lawyer, poet, and public official. He was the founder of Germantown, Pennsylvania, now part of Philadelphia, the first permanent German-American settlement and the gatewa ...
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. 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
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, ...
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 ...
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. 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 ...
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 th ...
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. In ...
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 publi ...
, 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 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 h ...
. "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 Dut ...
operates the Mastery Charter Pickett Campus (7–12, MCPC) in Germantown. The school opened in August 2007.Pickett Campus : About ."
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 Dut ...
. 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 settle ...
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 Fr ...
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 De ...
.
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
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, Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, approximately 10 miles from C ...
(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 ...
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
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 1 ...
.
Higher education
La Salle University 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
Drexel University College of Medicine is the medical school of Drexel University, a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The medical school represents the consolidation of two medical schools: the first U.S. medical school f ...
's Queen Lane Medical Campus,
Arcadia University
Arcadia University is a private university in Glenside, Pennsylvania. The university enrolls approximately 4,000 undergraduate, master's, and doctoral students. The campus features Grey Towers Castle, a National Historic Landmark.
History B ...
,
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 Colleg ...
, 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 ...
Settlement Music School
Settlement Music School is a community music school with branches in and around Philadelphia. Founded in 1908 by two young women, Jeannette Selig Frank and Blanche Wolf Kohn, it is the largest community school of the arts in the United States. It ...
, the largest community school of the arts in the United States, operates one of its six branches in Germantown.
Public libraries
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 gove ...
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
The Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad (PG&N) was a railway company in the United States. It was incorporated in 1831 and opened its first line in 1832, making it one of the oldest railroads in North America. The Philadelphia and Rea ...
, 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 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 locomot ...
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 coun ...
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.
Ro ...
Chestnut Hill East Line
The Chestnut Hill East Line is a route of the SEPTA Regional Rail (commuter rail) system. The route serves the northwestern section of Philadelphia with service to Germantown, Mount Airy, and Chestnut Hill. It is one of two lines that serve Ch ...
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
* Ge ...
, 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
The Germantown Cricket Club is a cricket club in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. It was one of the four principal cricket clubs in the city and was one of the clubs contributing members to the Philadelphian cricke ...
(private)
*Hansberry Garden and Nature Center
*Happy Hollow Playground
*Kelly Playground
*Loudoun Park
*Vernon Park
*Waterview Recreation Center
*
Wissahickon Valley Park
Wissahickon Valley Park is a large urban park in Northwest Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It protects of woodland surrounding the Wissahickon Creek between the Montgomery County border and the Schuylkill River. For several miles, the creek winds th ...
(bordering), a 1400-acre park that is part of the Fairmount Park 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
Historic RittenhouseTown, sometimes referred to as Rittenhouse Historic District, encompasses the remains of an early industrial community which was the site of the first paper mill in British North America. The mill was built in 1690 by William ...
Tulpehocken Station Historic District
The Tulpehocken Station Historic District is a historic area in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Large suburban houses were built in the area from about 1850 to 1900 in a variety of styles including Carpenter Gothic, It ...
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 Com ...
, an important site during 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 ...
, open to the public
*
Germantown Cricket Club
The Germantown Cricket Club is a cricket club in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. It was one of the four principal cricket clubs in the city and was one of the clubs contributing members to the Philadelphian cricke ...
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 f ...
Beggarstown School
The Beggarstown School, built c. 1740, is a historic school in Beggarstown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, now part of the Mount Airy, Philadelphia, Mount Airy neighborhood. It is a rare example of a school building from the colonial era.
Architec ...
*
Conyngham-Hacker House
The Conyngham-Hacker House (aka the Old Fisher House) is a historic house in the Germantown section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 2½-story stone house was built in 1755 by William Forbes. It was known successively as the Conyngham, Wiste ...
*
Delmar Apartments
Delmar Apartments, also known as Chelten Station, is a historic apartment building located in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1902, and is a five-story, U-shaped brick building in the Colonial Revival-st ...
*
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 ...
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 ...
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 neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The building was renovated in 2019 and is now the corporate offices of the Philly Office Retail real estate company ...
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
St. Peter's Episcopal Church of Germantown is a historic church at 6000 Wayne Avenue in the Germantown section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1873 to the designs of Furness & Hewitt. George W. Hewitt likely was mainly respons ...
*
William C. Sharpless House
The William C. Sharpless House is an historic, American home that is located in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
History and architectural features
Buil ...
*
Smyser and English Pharmacy
The Smyser and English Pharmacy building, also known as the Leedom & Wissler Pharmacy, is an historic, American pharmacy building that is located in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
It was added to the National Register ...
*
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 ...
*
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 f ...
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 distri ...
in the
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 ...
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 Technologies, Here
Television
* Here TV (form ...
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 ...
, 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
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 ...
, 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
Cornelius McGillicuddy (December 22, 1862 – February 8, 1956), better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball catcher, manager, and team owner. The longest-serving manager in Major League Baseball history, he holds untoucha ...
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
Loving Day is an annual national celebration held on June 12, the anniversary of the 1967 United States Supreme Court decision '' Loving v. Virginia'' which struck down all anti-miscegenation laws remaining in sixteen U.S. states. In the United ...
'' is set in Germantown.
Notable people
*
Herb Adderly
Herbert Anthony Adderley (June 8, 1939 – October 30, 2020) was an American professional football player who was a cornerback for the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). In 1980, he was enshrined in th ...
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
James Barron (September 15, 1768 – April 21, 1851) was an officer in the United States Navy. He served in the Quasi-War and the Barbary Wars, during which he commanded a number of famous ships, including and . As commander of the frigate , h ...
, 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 Karachi, ...
Elaine Brown
Elaine Brown (born March 2, 1943) is an American prison activist, writer, singer, and former Black Panther Party chairwoman who is based in Oakland, California.Wheaton, Sarah (December 12, 2010)"Inmates in Georgia Prisons Use Contraband Phones ...
,
Black Panther Party
The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxist-Leninist and black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in October 1966 in Oakland, Califo ...
leader
*
Martin Grove Brumbaugh
Martin Grove Brumbaugh (April 14, 1862March 14, 1930) was an American Republican politician who served as the 26th Governor of Pennsylvania from 1915 until 1919. He is frequently referred to as M.G. Brumbaugh, as is common in the Brumbaugh fa ...
, Governor of Pennsylvania, 1914–1919
*
Mary Carr
Mary Carr (née Kenevan; March 14, 1874 – June 24, 1973), was an American film actress and was married to the actor William Carr. She appeared in more than 140 films between 1915 and 1956. She was given some of filmdoms plum mother roles in ...
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 Com ...
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
Walter Leighton Clark (1859–1935) was an American businessman, inventor, and artist based in Stockbridge, Massachusetts and New York City.
Biography
Among other achievements, in 1923 he founded with John Singer Sargent the Grand Central Art ...
Florence Van Leer Earle Coates
Florence Van Leer Earle Nicholson Coates (July 1, 1850 – April 6, 1927) was an American poet, whose prolific output was published in many literary magazines, some of it set to music. She was mentored by the English poet Matthew Arnold, with wh ...
John Conard
John Conard (November 15, 1773May 9, 1857) was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. He was nicknamed the "Fighting Quaker".
John Conard was born in Chester Valley in the Province of Pennsylvania. He was educated ...
, 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
Charles Brace Darrow (August 10, 1889 – August 28, 1967) was an American board game designer who is credited as the inventor of the board game Monopoly. Although the original idea for the game came from Lizzie Magie's '' The Landlord's Game'', ...
, 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 ...
Amrit Desai
Amrit Desai is a pioneer of yoga in the West, and one of the few remaining living yoga gurus who originally brought over the authentic teachings of yoga in the early 1960s. He is the creator of two brands of yoga, ''Kripalu Yoga'' and ''I AM'' ...
, yogi, founder of the
Kripalu Center
The Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health is a nonprofit organization that operates a health and yoga retreat in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Its facility is a former Jesuit novitiate and juniorate seminary built in 1957.
History
Founder Amrit Desa ...
*
Byron W. Dickson
Byron Wright "By" Dickson (March 18, 1875 – May 22, 1930) was an American football player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He served as the head football coach at Colby College (1898), Gettysburg College (1900), the University ...
, 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 ( ...
, 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
Sidney George Fisher (March 2, 1809 – July 25, 1871) was a Philadelphia lawyer, farmer, plantation owner, political essayist and occasional poet.Wainwright, Nicholas B"Sidney George Fisher: The Personality of a Diarist" ''Proceedings of the Ame ...
, author
* Janet Gaynor, film, stage and television actress and painter
* Frederic Gehring, Catholic priest, National Chaplain for the Catholic War Veterans
*
Henry Gibson
Henry Gibson (born James Bateman; September 21, 1935 – September 14, 2009) was an American actor and poet. His best-known roles include his time as a cast member of the TV sketch-comedy series ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' from 1968 to 19 ...
, actor
*
Walter B. Gibson
Walter Brown Gibson (September 12, 1897 – December 6, 1985) was an Americans, American writer and professional magic (illusion), magician, best known for his work on the pulp magazine, pulp fiction character ''The Shadow''. Gibson, under the ...
, 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 ...
Jacob C. Gottschalk
Jacob Gottschalk (Godtschalk) Henricks van der Heggen (c.1670 – c.1763) was the first person to serve as a Mennonite bishop in America.
Life
Gottschalk was born around 1670 in Germany, in Goch, a town at the Dutch border. In 1701, he receiv ...
, first
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 Radic ...
bishop in America
*
Abraham op den Graeff
Abraham Isacks op den Graeff (c. 1646 – c. 1731) was an original founder of Germantown, Pennsylvania, as well as a civic leader, award-winning weaver, and signer of the first organized religious protest against slavery in colonial America. He, ...
, 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 striki ...
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 held ...
gold medalist
* Albert M. Greenfield, businessman, political activist, philanthropist; lived in Germantown 1920s–1930s
*
Rufus Harley
Rufus is a masculine given name, a surname, an Ancient Roman cognomen and a nickname (from Latin ''rufus'', "red"). Notable people with the name include:
Given name
Politicians
* Rufus Ada George (born 1940), Nigerian politician
* Rufus A ...
, jazz musician
* Alfred C. Harmer, member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
*
Ross Granville Harrison
Ross Granville Harrison (January 13, 1870 – September 30, 1959) was an American biologist and anatomist credited for his pioneering work on animal tissue culture. His work also contributed to the understanding of embryonic development. 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 ...
, pro golfer, member of first Ryder Cup team
*
Bernard Hopkins
Bernard Hopkins Jr. (born January 15, 1965) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2016. He is one of the most successful boxers of the past three decades, having held multiple world championships in two weight class ...
, 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 Midrashic L ...
,
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 cente ...
ic scholar
*
Eve
Eve (; ; ar, حَوَّاء, Ḥawwāʾ; el, Εὕα, Heúa; la, Eva, Heva; Syriac: romanized: ) is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the ...
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), En ...
, Olympic athlete
*
Florence Kelley
Florence Moltrop Kelley (September 12, 1859 – February 17, 1932) was a social and political reformer and the pioneer of the term wage abolitionism. Her work against sweatshops and for the minimum wage, eight-hour workdays, and children's rig ...
, social and political reformer
*
Khia
Khia Shamone Finch ( ; ' Chambers; born November 8, 1976)''U.S. Public Records Index'' Vol 1 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), 2010. is an American rapper, songwriter, singer, media personality, and record producer.
She is best known ...
, 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 son ...
, physician, professor, and botanist
*
Maggie Kuhn
Margaret Eliza "Maggie" Kuhn (August 3, 1905 – April 22, 1995) was an American activist known for founding the Gray Panthers movement, after she was forced to retire from her job at the then-mandatory retirement age of 65. The Gray Panth ...
, activist, founder of the
Gray Panthers
The Gray Panthers are a series of multi-generational local advocacy networks in the United States which confront ageism and many other social justice issues. The organization was formed by Maggie Kuhn in response to her forced retirement from th ...
*
Maxine Kumin
Maxine Kumin (June 6, 1925 – February 6, 2014) was an American poet and author. She was appointed Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1981–1982.
Biography Early years
Maxine Kumin was born Maxine Winokur on June ...
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 c ...
Noyes Leech
Noyes E. Leech (August 1, 1921 – July 1, 2010) was an American lawyer and professor.
Early life and education
Leech was born in Ambler, Pennsylvania, to Charles Sherman and Margaret (Reid) Leech.
He attended Lower Merion High School (1939), an ...
(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
George Lippard (April 10, 1822February 9, 1854) was a 19th-century American novelist, journalist, playwright, social activist, and labor organizer. He was a popular author in antebellum America.
A friend of Edgar Allan Poe, Lippard advocated a s ...
, novelist, journalist, playwright, social activist, labor organizer
*
Eric Lobron
Eric Lobron (born 7 May 1960) is a German chess grandmaster. A former two-time national champion, he has been awarded the title Grandmaster by the World Chess Federation (FIDE).
Biography
Born in Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United ...
John W. Lord, Jr.
John Whitaker Lord Jr. (December 19, 1901 – May 16, 1972) was an American politician and judge from Pennsylvania. He served as a Republican member of the Pennsylvania Senate for the 6th district from 1947 to 1951 and the Philadelphia City Cou ...
, 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
Garrett Dutton (born October 3, 1972), better known as G. Love, is an American singer, rapper and musician best known as the frontman for the band G. Love & Special Sauce.
Biography
Dutton, the son of a banking lawyer, was born in the Soci ...
Alexander Mack
Alexander Mack ( 27 July 1679 – 19 January 1735) was a German clergyman and the leader and first minister of the Schwarzenau Brethren (or German Baptists) in the Schwarzenau, Wittgenstein community of modern-day Bad Berleburg, North Rhi ...
Connie Mack
Cornelius McGillicuddy (December 22, 1862 – February 8, 1956), better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball catcher, manager, and team owner. The longest-serving manager in Major League Baseball history, he holds untoucha ...
, 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 (AL), ...
history
*
Abe Manley
Abraham Lincoln Manley (December 22, 1885 – December 9, 1952) was an American Negro league baseball executive. He co-owned the Newark Eagles baseball franchise in the Negro leagues with his wife, Effa Manley, from 1935 to 1946.
Biography
...
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 ...
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 Laboratories
McNeil Consumer Healthcare is an American medicals products company belonging to the Johnson & Johnson healthcare products group. It primarily sells fast-moving consumer goods such as over-the-counter drugs.
History
The company was founded on M ...
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 ...
George T. Morgan
George Thomas Morgan (November 24, 1845 – January 4, 1925) was a United States Mint engraver who is famous for designing many popular coins, such as the Morgan dollar, the reverse of the Columbian Exposition half dollar, and the reverse of the ...
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 ...
William Jackson Palmer
William Jackson Palmer (September 18, 1836 – March 13, 1909) was an American civil engineer, veteran of the Civil War, industrialist, and philanthropist. During the American Civil War, he was promoted to brevet brigadier general and receive ...
, 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
Francis Daniel Pastorius (September 26, 1651) was a German born educator, lawyer, poet, and public official. He was the founder of Germantown, Pennsylvania, now part of Philadelphia, the first permanent German-American settlement and the gatewa ...
, 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 ...
, 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 ...
Sun Ra
Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific ou ...
, 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
Theodore William Richards (January 31, 1868 – April 2, 1928) was the first American scientist to receive the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, earning the award "in recognition of his exact determinations of the atomic weights of a large number of the ...
, 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
Owen Josephus Roberts (May 2, 1875 – May 17, 1955) was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1930 to 1945. He also led two Roberts Commissions, the first of which investigated the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the seco ...
, Supreme Court Justice
* Ralph J. Roberts, 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
Charles Frederick Schaeffer (3 September 1807 in Germantown, Pennsylvania – 23 November 1879 in Philadelphia) was a Lutheran clergyman of the United States.
Biography
His parents were Frederick David Schaeffer and Rosina Rosenmiller. His fath ...
, 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, lawyer, Pennsylvania Attorney General and Supreme Court Justice
*
J. Barney Sherry
J. Barney Sherry (March 4, 1874February 22, 1944) was an American actor of the silent film era. He appeared in more than 210 films between 1905 and 1929. He was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania and died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from card ...
, 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. ...
Ron Sider
Ronald James Sider (September 17, 1939 – July 27, 2022), was a Canadian-born American theologian and social activist. He was the founder of Evangelicals for Social Action, a think-tank which seeks to develop biblical solutions to social and e ...
, 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 poe ...
, punk rock singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist
*
Mike Sojourner
Michael Sojourner (born October 16, 1953) is a retired American professional basketball player born in Germantown, Pennsylvania.
A 6'9" (2.05 m) power forward / center from the University of Utah, Sojourner played three seasons (1974–1977) in ...
Martin Luther Stoever
Martin Luther Stoever (born in Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 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 Pl ...
, Lutheran educator and writer
*
Witmer Stone
Witmer Stone (September 22, 1866 – May 24, 1939) was an American ornithologist, botanist, and mammalogist, and was considered one of the last of the “great naturalists.” Stone is remembered principally as an ornithologist. He was preside ...
, ornithologist and botanist
*
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 ...
Romantic realism Romantic realism is art that combines elements of both romanticism and realism. The terms "romanticism" and "realism" have been used in varied ways, and are sometimes seen as opposed to one another.
In literature and art
The term has long standing ...
artist
*
Clyde Summers
Clyde Wilson Summers (November 21, 1918 – October 30, 2010) was an American lawyer and educator who is best known for his work in advocating more democratic procedures in trade union, labor unions. He helped write the Labor Management Reporting ...
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
Meldrick Taylor (born October 19, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2002. He is a two-weight world champion, having held the IBF junior welterweight title from 1988 to 1990, and the WBA welterweight title ...
, professional boxer
*
Russell Thompkins, Jr.
Russell Allen Thompkins Jr. (born March 21, 1951) is an American soul singer. Best known as the original lead singer of the vocal group The Stylistics and noted for his high tenor, countertenor, and falsetto vocals. With Russell as lead singer ...
, songwriter 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 ...
*
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 b ...
, tennis player
*
Henry van Dyke
Henry Jackson van Dyke Jr. (November 10, 1852 – April 10, 1933) was an American author, educator, diplomat, and Presbyterian clergyman.
Early life
Van Dyke was born on November 10, 1852, in Germantown, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Henry ...
, author, educator, and clergyman
*
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 th ...
, first president of the United States. Lived in Germantown briefly 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 ...
*
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, professional tennis player
*
William Walter Webb
William Walter Webb (November 20, 1857 – January 15, 1933), was the sixth Bishop of Milwaukee, from 1906 till 1933.
Early life and education
Webb was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, on November 20, 1857, the son of William Hewitt Webb and E ...
, 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, wa ...
, 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
Sally may refer to:
People
*Sally (name), a list of notable people with the name
Military
*Sally (military), an attack by the defenders of a town or fortress under siege against a besieging force; see sally port
*Sally, the Allied reporting nam ...
,
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
Jeremiah Alvesta Wright Jr. (born September 22, 1941) is a pastor emeritus of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, a congregation he led for 36 years, during which its membership grew to over 8,000 parishioners. Following retirement, his be ...
, Black theology pastor
* John Zacherle, 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
See also
* German American
*
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 Phil ...
* [http://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/archive/northwest-philadelphia/ Northwest Philadelphia, The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia]
''Phillyhistory.org'' Historic Photographs of Philadelphia, City Archives
{{Authority control
Germantown, Philadelphia,
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