Whitehall Borough, Pennsylvania Explained

Whitehall Borough
Settlement Type:Former Borough
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Pennsylvania
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Philadelphia
Pushpin Map:USA Pennsylvania#USA
Pushpin Map Caption:Location of Whitehall in Pennsylvania
Coordinates:39.9481°N -75.1864°W
Population Density Km2:auto
Timezone1:EST
Utc Offset1:-5
Timezone1 Dst:EDT
Utc Offset1 Dst:-4
Area Code:215, 267, and 445

Whitehall Borough was a borough that was located in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, United States. The borough ceased to exist when it was incorporated into the City of Philadelphia on the passage of the Act of Consolidation, 1854.

History

The area takes its name from White Hall, a grand mansion built there by Jesse Waln.[1]

When it was incorporated into a borough on April 9, 1849, it covered what today is called East Frankford, between the Little Tacony (or Tackawanna) and Frankford Creeks, including Frankford and Bridesburg Stations on the former Pennsylvania Railroad, Whitehall Commons, and the Frankford Arsenal.[2] It lay northwest of Bridesburg Borough, and southeast of Frankford Borough. It was situated in the old township of Tacony and the later Northern Liberties Township.

In 1853, the part of Whitehall that lay between Torresdale Avenue and Frankford Creek and below what is now Whitehall Commons was ceded to the borough of Frankford, leaving it with an area of only 0.471 square mile.[2]

Resources

Notes and References

  1. The Bristol Pike, by Samuel Fitch Hotchkin, published by George W. Jacobs, 1893
  2. http://www.libraries.psu.edu/do/digitalbookshelf/29342484/29342484_part_01.pdf William Bucke Campbell, Old Towns and Districts of Philadelphia, City History Society of Philadelphia, 1942.