Fishtown One Site

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Fishtown 1

The Fishtown One Site was located beneath the I-95 overpass. The site’s boundaries were defined by Montgomery Street to the north, Delaware Avenue to the east, and Palmer Street to the south. Current Delaware Avenue occupies what was once historic Richmond Street. The site’s western boundary was formed by Salmon Street and the parking lot to what was once the 1907 Chandler Combined Primary and Secondary School.

Site History Summary

Urban development on the Fishtown One Site did not really begin until the late colonial era, and even then, the area remained fairly rural. At the time, it formed the southern portion of a large block bounded by the streets now known as Girard Avenue, Montgomery Avenue, Palmer Street, and Richmond Street. Descendants of Anthony Palmer, the founder of Kensington, owned much of the land before it was divided and purchased by men such as shipbuilder Manuel Eyre and lumber merchant Peter Keyser at the end of the eighteenth and beginning of the nineteenth centuries.

From the 1810s through the 1860s, the block saw a period of greater development, with many of the remaining large tracts of land being subdivided and the First Presbyterian Church of Kensington being constructed near what is now the corner of Wildey and Palmer Streets. Salmon and Eyre Streets were opened in the center of the block, leaving the area with the church cut off from the rest of the properties. Further development occurred between Montgomery and Eyre when First Presbyterian moved to Girard Avenue in the late 1850s, and the George Chandler School was constructed on its former land in the early 1860s to serve the needs of Fishtown’s children. This building, plagued by drainage problems and antiquated facilities, was replaced in 1907 by a new school building, which was later converted into condominiums.

Being on the traditional outer edge of the Fishtown area, a fair number of the residents during this time were involved in maritime trades—with fishing and shipbuilding families such as the Bennetts, Bramells, Bakers, Faunces, Hills, and Tees populating much of the block—but there was also occupational diversity. Numerous glassworkers employed at nearby glasshouses, such as Union Glass Works or Dyottville, also lived on the block, while other residents operated businesses essential to any neighborhood at the time: bakeries, groceries, barber shops, dry-goods stores, saloons, and numerous boardinghouses to accommodate industrial workers and the mariners who frequented the area.

After the Civil War, heavy industry moved into the area and the demographics of the block changed somewhat. More of the inhabitants were employed in factories, iron foundries, and mills, though the shipbuilding industries and, to a much lesser extent, the fishing industry remained active. On the east end of Richmond Street, more and more small businesses and light industrial enterprises sprang up during this time, replacing some of the original Fishtown residents. Residents were also displaced on the western end of the block by an influx of Irish immigrants and those of Irish descent. Along Palmer Street, brick twin homes were constructed in the mid-1890s, providing homes for the ever-growing number of industrial workers.

Most of the homes and businesses along Richmond Street were demolished around 1924, when Richmond Street was widened into Delaware Avenue, and replaced by light industrial buildings and small warehouses. This trend soon spread to Montgomery Avenue and Salmon Street, as well, leaving Palmer the last mainly residential street on the block before it too was demolished in the late 1960s for the construction of I-95.

What Did the Archaeological Excavation Reveal?

Three strip blocks (A, B, and C) were initially opened via machine; the modern overburden was removed to search for intact soils and historic features. The strip blocks were located beneath the northbound lane of the extant overpass and within the footprints of new highway support pillars. Each strip block measured approximately 30 x 40 feet. These areas revealed wooden box privies, a barrel privy, and a circular brick privy. Based on the initial findings in these strip blocks, the blocks were expanded perpendicularly to the highway to encompass the entire right of way.

The expansion of Strip Block A encompassed backyards associated with residences along Salmon, East Palmer, and Richmond Streets. Due to construction associated with I-95 and its buried centerline stormwater drainage system, this area revealed few additional buried historic features. Expanded Strip Block B encompassed backyard spaces associated with residences along both Salmon and Richmond Streets. This area was less disturbed than Strip Block A and revealed a higher percentage of buried archaeological features: historic posts, two wooden box privies, a wooden barrel privy, a refuse pit, a brick footer, a utility trench (possibly modern), and a construction trench associated with the later garage behind 515/517 Richmond Street.

The expansion of Strip Block C encompassed backyards on both East Montgomery and Richmond Streets. Again, this area was less disturbed than Strip Block A and revealed many archaeological features. Approximately 75 historic features were excavated in Strip Block C. Although historic posts comprised the bulk of the features, five wooden box privies, five refuse pits, three circular brick-lined privies, two wooden barrel privies, and two historic foundations were also excavated.

The results obtained from Strip Blocks A, B, and C indicated the potential for additional buried archaeological resources. The modern overburden was removed and new areas were designated Strip Blocks G, H, and I. Additional features were only encountered within Strip Blocks G and H. Strip Block G encompassed properties along both Salmon and Richmond Streets. Due to late historic commercial/industrial usage of this area (much of the area was taken up by warehousing, a tin shop, and a garage) and the highway’s centerline buried storm sewer system, very few historic features were encountered. Strip Block H encompassed properties on both Richmond and East Eyre Streets. This area was the least disturbed and yielded a larger amount of buried archaeological features. Archaeologists documented historic posts, seven wooden box privies, six wooden barrel privies, seven refuse pits, four circular brick-lined privies, two trenches, a historic foundation, and a fireplace.

The historic-period artifacts were mostly recovered from privies; barrel, box, and brick specimens were fully excavated. The contents of these privies have yielded a trove of information about the glassblowing, fishing, and shipbuilding families that dominated Kensington-Fishtown since the arrival of Europeans and the explosion of these industries.