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Ashton-Woodenbridge, Philadelphia

Neighborhoods in PhiladelphiaNortheast Philadelphia

Ashton-Woodenbridge (also known as Ashton-Wooden Bridge and Pennypack) is a neighborhood in Northeast Philadelphia, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is located on the eastern side of the far northeast, in the vicinity of Northeast Philadelphia Airport, including Wooden Bridge Run west to Academy Gardens, and south to Pennypack Park. Originally farm land, it was part of the holdings of Thomas Holme, surveyor for Philadelphia's founder, William Penn. The area was part of one of the original townships, Lower Dublin Township, until the 1854 Act of Consolidation incorporated it into the City of Philadelphia. Holme emancipated his slaves upon his death, and their descendants owned much of the area. Remnants of their community can still be seen near present-day Holme Circle, where stood a village formerly called Harrisburg. Their tiny Bethany A.M.E. Church, located on Ashton Road, at least unofficially rivals Mother Bethel A.M.E. as the oldest African-American church. "Woodenbridge" is from Wooden Bridge Run, a creek that flows through the north of the area, a tributary of Pennypack Creek. The name "Ashton-Woodenbridge" first came into use in the 1970s [1] to honor the Ashton Family whose progenitor settled in the area in 1653 before William Penn. Joseph Ashton's Farm, River Dale, on the Delaware River, is now the Torresdale Filter Plant [2]. Other Ashtons settled up the Pennypack Creek in and around Ashton Road. Active farms dotted the area as late as the early 1960s and horse-drawn wagons frequently served as local transit during snowy weather, navigating the steep Ashton Road to take workers to the bus stop at Holme Circle. The area has long been served by freight railroad, and there remains active industry in the area. Crown, Cork, and Seal was a long-time anchor on Ashton Road, finally relocating their world headquarters north on a large campus. Northeast Philadelphia Airport lies at the north end of Ashton Road at Grant Avenue. Originally a World War II airbase, it now serves as a general-aviation reliever airport for Philadelphia International Airport. Despite having no scheduled passenger service, it is the sixth-busiest airport in Pennsylvania.The area was settled in earnest by veterans of World War II during the dramatic expansion of the Northeast. The housing stock is primarily twins, row homes, townhouses, and apartments.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Ashton-Woodenbridge, Philadelphia (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).

Ashton-Woodenbridge, Philadelphia
Gregg Street, Philadelphia Far Northeast Philadelphia

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 40.071 ° E -75.022 °
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Gregg Street

Gregg Street
19114 Philadelphia, Far Northeast Philadelphia
Pennsylvania, United States
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Pennypack Park
Pennypack Park

Pennypack Park is a municipal park, part of the Philadelphia Parks & Recreation system, in Northeast Philadelphia in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Established in 1905 by ordinance of the City of Philadelphia, it includes about 1,600 acres (6 km2) of woodlands, meadows and wetlands. The Pennypack Creek runs through the park from Pine Road to the Delaware River. The park has playgrounds, hiking and bike trails, and bridle paths for horseback riding. An adjunct to the park is the Pennypack Environmental Center on Verree Road. More than 150 species of nesting and migrating birds use the park, including the tiny ruby-throated hummingbird, the great blue heron, warblers, the pileated woodpecker, several kinds of seabirds, ducks, geese, hawks, great horned owls and the little screech owl to name only a few. Famous for its large, scattered deer herd, the park is home to a large variety of mammals, including several kinds of bat, the red and gray fox, rabbits, chipmunks, mice, muskrats, groundhogs, raccoons, skunks, opossum and weasels. The park is home to many reptile species including several kinds of snakes, turtles (including common snapping turtles), frogs, the common toad and several kinds of salamanders. Many historic structures remain intact throughout Pennypack Park. Built in 1697, the King's Highway Bridge at Frankford Avenue is the oldest stone bridge still in use in the United States. Pennepack Baptist Church, another of the park's historic sites, was chartered in 1688. During the American Revolutionary War The Verree House on Verree Road was the site of a raid by British troops. The trained eye can rediscover abandoned railroad grades, remnants of early mills, mill races and other reminders that generations of mankind have gathered in the "Green Heart" of Northeast Philadelphia.