By 1645 the Swedes had expanded into the northeast section of what was to become the city of Philadelphia. The 1681 Lindstrom map (above left) shows the principal landowners in the territory just south of the Frankford Creek as well as a marshy point of land along the river. The area and its taverns are shown in the 1750 Scull and Heap map. (above right). A more detailed view of the area can be seen in the Dripps Map of 1849 (right) which clearly shows the village bounded by waterways on three sides well as the marshy point that is labeled as 'Point No Point.'

All maps show the concentration of lots and buildings nestled between the Delaware River to the southeast and the bend in the Frankford Creek that bends around the village to the north and west. Here, landowners have access to the waterpower from the creek and transport along the river.

The main road to the village ran in a northeasterly direction from the city of Philadelphia along a road called either "Old Point Road," "Point Road," and "Queen’s Road*" (Holmes, 14). The road came to be known as’ Richmond Street’ in the 1800's.

*The name 'Queens Road' was appropriate for this shorter road which paralleled the King's Road to the west. King's road came to be known as Bristol Pike, the road that leads from Philadelphia to New York.

By 1800 much of this forested land around the Frankford Creek had been cleared and replaced with fields and orchards. Mills sprang up on the shores of the creek and the banks of the Delaware River were cleared so docks could be built. (Waldowski). Regular Steamboat Service was established to the city by 1790. (Freitag & Silcox, 2). In 1795 Joseph Kirkbride inaugurated a ferry service across the Frankford Creek. Kirkbride later replaced the ferry with a bridge in 1811. The crossings fostered inland travel along the waterfront and businesses in the village. Early maps show a number of hotels, inns and taverns clustered around the bridge and near the steamboat dock.

Idyllic views of the waterfront, like the one painted in 1847 by August Kollner (left) were vanishing by the time Kollner took up his brush. By 1842 Bridesburg’s status as an industrial area was established when Charles and Fred Lennig purchased 27 acres of land at the Junction of the Frankford Creek and Delaware River in order to relocate their chemical works established in Richmond to the south (The Bridesburg Story). The town's location along the creek and the river assured the Lennigs of plenty of water for processing and a transportation route for shipping their wares.

In 1848 the village of Bridesburg was incorporated as a borough bounded by the Frankford Creek, the Delaware River and the "land belonging to Mr. Reynolds." Landmarks along the village's Delaware River shore such as mansions, steeples and smokestacks marked the town as a stop for ferries and ships as shown in the print below. Along the Frankford Creek, about 30 mills and factories lined the banks of the lower creek and its tributaries using the water as a source of power, water and drainage in support of the area's growing industry.