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Southwest Philadelphia (formerly Kingsessing Township) is a 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, United States. The section can be described as extending from the western side of the
Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river in eastern Pennsylvania. It flows for U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map(). accessed April 1, 2011. from Pottsville, Pennsylvania, Pottsville ...
to the city line, with the
SEPTA SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly four million people througho ...
. The northern border is defined by the Philadelphia City Planning Commission as east from the city line along Baltimore Avenue moving south along 51st Street to Springfield Ave. It follows the train tracks until 49th Street. From 49th and Kingsessing Ave the line moves east along Kingsessing Ave. The line then moves south along 46th St to Paschall Ave where it jogs to join Grays Ferry where the line runs to the Schuylkill River. Southwest Philadelphia is also described by the city as being the area south of Baltimore Avenue; at the turn of the 20th century, Baltimore Avenue between 49th and 52nd Streets was known as "The Hub of Southwest Philadelphia" . Historically home to many Irish American neighborhoods, the section now has a large African American and
West African West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Ma ...
immigrant population; a recent nickname is "Little Africa". Southwest Philadelphia contains
Philadelphia International Airport Philadelphia International Airport is the primary international airport serving Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It served 30.8 million passengers annually in 2024, making it the busiest airport in Pennsylvania and the 21st-busies ...
, oil
refineries A refinery is a production facility composed of a group of chemical engineering unit processes and unit operations refining certain materials or converting raw material into products of value. Types of refineries Different types of refineries a ...
, and other heavy industries. The housing stock is diverse with ornate Queen Anne-style
twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of Twin Last Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two ...
mansions in the neighborhoods bordering Cedar Park, plainer and simpler styles of twins predominating closer to the airport, and newer rowhouses, many with porches, filling in many neighborhoods. Less than 1% of Southwest is covered by trees, giving it one of the lowest ratios of shade tree cover in the city. The
Philadelphia Police Department The Philadelphia Police Department (PPD, Philly PD, or Philly Police) is the police agency responsible for law enforcement and investigations within the County and City of Philadelphia. The PPD is one of the oldest municipal police agencies, f ...
patrols the 12th and 77th districts within Southwest Philadelphia.


History

Kingsessing Township was a township in the extreme southwestern portion of the county, roughly encompassing what is now known today as Southwest Philadelphia. It was bounded on the north by Blockley Township; on the east by Mill Creek and
Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river in eastern Pennsylvania. It flows for U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map(). accessed April 1, 2011. from Pottsville, Pennsylvania, Pottsville ...
; on the south by
Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...
and Bow Creek; and on the west by Darby Creek and
Cobbs Creek Cobbs Creek is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of Darby Creek in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It forms an approxima ...
. It embraces the site of the old village of Kingsessing. The township contained no other settlements of any size except Maylandville. It was traversed principally by the Darby Road and the road to Lazaretto. Its greatest length, ; greatest breadth, ; area, . This was the oldest settled portion of the county of Philadelphia. The Kingsessing settlement was started by Swedes who settled the colony of New Sweden. Most of the settlers were
Finns Finns or Finnish people (, ) are a Baltic Finns, Baltic Finnic ethnic group native to Finland. Finns are traditionally divided into smaller regional groups that span several countries adjacent to Finland, both those who are native to these cou ...
. Dating to 1646, it was the first village settled by
European European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...
s within the territory of Philadelphia. Fort Nya Vasa at Kingsessing, was located on the eastern-side of Cobbs Creek near Cobbs Creek Parkway and Greenway Avenue. The township of Kingsessing was created not long after control of the colony was transferred to
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 ...
. The township and village were incorporated into the City of Philadelphia following the
Act of Consolidation, 1854 The Act of Consolidation, more formally known as the act of February 2, 1854 (P.L. 21, No. 16), is legislation of the Pennsylvania General Assembly that created the consolidated City and County of Philadelphia, expanding the city's territory t ...
. For the 18th and most of the 19th centuries Kingessing was a rural township with farms, orchards and market gardens. A major botanic and horticultural garden,
Bartram's Garden Bartram's Garden is a 50-acre public garden and National Historic Landmark in Southwest Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, situated on the banks of the Tidal Schuylkill River. Founded in 1728 by botanist John Bartram (1699–1777), it is the oldest Bot ...
was located in Kingessing Township, and was frequently called the "Kingsess Garden." By the middle of the 19th century, Kingessing was a major center for the nursery and florist gardens in Philadelphia County. The name Kingsessing or Chinsessing comes from the
Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...
word for "a place where there is a meadow". The origins of Kingsessing are found in the village of the same name that roughly occupied the same site as the current neighborhood. Kingsessing became the name of the township in which the original Lenape and Swedish village stood.


Population

More than 80,000 people live in Southwest Philadelphia. It is approximately 60% black, 36% white, and 4% Asian. Until the late 1960s, the Southwest section of Philadelphia was commonly associated with Irish-Americans until
Southeast Asian Southeast Asia is the geographical southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Australian mainland, which is part of Oceania. Southeast Asia is ...
refugees settled in the area along with African-Americans from nearby
West Philadelphia West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of the city of Philadelphia. Although there are no officially defined boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Avenue to the n ...
. Philadelphia's West African community has been most concentrated in Southwest Philadelphia and
Northeast Philadelphia Northeast Philadelphia, nicknamed Northeast Philly, the Great Northeast, and known colloquially as simply "the Northeast", is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to the 2000 census, Northeast Philadelphia has a population of betw ...
starting from the late 1990s with significant growth in the early 2000s. The majority of the immigrants are mainly Liberian refugees from the
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, Mano, Mandingo,
Krahn The Krahn are an ethnic group of Liberia and Ivory Coast. This group belongs to the Kru language family and its people are sometimes referred to as the Wee, Guéré, Sapo, or Wobe. It is likely that Western contact with the Kru language is the p ...
, Grebo, and
Kru KRU are a Malaysian pop boy band formed in 1992. The group comprises three Abdul Halim brothers, namely Datuk Norman Abdul Halim, Datuk Yusry Abdul Halim and Edry Abdul Halim'. Apart from revolutionising the Malaysian music scene with their b ...
ethnic groups, along with immigrants from
Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...
,
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...
, and
Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and ...
. Southwest Philadelphia has long been called a haven for refugees.Herold, Benjamin. "Student 'ambassadors' tackle divide between Africans, African Americans." ''The Notebook''. Northern hemisphere Fall 2008. Volume 16, No. 1
1
Retrieved on December 16, 2010.


Transportation

A number of
SEPTA Subway-Surface Trolley Lines The T, formerly known as the Subway–Surface Trolleys, is a light rail trolley system of the SEPTA Metro serving Philadelphia and Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The system comprises five trolley services that operate on street-level tracks ...
traverse the area along Chester, Woodland, and Elmwood Avenues, providing easy access to Center City through the 40th Street Portal. These also extend to Darby and Yeadon. Southwest Philadelphia is served by four of the five Subway-Surface Lines (Trolleys): T2, T3, T4, and T5. It is also served by bus routes 12, 37, 52, 63, 64, 108, and by the Airport and Media/Wawa Regional Rail lines. * Airport Line - Eastwick Station & Terminus at the Airport *
Media/Wawa Line The Media/Wawa Line is a SEPTA Regional Rail service that runs from Center City, Philadelphia, Center City Philadelphia west to Wawa Station, Wawa in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Delaware County. It uses the West Chester Branch, which connects ...
- 49th St & Angora Station *Route T2 runs along Baltimore Avenue to Angora *Route T3 runs along Chester Avenue to Yeadon, with some scheduled trips extending to Darby with route T4 *Route T4 runs along Woodland Avenue to Darby *Route T5 runs along Elmwood Avenue to Eastwick near Philadelphia International Airport


See also

*
Bartram's Garden Bartram's Garden is a 50-acre public garden and National Historic Landmark in Southwest Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, situated on the banks of the Tidal Schuylkill River. Founded in 1728 by botanist John Bartram (1699–1777), it is the oldest Bot ...
*
Newkirk Viaduct Monument The Newkirk Viaduct Monument (also, Newkirk Monument) is a white marble obelisk in the West Philadelphia neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was installed in 1839 to mark the completion of the Newkirk Viaduct, the first permanent rai ...
*


References


External links


Southwest Community Development Corporation''Row House Days: Tales from a Southwest Philadelphia Childhood''
Jack Myers, 2005 * {{Coord, 39.898299, -75.236238, type:adm3rd_globe:earth_region:US-PA, display=title Populated places established in 1646 1646 establishments in North America Irish-American neighborhoods