{"id":8636,"date":"2015-03-06T10:29:08","date_gmt":"2015-03-06T15:29:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phillyhistory.wpengine.com\/?p=8636"},"modified":"2015-03-10T09:49:34","modified_gmt":"2015-03-10T13:49:34","slug":"cohocksink-the-northern-liberties-cover-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/2015\/03\/cohocksink-the-northern-liberties-cover-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Cohocksink: The Northern Liberties Cover-Up"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Break<\/a>
Break in Cohocksink Sewer \u2013 Germantown Avenue above 2nd Street, May 29, 1894. (PhillyHistory.org)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With an investment of $100,000\u2014the equivalent of millions in today\u2019s dollars\u2014City Fathers assured Philadelphians that the \u201cnoisome\u201d Cohocksink, the creek that drained much of North Philadelphia, had finally been contained. No longer would its \u201cfetid and polluted waters\u201d meander in plain sight, sluggishly making their way to the Delaware. It was 1871, and this country-creek-turned-urban-sewer would forever be \u201cclosed from view\u2026shut off from further sight and further mischief.\u201d City life could continue, unimpeded, above.<\/p>\n

Or so they thought.<\/p>\n

In spite of the best of intentions, this \u201cwork of magnitude and importance”\u00a0\u00a0<\/i>would <\/i>not<\/em> tame the Cohocksink. With runoff from the expanding grid of North-Central Philadelphia, this underground “solution” gained power as it flowed to the Delaware. By the time its \u201cfetid and polluted\u201d waters got to Northern Liberties<\/a>, the Cohocksink could become much<\/i> more mischievous, especially when swollen with storm water.<\/p>\n

Time and time again, the Cohocksink dramatically carried away bits and pieces of the city. In November 1888, the horses and delivery wagon of wholesale grocer Henry Graham were saved only by tremendous efforts on the part of driver and a handful of pedestrians, who managed to pull a half-swallowed horse onto solid ground at Germantown Avenue near 2nd<\/sup> Street.<\/p>\n

Before workmen could repair that<\/em> gaping hole, another storm opened it up even more just as a horse-drawn streetcar passed over. The driver, \u201crealizing their peril” as \u201cthe ground was rumbling and sinking,” lashed his horses into a gallop, and\u2026got onto firm ground” before “the earth beneath the tracks gave way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Engineer Frank Seaville, slipped into the \u201cyawning chasm.\u201d If not for the efforts of fellow workmen, Seaville would have \u201cfallen into the malodorous and swift rushing waters\u201d to certain death. William F. Keppler wasn\u2019t so lucky. When another storm caused a collapse over the Cohocksink, Keppler was swept away<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The gorge at Second Street soon extended \u201cfrom curb to curb,\u201d compromising homes and ruining businesses. Clothier P. Ostheim & Sons lost their Christmas trade. Store-keepers along nearby Girard Avenue: a baker, a butcher, a tobacconist and a pair of saloon keepers lost goods and customers. Rising waters extinguished cellar furnaces as far away as 4th and Girard.<\/p>\n

Sinkholes opened<\/a> in nearby streets with increasing frequency. “A mighty stream of water poured through the Cohocksink sewer last night,\u201d reported the Inquirer<\/i> in January 1889, \u201cand near the big break at Germantown and Second Street masses of earth and masonry were heard giving way as the torrent swept toward the river.\u201d That rainy summer the Inquirer<\/i> reported yet \u201cAnother Big Cave In.\u201d The waters \u201ccarried away sidewalks, and threatened to undermine houses.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frustrated residents above the Cohocksink pleaded with City Council \u201cto take immediate measures to prevent further breaks.\u201d Repairs would take years.<\/p>\n

As work continued, so did the storms. In September 1894, a nighttime deluge led to another, familiar \u201cdeep rumbling\u201d heard throughout Northern Liberties. Everyone knew what happened: the Cohocksink claimed yet another chunk of the city.<\/p>\n

(Sources in The<\/i> Inquirer<\/i>: \u201cMunicipal Improvements,\u201d January 4, 1871; \u201cWork of the Storm,\u201d November 12, 1888; \u201cLike a Yawning Chasm,\u201d December 18, 1888; \u201cAnother Break in the Cohocksink Sewer,\u201d January 10, 1889; \u201dSnow, Rain and Slush,\u201d January 21, 1889; \u201cCohocksink Sewer Again,\u201d March 22, 1889; \u201cAnother Big Cave-In,\u201d July 31, 1889; \u201cCohocksink Sewer,\u201d May 23, 1894; \u201cCity Deluged By Heavy Rain,\u201d September 9, 1894; \u201cThe Earth Dropped,\u201d July 29, 1899.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With an investment of $100,000\u2014the equivalent of millions in today\u2019s dollars\u2014City Fathers assured Philadelphians that the \u201cnoisome\u201d Cohocksink, the creek that drained much of North Philadelphia, had finally been contained. No longer would its \u201cfetid and polluted waters\u201d meander in plain sight, sluggishly making their way to the Delaware. It was 1871, and this country-creek-turned-urban-sewer […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8636"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8636\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}