Kensington District, Pennsylvania
| Kensington District | |
| Former District | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Pennsylvania |
| County | Philadelphia |
| Coordinates | 39°58′51″N 75°07′20″W / 39.98083°N 75.12222°WCoordinates: 39°58′51″N 75°07′20″W / 39.98083°N 75.12222°W |
| Timezone | EST (UTC-5) |
| - summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| Area code | 215 |
 Map of Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania highlighting Kensington District prior to the Act of Consolidation, 1854
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 Location of Kensington District in Pennsylvania
Location of Kensington District in Pennsylvania
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Kensington District, or The Kensington District of the Northern Liberties, was one of the twenty-nine municipalities that formed Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania prior to the enactment of the Act of Consolidation, 1854, when it became incorporated into the newly expanded City of Philadelphia. The district was roughly bound by Lehigh Avenue to the north; Germantown Avenue and 6th Street to the west; Cohocksink Creek to the south; and an L-shaped line formed by Frankford Avenue, Norris Street, and York Street at its northeast. The Delaware River was the eastern boundary. Today the area would include the Philadelphia neighborhoods of Olde Kensington, West Kensington and Fishtown, as well as portions of the neighborhoods of Ludlow, Hartranft, Fairhill, Northern Liberties and the current Kensington. The District of Kensington was a self-governing district between the years 1820 and 1854.
Captain Anthony Palmer originally laid out Kensington as town in the 1730s. Palmer, an English merchant by way of Barbados, had come to colonial Pennsylvania about 1704, invested in land, while continuing his mercantile business interests. He eventually turned to politics and was invited to join the Pennsylvania Council, which he did by 1710. When the local innkeeper Worthington put up the old Fairman Mansion for sale in 1729, Palmer purchased the mansion house and the surrounding 191½ acres and began laying out his town of Kensington, selling lots to a number of shipbuilders in nearby Philadelphia, who were looking to expand, or enlarge their businesses. The town of Kensington started around shipbuilding and Shad fishing industries. (Fishtown was a small section of the original District of Kensington). Kensington was named for the residence of the monarch in England, Kensington Palace. The early street names of Kensington also bore this out as they mimicked the titles of the crown; King Street (now Beach), Queen Street (now Richmond), Prince Street (now Girard Avenue) and Duke Street (now Thompson), etc. Due to his political longevity, Palmer eventually became the acting Governor of Pennsylvania in 1748-49, due to the absence of the governor who went back to England for health reasons. It was during Palmer's brief reign as acting governor that Kensington, for one day, was the working capital of the colony" the Council met there because Palmer, being old and infirm, was not able to travel into Philadelphia.
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