Hog Island, Philadelphia
Hog Island | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 39°52′19″N 75°14′28″W / 39.871944°N 75.241111°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Pennsylvania |
County | Delaware |
City | Tinicum Township |
Area code(s) | 215, 267 and 445 |
Hog Island is the historic name of an area southeast of Tinicum Township, Pennsylvania, United States, along the Delaware River, to the west of the mouth of the Schuylkill River. Philadelphia International Airport now sits on the land that was once Hog Island.
History
European settlers purchased Hog Island from the Lenape (Delaware) tribe in 1680. The settlers gradually developed the island by building log and earthwork dikes to minimize storm damage and convert the marshes into good grazing meadows. Hog Island supposedly got its name from the pigs which local residents left to roam free, as no fencing was needed.
In 1917, as part of the World War I effort, the U.S. government contracted American International Shipbuilding Corp. to build ships and a shipyard at Hog Island. At the time, Hog Island was the largest shipyard in the world, with 50 slipways.
In 1918, a 4.5-mile (7.2 km) rail line was built to connect Hog Island with Philadelphia: the 60th Street Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad.[1]
The first ship, named
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers filled in the creek separating Hog Island from the mainland with silt dredged from the shipping channels, making Hog Island part of the mainland.
Air operations began on Hog Island in 1925, when the Pennsylvania
Cultural context
One
See also
References
- ^ Netzlof, Robert T. (7 March 2001). "Corporate Genealogy Philadelphia, Baltimore & Washington". Robert T. Netzlof. Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
- ^ Worcester, Kimball (7 February 2015). "The Great War's Largest Shipyard: Hog Island, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania". roadstothegreatwar-ww1.blogspot.com. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
- ^ Kardas, S.; Larrabee, E. "Hog Island Cranes". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
- ^ "Machinery Markets and News of the Works". The Iron Age. 107 (17): 1151. April 28, 1921.
- ^ "Philly Via Italy", thirtyfourthstreetmagazine, April 17, 2007, page 9.
External links
- List of ships built by the Hog Island Shipyard
- Controversy about the shipbuilding operation
- Frederick W. Wood papers at Hagley Museum and Library. Wood was vice president of the American International Shipbuilding Corporation and played a major part in the construction and operation of the shipyard at Hog Island.
- "The Saga of Hog Island,1917-1921: The Story of the First Great War Boondoggle", James J. Martin