"Fitzwatertown is situated in the southern part of the township, on the Limekiln turnpike, in the midst of the fertile valley of Sandy Run, abounding in limestone and iron-ore. This is an old settlement where Thomas Fitzpatrick followed lime-burning before the summer of 1705 and had a grist-mill erected at an early period. It contains a store hotel, wheelwright and blacksmith shop, grist-mill and about twelve house The post office was established here before 1858. The value of lime produced in Upper Dublin for 1840 was stated to be twenty thousand two hundred and seventy-five dollars, which was all produced in this vicinity, but the business has since been greatly increased through railroad facilities. Edge Hill Station, of the North Pennsylvania Railroad, is only a mile distant; yet, with all its surpassing advantages, as may be observed, has made but very little progress for the last half-century. The grist-mill mentioned was long carried on by John Price and is now, owned by Samuel Conard. Sandy Run is a steady stream rising at the Moreland line, about three miles distant." [1]
It is known that Thomas Fitzwater owned real estate and carried on lime-burning at the present village of Fitzwatertown before June, 1705, when he had sent in a petition for a road from his kilns to Pennypack Mills; but it was not attended to until 1725. His father, Thomas Fitzwater, with sons, Thomas and George, came from Middlesex, England, and arrived in the ship "Welcome," with William Penn, in November 1682. His wife, Mary, and children, Josiah and Mary, died on the passage. He originally settled in Bucks County, which he represented in the Assembly in 1683. He afterwards removed to Philadelphia, and was again in the Assembly in 1690. He was a preacher among Friends, and died October 6, 1699. In the assessment of Upper Dublin in 1776, John Fitzwater is rated for three hundred acres of land and a grist-mill. Mathew and John Fitzwater, probably sons, are mentioned thereon. John Fitzwater, a descendant of this family and an extensive lime-burner and real estate owner, died at Fitzwatertown, May 13, 1857, in his eighty-fourth year, and was buried in the family burying-ground nearby. He was owner of a portion of the Emlin estate, on which is the large mansion used by Washington as his headquarters, while the army lay in the vicinity of Whitemarsh. Fitzwater as a surname has now become extinct in Upper Dublin." [1]
Nearby Neighborhoods
Street Names
Fitzwatertown Road • Limekiln Pike • Route 152