Subjects Law

Newspaper clippings and other historical documents pertaining to the drafting and passage of the laws governing Philadelphia's water supply, including the establishment of reservoirs, the evolution and details of the water treatment process, and various other subjects of litigation.

Buried Treasures No. 1: The Franklin Sugar Refinery

Schuylkill River Harbor Police Report, 1884

William Penn balks at drinking the "mixed drink" offered him: Schuylkill water, mixed with pollution from the upstream sources named. Editorial cartoon by Fred Morgan, Philadelphia Inquirer, April 6, 1899. One of a series of cartoons drawn by Morgan protesting the state of the city's drinking water and trying to encourage the passage of legislation authorizing the construction of a water filtration system.

Half a Century of Clean Water

Goal (jail) in Walnut Street, Philadelphia, 1800

Congress Hall and New Theatre in Chestnut Street, Philadelphia

Library and Surgeon’s Hall in Fifth Street, Philadelphia, 1800

Bank of the United States, in Third Street, Philadelphia

State Sen James P. McNichol, 1905-1916

State Sen. James P. McNichol

Penn's Treaty with the Lenape

Penn’s Treaty with the Indians (Watson’s Annals)