Flat Rock was the original name given to the section of the Schuylkill River where rapids churned through the rocks in the section of the river above the Wissahickon Creek. In 1824, a community meeting of the newly formed town changed the name to Manayunk, derived from the Lenape Indian word "manaiung" meaning "where we go to drink."
The availability of water with the completion of the Manayunk Canal drew people to the area. Water was the reason for the development of the Manayunk section of the Schuylkill Navigation Company (Schuylkill Canal) in 1819. The canal made the river passable and at the same time made water power available. Water power was a new concept in manufacturing, initiating the industrialization of the United States. It provided power for the construction of textile and paper mills and provided a transportation link to the port of Philadelphia and inland to the farmlands of Pennsylvania. By 1820, Manayunk had its first mill, and by 1823 the Schuylkill Canal System was completed. Manayunk's industrial prowess, combined with its accessibility to other areas via the canal system, made Manayunk the "Manchester" of the United States and helped make Philadelphia the leading industrial city of the 19th Century.
The real story of Manayunk is the story of the immigrants - the English, Irish, German, Italian and Polish - who came to this country looking for a better life. They worked, lived, worshipped and raised families here, with many becoming mill owners in their own right. Many of their descendants still reside in Manayunk and take pride in the neighborhood.
The Civil War secured the future of Manayunk when the mills switched from cotton to wool textiles and produced blankets for the war. The industries of Manayunk were always small in scale and diverse in product. This allowed flexibility and the ability to withstand change. While other industrial neighborhoods died with the closing of a single company, Manayunk simply paused, adjusted and thrived, maintaining itself as a strong neighborhood. Today, Manayunk still has remnants of the textile industry with two mills and a dyeworks as testimony.
The same entrepreneurial spirit that brought thriving mills and industrious merchants to Manayunk in the early 1800's still lives on. Today's Manayunk business person could as easily be a talented professional fleeing from the corporate world, or a neighborhood veteran whose Main Street address has been in the family for six generations.
PlanPhilly: Planning Philadelphia's Future