Editing Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania (section)

==History==
===Pre-settlement===
The earliest inhabitants of Marcus Hook were members of the [[Lenape]] [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] tribe and their indigenous ancestors, whose succeeding cultures occupied present-day Marcus Hook and surrounding areas for thousands of years.

===17th century===
[[File:Plank House Marcus Hook DelCo PA.jpg|thumb|The Plank House in Marcus Hook]]
The Lenape had a major settlement in Marcus Hook; [[New Sweden]] colonists established a trading post here in the 1640s. The village was called ''Chammassungh'', or "Finland" by the Swedes. It was located on the west side of the [[Delaware River]], between Marcus Hook Creek and [[Naamans Creek]]. Dutch colonists renamed the settlement as ''"Marrites Hoeck"'' after [[New Netherland|they]] conquered the area in 1655.<ref>{{cite web|title=History|url=http://www.marcushookps.org/history.php|website=www.marcushookps.org|access-date=8 December 2017}}</ref>  The name is derived from the word Hook, meaning promontory, or point of land projecting into the water and Marcus, a corruption of the name of the Indian chief, called ''Maarte'' by the Dutch, who lived at the Hook.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Martin|first1=John Hill|title=Chester (and its Vicinity,) Delaware County, in Pennsylvania|date=1877|publisher=Wm. H. Pile & Sons|location=Philadelphia|page=67|isbn=9785871484241 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5Kg-AAAAYAAJ&q=albert+o.+deshong&pg=PA357|access-date=9 January 2018}}</ref>

English colonists gained control of the Dutch colonies and founded [[St. Martin's Church (Marcus Hook, PA)|St. Martin's Church]] in 1699; the new church opened for worship in 1702.  Walter Martin of [[Upper Chichester Township, Pennsylvania|Upper Chichester]] founded this church as an alternative place of worship and burial for Christian non-Quakers.<ref>{{cite web|title=St. Martins Church|url=http://www.chichesterhistory.org/|website=www.chichesterhistory.org|access-date=8 December 2017}}</ref>

===18th century===
Marcus Hook became a prosperous community and market town and in 1708 was of equal prominence to nearby [[Chester, Pennsylvania]], with each location having approximately 100 houses.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ashmead|first1=Henry Graham|title=A History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania|date=1884|publisher=L.H. Everts & Co.|location=Philadelphia|page=456|url=https://archive.org/stream/cu31924006215655#page/n595/mode/2up/search/chichester|access-date=17 December 2017}}</ref>

In the early 1700s, Marcus Hook was a haven for [[pirate]]s who plagued the lower [[Delaware River]].  The market at Marcus Hook provided the pirates a place to sell plundered goods and re-supply away from the authorities and custom officials in [[Philadelphia]]. Early maps of Marcus Hook show the current Second Street was originally named "Discord Lane", since it was the location of the pirates' revelry when they were in town.<ref name="The Plank House">{{cite web|title=The Plank House|url=http://www.marcushookps.org/house.php|website=www.marcushookps.org|access-date=17 December 2017}}</ref>

Marcus Hook Plank House reportedly was once the home of a Swedish mistress of the pirate [[Blackbeard]], named Margaret.<ref name="The Plank House"/><ref>{{cite book|last1=Ashmead|first1=Henry Graham|title=A History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania|date=1884|publisher=L.H. Everts & Co.|location=Philadelphia|pages=[https://archive.org/details/cu31924006215655/page/n596 457]–458|url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924006215655|access-date=20 December 2017}}</ref>

By the mid-18th century, Marcus Hook became a major regional center for the building of wooden sailing ships and remained so until the late 19th century. By that time, larger tonnage ships became more popular than the [[sloops]] and [[schooners]] built in Marcus Hook.<ref name="The Plank House"/>

During the [[American Revolutionary War]], two tiers of underwater ''[[Cheval de frise|chevaux-de-frise]]'' obstacles were placed across the Delaware River at Marcus Hook to provide a first line of defense of Philadelphia against British naval forces.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Martin|first1=John Hill|title=Chester (and Its Vicinity,) Delaware County, in Pennsylvania|date=1877|publisher=Wm. H. Pile & Sons|location=Philadelphia|page=175|isbn=9785871484241 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5Kg-AAAAYAAJ&q=albert+o.+deshong&pg=PA357|access-date=12 January 2018}}</ref>  Marcus Hook also served as a training center for the [[Pennsylvania militia]].  The [[Continental Army]] was stationed at Marcus Hook during the fall of 1777. As the town was bombarded by British warships, there are very few pre-Revolutionary houses in Marcus Hook.<ref name="marcushookps.org">{{cite web|title=The Plank House|url=http://www.marcushookps.org/house.php|website=www.marcushookps.org|access-date=31 December 2017}}</ref>

===19th century===
Marcus Hook served as a defensive post along the Delaware River during the [[War of 1812]], with over 5,000 United States troops placed there.<ref name="marcushookps.org"/>

The borough was officially incorporated on March 7, 1892. The convergence of rail, roads, a deep water port, and the nation's growing thirst for petroleum gave rise to the refineries that became the borough's dominant industry.<ref name=Narratives>{{cite book |editor1-first=Albert Cook |editor1-last=Myers |title=Narratives of Early Pennsylvania, West New Jersey and Delaware. 1630-1707 |url=https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=6006509 |access-date=September 25, 2010 |year=1912 |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |location=New York |oclc=650030300 }}</ref><ref name="Borough of Marcus Hook">{{cite web |url=http://www.marcushookboro.com/borough_of_marcus_hook.htm |title=THE BOROUGH OF MARCUS HOOK |date=March 5, 2010 |access-date=September 25, 2010 |archive-date=March 22, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100322223750/http://www.marcushookboro.com/borough_of_marcus_hook.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===20th century===
[[File:Pennsylvania - Lewisburg through Marcus Hook - NARA - 68148322 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Post of Marcus Hook in 1941]]
[[Sunoco|Sun Oil Company]] opened the Marcus Hook refinery in 1901 to refine crude oil brought by ship from [[Texas]].  It was the first of seven major refineries that made up the largest fuel-manufacturing center in the Northeast.  The refinery was closed in 2011 due to deteriorating market conditions.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Maykuth|first1=Andrew|title=Sunoco abruptly shuts Marcus Hook refinery|url=http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20111202_Sunoco_abruptly_shuts_Marcus_Hook_refinery.html|website=www.philly.com|access-date=15 April 2018}}</ref> The refinery was reopened as Marcus Hook Industrial Complex operated by Energy Transfer Partners. Processing Marcellus Shale gas transferred via the Mariner East and Mariner XL Pipelines.

In 1910, the [[American Viscose Corporation]] opened a plant in Marcus Hook for the production of [[rayon]] and other synthetic fibers.<ref name=Wilkins_2004>{{cite book|last1=Wilkins|author-link1=Mira Wilkins|first1=Mira|title=The History of Foreign Investment in the United States, 1914-1945|date=2004|publisher=Harvard University Press|location=Cambridge, Mass|isbn=0674045181|page=152|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TEfEwVxJTkUC&pg=PA152|access-date=1 May 2018}}</ref>

On February 4, 1932, the MS ''Bidwell'', a motor [[Tanker (ship)|tanker]] belonging to Sun Oil, exploded and burned at the Sinclair Dock while tanks were being cleaned of residual crude oil in preparation for loading of gasoline. The first explosion occurred at 12:20 am and was followed by three more explosions within 25 minutes, resulting in 17 or 18 dead, including the entire crew and captain, and four were injured. The disaster induced Sun Oil to develop [[Inerting system|cargo tank inerting]] and install it on all their ships beginning the following year, in 1933.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2007 |title=M.S. Bidwell |url=http://www.fleetsheet.com/bidwell.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322135858/http://www.fleetsheet.com/bidwell.htm |archive-date=2022-03-22 |access-date=2022-03-22 |website=www.fleetsheet.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=CTX CASUALTY DATABASE: Bidwell |url=http://www.c4tx.org/ctx/job/cdb/precis.php5?key=19320204_001 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121095012/http://www.c4tx.org/ctx/job/cdb/precis.php5?key=19320204_001 |archive-date=2022-01-21 |access-date=2022-03-22 |website=Center for Tankship Excellence}}</ref>