Holmesburg is located on Pennypack Creek,  ten miles up the  Delaware River from Center City Philadelphia, about one mile inland from the Delaware.  It is among the oldest neighborhoods in Northeast Philadelphia with a history dating back to the late 17th century when a prominent grist mill, its attendant dam and mill race, and the King's Highway Bridge - the oldest bridge in continuous use on a major highway in the Americas - were collectively built on Pennypack Creek, circa 1697.  The shallow fall line of the ancient creek here on the edge of the continental shelf had long been identified as a crossing point by the Lenape (Delaware) Indians on their trail to and from their northern hunting grounds. With tidal access to the Delaware River, the location was quickly recognized by European settlers as an ideal situation for water powered mills and river commerce.

Today, Holmesburg takes pride in the natural beauty of its surroundings and in the diversity of its family oriented urban-village population and in its continued presence as a center of business and civic consciousness in greater Northeast Philadelphia.

     Pennypack Grist Mill - circa 1830