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Philadelphia was originally inhabited by several of the First Nations: Lenni Lenape lived along the Delaware river; "Susquehannocks" grew crops along the Susquehanna river; Shawnees hunted in the Western Pennsylvanian forests. William Penn signed the treaty of Shackamaxon (which was where Kensington now stands) with Tamanend, Chief of the Lenape. It was the longest-standing treaty from that time when in the 18th Century the American Government pushed these nations out of the state, mostly into Oklahoma and Canada.
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After the First Nations were relocated, Wissinoming Park became part of an estate owned by American photgraphy pioneer Robert Cornelius (1809-1893). Between his success as a photographer (he took the first photograph of a human ever) and the fortune his father -- Dutch immigrant and manufacturer Christian Cornelius -- developed the family became very influential in Philadelphia. In 1851, he was able to purchase the land that is now Wissinoming Park as part of Lawndale; an 80-acre deal with J. Taylor. Robert loved trees and planted over 4,000 species of tree, some of which remain in the park to this day. Cornelius married Harriet Comply (for whom Comly street is named) and raised three sons and five daughters on the land before his death in 1893.
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After Cornelius' death, the property was divided and sold over the next twenty years. The 41 acres that are Wissinoming Park today were sold to the city of Philadelphia on January 9, 1913 by Thomas Tansey, a brick manufacturer. Tansey made the deal on condition that the land would be used for a park.
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