Tinicum Township

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Containing the small villages of Lester and Essington, Tinicum Township is a community resting on an island that borders the property of Philadelphia International Airport.

Settler Johann Printz helped to establish the first Swedish colony in America in Essington. Additionally, many Native Americans made their homes in the region prior to American colonization; a number of residential streets in the Lester section of the township are named for the tribes that had settled there.

In the twentieth century, Tinicum Township was best known for the Westinghouse Company, a major factory just outside the Philadelphia city limits. The residential and commercial nature that Tinicum Township enjoys today are direct results of Westinghouse's location within its borders. Currently, the factory is closed, with parts of it being converted into office space for other businesses.

Today, the township is best known for its array of hotels and motels servicing the Philadelphia International Airport, as well as the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, which spans over 200 acres.

Along with Glenolden, Norwood, and Prospect Park, Tinicum Township is part of the Interboro School District. Added in the late 1950s, it was the district's most recent, and most likely final, addition.

The township's zip code is 19029.