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Archiver > PAPHILAD > 2004-02 > 1076206237


From: Robert M Lightcap <>
Subject: Re: [PAPHL] Northern Liberties
Date: Sat, 7 Feb 2004 21:10:42 -0500
In-Reply-To: <4025956B.5090901@sbcglobal.net>


Hal,

NORTHERN LIBERTIES TOWNSHIP
The Liberties was term applied by William Penn to certain tract of land lying north and West of the city. It contained what was called "the liberty land or free lots" because the proprietaries gave to the first purchaser of ground in the colony, according to the extent of their purchaser, a portion of the land within those limits free of price. The original idea of Penn was to lay out a great town of 10,000 acres; but when the commissioners came to survey this space of ground it was found somewhat difficult, and when Penn arrived in
1682 he determined to divide the great town into two parts, one to be called the city and the other the Liberties. The city contained about 1,820 acres. The Liberties extended north of Vine Street to the mouth of Cohoquinoque Creek or Pegg's Run and up the same so as to go round the lands of Jurian Hartsfelder, which had already been granted away before Penn came to the colony. There were also Swedish, Dutch and English grants of land made before Penn came to be proprietary that had to be respected, so that the Liberty lands were very irregular in their boundaries, and ran by various courses along the
Cohocksink, Wissinoming, Tacony, Wingohocking and other streams, and Germantown
and Bristol townships, to the Schuylkill, and over the same and out to Cobb's Creek, and down the same and along the west side of the Schuylkill to a point opposite Vine Street, at the north city line, and along the same to the place of beginning. This survey was made in 1682, and the Liberties contained on the east side of the Schuylkill, 9,161 acres; west side, 7,074 acres; total, 16,235 acres. These liberty lands on the east side of the Schuylkill became a township nearly from the time of survey, and were call the Northern Liberties, while the western Liberties, beyond the Schuylkill, became a portion of the township of Blockely. The territory between the Delaware and Schuylkill was subsequently divided; the western part was called Penn township, and the eastern part
was sometimes called the Unincorporated Northern Liberties. Whenever so spoken of, the reference was to that portion of the township which had not been taken up by the formation of districts, and by the time of consolidation the area of the township was very small, the districts of Northern Liberties, Spring Garden, Kensington, Penn, Richmond, and the township of Penn an the boroughs of Aramingo and Bridesburg, having been carved out of it. In 1854 the township or Unincorporated Northern Liberties was the space of land north of Kensington, west of Richmond and Aramingo, and a portion of Frankford, south of a portion of Oxford and Bristol townships, and east of Penn township. A part of it
was west of the Frankford Road, and all it was east of Germantown Road.


NORTHERN LIBERTIES DISTRICT
A portion of the township of the Northern Liberties, was first the object of particular care by Act of Assembly of March 9, 1771, which provided for the appointment of persons to regulate streets, direction of buildings, etc. By act of March 30, 1791 the inhabitants of that potion of the Northern Liberties between Vine Street and Pegg's Run and the middle of Fourth Street and the Delaware River were empowered to elect three commissioners to lay taxes for the purpose of lighting, watching and establishing pumps within those bounds. On March 28, 1803, the Legislature passed an act to incorporate that part of the
township of the Northern Liberties lying between the west side of Sixth Street and the Delaware River and between Vine Street and Cohocksink Creek. Under the Consolidation law this district ceased to exist in 1845, and become a part of Philadelphia. The Northern Liberties was principally composed of a tract of land originally called Hartsfield. This was a title given in a patent to the ground granted March 25,1676, before the arrival of William Penn, to Jurian Hartsfelder. It included all the ground bounded by the River Delaware between Coakquenauque (Pegg's Run) and the Chocksink Creeks, and extended westward about as far as the line of Ridge Road. In the tract was nearly the whole of the ground afterward the Northern Liberties, and a portion of Spring Garden and
Penn Districts. Hartsfelder sold a portion of this property in 1679-80 to Hannah Salter, and another portion to Daniel Pegg in 1683-89, he having previously bought Hannah Salter's interest. William Penn pardoned the whole Hartsfelder tract to Daniel Pegg in 1689.

Ref:http://www.ushistory.org/philadelphia/incorporated.html#24

This map shows the location in 1840:
http://marie.bravepages.com/images/ph1840.gif

Regards,
Bob Lightcap

---------------original messaage-------------------

>Was this a suburb/section of Philly in 1810? Where would it be today?
>Hal McCawley
>
>
>
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