Kensington District, Pennsylvania
Palmer, an English merchant by way of Barbados, had come to colonial Pennsylvania about 1704, investing in land while continuing his mercantile business interests.When the local innkeeper Worthington put up the old Fairman Mansion for sale in 1729, Palmer purchased the mansion house and the surrounding 191½ acres and began laying out his town of Kensington, selling lots to a number of shipbuilders in nearby Philadelphia, who were looking to expand or enlarge their businesses.By 1820, Kensington started to acquire men of wealth, who petitioned the state to become a self-governing district within Philadelphia County, as at the time it was a part of the Northern Liberties Township.This was said to have been necessary due to utility and policing reasons (Kensington had been the scene of the start of the Anti-Irish Catholic Riots that occurred in Philadelphia County in May & July 1844).Kensington was the place where a number of notable industries were founded such as William Cramp Shipyard, John B. Stetson Hat Company, Schoenhut Toy Factory, Bromley Mills, and Disston’s Keystone Saw Works, amongst numerous other businesses.