Preserving Germantown's History Through 18 Historical Houses - Essay Sample

Among the societies established to ensure the preservation of the town's history was the Germantown historical society. It is a research center and an educational one that helps interpret and preserve tall historical artifacts and cites in Germantown. It documents the history of the town using a unique collection of books, maps, artifacts, images, and houses. There are a total of 18 houses in the town that are historical ones that have maintained their form over the years.

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As the years went by, there was a large population in the town. The population had racial diversity as it consisted of many races, including the whites, blacks, and the Italians. The increase in population led to the town being an urban town. Some of the factors that encouraged settlement in the town are fresh air, fertile soil and charming springs. During the yellow fever outbreak that killed many people in Philadelphia, there were very few people died. The ground was rocky, so it was hard to cultivate with ease, but at the same time, the rocks were useful in construction since the rocks were durable.

The existence of plentiful springs made it possible for the large population to be sustained. During that time, the roads were not well developed, and therefore the people from Germantown had to go all the way to Philadelphia to carry out trade. This did not affect the development of the town however, since they were able to start up a business such as storage stores where people traveling could store their grains as they travel to Philadelphia. Among the people who went to Philadelphia to trade are the Indians who used Germantown as grounds for setting camps as they sold their baskets and other goods.

Over the years, however, transport systems have developed. Connecting roads were built in the 1800s. In 1873 a railroad was constructed, one that connected Fredrick road to Clopper road. The railroad led to the development of suburbs estates in the town by wealthy people. There are many streets and roads that have been introduced, and some of the old roads and streets have improved. They have been developed by shortening, widening, narrowing, or lengthening them. One of the oldest roads in the area maintained in its original state is the Fredrick Road. One major factor that can be attributed to the fast development of roads in Germantown was the farms and mills in the area.

Due to the town's development, the population increased, and there was a war for space. Large estates were divided into an apartment to be able to hold everyone. New schools and churches were also built, which led to the increased urbanization of the area. There were many charitable and relief activities in the region form the churches. The relief was mainly aimed at keeping people off the streets, free medical care, and also for taking care of orphans. Today the organizations still exist though they are not as operational as they were in the past.

Germantown has developed over the years, and it has also changed. Even though Germantown is the richest historically, it is considered to be the poorest economically compared to other towns in the German township, which are mt. Airy and Chestnut Hill. During the period of suburbanization and deindustrialization, Germantown was adversely affected. Germantown Avenue is one of the avenues that have retained its historical prestige. It stretches from North Philadelphia to Chestnut and can be considered one of the oldest streets in the town but in the whole country. The house where George Washington lived is located in this street. Johnson House and Cliveden House discussed earlier are also situated on this street. Most of the views that existed in the 1960s are still seen in the avenue.

Although some areas in Germantown had changed, some have not as they remain to be the same as they were when it was formed. For instance, Germantown Avenue remains the same as it was when it was first founded. Some of the aspects that have changed are only a new building, but the old buildings and the structure remains the same. The old buildings have been renovated, but they still maintain the same structure as the original ones.

The population has increased over the years, with the town having more than 65000 settlers. Due to this, the government has worked hard to ensure that they control urban growth. They have done this by introducing rules and regulations to govern the growth. The implementation of aesthetic controls and strategic planning efforts has also been made to regulate growth.

Some of the schools that operated in the old times are still operational after they have been renovated. Some of the names of the schools have been changed and also new schools have been established. The schools can be categorized under Germantown municipal schools, private schools, Shelby County Schools, and there are also two institutions of higher learning, one being a higher institution for preaching. Germantown has retained the religiosity since there are still many churches and also most of the schools in the area were founded by the churches.

Some societies, such as Germantown Historical Society, are still in place, which performs the same objectives as those when it was formed. It still preserves the historic sites in the town that were associated with colonial times and revolutionary wars. The society owns some of the houses as it bought about four houses to save them from being wrecked. Another organization formed in 1983 called Historic Germantown Preserved still operates under the new name Germantown Historic after dropping the name Preserved. They did this mainly because of the public misconception about the word preserved. Therefore, Germantown has changed and developed over the years though it has still maintained some of its aspects.

Germantown was initially owned by William Penn, who sold the 5700 acres to two groups of people. The town's development was mainly attributed to the growing population and industrious nature as there were many cottage and craftsmen industries in the area. Germantown acted as a separate town from Philadelphia as it had the power to make its own rules ad regulation, and also it had a court of record. Germantown acting independently from Philadelphia may also be another reason for its development. The town is considered to be historically significant in the history of anti-slavery as it was the first town to declare slaver as a wrong deed. This was after the town Bailiff wrote a letter to the Quakers church condemning slavery.

Some of the historic houses preserved over the years include Johnson’s house and Cliveden House, which serve great importance in the history of anti-slavery. Though they were damaged during the war, the houses have been preserved together with all the decorative arts and furnishings in the house. Public schools were started and later on private schools. Though there were no roads when the town was started, they were later on built together with railroads, which made transportation more accessible. One of the streets that remained the same was Germantown avenue, which looks very similar to that of the colonial era.

Bibliography

Giammarco, Tony. "The Battle of Germantown: A Forgotten Fight for Philadelphia and Freedom." The Histories 2, no. 1 (2019): 4.

Harris, Michael C. Germantown: A Military History of the Battle for Philadelphia, October 4, 1777. Savas Beatie, 2020.

Store, Villa Shoe, Frank E. Hahn, and Benjamin Langstroth. "5700-04 GERMANTOWN AVE 19144."

Wolf, Stephanie Grauman. Urban Village Population, Community, and Family Structure in Germantown Pennsylvania 1683