Our story
Historic Palmer Cemetery started as a small patch of land that sat along Lemon Street, now Memphis Street. This spot was set aside as a "Free Burial Ground for the New Town of Kensington." Capt. Anthony Palmer, a local merchant, came to the area in about 1700 by way of Barbadoes. Palmer purchased less than 200 acres of land along the banks of the Delaware River, north of the city of Philadelphia. This purchase took place around 1732, and almost immediately Anthony Palmer began to layout the town that would originally be named Kensington, after the area of London where he was born. Today we know this same area as Fishtown.
It all began as a small fishing and ship building town. The prime area was along the river front, between what is now Frankford Avenue and extending north to about what is now Norris Street. Several ship builders rented or bought these lots and opened up their businesses. Smaller residential lots were sold or rented to the new residents, most of whom worked along or on the river. The exact area of the original town of Kensington would be defined by these boundaries: the Delaware River on the east, The Frankford Road on the south, Northwest to about what is now Norris Street and back to the river.
Our history:
From the very beginning, the town of Kensington, now Fishtown was a working class, blue collar community. From the shipbuilders and fishermen who settled close to the banks of the Delaware River and to all who lived just a little inland, the small town offered all that was needed to thrive. There were glass works and cloth mills, shipyards and rope walks. Small farms were close by. Philadelphia was just a short trip down the river from Shackamaxon to Market Street.
Anthony Palmer, the founder of Kensington, while living on his estate at what we now call Penn Treaty Park, would travel by barge or small vessel to his post as acting Governor in 1747 and 1748.
Palmer came to America by way of Barbados in about 1700. He had previously traveled here many times transporting goods such as sugar from the Caribbean.