Germantown, Philadelphia
Germantown stretches for about two miles along Germantown Avenue northwest from Windrim and Roberts Avenues. Germantown has been consistently bounded on the southwest by Wissahickon Avenue, on the southeast by Roberts Avenue, and on the east by Wister Street and Stenton Avenue, but its northwest border has expanded and contracted over the years. When first incorporated as a borough in 1689, Germantown was separated from the rural Germantown Township by Washington Lane; later, the border was expanded to Carpenter and East Gorgas Lanes; it was then rolled back to Washington Lane in 1846, and remained there until the borough was absorbed into the city of Philadelphia in 1854.
Today, the western part of the former borough is the neighborhood known simply as 'Germantown' (though is sometimes called 'West Germantown') and the eastern part is the neighborhood of 'East Germantown'. While the boundary between the two neighborhoods is not well-defined and has varied over time, these days 'Germantown' usually refers to the part of the former borough that lies west of Germantown Avenue, up through West Johnson Street, and 'East Germantown' to the part that lies east of Germantown Avenue, up through East Upsal Street.
USS Germantown (1846)
Departing Pensacola on 1 October 1848, "Germantown" sailed to the West Indies and arrived on station at St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands on 28 October 1848. She actively cruised off the Virgin Islands until 30 June 1849, when she sailed for the United States. After touching at Key West, Florida, and Norfolk, she resumed her station off St. Thomas on 10 February 1850 and protected American commerce in the Caribbean until again ordered to the United States on 8 August 1850. She reached New York City on 11 September 1850 and decommissioned there on 21 September 1850.