Then and Now

Fascinating Philly Facts

Queen Villager Jim Murphy gets to the point with his book about Philadelphia history.

Interviewed by Richard De Wyngaert

Jim Murphy, longtime resident of Queen Village and QVNA volunteer, has written a book on the history of Philadelphia, Real Philly History, Real Fast, published by Temple University Press. I sat down with Jim to discuss this compilation of fascinating facts and entertaining material for even the most serious students of Philadelphia history.

Richard De Wyngeart: A rather unique approach to writing history—why that title? Jim Murphy: Because everything in the book is focused on providing quick information to people. The stories all began with The Society Hill Reporter, and later I went over to the QVNA magazine. RD: What else about the format should people know? JM: Well, for every chapter, there’s a headline and a sub-headline that give people a really good idea about the chapter. Paragraphs are all short, with a lot of bullet copy and fast facts at the end. It’s a pretty complete picture of a person, or a site, in about 750 words.

The book consists of 51 short columns that cover a broad swath of Philadelphia history—things you’d love to know but often don’t—until you’ve read the book. They’re all quick reads, but there’s a great deal of information packed into each column. The reader benefits because there are no wasted words. Every story gets right to the point.

RD: Philadelphia has such a rich and storied history. How did you decide what to include in your book? JM: In 2010 when I started writing these columns, I became a real explorer of the city. If I saw something interesting, I would write about it. If I saw a sign, or a building, or a gravestone that I knew nothing about, but intrigued me, I would investigate until I understood its significance. In about 2015, I moved from The Society Hill Reporter to the QVNA Magazine and focused my columns almost

exclusively on the historical markers. I include many interesting oddities, things we’d love to know but are often left out of traditional histories.

RD: What is a fact you discovered about Philadelphia that really surprised you? JW: I started wondering what it was like when William Penn first arrived. So, I investigated and learned a couple of things. Philadelphia started 58 years after New York, and 52 years after Boston. Those two cities were basically senior citizens when we hit the ground, but by 1770, we were the most important, the most populous, and the most cultured city in America.

This was due to a number of things, but mostly, I believe, to our two superstars: William Penn and Ben Franklin— Penn and Ben! Penn started it all, and Ben quite simply made everything better. They were the architects of Philadelphia’s meteoric rise. I didn’t know that Penn initially wanted Philadelphia to be where the city of Chester is now located. He wanted to be as close to the ocean as he could. Unfortunately, he couldn’t get the land. He also wanted a much larger city, he wanted 10,000 acres, but he could not find a willing seller to amass a city as expansive as he envisioned. He settled for 1,200 acres. Most of the land was purchased from the Swanson Brothers, Swedish settlers who arrived in the mid-17th century. The original footprint was river to river and Vine Street to Cedar (now South Street). RD: Anything else that most people do not know? JW: If you wanted to do damage, for instance burn down a church, you could light a match and run south of South Street, or north of Vine Street, and it would be challenging and cumbersome to legally pursue you.

Commit a crime, then cross the line. This was a real issue during the Philadelphia Nativist Riots of 1844 (the result of rising anti-Catholic sentiment from the growing numbers of Irish immigrants). The riots exposed a weakness in Philadelphia’s system of law enforcement. This led to many reforms and ultimately to the consolidation of Kensington and Southwark into Philadelphia.

RD: Thank you, Jim. Your book sounds terrific and very readable, with fascinating, often overlooked facts that have contributed to Philadelphia’s rich history. Congratulations on a wonderful addition to the genre. ■

Real Philly History, Real Fast is available for order at HeadHouseBooks.com and on the bookshelves at Head House Books, 619 S. 2nd St.

Streetcars Come to Queen Village

With so many options for getting around the city, it’s tough to imagine a time when there were very few options at all.

By Joel Spivak

Originally called Southwark, Queen Village wasn’t even a part of the city of Philadelphia proper, which ran from Vine Street to South Street, river to river, until the consolidation in 1853, a change that made it easier to install utilities and create streetcar lines. The first streetcar company to get a franchise was the Frankford and Southwark Passenger Railroad Company on January 30, 1858. That company’s horsedrawn streetcars ran south down 6th St. to Morris and north up 5th St. to Berks, where it became a steam-driven line that ran up to an end destination at Frankford Ave. and Arrott St. By 1890, the 5th & 6th

Street Lines had 825 horses and sold 50 million fares that year alone. The company earned supporting revenue from the sale of horse manure.

The next streetcar line to open was the 2nd and 3rd Line on November 29, 1858. It traveled south down 2nd St. to Ritner and north on 3rd St. to North Philadelphia, with a terminal at 3rd and Dock St. The line had 700 horses, 109 cars, and nine carbarns. This popular line sold 11 million fares in 1892 alone.

A third line in South Philadelphia was the Lombard & South Street Passenger Railway Company Line. Its route went from Passyunk Avenue and Broad St. to 5th and Lombard, then over to the ferry terminals on the Delaware River. By 1876, the city had the largest streetcar system in the U.S.—a system prepared to move the 10 million visitors to the Centennial International Exhibition, the nation’s first time hosting an official World’s Fair.

Less than 20 years later, in 1892, the first electric streetcar line (trolley), the Catherine & Bainbridge Street Passenger Railway Company, introduced Philadelphia to the age of modern public transit. The last horse car line was electrified in 1897. ■

Next issue: Learn how electricity and modern mass transit was essential to Philadelphia becoming the “Workshop of the World.”