Frankford Creek

Frankford Creek Tookany Creek, Tacony Creek
Tookany Creek in Cheltenham Township
Location of the Creek in Pennsylvania
Location
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
Region	Delaware Valley
District	Montgomery County and Philadelphia County
Municipality	Cheltenham Township and City of Philadelphia
Physical characteristics
Source	Hill Crest
• location	Cheltenham
Mouth	Delaware River
• location	Bridesburg/Port Richmond
• coordinates	39°59′7.5372″N 75°4′15.2394″W / 39.985427000°N 75.070899833°W / 39.985427000; -75.070899833
Basin features
River system	Delaware River

Frankford Creek^[1] is a minor tributary of the Delaware River in southeast Pennsylvania. It derived its name from today's Frankford, Philadelphia neighborhood.

The stream originates as Tookany Creek^{[citation needed]} at Hill Crest in Cheltenham Township and meanders eastward, then southeastward, throughout Cheltenham Township, until a sharp bend near the Philadelphia border at Lawncrest, where the place names Toxony and Tookany were used in historic times; the stream is still known as Tookany Creek in this region, where it flows southwest. Turning south into Philadelphia at the crotch of Philadelphia's V-shaped border, the creek is called Tacony Creek;^[2] from here southward, it is considered the informal boundary separating Northeast Philadelphia from the rest of the city.

The Philadelphia neighborhoods of Olney and Feltonville lie on the western side of the stream in this area while Northwood, Lawncrest, Summerdale, and Frankford lie on the eastern side. It continues to be called the Tacony at least until the smaller Wingohocking Creek merges with it in Juniata Park, within the city-owned golf course. Beyond Castor Avenue it is known as Frankford Creek until the stream's confluence with the Delaware River in the Bridesburg neighborhood of Philadelphia. The section of stream known as Frankford Creek is 3.1 miles (5.0 km) long, and the upstream section known as Tacony Creek, from Hill Crest, is 11.1 miles (17.9 km) long.^[3]

The Lenape Native Americans who lived within its watershed called the creek Quessionwonmink, which means “Eel Skin River.” Some believe the word Tacony to be derived from another Lenni Lenape word meaning "forest" or "wilderness".