On Sunday, I went on a early run in the park and found the history of the land to be quite interesting. In the park there are two statues that pay tribute to the Leni Lenape tribe of Native Americans and also early Quaker settlers on the land. In 1868, the Fairmount Park Commission bought 1,800 acres of the Wissahickon Valley to help preserve the purity of the city’s water supply as they demolished mills and taverns in the area. In 1920, a road that ran along side the creek was closed to traffic and is now called the Forbidden Drive (the path I ran on). In the park you can see a variety of species ranging from owls, woodpeckers, nuthatches, blue jays, Carolina wrens, cardinals, and many more.
source: https://www.fow.org
ADDC 402 Fall 2019 