Samuel V. Merrick

Samuel V. Merrick is a Pennsylvania historical marker in Philadelphia County, dedicated 2025.

430 Washington Avenue

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Industrialist, engineer, and cofounder of the Franklin Institute for the Mechanical Arts, 1825, Merrick pioneered the use of illuminating (coal) gas for street lighting through the Philadelphia Gas Works, c. 1835. His Southwark Iron Foundry, which operated near here, manufactured steam engines, turbines, and other ship machinery, particularly for the Union during the Civil War. He was the first president of the Pa. Railroad, 1847.

TodayHistorical map

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David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1823 · Delaware. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1826 · Philadelphia And Adjacent Country (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1836 · Philadelphia. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1842 · Philadelphia and Environs (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

Philadelphia And Adjacent Country, 1826, covering the location of Samuel V. Merrick, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — Philadelphia And Adjacent Country, 1826, 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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