Was this land always Norwood? Long before the streets bustled with life as we know it, the Norwood area belonged to the Lenape. Imagine them moving through the land, their lives intertwined with the rhythm of the seasons. Then, in the 1650s, a Swedish immigrant named Morton Mortonson arrived. He received a grant of over 650 acres and built his homestead, later known as Prospect Park. His legacy lived on through generations. In 1734, his granddaughter Katherine Grantham inherited 128 acres, the very land that would become Norwood. The borough we know today though, takes its name not from early settlers, but from a novel. Published in 1867, “Norwood,” by Henry Ward Beecher, so captivated John Cochran, who laid out the town lots that he named the community in its honor. Officially incorporated in 1893, Norwood holds the echoes of both Lenape footsteps and literary inspiration within its boundaries.
Zion Baptist Church
Founded in 1882 Zion Baptist Church stands proudly in Philadelphia. It’s a testament to faith resilience and community. This wasn’t