Poquessing Creek Park

The Poquessing watershed, which covers an area of 21.5 square miles, drains the land between the Neshaminy Creek and the Pennypack Creek, and empties into the Delaware River at Glen Foerd.  The land which is now Poquessing Creek Park was originally inhabited by members of the Lenni-Lenape Indians.  The area was first settled in 1675 by the Walton Brothers.  In 1680, the Poquessing was included in the land grant from King Charles II to William Penn, who first arrived in the area in 1682.  The mouth of the Poquessing Creek was first proposed as the site for Penn’s Philadelphia and for many years was known as “Old Philadelphia”.  Sections of Poquessing Creek Park were assembled by the Fairmount Park Commission in the 1970’s when the city converted its prison farm into an industrial park.  Despite the area’s rich history and ecological importance as an urban green space, Poquessing is the least discovered of Philadelphia’s parks.