I dunno, witness relocation program?

Of course it doesn't help that very few of the places that Louis Kahn designed were really livable- I'm told the dorm he did for Bryn Mawr is
prone to leaking roof and insufferable ventilation problems.

And while everyone loves Frankl Lloyd Wright's styles, the execution often was lacking because of the problems with long spans of concrete or stone or wood.

Hal

One of my great, great-grandfathers, Frederick Eltonhead, lived in a "big house" (according to my uncle) on Wheatsheaf at the end of the 1800's (before 1870 and after 1890). He had a mattress factory (probably in Kensington) where his daughter Mary and son-in-law William Slook (he lived on Wheatsheaf several houses down... 4-5 Eltonhead families lived on the same lane. Both Mary and William worked as mattress makers, as well as the other relatives, presumably at Frederick's factory.) The way the 80 year old lady describes the neighborhood, the houses were rather far apart? And probably a wooded area? (I'm really digging for clues to the past here... lol)

GGG Eltonhead sold his house to the railroad for $30,000 (my uncle makes it sound like that was a nice chunk of change back then). Exactly when I don't know, but I see from maps that there seems to be a major railroad track area there now, so I'm assuming that's about where his house used to be.

One could also probably assume this woman's ancestors knew mine... maybe even she did. Interesting... Does the book go into any more detail about Wheatsheaf way back when? And who published the book?

Never mind my last question. I just ordered a copy from Amazon.com... Thanks for the "lead."

Well, here's what the area looked like in 1863



And here's essentially the same map, but closer up..




- you had the Trenton Railroad in the early 1800s (major civil disobedience there), and the "Kensington and Tacony Railroad" going through there.

Hal

Thanks, Hal! These are great!

No, no one has considered changing the name well except for some of the newbies that have moved into the area.

There are many Fishtown neighborhoods in this world and there are many fishtowners who are proud of their history.

1. Fishtown, Philadelphia, PA, USA

http://www.hsp.org/default.aspx?id=513
"The neighborhood’s name was the simple fact that for generations it was the center of the great shad fisheries of the Delaware River estuary."
"The term Fishtown was first applied to a corner of the triangle of Old Kensington between Cherry [Berks] Street and Gunner’s Run [Aramingo Avenue] and from both sides of Old Point Road [Richmond Street] to the river, where the shore fishermen lived."

2. Fishtown, Leland Michigan, USA
"Leland has older houses, and has been a center of white fishing since
the late 1800's; the old wood fishing shanties and smokehouses of its
Fishtown neighborhood are popular with tourists. Perched on the banks of the Carp River, between Lakes Michigan and Leelanau, weather-beaten gray shanties used to hold fishing gear.

3. Fishtown, WA, USA
"Fishtown, which is the largest of the river communities, swung into view as we paddled, out of the slough into the main river again. Lying in the crook of a big bend in the river, this old-time water settlement has two parts. The first is a faded troupe of stilt houses and towers looming out of the trees. A network of boardwalk plankways running six or seven feet off the ground through tunnels in the alder and willow connects these places, most of which are fishermen's sheds that have been converted into residences.

4. Fishtown, Bremerhaven, Germany
"Let´s talk about Bremerhaven (oder auch Fishtown!), die Stadt in der ich lebe... und an der ich klebe! Gemeinsam mit ca. 120.000 Einwohnern darf ich mich an der salzigen Luft erfreuen... und überhaupt... Bremerhaven hat ´ne Menge toller Plätze und Geschichten zu bieten! Spontan verbindet man wohl die Fischindustrie und den Schiffsbau mit dieser Stadt. Leider sorgten z.B. die Werftenkrisen dafür, dass viele Arbeitsplätze verschwanden, oder in Gefahr sind."

5. Fishtown of Usan, Angus, Scotland
"The Fishtown of Usan, a single row of 28 cottages, was created in 1822 by local landowner George Keith. A square tower was built as a landmark for shipping and an icehouse and saltpans are reminders of the former salmon fishery and a saltworks which operated between 1794 and 1820. Today all that remains are the tower and the dilapidated ruins of the cottages."

PROUD TO BE FROM & LIVE IN FISHTOWN.