Leiper Railway

Leiper Railway is a Pennsylvania historical marker in Nether Providence Twp., Delaware County, dedicated 1955.

Bullens Ln. (SR 2008) & Glen Rd., near S Providence Rd. (PA 320), Nether Providence Twp.

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Built, 1809-10, by Thomas Leiper; surveyed by John Thomson. It was the first railway in Pennsylvania, and the first in America to be surveyed. The railway was used to transport stone from quarries on Crum Creek to the landing on Ridley Creek, a distance of 3/4 mile. It crossed the highway here.

TodayHistorical map

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David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1778 · The course of Delaware River from Philadelphia to Chester, exhibiting the several works… (Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library)
1796 · Delaware. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1807 · Armees Americaine et Britannique en 1776 et 1777 dans le Maryland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1814 · Delaware. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

Armees Americaine et Britannique en 1776 et 1777 dans le Maryland, 1807, covering the location of Leiper Railway, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — Armees Americaine et Britannique en 1776 et 1777 dans le Maryland, 1807, covering this location. David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

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Marker data: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission via data.pa.gov

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