Call Number:

01

Repository:

Tinicum Township Historical Society

Extent:

25.0 linear feet

Language:

English

Date:

1900-2000 (bulk) and 1791-2013 (inclusive)

Creator:

Tinicum Township Historical Society (Delaware County, Pa.)

Abstract:

Tinicum Township is located along the Delaware River in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Credited as the first recorded European settlement in Pennsylvania, it became capital of the New Sweden Colony in 1643 under Governor Johan Printz. Later, its prominent features became the Lazaretto, a quarantine station erected along the Delaware River in 1801; Westinghouse Electric Company; and Lester Piano Works. The Tinicum Township Historical Society local history collection, 1791-2013 (bulk 1900-2000), includes a wide variety of materials on the local history of Tinicum. It is largely made up of secondary-source materials and ephemera, although it also contains a significant amount of photographs, architectural drawings, and maps.

"The area now known as the Township of Tinicum in Delaware County Pennsylvania was originally inhabited by the Lenni-Lenape Indians. The name 'Lenni-Lenape' loosely interpreted in their Algonquian language meant the 'real people' or 'the original people.'

"The Township is located in the southeast portion of the state and is approximately five square miles bordered by the Delaware River, Darby Creek, and what was Bow creek and the back channel around Hog Island.

"In 1643 the Swedes under the leadership of Johan Printz [(whose likeness is portrayed on the Tinicum Township seal)] made Tinicum the Capital of the New Sweden Colony. Governor Printz ruled for ten years and then returned to Sweden. Leadership was then taken over by Governor Rising who was in control until the Dutch conquered the Swedes in 1655. [Soon after, the English gained power over the area. King Charles II granted the land to William Penn in 1681.]

"In 1780 Tinicum became a Township in the State of Pennsylvania. The petition contained twenty-three signers.

"[Construction of the building and grounds of 'The Lazaretto,' an immigrant quarantine station, began in 1799 along the shore of the Delaware River. The station opened in the spring of 1801 and was in operation until 1895.] The building and ground then became a recreation area. In 1915 it became the Philadelphia Seaplane Base and During World War I it was used by the Army for aviation training. The property was purchased by the Township in 2005. The Lazaretto building has been mothballed for future restoration. The portion of the property along 2nd Street in Essington is now the home of the Tinicum Township Fire Company, Station 48. The Township formerly had two fire companies, Essington and Lester, but a merger of the two companies [in 2007] brought about the construction of the new fire station...

"Tinicum went on to be an industrial area with the Westinghouse Electric Company and Lester Piano Works being the primary sources of employment for Tinicum and the surrounding communities for many years. Although both of these businesses have since closed, the properties which they occupied now have numerous smaller businesses that still employ many local residents."

Bibliography:

Quoted text from: Tinicum Township Historical Society. "Our History." Accessed October 21, 2013. http://tthsdelco.org/our-history/

This collection includes a wide variety of materials relating to the schools, churches, businesses, clubs and other organizations, individuals and families, buildings, and other local history topics for Tinicum Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. It is largely made up of pamphlets and other printed materials, ephemera, newspaper clippings (largely from the Delaware County Daily Times), newsletters from various organizations, narrative histories and academic articles, and photocopies and transcriptions of primary-source documents. There is also a large quantity of photographs, depicting local buildings and streets, industrial scenes, school classes, members of various organizations, and other subjects. Many blueprints, architectural drawings, and maps are also in the collection. It features several blueprints of the world's first nuclear submarine, the USS Nautilus, parts of which were produced locally at Westinghouse Electric Company. Four or five oral histories on VHS (produced in the mid 1990s) and one locally-produced documentary on Lazaretto are also available. There are several historic site structure and archaeology reports, including one focused on the Lazaretto Quarantine Station.

This collection also includes a large amount of copied materials donated by the Neumann College library, including photocopies of probate files (Concord Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania) and microfilm of wills, taxes, and other records from Delaware and surrounding counties.

Some Tinicum Township Historical Society records, such as newsletters, correspondence, and financial documents, are mixed in with the materials in this collection.