Welcome to Manayunk

Welcome to Manayunk. Schuylkill River National and State Heritage Area. , Discovery of Manayunk , The village of Manayunk emerged from the quiet banks of the Schuylkill River, seven miles northwest of the port of Philadelphia, to produce textiles and other goods during the Industrial Revolution. By 1828, following completion of the Schuylkill Navigation Company's Flat Rock Dam and canal at Manayunk, ten mills crowded Venice Island to take advantage of the dam's water power. Five of the mills produced textiles and the others ground drugs and flour, rolled iron, cut nails, sawed wood, or made hats., Miles of Mills , With the advent of steam power, the need for the canal's power declined as mills expanded into Manayunk's hills. After the Civil War, the village teemed with four- and five-story textile and paper mills. Many women, children, and men worked long hours and suffered horrific working conditions that later improved through the creation of child labor laws and the use of labor strikes., Manayunk's mills continued to be significant in America's textile production until their closure brought on by the 1930s Great Depression. Buildings flanking the canal largely disappeared by 1970. Nevertheless, some of the remaining mills continue the village's industrial traditions and produce textiles, industrial lubricants, and paper., [Caption:] , The "S" Bridge, shown in this early 1900s photograph, was named for its shape. Built to carry train traffic over the Schuylkill river into Manayunk, it was replaced by the concrete arch bridge shown below. Note the mill buildings along the river.