Port Kennedy was an industrial village located where

U.S. Route 422 U.S. Route 422 (US 422) is a long spur route of US 22 split into two segments in the U.S. states of Ohio and Pennsylvania. The western segment of US 422 runs from downtown Cleveland, Ohio, east to Ebensburg, Pennsylva ...

(Pottstown Expressway) now crosses the

Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river running northwest to southeast in eastern Pennsylvania. The river was improved by navigations into the Schuylkill Canal, and several of its tributaries drain major parts of Pennsylvania's Coal Region. It f ...

in Upper Merion Township,

Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Montgomery County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the List of counties in Pennsylvania, third-most populous county in Pennsylvania and the List of the most populous cou ...

, United States. Built along the Schuylkill Canal and, after 1838, the

Reading Railroad The Reading Company ( ) was a Philadelphia-headquartered railroad that provided passenger and commercial rail transport in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states that operated from 1924 until its 1976 acquisition by Conrail. Commonly call ...

, the village was a center for the lime industry in the 19th century. It was named for Alexander Kennedy, the owner of the quarries and kilns. Beginning in 1871, a number of important fossils were unearthed at Port Kennedy. The location of the find was forgotten until 2006, when the Port Kennedy Bone Cave was rediscovered. Planning for

between the Schuylkill Expressway ( Interstate 76) and Trooper Road began in 1964. Most of the village was demolished for construction of the superhighway and Betzwood Bridge, which opened to traffic in 1967. In 1978, the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational properti ...

seized the land west of the superhighway through eminent domain to expand

Valley Forge National Historical Park Valley Forge National Historical Park is the site of the third winter encampment of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, taking place from December 19, 1777, to June 19, 1778. The National Park Service preserves the site a ...

. Today,

separates the First Presbyterian Church of Port Kennedy (1845) from the Kennedy Mansion (1852). They, along with the Reading Railroad station and one house, are the only surviving buildings from the village.

References

*Edward Drinker Cope, ''The Fossil Vertebrata From The Fissure At Port Kennedy, Pennsylvania'' (1895
from Google BooksPottstown Expressway Historic Overview
Former populated places in Pennsylvania Geography of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania {{MontgomeryCountyPA-geo-stub