Today, Alex at PAWatercooler posted a very interesting story, at least for myself and my family.
You see, I grew up in the Kensington area of Philly, but spent many a week or two every summer, in my youth, staying with my grandparents in the Fishtown section, where my parents grew up.
Fishtown's historical significance has often been swept aside and given the poor treatment that the neighborhood's unusual moniker has brought upon it...unfairly, of course, but the name isn't one that a lot of "outsiders" would take very seriously, even for the sake of it's colorful historical background.
Look around, and you'll see the words "Penn Treaty" all over the neighborhood...Why, you may ask? Well, the park that bears this name is thought to be the place where William Penn first made his treaty with the Leni Lenape indiginous peoples of the Delaware Valley, creating what we know today to be Pennsylvania. The statue of William Penn, atop the city hall tower, is facing (and rightly so) the stretch of land along the Delaware River where the treaty took place.
As written in the article linked to Alex's post, there was a significant British presence in the area, with "Redoubt #1" being right in the center of the area now being slated for the "Sugarhouse" Casino.
To not give the area the historical significance it deserves is both egregious and appalling...to rob the people of Pennsylvania any historically poignant landmarks, for the sake of greed, is a slap in the face to the heritage that we, as Pennsylvanians, and more importantly, myself and the scores of families that were raised and played in the Fishtown section deserve.
So, in this case, I'm all for stopping "progress"...let's support the archaeological significance of the area and give the little hamlet with the funny name it's just due...we may just find that the area's rich history is worth more than any casino business' money could possibly buy.
Read Alex's post and link to the original article here.
B.
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