Germantown, residential section of NW Philadelphia. Settled by Dutch and Germans in 1683, Germantown became one of the earliest printing and publishing centers in the country. When the British occupied Philadelphia during the American Revolution, the greater part of their army encamped at Germantown. George Washington's forces unsuccessfully attacked the camp on Oct. 4, 1777, in the last important engagement conducted by Washington before he took the army to Valley Forge for the winter. In 1854, Germantown was annexed to Philadelphia. The Howe House and other colonial houses, inns, and churches still stand.
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