Mom Rinker's Rock
Encyclopedia
Mom Rinker's Rock is a scenic outlook in Fairmount Park
along the Wissahickon Creek
in the city of Philadelphia
, Pennsylvania
, USA. It is located on a ridge on the eastern side of the park just a little north of the Walnut Lane Bridge, close by the statue dedicated to Toleration.
The name of the outlook is derived from legendary stories about an event that supposedly occurred during or after the American Revolutionary War
Battle of Germantown
; the stories tell of American spies taking advantage of the rugged terrain of the Wissahickon valley to retrieve information from an informant named Molly Rinker (nicknamed "Mom Rinker"), who allegedly perched atop a rock overlooking the valley to drop balls of yarn which contained messages about British troop movements during the occupation of Philadelphia. Other stories speak of a witch named Mom Rinkle who had little to do with the Revolutionary War. History allows that the American General John Armstrong, compelled by the rough terrain to abandon a cannon in the valley, did express his contempt for the "horrendous hills of the Wissahickon" over which Mom Rinker's Rock stands today.
Here on May 15, 1847, the evening of a new moon, the American novelist, journalist, playwright, social activist, and labour organizer George Lippard
was married to his frail young wife. Years afterward in 1883, a statue dedicated to Toleration was erected, a marble statue of a man in simple Quaker clothing; the nine-foot eight-inch statue has but the single word “Toleration” carved into its four-foot three-inch base. The statue was created by late 19th century sculptor Herman Kirn, and brought to the site by landowner John Welsh, reported to have purchased the statue at the 1876 Centennial Exposition
in Philadelphia. Welsh, a former Fairmount Park
Commissioner and U.S. Ambassador to Britain, donated his land to the Park prior to his death in 1886.
Fairmount Park
Fairmount Park is the municipal park system of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It consists of 63 parks, with , all overseen by the Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation, successor to the Fairmount Park Commission in 2010.-Fairmount Park proper:...
along the Wissahickon Creek
Wissahickon Creek
Wissahickon Creek is a stream in southeastern Pennsylvania. Rising in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, it runs about 23 miles passing through and dividing Northwest Philadelphia before emptying into the Schuylkill River at Philadelphia...
in the city of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, USA. It is located on a ridge on the eastern side of the park just a little north of the Walnut Lane Bridge, close by the statue dedicated to Toleration.
The name of the outlook is derived from legendary stories about an event that supposedly occurred during or after the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
Battle of Germantown
Battle of Germantown
The Battle of Germantown, a battle in the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War, was fought on October 4, 1777, at Germantown, Pennsylvania between the British army led by Sir William Howe and the American army under George Washington...
; the stories tell of American spies taking advantage of the rugged terrain of the Wissahickon valley to retrieve information from an informant named Molly Rinker (nicknamed "Mom Rinker"), who allegedly perched atop a rock overlooking the valley to drop balls of yarn which contained messages about British troop movements during the occupation of Philadelphia. Other stories speak of a witch named Mom Rinkle who had little to do with the Revolutionary War. History allows that the American General John Armstrong, compelled by the rough terrain to abandon a cannon in the valley, did express his contempt for the "horrendous hills of the Wissahickon" over which Mom Rinker's Rock stands today.
Here on May 15, 1847, the evening of a new moon, the American novelist, journalist, playwright, social activist, and labour organizer George Lippard
George Lippard
George Lippard was a 19th-century American novelist, journalist, playwright, social activist, and labor organizer. Nearly forgotten today, he was one of the most widely-read authors in antebellum America. A friend of Edgar Allan Poe, Lippard advocated a socialist political philosophy and sought...
was married to his frail young wife. Years afterward in 1883, a statue dedicated to Toleration was erected, a marble statue of a man in simple Quaker clothing; the nine-foot eight-inch statue has but the single word “Toleration” carved into its four-foot three-inch base. The statue was created by late 19th century sculptor Herman Kirn, and brought to the site by landowner John Welsh, reported to have purchased the statue at the 1876 Centennial Exposition
Centennial Exposition
The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World's Fair in the United States, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia. It was officially...
in Philadelphia. Welsh, a former Fairmount Park
Fairmount Park
Fairmount Park is the municipal park system of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It consists of 63 parks, with , all overseen by the Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation, successor to the Fairmount Park Commission in 2010.-Fairmount Park proper:...
Commissioner and U.S. Ambassador to Britain, donated his land to the Park prior to his death in 1886.
