A Square for Port Richmond

A Square for Port Richmond. . , In the mid-1800s, the area now called Port Richmond was developed from farmland into a densely-built neighborhood. Thousands of new immigrants were attracted by jobs at the port, shipyards, and in nearby factories. Rowhouses, shops, churches and schools quickly filled available land. Built little space was set aside for parks and playgrounds., In March of 1894, councilman Wilbur F. Short introduced a bill to establish a public square at this site. This was part of an effort to create public space in the rapidly developing city of Philadelphia. By 1897 the paving and curbing were completed on a new 2.25 acre park. Originally named Allegheny Square, the park was renamed for William F. Campbell, a former registrar of wills, in 1959., Why Port Richmond? , Much of what is now Port Richmond was assembled by Anthony Palmer, a native of Barbados, beginning in 1704. In 1729 Palmer sold his 676-acre "Hope Farm" to William Ball. Ball built a mansion on the estate, calling it "Richmond Hall," after a suburb of London. This name was later used when the area incorporated as the "Richmond District in 1847., [Captions:] , This 1858 illustration shows Richmond Hall after the surrounding farmland had been sold-off and developed into industrial and port uses. The Reading Coal Wharves were later built on the site., Early 20th-century images of the park (left) and an atlas showing the curvilinear paths in 1910 (above).