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49-443: For most of its length, the present-day stream flows under Lincoln Drive. The stream first sees daylight near Johnson Street. Monoshone is a word of obscure origin and unknown meaning. In present-day usage, the name Monoshone applies simultaneously to a creek, the watershed that drains into this creek, the valley that this creek has shaped, and some 100 acres of recreational parkland that surround it. The Monoshone lies completely within

98-555: A Dutch woman, in 1665, and most likely became accustomed to speaking a second language. Their marriage produced a daughter, Elizabeth, and a son, Nicholas (also referred to by some as Claus), who also, along with his son, became papermakers continuing the family business into the 1800s. As a young man, William Rittenhouse was an apprentice papermaker in Germany where he learned the Dutch ways of papermaking while living with his brother in

147-416: 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

196-687: A constant factor to all immigration during that era. He became naturalized as a citizen of Pennsylvania (and therefore of England) in 1691. Around 1690 the Germantown, Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , Mennonite congregation elected William Rittenhouse as its first minister of the church in Germantown, and the first Mennonite bishop in America. He died in Pennsylvania in 1708. His legacy continued to his descendant David Rittenhouse , who had

245-491: 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 . "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

294-516: A sewer line routed next to the buried stream along Lincoln Drive. A controversial wetlands restoration project in Saylor's Grove was built in 2006, in part an attempt to reduce the pollution of the stream by providing a natural buffer for some of the water flowing into it. 40°01′51″N 75°11′18″W  /  40.030773°N 75.188467°W  / 40.030773; -75.188467 William Rittenhouse William Rittenhouse (1644 – 1708)

343-520: A significant role in American history ; it was the birthplace of the American antislavery movement , the site of a Revolutionary War battle , the temporary residence of George Washington , 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

392-434: 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,

441-486: 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

490-587: The Deshler-Morris House in Germantown to escape the city and the yellow fever 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

539-520: The Dutch Republic and Swiss Confederacy . The town was named Germantown by the group's leader Franz Pastorius , a German preacher from Sommerhausen . The town's 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

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588-527: 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

637-609: The Americas. Rittenhouse was also the first Mennonite bishop in America. Along with his two sons, and their descendants, the Rittenhouse family maintained a papermaking business in Pennsylvania for well over one hundred years. The site of the original mill is now preserved as the Historic RittenhouseTown district of Philadelphia . William Rittenhouse was born Wilhelm Rettinghaus or Rittinghaus, in 1644 at

686-468: The City of Philadelphia and is part of a trout-stocked fishery. William Rittenhouse , grandfather of the astronomer David Rittenhouse , built the first paper mill in America along Paper Mill Run in the late seventeenth century. This location was then known as Rittenhousetown. During the eighteenth century, the stream was dammed at several points to power more mills. In recent years, the creek has been polluted from an unknown source that may have to do with

735-772: The Germantown Islamic School, the Green Tree School (special education, ages 6–21), and two Quaker schools: Germantown Friends School and Greene Street Friends School . 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 (K–12), and Crefeld School (7–12). The William Penn Charter School (commonly known as Penn Charter),

784-703: 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. Mastery Charter Schools operates the Mastery Charter Pickett Campus (7–12, MCPC) in Germantown. The school opened in August 2007. The charter system headquarters is located at Pickett. Germantown Settlement Charter School (5–8), Imani Education Circle Charter school (pre-K to 8), and

833-587: The Netherlands, before emigrating to the Pennsylvania Colony in 1688. Two years later he founded the first paper mill to be established in the colonies. This Rittenhouse Mill became the family business for the next century. At the age of 44 Rittenhouse moved to the British colonies in America for reasons that remain unclear, but the pursuit for a better livelihood and business opportunity was

882-616: The North American pulp and paper industry . Germantown, Philadelphia Germantown ( German : Deutschstadt ) is an area in Northwest Philadelphia , Pennsylvania. Founded by Palatine , Quaker , and Mennonite families in 1683 as an independent borough , it was absorbed into Philadelphia 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

931-660: 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 in the New World. The Church of the Brethren - among other churches - have their roots in

980-565: The Rittenhouse name immortalized in Rittenhouse Square , Philadelphia , Pennsylvania. William Rittenhouse is widely noted for having established the first paper mill in North America, in 1690, in Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. Along with a few business associates he rented land owned by Samuel Carpenter with a lease that extended for a term of 990 years. Here the paper mill was constructed and established because of

1029-782: The Schwarzenau Brethren. When Philadelphia was occupied by the British during the American Revolutionary War , British units were housed in Germantown. In the Battle of Germantown , on October 4, 1777, the Continental Army 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

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1078-715: The Wissahickon Charter School's Awbury Campus (6th–8th) is located in the neighborhood . The Pennsylvania School for the Deaf , a private state-chartered school, occupies the former site of Germantown Academy , which moved to Fort Washington, Pennsylvania , in 1965. Germantown's private schools include the DePaul Catholic School (K–8), Waldorf School of Philadelphia (PreK-8), the High Street Christian Academy (K–4),

1127-697: The age of 64. Shortly before his death he gave his share in the paper mill to his son Nicholas, who continued with the business until May 1734, when he died. Nicholas deeded the paper mill to his oldest son William Rittenhouse, and when he died the mill property fell to his son Jacob Rittenhouse, also a papermaker, who carried on the business, and died in 1811. William is buried in the Mennonite churchyard in Germantown Pennsylvania above Herman Street. After William's death, his son, Nicholas, succeeded him as Bishop. The Rittenhouse firm helped pioneer

1176-529: The birthplace of the anti-slavery movement in America. Pastorius, Gerret Hendericks and the brothers Derick and Abraham op den Graeff 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

1225-433: The colonial era, some of which are open to the public. 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

1274-469: The colonies. Prior to this time very few, if any, of the American colonists, who were mostly from England and Holland, knew much about the craft of papermaking. The center of the paper making industry in colonial America was in and around Philadelphia and Delaware County . Its development elsewhere was very spread out until well into the 19th century. Rittenhouse began producing paper for William Bradford,

1323-632: The community. 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

1372-526: 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 surrendered, the battle led to the official recognition of the Americans by France , which formed an alliance with the Americans afterward . During his presidency, George Washington and his family lodged at

1421-551: The date for German-American Day , a holiday in the United States, historical research has shown that nearly all of the first thirteen Quaker and Mennonite families were in fact Dutch rather than Germans . These families, which were mainly Dutch but also included some Swiss, had relocated to Krefeld (near the Dutch border) and Kriegsheim (in Rhineland-Palatinate ) some years prior to their emigration to America to avoid persecution of their Mennonite beliefs in

1470-551: The demand for badly needed paper by William Bradford , a prominent printer in Philadelphia. Rittenhouse was something of a carpenter, and did most of the mill's construction on his own. The mill was primarily constructed of logs on Monoshone Creek which empties into the Wissahickon Creek approximately one mile above its confluence with the Schuylkill River in the town of Roxborough . This stream still bears

1519-440: The first printer in the middle colonies, who had helped him in the effort of getting his paper mill established by procuring the plot of land, which at the time was of little value. Bradford also provided the molds used to lay paper and other wares and furniture for the mill. In that capacity Bradford became a junior partner with Rittenhouse and controlled a quarter share in the Rittenhouse mill from its beginning until 1704, during

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1568-526: 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 " of the majority of white residents to the suburbs. The demographic shift caused

1617-479: The largest community school of the arts in the United States, operates one of its six branches in Germantown. 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 first railroad in Philadelphia

1666-403: The mill. After some time this mill proved to be too small for the increase in business, which prompted Rittenhouse to build another mill of stone, which was larger than the existing mill. In 1712, Thomas Willcox , who had just arrived in the colonies in America from England applied for work at Rittenhouse's mill, but the paper mill business was still young and slow to get established and Willcox

1715-415: The name of Paper Mill Run . Sometime during the winter of 1700-1701 the wooden structure was destroyed and taken away by violent and sudden flooding of the river, taking with it a sizeable quantity of paper, tools and other materials. In 1702 a second and larger mill made of stone, with a more efficient overshot mill wheel, was built nearby. Completed on June 30, 1704, Rittenhouse became the sole owner of

1764-654: The neighborhood to Center City: the Chestnut Hill West Line with stops at Queen Lane , Chelten Avenue , and Tulpehocken stations; and the Chestnut Hill East Line with stops at Wister , Germantown , 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 . Germantown has numerous parks and recreation areas. These include: Other sites listed separately on

1813-534: The northwest, Ogontz and West Oak Lane to the northeast, Logan to the east, Nicetown–Tioga to the south, and East Falls 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. Although the arrival by ship of the Original 13 , the later founders of Germantown in Philadelphia on October 6, 1683, was later to provide

1862-575: The oldest Quaker school in the world, is located in nearby East Falls . 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 's Queen Lane Medical Campus, Arcadia University , Chestnut Hill College , The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia , Philadelphia University , and Saint Joseph's University . Settlement Music School ,

1911-542: The only university-trained and legal and literary man among the early settlers, chronicled and stressed the town's 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. Pastorius

1960-597: The practice using watermarks on the paper they produced. The newspapers of William Bradford, the New-York Gazette , established in November 1725, and that of his son Andrew Bradford, the American Weekly Mercury , established in 1719 in Philadelphia, were printed on paper produced in the Rittenhouse paper mill, which bore the Rittenhouse watermarks. William Rittenhouse died in 1708, at

2009-417: The single word Company . The second watermark, its size covering nearly the full sheet of paper, consisted of the monogram W R along with half a shield, surmounted by a fleur-de-lis crest, and bearing a clover leaf—which happened to be the town seal of Germantown, and beneath the emblem the word "Pensilvania" was inscribed. Rittenhouse's sons as his successors in the papermaking business would also continue

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2058-685: The small village of Broich, just outside of Mülheim on the Ruhr River in the Ruhr region of Germany . He was the son of Claus Rittinghausen and Maria Hagerhoff. He belonged to a distinguished family of which various members held prominent standings in public and professional life. Several of his paternal ancestors were also papermakers in Holland and Germany. During his stay in the Netherlands he changed his name to "Willm Rittenhuysen". This name

2107-477: The time when he was living in New York at the end of this period. Rittenhouse's mill had as a steady customer at least one printer, William Bradford, a prominent and successful printer of Philadelphia. Rittenhouse expanded his paper making into a family business which continued to succeed for many years. Most if not all the paper made in the Rittenhouse mills was watermarked . The first watermark to be used bore

2156-460: Was also found on a petition dated 7 May 1691 for naturalization of residents of Germantown, Pennsylvania . Other residents of importance were Francis Daniel Pastorius , Derick , Herman and Abraham op den Graeff . He was raised in a German-speaking household prior to his removal to the Netherlands where he remained for more than twenty years (from the early 1660s until his departure for Pennsylvania in 1688). He married Geertruid Pieters of Eerbeek,

2205-603: Was an American papermaker and businessman. He served as an apprentice papermaker in the Netherlands and, after moving to the Pennsylvania Colony , established the first paper mill in the North American colonies , helping to meet the growing demand for paper among the Early American publishers and printers . Rittenhouse married Geertruid Pieters of Eerbeck, Holland, in 1665, before emigrating to

2254-437: Was declined. He went on, however, to establish his own paper mill at nearby Chester Creek in 1729. After the purchase of a printing press and type, the chief expense for a printer was the cost of paper. The printer and the papermaker relationship made for an ideal partnership that provided the basis for Rittenhouse to establish his paper mill and the new found industry in a field that had not yet been pursued by anyone else in

2303-489: 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 built his first commissioned steam locomotive for the new railroad. Nicknamed Old Ironsides , it eventually reached a peak speed of 28 mph. Today two SEPTA Regional Rail lines connect

2352-519: 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

2401-912: Was used to trigger panic selling . Germantown is zoned to the School District of Philadelphia , 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

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