Harrowgate is a

neighborhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neigh ...

in the River Wards section of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, United States, located immediately northeast of

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

adjacent to Kensington Avenue. It is bordered by Feltonville, Juniata and Frankford to the north, Fairhill to the west,

West Kensington West Kensington, formerly North End, is an area in the ancient parish of Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, England, 3.4 miles (5.5 km) west of Charing Cross. It covers most of the London postal area of W14, includ ...

and

to the south, and Port Richmond and

Bridesburg Bridesburg is the northernmost neighborhood in the River Wards, Philadelphia, River Wards section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. A mostly working-class neighborhood, Bridgesburg is an historically German and Irish community, with ...

to the east.

History

Harrowgate was founded in 1784 by Capt. George Esterly, a Revolutionary War veteran, when he discovered springs in the vicinity of what is now Kensington Ave. and Tioga St., now the site of Harrowgate Square, a park covering one city block. The spring water was pronounced healthful by Dr.

Benjamin Rush Benjamin Rush (April 19, 1813) was an American revolutionary, a Founding Father of the United States and signatory to the U.S. Declaration of Independence, and a civic leader in Philadelphia, where he was a physician, politician, social refor ...

, and Esterly established a spa there, with gardens, overnight accommodations, food and drink, occasional concerts, and coach service from Second and Market Sts. in Philadelphia. The name was copied from the spa town of

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and civil parish in the North Yorkshire District, district and North Yorkshire, county of North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist de ...

in England. The spring dried up about 1800, but the town flourished. Nearby was Cedar Grove, country estate of the Paschall and Morris families. The first section of the modest mansion was built in 1746. The Morris family donated the house to the city in 1926, and it was moved, stone by stone, with much of the original furniture, to west

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, w ...

, where it is open to the public. Historically, Harrowgate was a working-class community whose residents could trace their ancestry to England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales.

Demographics

As of the 2010 Census, Harrowgate was 48.5% Hispanic, 34.5% non Hispanic white, 10% black, 4.1% Asian, and 2.9% all other. Today, Harrowgate is primarily a low-income neighborhood largely populated by Puerto Ricans but also has significant Polish, Irish, Dominican, African American, and West Indian populations. The neighborhood currently has rapidly growing Hispanic and black populations, and a declining white population. It is also divided by Kensington Avenue, with the area southeast of Kensington going towards Aramingo Avenue being predominantly white, with growing Hispanic and Black populations, and the area northwest of Kensington going towards Front Street being almost entirely populated by Hispanics and to a lesser extent Blacks.

References

{{Authority control Bridesburg-Kensington-Richmond, Philadelphia Irish-American neighborhoods Neighborhoods in Philadelphia Philadelphia Badlands Populated places established in 1784

History

Demographics

See also

References