About The Oldest Directory In America
Today, Philadelphia's directory is also digital and can be viewed online
A city directory is a comprehensive listing of residents, businesses, and other relevant information for a specific city or urban area. These directories serve as valuable resources for individuals seeking contact information, addresses, and details about the people and businesses within a community.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is home to the oldest city directory in America. In fact, the Philadelphia Directory is the first, and oldest directory of any kind in America. The history of the Philadelphia directory dates back to the late 18th century.
The first directory of Philadelphia was published in 1785 by Joseph Scott, which included names, addresses, and occupations of residents. This early directory served as a valuable resource for navigation and communication in the growing city.
Penn Libraries University of Pennsylvania recognizes Philadelphia as the first American city directory. The New York Public Library acknowledges it as the first separately printed directory for anywhere in the United States. Temple University describes the Philadelphia directories as America's first directories.
The first of Philadelphia's directories was the Macpherson's Directory For The City And Suburbs of Philadelphia extending to Prime-Street, southward; Maiden-Street, northward; and from the River Delaware to Tenth-Street, westward.
Since the Philadelphia Directory was published in 1785 it has been corrected and republished annually ever since. This oldest directory in America contains an alphabetical list of the names and addresses of the city's residents.
When the first separately printed directory in America (Macpherson's Directory for the City and Suburbs of Philadelphia) was published on November 16th, 1785, Philadelphia was then inundated with more directories. Thirteen days later, Francis White published the United States second ever city directory, the inferior Philadelphia Directory of November 29th.
In 1832, the Philadelphia directory began to adopt a more standardized format, organizing entries by street name and number, which reflected the city's grid layout. This was a significant step in making the directory more user-friendly.
As Philadelphia continued to grow, so did the directories, which expanded to include more information, such as maps and advertisements. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, directories had become extensive volumes, documenting the city's population and commercial landscape.
Today, the physical directories have largely been replaced by digital resources. The City of Philadelphia has an updated digital version. The Philadelphia Service Directory is currently managed by the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Innovation and Technology located on Market Street.
The Free Library of Philadelphia has complete runs of city directories on microfilm in its Newspaper & Microfilm Center. The Historical Society of Pennsylvania's public service terminals also have links to the original version of Philadelphia city directories.