Call Number:

04

Repository:

Glen Foerd on the Delaware

Extent:

3.5 linear feet

Language:

English

Date:

1964-2010 (bulk) and 1880-2010 (inclusive)

Creator:

Glen Foerd Conservation Corporation.

Abstract:

The neighborhood of Torresdale, first settled by Swedish immigrants in the mid 1600s, is located in the northeast section of Philadelphia. An important site in the area is the historic estate Glen Foerd. The Glen Foerd Conservation Corporation local history collection, 1880-2010, is comprised mostly of secondary materials, the bulk of which relate to the history of Torresdale. There are a small amount original photographs, as well as original documents from the Kramer family.

"Torresdale is roughly bordered by Linden Ave (once known as Eleven Mile Lane, being 11 miles from the center of Philadelphia) to Poquessing Creek (the border of Bucks and Philadelphia Counties) and Frankford Ave to the Delaware. The area was settled by Swede's in the mid 1600's. A bake house located on the Delaware where Baker's Bay is today supplied Washington's troops with bread during the Revolution. The name Torresdale comes from Torrisdale, the ancestral Scottish home of Charles Macalester, the man who originally owned the land now in use by Glen Foerd Mansion. In 1850, Macalaster bought this land and had a small summer home built on it. The estate of Captain Barry was located at Grant Ave and the RR Station. In 1847 the Sisters of the Sacred Heart, based at Logan Circle, purchased this 40 acres and called it Eden Hall. Torresdale saw many fine mansions built in the latter half of the 19th century. An amusement park was located at Frankford Ave and the Poquessing in the late 1800's and the area along the Delaware south of Grant Ave was known as Resort Town with casinos and fancy boarding houses. Pleasant Hill Park at Linden Ave and the river was a popular recreation spot in the early 20th century."

Bibliography:

"Torresdale." Center for Northeast Philadelphia History, sponsored by the Historical Society of Frankford. Accessed September 29, 2011. http://frankfordhistoricalsociety.org/cneph/torresdale/trdhood.htm.

The majority of the material in this collection is secondary. There are newspaper clippings, circa 1994-2007; photocopies of historic deeds and maps; and reproductions of historical photographs. The bulk relate to Torresdale history, but some concern neighboring communities such as Holmesburg, Tacony, and Byberry. There is a graduate thesis about Eden Hall, a convent and Catholic girls school in Torresdale that opened in 1849. This collection features one envelope of original documents from the Kramer family, circa 1890-1950, and scattered original photographs, including some framed items.

Much of the collection was assembled by the Torresdale Historical Society, and was donated to the Glen Foerd Conservation Corporation when that historical society folded. Additional materials have been added since.