Map of Skippack CDP

Skippack (Pennsylvania German: Schippach) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Skippack Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,758 at the 2010 census.

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Skippack location map. Where is Skippack CDP?

History

In 1683, thirteen families from the lower Rhine River arrived at Philadelphia aboard the Concord, on October 6 of that year. These families were primarily linen weavers, but also knew how to farm. These first German immigrants left their homeland of Germany because of persecution they experienced as religious Anabaptist Mennonite and Quakers from the Catholic, Lutheran and Reformed Churches. Upon arriving at Philadelphia, the families were greeted by the representative of the Frankfort Land Company, a highly educated German lawyer, Franz Daniel Pastorius, who charged with the authority to make land transactions with the thirteen families. After inspecting different areas of the vicinity of Philadelphia, the families settled on the land that was to become the villages of Germantown, Summerhousen, Crefeld, and Germantownship.

Within approximately twenty years Anabaptist German farmers in the Electorate of the Palatinate began to immigrate to Philadelphia in such numbers that Benjamin Franklin wrote an editorial fearing that Pennsylvania would soon become a majority German-speaking colony. As the Germantown area became more densely settled, there was a departure of some of the original families of Germantown to an area twenty miles west of Philadelphia further up the Schuylkill, purchasing land from the father in-law of Herman op den Graefe, (an original settler of Germantown) who had earlier purchased approximately seven thousand acres. These German Mennonites brought the linen making business to the community, along with their farming skills. They settled on farms in the vicinity of Perkiomen Creek and Skippack Creek, up to a point where travel by boat became impossible because of shallow water. This point is where Skippack Creek crosses Skippack Pike in Skippack Township. The origin of the name “Skippack” came from early German settlers, they originally spelled it Schippach, named after a town of the same name in Bavaria.

Skippack Township was originally named “Van Bebber’s Township” after Matthias van Bebber, to whom the original land patent was issued in 1702 by William Penn. The name later changed to “Skippack and Perkiomen Township” until the township was split into two townships. Skippack Township is home to one of the oldest homes still standing in the area, the Indenhofen (De Haven) Farmstead, built in circa 1720. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, as the Warren Z. Cole House. Originally, the Indenhofen Farm consisted of 440 acres (1.8 km).

In 1795, Jacob Reiff bought a property at Store Road and Skippack Pike and opened a general merchandise store.Skippack Historical Society, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania In 1800, the store was sold to Jacob Sorver, who ran it until 1854. A post office was established in 1827 with weekly mail delivery by the Kutztown stagecoach.

The Souderton, Skippack & Fairview Electric Railway Co. was formed in 1901 to provide trolley service from Norristown, through Trooper and Worcester to Souderton. Trolley service to Skippack began in 1908. Harleysville was reached in 1912; the line to Souderton was never completed. The railway was renamed the Montgomery County Rapid Transit Company and later the Montgomery Transit Company. In 1923, its name was changed once again to the Skippack & Perkiomen Transit Company. The “Wogglebug” trolleys ran on the south shoulder of Skippack Pike through the village (a sidewalk was on the north side). Buses replaced the trolleys in 1925. In 1940 the bus service ended.

Skippack Road Map

Skippack city Satellite Map

Geography

Skippack is located at 40°13′37″N 75°23′56″W / 40.22694°N 75.39889°W / 40.22694; -75.39889 (40.227014, -75.398889).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 2.6 square miles (6.7 km), of which 2.5 square miles (6.5 km) is land and 0.39% is water.

Skippack is a historic shopping village which lies within the boundaries of Skippack Township. Once termed Skippackville, the village served residents of Skippack with a post office, fire house, printing house, shirt factory, furniture maker, blacksmith, liquor store, a hat store and several inns including the Valley House now called “Justin’s Carriage House”. The village has recently seen an influx of unique restaurants and boutiques.

Creamery Village is located within Skippack Township and is partially within the CDP of Skippack. Creamery has its own post office for residents in the adjoining area. The original general store is still standing but today functions as one of the many “antique” dealers in Montgomery County. (The store was torn down in the spring of 2015 due to a fire in the winter of 2013)

See also