Kingsessing, Philadelphia

History

The name Kingsessing, also spelled Chinsessing, comes from a Lenape word meaning "a place where there is a meadow". The Lenape, or Delaware as the English called them, had a village of the same name that roughly occupied the same site as where the current neighborhood was later developed. When the township was organized to encompass where the Lenape and a later Swedish village stood, it also was named as Kingsessing.

In 1669 Hans Månsson, a Swedish settler, received a patent for an 1,100-acre plantation along the Schuylkill River between the current location of 60th Street and Woodlands Cemetery, extending as far west as Cobb's Creek.

Bartram's Garden, started by colonial botanist John Bartram in 1728, is still operated in this neighborhood. It had an international reputation and is considered the first true botanical garden in the United States. It has been designated as a National Historic Landmark.

Mount Moriah Cemetery was founded next to Cobbs Creek in 1855. The neighborhood near the cemetery is also known as Mount Moriah, part of which is in Elmwood Park.

The S. Weir Mitchell School, Regent-Rennoc Court and Anna Howard Shaw Junior High School are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Demographics

As of 2011, Kingsessing is 83.2% black.

Infrastructure and government

• The United States Postal Service operates the Kingsessing Post Office at 5311 Florence Avenue.
• Grays Ferry Bridge
• 49th Street station (SEPTA Regional Rail)
• Schuylkill River Trail

Education

Public libraries

Free Library of Philadelphia operates the Kingsessing Branch at 1201 South 51st Street, below Chester Avenue.

References

;Sources

• Chronology of the Political Subdivisions of the County of Philadelphia, 1683–1854 ()
• Information (ushistory.org)
• Incorporated District, Boroughs, and Townships in the County of Philadelphia, 1854 By Rudolph J. Walther - excerpted from the book at the ushistory.org website
• Row House Days (ushistory.org)

References

1. Winberg, Michaela. (2018-07-06). "How 43 Philly neighborhoods got their names".
2. (1982). "Philadelphia: A 300 Year History". W. W. Norton.
3. "Peter Stebbins Craig, "Hans Månsson and his Steelman Family," ''Swedish Colonial News,'' Volume 1, Number 10. Fall 1994".
4. "Peter Stebbins Craig, "The 1693 Census of the Swedes on the Delaware: Chapter 3: The Wicaco Congregation," ''Swedish American Genealogist,'' vol 10, no 1, March 1990; pp. 1-16".
5. Bell, Whitfield J., Jr., ''Patriot-Improvers: Biographical Sketches of Members of the American Philosophical Society'', vol. 1, 1743–1768. APS: Philadelphia, 1997, pp. 3–4.
6. {{NRISref
7. Philadelphia Research Initiative. (2011-06-01). "A City Transformed: The Racial and Ethnic Changes in Philadelphia Over the Last 20 Years".
8. "[http://usps.whitepages.com/service/post_office/52563?p=5&s=pa&service_name=post_office&z=kingsessing Post Office Location - KINGSESSING]." ''United States Postal Service''. Retrieved on December 4, 2008.
9. "[http://libwww.freelibrary.org/branches/branch.cfm?loc=KNG Kingsessing Branch]." ''[[Free Library of Philadelphia]]''. Retrieved on November 10, 2008.