Manayunk

Manayunk

The United States is a nation made up of many different nationalities. People from different nations have brought various different ideas, religion, and culture to the United States. During the 19th century when there was urban development in the United States, many immigrants landed to various seaports. The population of the immigrants was increasing in the North side. Everyone used to live close to each other and technology was limited. The number of Immigrants coming to the United States started to grow during the 1820s and 1840s. In their book, Gotham, Edwin G. Burrows and Mike Wallace state, “Between 1840 and 1859, however, the total number of immigrants soared to 4,242,000” (736). In my paper I will focus on creation, history and people of Manayunk.

Manayunk is one of the oldest neighborhoods of Philadelphia which is also known as Main Street. In 1800’s it was a part of Roxborough Township with very few residents (Images of America 8). This little town was formed of manufactures, laborers and farmers (the mills of manayunk 76). The town started out as "Flat Rock" in 1810, when the Flat Rock Turnpike and bridge were built connecting Roxborough Township with Merion Township. The name came from an area of flat rocks observed in the Schuylkill River, near the bridge (Images of America 8). Flat Rock Road still exists on both sides of the River. The bridge was a means for Merion travelers to easily get to Philadelphia and was also a trade route for transferring goods between townships.

Manayunk's development is greatly credited to its canal system, since it was a stable waterway that provided transportation and water for the town's mills and enabled the shipment of goods within a 108-mile as stated in the Images of America (9). The Manayunk canal was completed in 1819 along with Flat Rock Dam since Manayunk at the time was called Flat Rock. It was that year 1819, when the mills of Manayunk really started being built in large numbers, and immigrants began operating the mills (the mills of manayunk 90). Philadelphia grew rapidly and especially Manayunk, which became the largest industrial area of the United States. The immigrants were settling mainly in cities with seaports. In their book, The Evolution of American Urban Society, Howard P. Chudacoff and Judith E. Smith, say, “major concentrations of immigrants could be identified in New York, Boston, and Philadelphia” (74). The numbers of immigrants was increasing as time passed by. During the 1840s there was a working class temperance movement (the mills of manayunk 148). People in cities were restraining from alcohol to better improve themselves. The working men considered their sobriety and discipline against the unchanged drinking habits of increasing Irish and German neighborhoods (Chudacoff and Smith 77).

Manayunk at the time of its creation was populated by a mix of German, Irish and Polish immigrants as well as African American population (images of America 10). After sometime the residents were not happy with the towns name and held couple of meeting in which they decided to name the town Manayunk. The borough of Manayunk was incorporated June 11th 1840. According to the act of consolidation 1854 every township, Roxborough was included as a part of Philadelphia as stated in Images of America (9). Manayunk was no longer a separate entity but still the community maintained its small-town charm and became one of the neighborhoods of the city, continuing to be one of the manufacturing centers of the city for the next 100 years (10). Manayunk retained its small-town charm with its small 2- and 3-story row homes, cobblestone paving, and hilly streets.

The real history of Manayunk is the history of its immigrants the English, Irish, German, Italian and Polish who came to this country looking for a better life (Images of America 10). They