When was germantown founded

During the twentieth century, the community derived its strength through involvement of citizens, as evidenced in the churches, garden clubs and civic organizations. The Poplar Pike Improvement Association and the Germantown Civic Club played vital roles in the physical and social development of the community. In the last half of the century, the population grew from about to more than 40, Over several decades, elected and civic leadership, with support of citizens, worked proactively to control suburban growth through development regulations, aesthetic controls and strategic planning efforts.

The result is a premier residential environment with high quality City services that make Germantown an attractive, healthy, safe and wholesome place to live, work, worship and play.

For information about living in Germantown today, check out Life and Stories. Historical Sites Old Germantown The city's earliest settlers chose high ground and clustered around the railroad depot at Germantown Road. Built in to replace the original structure built prior to , the depot is now home to the Germantown Train Museum.

Many institutions in Germantown have important histories. Church histories alone account for hundreds of community histories that profile the tapestry of diverse communities, from founding groups like Mennonites to newer, growing congregations in the Muslim community.

Schools have also reflected the ways the neighborhood responded to newcomers. A research study of Germantown High School indicates its evolution over the course of the twentieth century reflected the demographic shifts, specifically charting neighborhood and ethnic backgrounds of students throughout the century.

The recently closed YWCA, long a leading institution since its inception in , has sparked research into its influence, particularly efforts to foster inter-racial programs for young people and to coordinate efforts between its white and black branches.

This event, a forerunner of Black History Month, brought artistic and cultural leaders from the African American community to Germantown at a time of great racial volatility due to a large presence of the Ku Klux Klan. Cliveden is the largest house museum in Historic Germantown. Built by the Chew family in , Cliveden opened to the public in and has been interpreted for its role in the battle, along with its treasured colonial furnishings and decorative arts.

Research indicates active agency and manipulation of the system, as well as escapes, by enslaved people as early as the s and s, much earlier than most Underground Railroad accounts. The consortium of Historic Germantown Preserved is best understood as a group of educational institutions with historic preservation at their core that continue to move toward a shared history of Germantown—something which has been largely lacking but whose potential is great.

Such collaboration promises not only a more integrated history but also a more efficient and effective use of historical resources. It also serves to promote greater community investment in historic places as agents for community development. Indeed, the stories that continue to be uncovered through research and interpretation speak to audiences that are very different from early in the twentieth century.

These efforts have produced new partnerships and connections that result in audiences very different from ones that visited house museum when they were considered sacred shrines to the past. Historic sites now actively partner with churches, businesses, community development corporations, and even the local police district to produce youth-serving programs, and thereby count not only museum visitors but also the many people served by created education programs in ways that build these sites from the past into the life of the neighborhood present.

David W. Contosta, David. Kazal, Russell A. Princeton: Princeton University Press, Stabile, Susan. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, Wolf, Stephanie Grauman. Young, David W. Dissertation, Ohio State University, Paley Library, Polett Walk, Philadelphia.

It is wonderful to see this online. On what date was it posted? I would like to cite it properly. Thank you for commenting. This essay was posted on December 22, Search our site:. The Shawnees had a settlement nearby as late as The first pioneers arrived in the area in and stayed about six years before most moved on. Germantown was settled in August, , by German-speaking families from Pennsylvania.

They were led by Philip Gunckel, the only original settler who spoke English. He selected the Twin Valley as a site for a grist mill.