The information in this article is sponsored by the adoption center in Fishtown, Pennsylvania from Adoptions From The Heart who encourage family and friends to step out and visit their neighboring communities.
Fishtown is located north of Center City and its borders can be defined by Frankford Avenue, York Street, and the Delaware River. The residents in the area are primarily working-class Irish Catholics but is slowly bringing in youth professionals that are gentrifying the community. The name Fishtown comes from one of the town’s first occupations. Early inhabitants were fishermen, and they eventually gained control of both banks of the Delaware River, from Cape May to the Trenton Falls.
History
Upon European arrival, the area was first inhabited by the Lenape Indian tribe, with members from the Turtle Clan. A group of six Swedish agricultural families were the first European settlers, followed by the British aristocracy, British shipbuilders, and German fishermen. Formerly a part of Olde Kensington and adjacent to the Delaware River, Fishtown has since separated and formed its own borders from Olde Kensington.
Within a few decades, another surge of German immigrants arrived, followed by Polish and Irish Catholic immigrants in the late nineteenth century. St. Laurentius, erected by Polish immigrants, and the Holy Name of Jesus, built mostly by Irish immigrants, are the two Roman Catholic churches in the neighborhood. The parish church, Holy Name, is still in use, but St. Laurentius has been closed and would be converted into flats.
Demographics
Fishtown has been a working-class neighborhood for generations; while poverty worsened as employment decreased during the deindustrialization era, which hit many “rust belt” communities, Fishtown’s residents managed to keep the area steady. The majority of long-term inhabitants may trace their roots back to Catholic immigrants from Ireland, Germany, and Poland. Fishtown was the third most segregated white neighborhood in Philadelphia, according to 2013 data, with 96% white folks.
Fishtown has been undergoing modest gentrification since 2005, with major increases in home costs and the addition of upmarket art, entertainment, and dining establishments.
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Our Local Office
If you are interested in learning more about the Philly area’s adoption process, Adoptions From The Heart is here to help. We provide a range of resources for prospective adoptive parents, pregnant women, and their babies. To know more, please contact our Fishtown, Pennsylvania adoption center.
