Tacony

Tacony is a neighborhood in Northeast Philadelphia, located along the Delaware River west to Frankford Avenue, between Holmesburg and Wissinoming. It is bordered by Cottman Avenue on the west, Levick St. on the south, and the Delaware River and 1-95 on the east. Early Swedish records spell it Taokanick, a Lenape word for "forest" or "wilderness." Toaconing or Toaconick, was a small township situated in the bend between the Delaware River, Wissinoming Creek on the northeast and Frankford Creek and Little Tacony Creek on the south and west. It lay east of the town of Frankford, and at an early date was incorporated in Oxford Township. The neighborhood's early history was heavily shaped by its founder, English industrialist Henry Disston, owner of Disston Saw Works. Disston's saw mill was the major employer in the neighborhood and his company eventually became the world's biggest saw manufacturer. A historical development occurred in Tacony when in 1846, the Philadelphia and Trenton railroad was granted a charter to operate rail service. Trains were banned from running through the city and Tacony became the essential terminus of the railroad for citizens traveling abroad. In 1854, the City of Philadelphia consolidated the surrounding county into the city and Tacony became one of its neighborhoods. Philadelphia thus became the only municipality in the US that is both a city and a county. The Tacony Music Hall was built in 1885 bringing art and culture to Tacony society. The Music Hall was rehabilitated in 1989, which led to the creation of the Historical Society of Tacony in 1990. Today, Tacony is still a thriving community. Houses in Tacony are mainly made up of row homes and there’s a large Italian and Irish population.

www.taconycivic.org/home.html

the historical society of tacony

tacony town watch