 The surrounding land, between 
Germantown and the city limits of Philadelphia, today's North Philadelphia, was relatively undeveloped, and in the period 1850 to 1880 entrepreneurs bought up many of the old estates for industrial sites and housing developments.To the younger generation of that time, the railroads represented progress, allowing anyone to travel quickly and boosting the economy of the region.This was especially true for Joseph Wharton and his siblings, who accepted such worldly improvements, and became immersed in the industrial economy.