Editing Lenape Trails (section)

== Germantown Avenue ==

Germantown Avenue, another of Philadelphia's great diagonal streets, follows what is believed to have been a major Lenape trail connecting the Delaware River to the interior. This trail would have provided access to the hunting grounds of the Wissahickon Valley and the lands beyond. When German settlers founded [[Germantown]] in 1683, they established their community along this existing route, and the road that developed became known as the Great Road or Germantown Road. The street runs from Front Street near the Delaware River through Northern Liberties, North Philadelphia, and into Germantown, Chestnut Hill, and beyond.<ref name="keyser">{{cite book |last=Keyser |first=Naaman H. |title=History of Old Germantown |year=1907 |publisher=Horace F. McCann |location=Germantown, PA}}</ref>

The colonial-era Germantown Road was one of the most important highways in early Pennsylvania, connecting Philadelphia to the productive agricultural communities of the interior. It served as the main route of the Continental Army during the [[Battle of Germantown]] in 1777 and remained a vital commercial artery through the 19th and 20th centuries. Today, Germantown Avenue retains much of its historic character, particularly in the [[Chestnut Hill]] section, where colonial and 19th-century buildings line the street. The avenue's length—stretching over 17 miles from the Delaware River to the city's northwestern boundary—testifies to the importance of the underlying indigenous route.<ref name="wallace"/>