Moyamensing is an area of Philadelphia established as a Moyamensing Township during British colonial rule on the fast land of the Neck, lying between Passyunk and

Wicaco New Sweden () was a colony of the Swedish Empire between 1638 and 1655 along the lower reaches of the Delaware River in what is now Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Established during the Thirty Years' War when Sweden was a g ...

. It was incorporated into

Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania Philadelphia County is the most populous of the List of counties in Pennsylvania, 67 counties of Pennsylvania and the List of the most populous counties in the United States, 24th-most populous county in the nation. As of the 2020 United State ...

, United States and today encompasses several neighborhoods along the Moyamensing Avenue corridor in the

South Philadelphia South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south, and the Schuylkill River to the west."." ''City of Philadelphia''. Retrieved November 8, ...

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 ...

History

The area was originally Lenape Nation land, and while one popular explanation given for the name Moyamensing is "place of pigeon droppings," linguist Raymond Whritenour links it to the Southern Unami word ''mwimënshink'', meaning “place of wild black cherry trees.” A tract identified by the stream Moyamensink Kill was granted in 1664 by the

Dutch West India Company The Dutch West India Company () was a Dutch chartered company that was founded in 1621 and went defunct in 1792. Among its founders were Reynier Pauw, Willem Usselincx (1567–1647), and Jessé de Forest (1576–1624). On 3 June 1621, it was gra ...

Lieutenant Alexander d'Hinoyossa, vice-director of

New Amstel New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The city is located six miles (10 km) south of Wilmington and is situated on the Delaware River. As of 2020, the city's population was 5,551. New Castle constitutes part o ...

to Marten Roseman (aka Marten Cleinsmit), William Stille and Lawrence Andries, and a 1680 survey identified the nearby swampy area as Moyamensic Marsh. In 1684, when the land was turned over from the

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

to the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

, the title was given by

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...

to William Stille, Lassey Andrews, Andrew Bankson and John Matson. Moyamensing Township included this ground and

, except such parts of the latter as were included in

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

. Its northern boundary was

South Street South Street may refer to: Streets by that name * South Street (Durham), England * South Street, Mayfair, England *South Street (Manhattan), United States *South Street (Perth, Western Australia) * South Street (Perth, Scotland) *South Street (Ph ...

and below the existing parts of Southwark; its eastern boundary was the Delaware River, and its western boundary was Schuylkill Sixth (Seventeenth Street). In 1816, the greatest length of Moyamensing was estimated to be three miles; the greatest breadth, two miles; area, 2,560 acres (10 km). By act of March 24, 1812, the inhabitants of Moyamensing were incorporated by the style of "the commissioners and inhabitants of the township of Moyamensing" and they even had their own police force. By act of April 4, 1831, the township was divided into East and West Moyamensing. The township was one of the earliest created after the settlement of Pennsylvania, and became part of Philadelphia in 1854. The

Moyamensing Prison Moyamensing Prison was a prison in the South Philadelphia neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was designed by Thomas Ustick Walter. Its cornerstone was laid on April 2, 1832; it opened on October 19, 1835, was in use until 1963, and w ...

was built between 1822 and 1835 at Reed and 10th Streets. A portion of it also housed a

debtors' prison A debtors' prison is a prison for people who are unable to pay debt. Until the mid-19th century, debtors' prisons (usually similar in form to locked workhouses) were a common way to deal with unpaid debt in Western Europe.Cory, Lucinda"A Histor ...

. The structure was demolished in 1967.

References

Other sources

*Walther, Rudolph J. ''Happenings in Ye Olde Philadelphia 1680-1900'' (Philadelphia, PA: Walther Printing House, 1925) *Craig, Peter Stebbins ''Olof Persson Stille and his Family'' (Philadelphia, PA: Swedish Colonial News. Volume 1, Number 16. Fall 1997)

External links

District of Moyamensing Documents
{{Authority control Neighborhoods in Philadelphia Municipalities in Philadelphia County prior to the Act of Consolidation, 1854 Populated places established in 1820 1820 establishments in Pennsylvania 1854 disestablishments in Pennsylvania South Philadelphia