“We Is Got Him.” That’s what the first of 23 ransom letters said in which $20,000 was demanded in return for the kidnapped Charley Ross.
But the two main suspects, William Mosher and Joseph Douglas. died within a year of the event, and the boy was never found.
While his fate is still a mystery, 4-year-old Charley Ross has remained an important figure in Germantown’s history. Known as the first kidnapping for ransom in America, the event was highly sensationalized when it happened in 1874.
Author Carrie Hagen’s first book We Is Got Him, which will be published in August, recounts… Read the full story »

Librarian and archivist Alex Bartlett combines his hobbies with his career. Working for both the Germantown and Chestnut Hill historical societies, Bartlett manages the libraries’ collections and archives, while also helping to provide visitors with requested research documents.
“I’ve always been into history and I’ve lived here, so when I went into the museum and historical society field, it was a perfect fit,” Bartlett said.
Bartlett is a self-described “history nerd,” with interests in archeology and old bottles and glassware. He said that growing up in Germantown is what initially stimulated his enthusiasm toward historical documents and objects, and his… Read the full story »

The fact that a German immigrant founded Germantown may seem common knowledge, but the various layers of Francis Daniel Pastorius’ legacy are often overlooked.
While a monument in honor of Pastorius is positioned along Germantown Avenue in Vernon Park for many to see, less well-known symbols of his importance can be found at the German Society of Pennsylvania, located at 611 Spring Garden St.
Professor Frank Trommler, who has worked in the University of Pennsylvania’s Department of Germanic Languages and Literature since 1970, plays an important role at the German Society of Pennsylvania. Trommler has spent the past few years… Read the full story »

 
What would you do if you weren’t able to find where your daughter had been buried the other day because the rain had erased all of the marks of a new grave?
The horror of burying one’s child is hard enough on any parent, but the added devastation of being unable to identify the burial place would shake anyone.
That’s what happened to John Jay Smith in the early 1820s and led him to open the first rural cemetery in Philadelphia, located at 3822 Ridge Ave.
“John Jay Smith buried his 5-year-old daughter who died of scarlet fever in… Read the full story »

 
Millionaire’s Row. It’s not exactly something you’d associate with a cemetery. But then again, neither are Atlantic City and Tacony. At least, you wouldn’t by just looking at one of the biggest mausoleums on Millionaire’s Row in Laurel Hill Cemetery.
Laurel Hill Cemetery, located on 3822 Ridge Ave., is home to the Disston mausoleum among other famous elite families of Victorian Philadelphia. It features a special section, nicknamed Millionaire’s Row, for all of the most wealthy residents that it holds. It’s characterized by a row of mausoleums that lead down a curved road. Strolling through it, the history seems… Read the full story »

Germantown’s annual festival celebrating history and culture has historical roots that go deep.
“Fest for the Quest” was an annual collaboration among Historic Germantown and students from Germantown High School and Germantown Friends School. The two highlights of this event were the open forum “Germantown Speaks” and the open-air festival “A Great Day On The Great Road,” both of which took place at Vernon Park, located at 5818 Germantown Ave.
“The great spine of the community is Germantown Avenue and it used to be known as the ‘Great Road,’” said David Young, executive director of Cliveden, at Germantown Speaks, “and… Read the full story »

In colonial and early America, it would have been hard to find a place where people of all races, religions and social statuses were treated as equals.
That wasn’t the case, however, at Germantown’s Upper Burying Ground, for at least a portion of its existence.
When the cemetery was first opened in 1693 it was available to all regardless of race, creed and financial status. “Blacks, whites, Native Americans, different populations, Germans, later on Irish, were all, we think, buried here,” said John Pollack, president of the Concord School House and the Upper Burying Ground.
But that soon changed. In… Read the full story »

A recent presentation at Stenton highlighted the historical gardens that Germantown had in the past and the gardens it still has today.
In “A Short History of Gardens in Germantown – One Gardener’s Observations,” Wyck landscape curator Nicole Juday spoke about the many gardens of the neighborhood and how they have changed over time.
The history of gardening in Pennsylvania started with William Penn who thought, “nature is this beautiful, wonderful thing,” Juday said.
Seven years after Penn came to Pennsylvania, Germantown was founded and his love of gardening reached the new settlers as well.
Most houses in Germantown were… Read the full story »

Do you want to stand two feet away from a piece of cloth that Mary, the mother of Jesus, supposedly touched?
If you answered in the affirmative, then you might want to visit the Shrine of the Miraculous Medal. The shrine is located at 500 E. Chelten Ave., in a residential area, just steps away from the Germantown SEPTA stop.
“This is the only U.S. location where you’ll find anything that Mary has touched,” said Lizanne Pando, the director of communications for The Shrine of the Miraculous Medal.
But looking away from the piece of cloth that is next to… Read the full story »

“Without craftsmanship, inspiration is a mere reed shaken in the wind.”
These words of German composer and pianist Johannes Brahms are exemplified by the work of Philadelphia’s oldest piano company.
The Cunningham Piano Company was started by Patrick J. Cunningham, an Irish immigrant, in 1891.  “That makes us 120 years old…ish. Sometime this year we will actually announce or say that this is our 120th birthday,” said Milo Morris, Cunningham’s director of institutional development.
Morris is responsible for all of the non-residential customers. He deals with churches, schools, restaurants, hotels, concert halls, theaters, colleges and any other organization that comes to… Read the full story »