Cohocksink Creek
The Cohocksink Creek was formerly a stream running between what are now the Philadelphia neighborhoods of Northern Liberties and Kensington. It was a tributary of the Delaware River. Its name, spelled various ways, is said to come from a Lenape word for "pine lands". Alternate names included Stacey's Creek. The creek arose at the confluence of two smaller streams in a pond around the present-day intersection of Sixth and Thompson streets. For centuries, Cohocksink Creek has often been confused with Cohoquinoque Creek, a culverted stream about a mile to the south. Early settlement and industry The Cohocksink and its marshlands divided the District of Kensington from the city of Philadelphia and its Northern Liberties. The first settlers were Swedish, predating the founding of the colony of Pennsylvania. As early as 1700, area mills and tanneries took advantage of the stream for water power, including one mill built between Fifth and Sixth streets at the direction of William Penn, Pennsylvania's founder. The neighborhoods on either side of the Cohocksink were home to much Philadelphia's early industrial development. During the American Revolution, the Cohocksink was line of defense for the British as they occupied Philadelphia. Planting artillery on the south side, the