The Ferry Landing

The Ferry Landing. . , Jonas Morton probably started the Darby Creek Ferry in 1759, he petitioned the county to be allowed to keep a tavern at the ferry. A tavern was a great convenience to travelers, offering food and drink and a place to slay in unfavorable weather or too much ice made an immediate crossing impossible. But a tavern was also a lively gathering place for local residents, serving as a bar, clubhouse, newsroom, and entertainment hall., The ferry was probably a simple rope ferry, powered only by the current of the water. A rope was stretched across the stream. The ferry was fastened to the rope from the front and back so it could slip along the rope as it was crossing back and forth. To cross in one direction, the ferryman shortened the [unreadable] of the ferry, turning the ferry at an angle so the current would push against it and propel it to the other side. It was kept from floating downstream by the rope across the creek. To return, the ferryman would shorten the line at the opposite end of the ferry, changing the angle so the current would push it back across the creek., Who used the ferry? Of course we have no passenger lists. But records show that cattle dealers ferried livestock across Darby while on their way to market. Island residents likely crossed by ferry to conduct business on the mainland. Worshipers attending the Swedish Lutheran service on Tinicum Island may have been passengers.,

When?. Before 1638: Indians , 1638 - 1655: New Sweden , 1655 - 1664: Dutch dominion , 1664 - 1681: English rule , 1681 - 1784: Pennsylvania colony , 1784 - 1870: Americans , 1870 - 1935: Suburban development , 1935 - 1937: Building restoration , 1937 - present: Historic park