Byberry, Philadelphia

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Map of Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania highlighting Byberry Township prior to the Act of Consolidation, 1854

Byberry is a neighborhood in the far northeast section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Originally it was incorporated as the Township of Byberry and was the northeasternmost municipality of Philadelphia County before the City and County consolidated in 1854.

Byberry had a strong abolitionist presence and may have been an original stop on the Underground Railroad. Today, the area occupied by the township is mostly synonymous with the neighborhood of Somerton, as neighborhoods Byberry and Somerton tend to overlap.

History

A township in the extreme northeastern part of the County of Philadelphia; bounded on the east and northeast by Poquessing Creek and Bucks County; on the northwest by Montgomery County; and on the west and southwest by the Township of Moreland.

Its greatest length was estimated at 5 miles (8.0 kilometres); its greatest breadth, 2 ¹⁄₂ miles (4.0 kilometres); area, 4.700 acres (0.01902 km²). It was settled by a few Swedes previous to the year 1675, and in that year by four brothers—Nathaniel, Thomas, Daniel and William Walton—who were all young and single men. They had arrived at Newcastle from England early in that year, and, having prospected the land in the neighborhood of the Delaware River, chose the country near Poquessing Creek, and settled there.

They gave it the name Byberry, in honor of their native town, near Bristol, in England.

They were joined after the arrival of the ship Welcome in 1682, by Giles and Joseph Knight, John Carver, John Hart, Richard Collett and their families, and others. Byberry was the birthplace of Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

The township was established at a very early date after the coming of William Penn. It contained very few villages at the time of consolidation, and was the most rural of all the townships of Philadelphia County. Byberry Crossroads, once called Plumbsock, and Knightsville were the principal villages.

References

Chronology of the Political Subdivisions of the County of Philadelphia, 1683–1854
Information courtesy of 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

Municipalities and communities of the City and County of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Sections and
Neighborhoods

Center City	Avenue of the Arts Chinatown Eakins Oval Elfreth's Alley Fitler Square Franklintown French Quarter Independence Mall Jewelers' Row Logan Square Market East Museum District Naval Square Old City Penn Center Penn's Landing Rittenhouse Square Schuylkill Avenue Society Hill South Street Washington Square West

South	Bella Vista Central South Philadelphia Devil's Pocket Dickinson Narrows East Passyunk Crossing FDR Park Girard Estate Grays Ferry Greenwich Hawthorne Italian Market Little Saigon Lower Moyamensing Marconi Plaza Moyamensing Newbold Packer Park Passyunk Square Pennsport Point Breeze Queen Village Schuykill Southwark Southwest Center City Sports Complex Tasker West Passyunk Wharton Whitman Wilson Park

Southwest	Angora Bartram Village Clearview Eastwick Elmwood Park Hedgerow Hog Island Kingsessing Mount Moriah Paschall Penrose PHL Southwest Schuylkill

West	Avenue of Technology Belmont Village Carroll Park Cathedral Park Centennial District Cedar Park Cobbs Creek Dunlap Garden Court Haddington Haverford North Mantua Mill Creek Overbrook Overbrook Farms Overbrook Park Parkside Powelton Village Saunders Park Spruce Hill Squirrel Hill University City Walnut Hill Woodland Terrace Wynnefield Wynnefield Heights

Lower North	Belfield Brewerytown Cabot Callowhill Fairhill Fairmount Francisville Hartranft Ivy Hill Ludlow North Central Northern Liberties Poplar Sharswood South Lehigh Spring Garden Stanton Strawberry Mansion Templetown Yorktown (also see North Philadelphia)

Upper North	Allegheny West Franklinville Glenwood Hunting Park Nicetown-Tioga Olde Kensington West Kensington

River Wards	Bridesburg Fishtown Harrowgate Kensington Port Richmond

Lower Northwest	Andorra East Falls Manayunk Roxborough Wissahickon (also see Northwest Philadelphia)

Upper Northwest	Beggarstown Chestnut Hill Germantown Morton Mount Airy Wister Cedarbrook (also see Northwest Philadelphia)

Olney-Oak Lane	East Oak Lane Feltonville Fern Rock Koreatown Logan Ogontz Olney West Oak Lane

Near Northeast	Burholme Castor Gardens Crescentville Fox Chase Frankford Holme Circle Holmesburg Juniata Lawndale Lexington Park Mayfair Oxford Circle Rhawnhurst Ryers Tacony Wissinoming (also see Northeast Philadelphia)

Far Northeast	Academy Gardens Ashton-Woodenbridge Bustleton Byberry Crestmont Farms Millbrook Modena Park Morrell Park Normandy Parkwood Pennypack Somerton Torresdale Upper Holmesburg Winchester Park

Former
Municipalities

City	Philadelphia (Center City)

Boroughs	Aramingo Bridesburg Frankford Germantown Manayunk West Philadelphia Whitehall

Districts	Belmont Kensington Moyamensing Northern Liberties Penn Richmond Southwark Spring Garden

Townships	Blockley Bristol Byberry Delaware Germantown Kingsessing Lower Dublin Moreland Northern Liberties Oxford Passyunk Penn Roxborough

Footnotes

As a consolidated city-county Philadelphia is its own county seat.

Coordinates: 40°06′00″N 74°58′05″W / 40.10011°N 74.967946°W / 40.10011; -74.967946

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