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Flat
Rock was the original name given to the section of the Schuylkill River
where rapids churned through the rocks in the section of the river above the
Wissahickon Creek. In 1824, a community meeting of the newly formed town
changed the name to Manayunk, derived from the Lenape Indian word
"manaiung" meaning "where we go to drink."
The availability of water with the completion of the Manayunk Canal
drew people to the area. Water was the reason for the development of the
Manayunk section of the Schuylkill Navigation Company (Schuylkill Canal)
in 1819. The canal made the river passable and at the same time made water
power available. Water power was a new concept in manufacturing, initiating the
industrialization of the United
States. It provided power for the
construction of textile and paper mills and provided a transportation link to
the port of Philadelphia
and inland to the farmlands of Pennsylvania.
By 1820, Manayunk had its first mill, and by 1823 the Schuylkill Canal System
was completed. Manayunk's industrial prowess, combined with its accessibility
to other areas via the canal system, made Manayunk the "Manchester"
of the United States and
helped make Philadelphia
the leading industrial city of the 19th Century.
The real story of Manayunk is the story of the immigrants - the English, Irish,
German, Italian and Polish - who came to this country looking for a better
life. They worked, lived, worshipped and raised families here, with many
becoming mill owners in their own right. Many of their descendants still reside
in Manayunk and take pride in the neighborhood.
The Civil War
secured the future of Manayunk when the mills switched from cotton to wool
textiles and produced blankets for the war. The industries of Manayunk were
always small in scale and diverse in product. This allowed flexibility and the
ability to withstand change. While other industrial neighborhoods died with the
closing of a single company, Manayunk simply paused, adjusted and thrived,
maintaining itself as a strong neighborhood. Today, Manayunk still has remnants
of the textile industry with two mills and a dyeworks as testimony.
 The same entrepreneurial spirit that brought thriving mills and industrious
merchants to Manayunk in the early 1800's still lives on. Today's Manayunk
business person could as easily be a talented professional fleeing from the
corporate world, or a neighborhood veteran whose Main Street address has been in the
family for six generations.
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