One of the furthest corners of the far Northeast holds some of the oldest historical sites in Philadelphia. The former Byberry and Moreland Townships were a longtime home of a significant Lenape population, the location of Byberry Friends Meeting, one of the oldest Quaker meetings in Philadelphia, as well as an important abolitionist site and an early Black burial ground.
Now, a project coordinated by the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia aims to knit these sites together under a unified theme, the Poquessing Trail of History, named after the creek that forms a boundary between Philadelphia and Bucks County. “Assets that have been protected and stewarded are finally getting some attention,” said project coordinator Aislinn Pentecost-Farren.
Detail of a map in Thomas Companius Holm’s Short Description of New Sweden, published in 1702 and based in part on Peter Lindestrom’s journal of his 1654-1655 survey of the region. “Poanpissing” (Poquessing) Creek is at mid-left, on the right bank of the Delaware River. The map is oriented with north on the bottom; the Poquessing Creek, shown on the right side of the river in this map, is on the west side. | Image and text courtesy of Poquessing Trail of History
“People in this area are used to being overlooked in the historical narrative,” noted project director Jack McCarthy. “In general, the Northeast hasn’t gotten a lot of attention, so it’s fun to bring it to life.”
The project connects a number of stakeholders in the Byberry neighborhood: historic preservation groups, a religious congregation, a state park, a city park, and a Native American tribe. “Everybody was enthusiastic and supportive. Everyone saw the value of working collectively,” recalled McCarthy. “There were a few logistical challenges, like working at a distance with the Delaware Band, based in Oklahoma. And some pacing differences: things work slower in city government. With smaller groups, some are nimble, others working with volunteers can be slower.”
Several of the sites are within the boundaries of Benjamin Rush State Park, including the location of the birthplace house of Benjamin Rush, the colonial physician and signatory to the Declaration of Independence. Built around 1690, it stood until 1969 despite efforts that were underway to restore it. Now, the Poquessing Trail of History project will construct a representation that will consist of an outline marking the original structure, with interpretive signage, much like the President’s House on Independence Mall and Franklin’s Court. “The construction of the Benjamin Rush House representation will be a high point for me,” said McCarthy. “So many people were devastated 50 or so years ago when it was demolished. At that time, the restoration architect John Milner had been working on its restoration, so now we’ve engaged him and his firm to reconstruct it.”
The birthplace of Benjamin Rush circa 1950s. | Photo: Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress
The next stop on the trail will be an interpretive memorial to the Lenape. “This is one of the most challenging parts of the project,” explained Pentecost-Farren. “Unlike the other components, there is no one site, because the whole area is representative of the Lenape.”
Unlike other areas where Native Americans were displaced quickly by settlers, in Byberry the two groups coexisted for a long time, possibly owing to the large amount of land relative to the sparse population. “There were Lenape in this area into the early 18th century. A group would come back and stay for the summer, into the late 1700s,” noted McCarthy. “There was a good bit of interaction between Lenape and settlers. There was a sort of cooperative spirit, with the Lenape helping the newcomers, but eventually the waves of settlers put pressure on resources like water and land and forced out the Lenape.”
“For the Lenape, land ownership wasn’t a cultural concept,” said Pentecost-Farren. “There are theories now that they might have been thinking the treaties were more of a sharing agreement. But as more settlers arrived, the Lenape were displaced.”
Byberry Friends’ Meeting House circa 1920. | Photo courtesy of The Library Company of Philadelphia
Another significant population in the area is represented in a site located at the very edge of Benjamin Rush State Park. The Byberry Township African American Burial Ground was founded by Byberry Friends Meeting in 1780 when a member of the meeting donated the land to establish the graveyard.
In 1980, Byberry Friends sold the site to the City. The Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation, the economic development corporation created by the City of Philadelphia and the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, subsequently sold a parcel that included the graveyard to a private firm that developed much of it into an industrial park. Now, it will be formally transferred to the state to become part of Benjamin Rush State Park. “The saving grace was that the burial ground was on the very edge of the tract and didn’t get developed,” said McCarthy. It was added to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places in 2015.
Although its location has been known, there are no headstones and no burial records save one. Nevertheless, Victoria Best, acting president of the Society for the Preservation of Philadelphia African American Assets (SPPAAA) was moved when she visited the site. “It felt like a space that was near and dear. It was a place for African Americans. Being in that state park, we didn’t often see Black folks. Being there [at the burial ground] felt like, we’re still here,” Best reflected. “It became a spiritual place. It reminded me that wherever I walk in the city, there’s layers of the past, the people all around.”
Detail from 1843 Map of the County of Philadelphia by Charles Ellett, showing the location of the burial ground for Blacks that Byberry Meeting established on Thomas Townsend’s land near Poquessing Creek, about a mile from the Byberry Meeting House. | Image and text courtesy of Poquessing Trail of History
Archaeological consultants using ground penetrating radar have identified disturbances that could be grave sites and have been taking measurements in an effort to estimate a count of how many people could be buried there.
The project has engaged a landscape architectural firm to design a renovation. “Byberry is an important mission for us. To not let it be forgotten,” said Best. “We want the site permanently identified with markers. To make it a place of rest where we can honor the people that are there, even if we can’t identify those individuals. So that it becomes a more significant asset for African American history.”
“It’ll be so satisfying for this overgrown plot to be turned into a landscaped burial ground,” agreed Pentecost-Farren. “The burial ground is so inspiring for me, making sure that Black history is included in Philadelphia’s history.”
Another site with ties to Byberry Friends Meeting is Byberry Hall. Built by Robert Purvis in 1847 on land adjacent to the meeting, it hosted lectures and discussions on abolitionist and women’s rights topics. Both the meetinghouse and Byberry Hall were added to the local historic register in 1974. Now owned by Byberry Friends, the building will be renovated and developed into a local history center.
Byberry Hall in 2024. The original stone building was completed in 1847. The rear and front wooden additions were added in the late 19th and early 20th century, respectively. | Image and text courtesy of Poquessing Trail of History
Collectively, the four sites cover centuries of the area’s history and are linked by a trail through Poquessing Creek Park, a city park that follows the creek. “Along the trail that people use there will be interpretive signage, and the project website has a virtual interpretive walking tour,” noted McCarthy.
In addition to self-guided walks, the project participants are planning several public programs to highlight the history of the sites, beginning this month and continuing throughout 2026. The inaugural offering is on September 13, when Lenape elders from the Delaware Tribe of Indians in Oklahoma will visit Byberry Friends Meeting to share stories, songs, and teachings.
Byberry’s Underground Railroad history will be commemorated on October 18, the 175th anniversary of a meeting at Byberry Hall that protested the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act.
Prominent Philadelphia abolitionist Robert Purvis (1810–1898). | Photo courtesy of Boston Public Library
Another program will honor the Byberry Library Company, which was established by the meeting in 1794. Like the Library Company of Philadelphia, it was supported by subscriptions from its members including Robert Purvis. On November 15, visitors to the meeting will learn what Purvis was reading. “We have the circulation records, so we know which books he checked out,” McCarthy explained. “We’ve found most of them for this program, so people will be able to hold the actual books he held and read.”
Future aims for the Poquessing Trail of History project include an ongoing roster of programming and investigating the possibility of extending the trail to the Delaware River at Glen Foerd.
Wonderful article! I was walking along the Poquessing yesterday (Jack McCarthy our guide for part of the way) as Day 3 of Walk Around Philadelphia. Exciting to see this part of Philadelphia come to life.