By Kenneth W. Milano
Star Newspaper Starts History Column, âQuery in the Neighborhoodâ
From the original Lenni village of Shackamaxon prior to the European contact in the 1630âs, to Anthony Palmerâs Kensington founded in the 1730âs, to being named Fishtown by the locals in the 1830âs, our community seems to be facing yet another challenge to its name. It has been seen where some realtors are calling the Delaware River side of Girard Avenue, âRiverside.â It would seem that given the three hundred plus yearsâ history of the area and the fact that it changed names three times during those years, by the time the gentrification and rebuilding of the community is completed, the area would be primed to be renamed. However, would you really want to state, âIâm from Riverside!â Or worse, how about âI grew up in Trumptown!.â
Many are attracted to the odd sounding community name of Fishtown. But how could citizens even stop outside pressures to change our name? One way might be to document the communityâs history for all to see, read and hear. With that thought in mind, we can now thank Star Newspapers, for committing itself to a local history column for our communities called âQuery in the Neighborhood.â
Many already know me as a local historian for the area, or simply as your neighbor, but now, with the support of Star Newspapers, youâll be able to read my column every week. Fresh from spending the past year and a half starting up my historical & genealogical research company, I am now going to be available to field questions from my neighbors on the history of our neighborhoods.
My idea for this column is to help document our history and to help to remind folks of our three hundred plus year history, a history, which we should be proud of. The idea of documenting however will not be limited to writing short little articles in the local paper that will be thrown away by the time the next issue comes out. No, I mean thoroughly documenting the communityâs history by writing scholarly books and appending them with thick bibliographies and detailed maps. I also a website in the works that over time will include a Kensington History Encyclopeadia (click on the âKensington Historyâ folder at www.kennethwmilano.com ) that will cover Fishtown and Kensington, as well as parts of Port Richmond and Northern Liberties.
This column while answering all inquiries will also keep the community informed of historical events that are associated with our neighborhoods, such as talks, tours, and new and used books. These sorts of mediums have a much better chance to stand the test of time, more then the memories of yesteryear newspaper articles, which while appearing to be informative, are often inaccurate, poorly researched, and largely forgotten.
When one looks at the history of Kensington and Fishtown, you are unable to find a scholarly study of the place. You might find interesting studies of an individual business, or business sector, but that is it, nothing comprehensive or complete. Most of what has been written comes down to us in the form of memories of old time neighbors and history buffs who have more pride then sources in their writings. The professional historians have barely looked at Kensington. They often stop when they get to Vine Street and study Benjamin Franklinâs neighborhood in town, or head south to what they call today âQueenâs Village,â but was known a short time ago as Southwark, proving my theory that the name Fishtown could very well be in danger. As Nathaniel Burt, who wrote on the Philadelphia aristocracy, might say, âProper Philadelphians would never go north of Vine Street.â It would appear that the professional and academic historians have taken his advice.
Without the help of professional historians, Kensington was left to be studied by its residents who tended to be history buffs, or people who felt a need to write up their memories, but they were not trained as historians and the work shows them as such. Charles Cramp, of the Kensington shipyard family, in the early part of the 20th Century would write up memories in the old Philadelphia Public Ledger newspaper. They were often nostalgic and romantic stories. There was also the Philadelphia historian Joseph Jackson who wrote the column âMen and Thingsâ for the Philadelphia Bulletin in the late 1920âs which sometimes-featured Kensington and Fishtown. Jackson, while an accomplished historian, wrote more popular history rather then scholarly. There were also articles regularly in the Philadelphia Record that would feature the neighborhood. By the time of World War One (1914-1918) however, most upper class residents of Kensington and Fishtown had moved to the new neighborhood of North Broad Street, or to the then developing suburbs, and Kensington history started to disappear from the mainstream press. Kensington history then was left to the local guys and local newspapers that still lived and operated in the neighborhood.
In is in this backdrop, that my own historical interests in the neighborhood has been set. I have spent the past decade and a half intensively studying the neighborhoods of Fishtown and Kensington whenever the time allows. I have built an impressive collection of books and ephemeral material on the communityâs history. My almost 20 years experience in the used, rare, and scholarly book trade, have been helpful in putting me into contact with many hard to find sources.
It is with this background I hope to be able to answer the members of our communitiesâ inquiries. Please send me your queries and I will do my best to answer the most obscure questions. I am also a well versed in genealogical research, so if you have a family history question send that as well. So go ahead, try to stump me! Send me your inquires on the neighborhoods and we will answer them promptly.
Please send inquires to: kennethwmilano@gmail.com Or if you prefer snail mail, send to: Kenneth W. Milano, 2313 E. York Street, Philadelphia, PA 19125.
Kenneth W. Milano, 2006