Tag: joe menkevich

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African American Burial Ground at Benjamin Rush State Park

African American Burial Ground in Northeast Philadelphia 

February 18, 2013

Digital Report by Joseph J. Menkevich

Introduction

As a member of the research committee of the Historical Society of Frankford and as an independent researcher, I felt a moral obligation to personally contact a number of the area’s AME & Baptist Churches and inform them of this Historical Cemetery. Many members of the Black Community thanked me, as most had never heard about it before.

On the outskirts of Benjamin Rush State Park there is a small plot of ground that once belonged to the Byberry Preparative Meeting (Society of Friends).

In 1780, the Byberry Meeting established a cemetery for Free-Blacks & former Slaves. After 200 years of custodianship, & for reasons still unknown, the Byberry Friends sold the African American Cemetery to the City of Philadelphia.

Today – as Benjamin Rush State Park undergoes it’s final stages of development, the “[African Amerian] Historic Burial Ground Not To Be Disturbed” appears to be safely inside the Plan of the Park, however that may not be the case. It is presently unknown if the City still retains ownership or not.

Presently (no matter who “owns” it), there is no clarity on the fate of this cemetery and thus-far, there has not yet been any State or City Official speak on it’s inclusion to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places or for a ceremony & installation an Historical Marker.

On Thursday, January 27, 2013 – I met with State Park Manager Eric Ihlein at Benjamin Rush State Park and did we did a walk around the general area of African American Cemetery site.

Eric Ihlein explained many of the construction plans.  What I understood from the conversation is that the Park has funding & a budget, but the African Cemetery is not included in that budget. The plan for now seems to be an ongoing study by several “historical groups.” Here are my findings:

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Frankford Chronicles – Agent Lydia Darragh – Intelligence Operative

It is a privilege to present today, a new work of historic research by Joe Menkevich.  Lydia Darragh is a fascinating subject in Frankford history although she did not live here.  I won’t go into her history since Joe has done the research and you should read it from his narrative.  Whenever we have posted any reference to Lydia Darragh in the past, it has received a large number if hits from the search engines. This new work from Joe, adds to the Darragh story by providing links to other historical documents that support the story.

So picture the period in December of 1777 when Philadelphia was occupied by the British army and the Continental army was camped out at Whitemarsh. Joe’s account brings it all to life. Read it here.

 

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Rare Duffield Surveyors Compass Rediscovered at the Historical Society of Frankford

Tuesday night at the first 2012 meeting of the Historical Society of Frankford, Torben Jenk and Joe Menkevich were taking advantage of the behind the scenes tour of the building to look into the corners.  In the process, a rare 18th century Duffield Compass caught their eye.  This instrument is over 200 years old.  It has been in the collection for a long time but it takes an expert eye to see the significance of an item of that kind.  There may be a program in the fall to discuss the significance of that find.

In other news from the meeting, Jim Young, President of the Society laid out plans for further improvements to the building this year made possible by a grant.  This will include finishing up exterior gutter replacements, interior painting and upgrades to the rest room on the lower level. Young says this year the budget is balanced.

There are additions to the board which were voted on and approved at the meeting. Several new volunteers have come into the group this year who will lend valuable expertise in several areas that heretofore have been lacking.

The next meeting of the Historical Society of Frankford will be on Tuesday April 10th with a presentation by Allen Hornblum on K & A’s SECOND STORY MEN.  Allen is a great storyteller.  You won’t want to miss seeing him.

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Northwood Civic Meeting 2/21/2012

Ian Litwin - Community Planner

Frankford in 2035 was on the agenda at the Northwood Civic meeting on Tuesday with a presentation made by Ian Litwin, a community planner with the Philadelphia City Planning Commission.  Litwin explained that the lower northeast planning district will now be the focus of the planning process for Philadelphia2035.  That process will begin with a meeting at Friends Hospital on April 3rd at 6PM.  Subsequent meetings will result in a draft plan for the district in the Fall.

During each district plan, a Steering Committee will help guide the plan, facilitate information flow and review outreach efforts.  Chaired by Philadelphia City Planning Commission’s Project Manager, a Steering Committee is comprised of leaders of neighborhood groups, business groups, and institutions such as colleges or hospitals.  Steering Committees will meet on a monthly basis during a district plan.

Three public meetings in total will take place during each district plan.  Public meetings are designed to be available to all citizens in a district.  Advertised through community organizations, flyers, direct mailings and internet postings, the public meetings will update residents on the progress of the plan and seek public input.

The opportunity to have a voice in a plan that will ultimately shape the neighborhood of the future does not often come along.

In other news from the meeting, Joe Krause gave a brief treasurer’s report and announced that Renee Hudson will be acting Treasurer until at least next month.  Some records need to be sorted out and then a report for the last two years can be made public.

Joe Krause Presdent of Northwood Civic

Committees are still being formed and volunteers are needed.  Come to the civic meeting to get involved.

The illegal parking problem on Bridge Street discussed at the last meeting seems to have been resolved but members should continue to keep an eye on the situation.

Joe has made contact with the Frankford Civic to offer to work together toward common goals.

Joe Menkevich was recognized to talk about the Burk Deed restriction and offered copies of the relevant documents.  They are linked on our history page where you can download the pdf files for viewing.

One person attending was recognized and raised the issue of the poor condition of Greenwood Cemetery.  Significant improvements were made to the cemetery over the last two years but in the back over along the Castor Avenue side, it is still overgrown and people are going in there at night.  This is a link to a slide show we did in the fall that shows some of those conditions at that time.

Another resident complained about the new Northwood Academy Charter School building on Castor Avenue.  He said it looks much larger than was originally planned and looms over the neighborhood.  There are traffic concerns too in that there is no safe place for students to be picked up and discharged from the buses.  Joe Menkevich noted the presence of a vacant lot at 4601-19 Adams Avenue that might be utilized for a bus loading area.  State Rep. Tony Payton offered to pass along this information to Northwood Academy.  Joe Krause said he had a meeting scheduled with them and would bring the issue up at that time also.

Attending the meeting were our two State Representatives, John Taylor and Tony Payton.  They both spoke briefly about what is going on at the capitol and the problems of being in the legislature in this period of financial crisis.

The next meeting of the Northwood Civic Association will be on March 20th at 7PM at St. James Lutheran Church at Pratt Street and Castor Avenue.