Schoomac Park - an amazing lost landmark

**bungee** · 02-23-2012, 08:57 PM

Shoomac Park was an amazing old home and later inn that existed into the early 1960's along with an associated stone building. Its address is given as Ridge Avenue and Wissahickon Pike (or Drive). This was the name not long ago of Lincoln Drive as it runs along the Wissahickon. I grew up knowing it it as Wissahickon Drive. And I have a very early memory of this house which is roughly where the late 20th century ramps on to and off of City Line and Lincoln Drive are now. They obliterated a very old and historic entrance to the Wissahickon Valley. The house was recognized as so significant that it was photographed inside and out and measured drawings were done of it by none other than Margaret Tinkcom whose book on Germantown is an invaluable concentration of documentation of Gtown and Gtown avenue's colonial survivals from Wayne Junction to Chestnut Hill mid-20th century

2. Historic American Buildings Survey, George A. Eisenman, Photographer April, 1961 SOUTHWEST (FRONT) AND SOUTHEAST ELEVATIONS. - Shoomac Park, Ridge Avenue & Wissahickon Drive, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, PA

Link to full group of images and measured drawings:

Search Results: "shoomac park" - Prints & Photographs Online Catalog (Library of Congress)

**thoth** · 02-24-2012, 01:58 PM

Pretty cool. Shame it's gone. Reminds me of the Cannonball House story. I'll never understand why we let so many of these structures slip away.

**billy ross** · 02-24-2012, 02:06 PM

The foundations of that house were visible until recently. They may be visible still, a little to the left of the bait shop - I'll have to check. That house was taken out in the 1950's(?) to build the interchange that is there now.

I also think you mean "Sumac Park". Around these parts we used to have the Oaks, the Pines, and the Sumacs. Only the Pines are still known by that name today, but the Oaks survives in some form via the Oak Road and Oaks Cloister, and the cool oak symbol of the old Gothic mansion on the Oak Road and also the Memorial Church of the Good Shepherd on the Oak Road. The Sumacs or Sumac Park survives to this day in the name of Sumac Street. Ironically I got Poison Sumac really badly a few years ago along that stretch of the Wissahickon and I got a quick lesson in the history of what exactly a sumac is. Hint - it's not really an ailanthus (Tree of Heaven), even though most people call them Sumacs and think that's what a sumac is. If only I had known then.

**bungee** · 02-24-2012, 03:12 PM

Originally Posted by billy ross

The foundations of that house were visible until recently. They may be visible still, a little to the left of the bait shop - I'll have to check. That house was taken out in the 1950's(?) to build the interchange that is there now.

I also think you mean "Sumac Park". Around these parts we used to have the Oaks, the Pines, and the Sumacs. Only the Pines are still known by that name today, but the Oaks survives in some form via the Oak Road and Oaks Cloister, and the cool oak symbol of the old Gothic mansion on the Oak Road and also the Memorial Church of the Good Shepherd on the Oak Road. The Sumacs or Sumac Park survives to this day in the name of Sumac Street. Ironically I got Poison Sumac really badly a few years ago along that stretch of the Wissahickon and I got a quick lesson in the history of what exactly a sumac is. Hint - it's not really an ailanthus (Tree of Heaven), even though most people call them Sumacs and think that's what a sumac is. If only I had known then.

According to the HABS associated notes it was called Shoomak, but is is derived from Sumac as there was a large grove of Sumacs originallly on the site. I also think it is the same parcel that is referred to as Roxburgh Estate from which Roxborough gets its name. The notes by Margaret Tinkcom which are on the HABS site are really interesting and apparently there are other drawn images of it in files and publications held at HSP.

**billy ross** · 02-24-2012, 03:40 PM

Originally Posted by bungee

According to the HABS associated notes it was called Shoomak, but is is derived from Sumac as there was a large grove of Sumacs originallly on the site. I also think it is the same parcel that is referred to as Roxburgh Estate from which Roxborough gets its name. The notes by Margaret Tinkcom which are on the HABS site are really interesting and apparently there are other drawn images of it in files and publications held at HSP.

I have always understood Sumac Park to be on the other side of the Creek, a little above the Reading Railroad bridge, and the area in question, where the ramp was just removed, to have been called Robeson's Meadow. Sadly with the drainage work that was recently done there's not much of a meadow left, although now the trail through Robeson's Meadow is very visible. I've seen Rocks Burrow spelled as such and I got the impression that the name had more to do with the Hermits than with an estate.

**bungee** · 02-24-2012, 04:03 PM

Originally Posted by billy ross

I have always understood Sumac Park to be on the other side of the Creek, a little above the Reading Railroad bridge, and the area in question, where the ramp was just removed, to have been called Robeson's Meadow. Sadly with the drainage work that was recently done there's not much of a meadow left, although now the trail through Robeson's Meadow is very visible. I've seen Rocks Burrow spelled as such and I got the impression that the name had more to do with the Hermits than with an estate.

I have heard that story too. But apparently it has gone through a number of speliings but was originally the village that the orignal owners of Shoomac Park - the Robeson family - came from. I believe the entymology is outlined by Swinefeld in a posting on Roxborough on the skyscraper website. At least I think I saw it there. I have been reading everything I can find on or related to this house

**bungee** · 02-24-2012, 04:07 PM

Originally Posted by bungee

I have heard that story too. But apparently it has gone through a number of speliings but was originally the village that the orignal owners of Shoomac Park - the Robeson family - came from. I believe the entymology is outlined by Swinefeld in a posting on Roxborough on the skyscraper website. At least I think I saw it there. I have been reading everything I can find on or related to this house

. I could also have read about the name origin in the Tinkcom
Notes

**bungee** · 02-24-2012, 10:10 PM

Originally Posted by bungee

. I could also have read about the name origin in the Tinkcom
Notes

I was wrong. I found the reference to the naming of Roxborough on the following webpage.

http://philanet.com/Philadelphia/1690.html

The text follows:

Roxborough Township 1690 -- Part of Philadelphia's Story and How the Real Estate in this Part of Pennsylvania Came to Be

Roxborough Township 1690
by John Johnstone
This page is dedicated to Margaret Collins, a woman well into her tenth decade of life, who solved a 300-year mystery as to the origin of the name "Roxborough" and it's correlation to the formation of a township in the year 1690. Also, many thanks to Polly Aird; who sent documents to support the information on this page.
During the 1680's, 11 tracts of land in the southwest section of German Township, made up what was soon to become the Roxborough Township we know today.

During the 1680's, most of the people who held early Government offices within Philadelphia, lived close to the Delaware River in Philadelphia or South New Jersey. In 1676, Andrew Robeson, Esquire, his wife Elizabeth and Andrew Jr. came to America on their own merchant ship from Great Britain. Andrew Sr. became Surveyor General for 300,000 acres in South New Jersey and resided in Gloucester, where he was Judge in that County. In 1690, Andrew Sr. moved to Philadelphia and purchased an estate called "Shoomac Park", named for the heavy growth of Sumac trees in the area. The estate was in the easternmost tract of land in what became Roxborough Township. The estate included a gristmill belonging to Joshua Tittery, near the mouth of the Wissahickon Creek, which then became the Robeson Mill. A large house was built on the property near the mill and was named the "Roxburgh Estate". Andrew Sr. became Chief of Justice in Pennsylvania until his death in 1694 and is responsible for making Roxborough a township in 1690.

The Robesons are known to be originally from Kelso, Roxburghshire, Scotland. Roxburgh (pronounced Rocs-burr-ah) was a small region in the southeast of Scotland. It was changed to the region of "The Borders" in 1975; however, the town of Kelso still remains as a historic Scottish village.

In 1690, the majority of Roxborough Township along the Ridge Road was referred to as the "Manatawna", which was comprised of plantations. In 1691, Wigard and Gerhard Levering, and their families moved from Germany to what is now the business district of Roxborough. That area became "Leverington" and retained that name throughout the 18th century. Leverington Cemetery and Leverington Presbyterian Church still remain in that section.

The majority of the Township's residents were German. They referred to the Township in their phonetic spelling as "Rocksburrow", as they would have no knowledge of the Anglo spelling of Roxburgh.

In 1706, Johannes Kelpius, a well-respected German Philosopher and "mystic" residing in the Township, not far from the Robesons, wrote of "foxes burrowing in rocks", hence, a poetic correlation between the phonetic spelling of Roxburgh Township as "Rocksburrow", where foxes burrow, convinced many that the township's origins related to foxes. Kelpius popularized his spelling of the township at the time, but not long after, the spelling was changed to its current Roxborough, which is actually more of an Irish version. Other spellings have also been noted in early writings as Roxbury and Roxboro. The Township could have retained Manatawna or Leverington as it's name, but thanks to the popular writings of Kelpius, the name remained as Roxborough.

So there we have the origins of the Township in it's early years; however, the Robesons remained in Roxborough until the mid-19th Century. The large (and the very first) estate house along the Ridge Road was removed during the construction of the Roosevelt Boulevard, but some of the rocky ruins from the Robeson Mill are present by the bridge on Ridge Road, crossing the Wissahickon. If you drop your W's, and pronounce Roxborough as "rocs-burr-ah", you are pronouncing it as it was meant.

**thoth** · 02-25-2012, 12:13 AM

mind explosion

Originally Posted by bungee

I was wrong. I found the reference to the naming of Roxborough on the following webpage.

Roxborough Township 1690 -- Part of Philadelphia's Story and How the Real Estate in this Part of Pennsylvania Came to Be

The text follows:

Roxborough Township 1690 -- Part of Philadelphia's Story and How the Real Estate in this Part of Pennsylvania Came to Be

Roxborough Township 1690
by John Johnstone
This page is dedicated to Margaret Collins, a woman well into her tenth decade of life, who solved a 300-year mystery as to the origin of the name "Roxborough" and it's correlation to the formation of a township in the year 1690. Also, many thanks to Polly Aird; who sent documents to support the information on this page.
During the 1680's, 11 tracts of land in the southwest section of German Township, made up what was soon to become the Roxborough Township we know today.

During the 1680's, most of the people who held early Government offices within Philadelphia, lived close to the Delaware River in Philadelphia or South New Jersey. In 1676, Andrew Robeson, Esquire, his wife Elizabeth and Andrew Jr. came to America on their own merchant ship from Great Britain. Andrew Sr. became Surveyor General for 300,000 acres in South New Jersey and resided in Gloucester, where he was Judge in that County. In 1690, Andrew Sr. moved to Philadelphia and purchased an estate called "Shoomac Park", named for the heavy growth of Sumac trees in the area. The estate was in the easternmost tract of land in what became Roxborough Township. The estate included a gristmill belonging to Joshua Tittery, near the mouth of the Wissahickon Creek, which then became the Robeson Mill. A large house was built on the property near the mill and was named the "Roxburgh Estate". Andrew Sr. became Chief of Justice in Pennsylvania until his death in 1694 and is responsible for making Roxborough a township in 1690.

The Robesons are known to be originally from Kelso, Roxburghshire, Scotland. Roxburgh (pronounced Rocs-burr-ah) was a small region in the southeast of Scotland. It was changed to the region of "The Borders" in 1975; however, the town of Kelso still remains as a historic Scottish village.

In 1690, the majority of Roxborough Township along the Ridge Road was referred to as the "Manatawna", which was comprised of plantations. In 1691, Wigard and Gerhard Levering, and their families moved from Germany to what is now the business district of Roxborough. That area became "Leverington" and retained that name throughout the 18th century. Leverington Cemetery and Leverington Presbyterian Church still remain in that section.

The majority of the Township's residents were German. They referred to the Township in their phonetic spelling as "Rocksburrow", as they would have no knowledge of the Anglo spelling of Roxburgh.

In 1706, Johannes Kelpius, a well-respected German Philosopher and "mystic" residing in the Township, not far from the Robesons, wrote of "foxes burrowing in rocks", hence, a poetic correlation between the phonetic spelling of Roxburgh Township as "Rocksburrow", where foxes burrow, convinced many that the township's origins related to foxes. Kelpius popularized his spelling of the township at the time, but not long after, the spelling was changed to its current Roxborough, which is actually more of an Irish version. Other spellings have also been noted in early writings as Roxbury and Roxboro. The Township could have retained Manatawna or Leverington as it's name, but thanks to the popular writings of Kelpius, the name remained as Roxborough.

So there we have the origins of the Township in it's early years; however, the Robesons remained in Roxborough until the mid-19th Century. The large (and the very first) estate house along the Ridge Road was removed during the construction of the Roosevelt Boulevard, but some of the rocky ruins from the Robeson Mill are present by the bridge on Ridge Road, crossing the Wissahickon. If you drop your W's, and pronounce Roxborough as "rocs-burr-ah", you are pronouncing it as it was meant.

**CHIOSSO** · 02-25-2012, 03:39 AM

**Juntonian** · 02-27-2012, 01:31 PM

A view of Schoomac Park in better days, taken 9/28/1916:

It can also be seen peeking above the trees in the background of this image, taken 6/13/1890:

It stood just to the right of this image, on the southeast corner of Ridge Avenue and Wissahickon Drive, making for quite the entrance into the Wissahickon gorge:

Another smaller building, from every appearance a more modest dwelling, stood to the south along Ridge, as seen in CHIOSSO's HABS view above and in these pictures:

And near the end:

Looks like it would've been a delightful place to stop for refreshments at this junction between the two largest contiguous sections of Fairmount Park. Properties such as these and the Old Falls Tavern were the final remnants of a bygone era along the Ridge Road near the falls.

**bungee** · 02-27-2012, 02:09 PM

WOW! These photos are amazing. Thank you so much for posting them. Sadly, we not only lost a landmark but as is clear in the photos, we also lost a landscape. The entrance to the Wissahickon was truly beautiful. It must have been an idyllic place. Now its just a cluster of ramps. Thanks again.

**scotchrocks** · 02-27-2012, 02:14 PM

Originally Posted by bungee

tWOW! These photos are amazing. Thank you so much for posting them. Sadly, we not only lost a landmark but as is clear in the photos, we also lost a landscape. The entrance to the Wissahickon was truly beautiful. It must have been an idyllic place. Now its just a cluster of ramps. Thanks again.

Some call that "progress." The name Robert Moses comes to mind.