Germantown Township, Pennsylvania

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

Germantown Township, also known as German Township, is a defunct township that was located in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. The municipality ceased to exist and was incorporated into the City of Philadelphia following the passage of the Act of Consolidation, 1854.

History

Germantown Township, was laid out by virtue of three warrants: October 12, 1683, for 6,000 acres (24 km²), to Francis Daniel Pastorius, for the German and Dutch purchasers; February 13, 1683, to Francis Daniel Pastorius for 200 acres (0.81 km²); April 25, 1684, to Jurian Hartsfelder, for 150 acres (0.61 km²).

In 1688, Francis Pastorius drew up the first documented protest against negro slavery in American history.

The first purchasers of land in the township were from Frankfurt, Germany, they were Jacobus van der Walle, Johann Jacob Schutz, Johann Wilhelm Ueberfeld, Daniel Behagel, George Strauss, Jan Leureiss, Abram Hasevoet. Among them were divided 2,675 acres (11 km²) of land. The same quantity was divided among the first purchasers from Crevelt, Germany, namely, Jacob Felner, Jan Strepers, Dirk Sipman, Ganert Reniks, Lenard Artes, Jacob Isaacs.

The township was divided into settlements, called Germantown, Cresheim, Sommerhausen and Crevelt. These Germans were from the palatinates of Cresheim and Crevelt, many of them having become Friends through the preaching of William Penn in Germany.

The greatest length of the Germantown Township was 5½ miles; the greatest breadth, 2 miles (3.2 km); area, 7,040 acres (28 km²). The township was bounded on the northwest and northeast by Springfield Township, Montgomery County on the northeast partly by Bristol Township; on the southeast by Penn Township and Roxborough Township. Within Germantown Township were the settlements known as Germantown, Cresheim (afterwards Mount Airy), Sommerhausen (later called Chestnut Hill) and Crevelt, a rural section north of Chestnut Hill.

Resources

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°02′20″N 75°11′02″W / 40.039°N 75.184°W / 40.039; -75.184

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