The Growth of the Cobbs Creek Nieghborhood

A lot has been written about the history of West Philadelphia. However, there is almost nothing written about the Cobbs Creek neighborhood.  Its sits at the far western edge of Philadelphia from 52nd St. to the Cobbs Creek Parkway (63rd St.) and from Market St. to Baltimore Ave. By 1940, it had a population of 58,400, 19% of the population of West Philadelphia.

In 1880, almost all of Cobbs Creek was farms and large estates.  A single census district counted a  population of only 1, 641 including many in areas just below Baltimore Ave.  The population was not evenly distributed.  611 people lived in the West End area around the West End Mill (1). Others lived around the Angora Mill and Hoffman's Mill that were just below Baltimore Ave. The area did not yet have the rectangular street grid that was proposed in 1860 and house did not have street addresses. Instead the census gave only vague geographic locations. These included a small number of houses along major roads that no longer exists: Marshall Rd., Gray's Lane, and Rabbit Lane .

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In 1900, the neighborhood between Market St. and Baltimore Ave. still had a population of only 745. The Bromely Atlas for 1892 shows the same distribution of houses.

The population began expanding rapidly after the opening of the Market St. Elevated in 1907.  By 1910, it reach 24,568 and doubled by 1920 to 56,960.

This expansion was possible because of the construction of thousands of row homes. This required the paving of the street grid, and laying water and sewer lines.

Aerial photo of the Cobbs Creek area looking east. The

area that became Cobbs Creek Park is at the bottom

The road at the lower left is what was left of Marshall Rd.

(Temple University Archives)

In 1920, the area was 99% White with 21% of the adults foreign-born. The largest immigrant groups were those born in Russia (8%) and Ireland (4%).  In some areas west of 59th St. and north of Cedar more than 20% of adults were Jews born in Russia who reported speaking Yiddish. Most of them were born in the Ukraine and other eastern parts of the Russian Empire.

In some areas to the east of 59th St. and south of Cedar, more than 20% of adults were born in Ireland or were the children of Irish immigrants.

In 1940, 13% of adults were born in Russia.  Most of them spoke Yiddish.  The majority lived west of 57th St.

In 1930, Cobbs Creek had a population of 60,220.  The Black population only accounted for 1.8% . Blacks were concentrated near Market St. across from the largely Black neighborhoods of Haddington and Mill Creek. In one census district in Cobbs Creek (ED 504), 19% of the population was Black.

Following the Second World War, the population of Cobbs Creek, and all of Philadelphia changed very rapidly, Many factors helped to promoted "White flight." Deed restrictions that prevented selling properties to Nonwhites became illegal The opening of the Schuylkill Expressway and the Walt Whitman Bridge facilitated commuter access to the Main Line and New Jersey. Fueled by racist fears and increased family sizes during the Baby Boom young families rushed to new suburbs.. In 1950, Cobbs Creek's population was 97% White. By 1960, this dropped to 37% and by 1970, it was only 6%. The population remains almost 100% Nonwhite.

In summary, the population of Cobbs Creek experienced two periods of very rapid change. First, the sparsely populated area of farms and estates erupted into a 20 year period of explosive growth. The new residents were almost all White with many residents foreign-born. Second, the period from 1950 to 1970 saw the White population decline by 94%. The Black population increased from only a few thousand to almost 50,000 - enough to keep the total population almost unchanged and create the neighborhood we know today.

(1) The story of the West End Mill and the people who worked there is available at the West Philadelphia Collaborative History site: The Boothroyd and Goodyear Families of Mill Workers and the West End Mill.

Introduction to West Philadelphia in Maps

West Philadelphia is a classic example of a "streetcar suburb."  It sits across the Schuylkill River from the center of Philadelphia. Its growth during the 19th and early 20th centuries followed the changes in transportation that facilitated travel from new residential neighborhoods to work places downtown. During the early 1800s, new bridges across the river and horse-drawn coaches allowed the development of the areas nearest the river. Later developments included horse-drawn trolleys on rails, electrification of trolleys, the building of the Market St. elevated line, the building of the Schuylkill Expressway and large highway bridges across the Delaware River to New Jersey. These fueled the expansion of the residential area of West Philadelphia to the western edge of the city and then the "White flight" that led many Whites to leave the city.

With a peak population of over 300,000, West Philadelphia is similar in size to many mid-size cities. Its growth was a result of the movement of  people from more densely populated neighborhoods, a flood of Blacks from southern states and immigrants from Europe.

This blog will present a wide variety of maps and related material documenting the social and economic history of West Philadelphia and its neighborhoods.

West Philadelphia covers the eleven wards west of the Schuylkill River above Baltimore Ave. 

Click to expand maps.

Like all big cities, Philadelphia is a city of neighborhoods. The Philadelphia Planning Commission defines 26 neighborhoods in West Philadelphia.

During the 19th century, the population of Philadelphia was largely concentrated near the center of the city.  In 1900, much of the western half of West Philadelphia was sparsely populated with numerous large tracts of farm land and grand estates. The population was 95% White and 23% of adults were born abroad, most commonly from Ireland but also from Germany and England.

The population grew rapidly during the early decades of the 20th century from about 130,00 in 1900 to just over 300,000 in 1930. Some of the increase was Blacks moving up from southern states or out of Black neighborhoods in Center City.  In 1930, 15% of the population were Black. The proportion of adults that were foreign-born was still 23%, but now the largest group was Jews born in the Ukraine and other parts of the Russian Empire.

By 1970, the population had declined by 9% to  276,000.  All of this decline was in the White population which dropped by 29%. The Black population doubled over this 40 year period.  Only about 7% of the population over age 18 was foreign-born.

The effect of this is seen in the data from the 1970 Census which are available by block. Blacks now lived in many more neighborhoods. This was made possible by the departure (or "flight") of many Whites and by the laws that invalidated deed covenants which prohibited the sale of many properties to Nonwhites. 

This blog will examine many of the social and economic characteristics that defined West Philadelphia during the 20th century. It will highlight the history of many of its neighborhoods. I will not attempt a detailed analysis or explanations for each social trend. Instead, I hope that by providing an overview, this material will stimulate viewers to explore these social trends.

References:  A good source for information about West Philadelphia History is the West Philadelphia Collaborative History project. Several of the articles deal with the issues of race and immigration.