Frankford Creek is a minor tributary of the
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 ...
in southeast
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
. It derived its name from today's
Frankford, Philadelphia
Frankford is a neighborhood in the Northeast Philadelphia, Northeast section of Philadelphia situated about six miles (10 km) northeast of Center City, Philadelphia, Center City. Although its borders are vaguely defined, the neighborhood is ...
neighborhood.
The stream originates as Tookany Creek at Hill Crest in
Cheltenham Township
Cheltenham Township is a home-rule township located in the southeast corner of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It borders Philadelphia to the south and east, Abington Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Abington Township ...
and meanders eastward, then southeastward, throughout Cheltenham Township, until a sharp bend near the Philadelphia border at
Lawncrest, where the place names Toxony and Tookany were used in historic times; the stream is still known as Tookany Creek in this region, where it flows southwest. Turning south into Philadelphia at the crotch of Philadelphia's V-shaped border, the creek is called Tacony Creek; from here southward, it is considered the informal boundary separating
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 ...
from the rest of the city.
The Philadelphia neighborhoods of
Olney and
Feltonville lie on the western side of the stream in this area while Northwood, Lawncrest, Summerdale, and
Frankford lie on the eastern side. It continues to be called the Tacony at least until the smaller
Wingohocking Creek merges with it in
Juniata Park, within the city-owned golf course. Beyond Castor Avenue it is known as Frankford Creek until the stream's confluence with the
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 ...
in the
Bridesburg
Bridesburg is the northernmost neighborhood in the River Wards, Philadelphia, River Wards section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. A mostly working-class neighborhood, Bridgesburg is an historically German and Irish community, with ...
neighborhood 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 ...
. The section of stream known as Frankford Creek is long, and the upstream section known as Tacony Creek, from Hill Crest, is long.
[U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data]
The National Map
, accessed April 1, 2011
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 ...
Native Americans who lived within its watershed called the creek Quessionwonmink, which means “Eel Skin River.” Some believe the word Tacony to be derived from another Lenni Lenape word meaning "forest" or "wilderness".
Sewerization and diversion
Portions of its tributary
Wingohocking Creek were converted to sewers between 1905 and 1915.
In 1934, the horseshoe bend between Bridge and Margaret Streets (where the creek formed part of the boundary between the Frankford and Bridesburg neighborhoods) was removed as a new straight channel was cut.
In 1949, the creek's path through Frankford was straightened as two horseshoe bends were removed in the vicinity of the intersection of Wyoming and Castor Avenues. An arch structure, the remains of a bridge carrying Wyoming Avenue over one of the removed bends in the creek, is visible from park level (approximately 15 ft (5m) below Wyoming Ave.). A bridge railing along the sidewalk still exists in this location, across from Eastern Regional Medical Center of Cancer Treatment Centers of America (formerly Parkview Hospital). Downstream from Castor Avenue, the creek now flows through a concrete culvert.
In 1956 the creek was diverted to meet the Delaware River at a more southerly point, cutting off its natural bed that curved around Bridesburg along the
Frankford Arsenal
The Frankford Arsenal is a former United States Army ammunition plant located adjacent to the Bridesburg neighborhood of Northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, north of the original course of Frankford Creek.
History
Opened in 1816 on of lan ...
. Part of that bed was filled, but much of the old creek remains, near its original mouth on the Delaware.
Frankford Creek has been converted to
storm sewers
A storm drain, storm sewer (United Kingdom, U.S. and Canada), highway drain, surface water drain/sewer (United Kingdom), or stormwater drain (Australia and New Zealand) is infrastructure designed to drain excess rain and ground water from imp ...
along much of its course, a
this mapshows.
Historic bridges

Several historic bridges cross the Frankford and Tacony (or Tookany) Creeks.
*
Fisher's Lane Bridge
Fisher's Lane Bridge is a historic stone arch bridge that carries Fisher's Lane west of Ramona Avenue across Tacony Creek in Tacony Creek Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is ...
, a single-span, closed-spandrel stone arch bridge built in 1796, carries Fisher's Lane across Tacony Creek west of Ramona Avenue in Philadelphia.
[Final Stone Arch Bridge Management Plan, Appendix F: Philadelphia County/City Bridge Inventory, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Bureau of Design, Environmental Quality Division, April 2008]
*The
Adams Avenue Bridge
The Adams Avenue Bridge is a historic bridge in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It carries Adams Avenue over the Tacony Creek in Tacony Creek Park.
A two-lane, triple-span, closed-spandrel, filled stone arch bridge, built in 1901, it was listed o ...
, a triple-span, closed-spandrel, filled stone arch bridge built in 1901, carries Adams Avenue across Tacony Creek in Philadelphia's Tacony Creek Park.
[ It was listed on the ]National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1988.
*A concrete arch bridge, built in 1909, carries Roosevelt Boulevard (US Route 1) over Tacony Creek in Philadelphia.
*Two concrete arch bridges, built in 1909, carry Wyoming Avenue over the old channel of Frankford Creek (since diverted) in Philadelphia.
*A single-span concrete arch bridge, built in 1930, carries Church Road (PA Route 2023) over Tookany Creek in Montgomery County.
*A single-span concrete arch bridge, built in 1930, carries Mill Road over Tookany Creek in Montgomery County.
Name origins
Wingohocking Creek
Frankford Creek is formed by the union of three streams. One of these, now known as Wingohocking Creek, is so called in a patent to Griffith Jones, 1684. It is called ''Winconico'' in a patent to John Goodson, 1701, and ''Wincokoe'' in a patent to Griffith Jones of the same year. Wingohocking is defined by Heckewelder
John Gottlieb Ernestus Heckewelder (March 12, 1743 – January 21, 1823) was an American missionary for the Moravian Church.
Early life
Heckewelder was born in Bedford, England and came to Pennsylvania in 1754. After finishing his education, he ...
to be "a choice spot of land for cultivation, a favorite place for planting, fine land;" whilst Mr. Henry says it means "lands in a hollow or valley." In modern times, the Wingohocking has been called "Logan's Run", from the fact that it flowed through the grounds of the seat of James Logan at Stenton. The Wingohocking rises near Mount Airy, curves generally to the south, and passing through Germantown runs eastwardly until it unites with Tacony Creek near Rowland's saw-mill.
Tookany Creek
Tookany Creek rises in Montgomery County near Shoemakertown, runs south-west and south, crosses the line of the former Bristol township, and formed the boundary of Bristol and Oxford townships. Rock Run enters Tookany Creek southwest of what was formerly Whitaker's factory.
The Little Tacony rises near the Township-line Road between Dublin and Oxford, runs nearly south through Oxford township, and is joined by one or two brooks, and empties into Frankford Creek east of Frankford. The stream is now called Frankford Creek from the junction of Tacony and Wingohocking creeks, and enters the Delaware near the U.S. Arsenal.
Tacony is called ''Taoconik'' in a patent to Robert Adams, 1684; ''Toaconinck'' in a patent to Griffith Jones in the same year; and ''Toaconinck Township'' is referenced on Thomas Holme's 1687 survey map. Little Tacony is also called ''Tackawanna''. Mr. Henry says Tacony is derived from ''Tekene'' and means "woods" or "an uninhabited place."
Others
Into Frankford Creek near the Delaware empties a stream called ''Freaheatah''. Frankford Creek derives its name from the village of Frankford, adjoining. On Lindstrom's map it is called "Aleskins Kylen", ''La Riviere des Anguilles Ecorchees'' (meaning "the river of skinned eels"), the origin of which can only be conjectured. A portion of the creek east of the junction of the Little Tacony is called ''Questioninck'' in a patent to Eric Cock and others, and ''Quissinuaminck'' in a patent to Thomas Fairman, 1688.
:"Changes in the Names of Streams In and About Philadelphia". ''Public Ledger Almanac: 1879''. Pages 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, & 13.
Community Impact
Frankford Creek has a great impact on the Cheltenham and North Philadelphia Communities. For many children growing up in the area, it provided them with their first experience for learning about ecosystems and opportunities for community projects. It also spurred the formation of several parks, including Wall Park, High School Park, Tookany Creek Parkway in Cheltenham, and Olney Park, Juniata Park, and Womrath Park in Philadelphia. It is one of the few urban meadows in the Philadelphia area.
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 ...
has a similar impact for 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 ...
and Upper Darby
Upper Darby Township, often shortened to Upper Darby, is a home rule township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the township had a total population of 85,681, making it the state's sixth-most populated mun ...
children.
See also
* List of parks in Philadelphia
*List of rivers of Pennsylvania
This is a list of streams and rivers in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania.
By drainage basin
This list is arranged by drainage basin, with respective tributaries indented under each larger stream's name.
Delaware Bay
Chesapeake Bay
*''E ...
*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 ...
* Frankford Powder-Mill
References
External links
*
Creek to sewer history
Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership, Inc.
{{authority control
Rivers of Pennsylvania
Tributaries of the Delaware River
Rivers of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Rivers of Philadelphia