The Roxborough Manayunk Wissahickon Historical Society is the successor of two local organizations: the 21st Ward Community Council's Historic Committee, formed in 1967 to save one of the oldest structures in the area, and the Wissahickon Valley Historical Society, formed in 1926 (not related to the present organization of the same name located in Blue Bell, Montgomery County). The purpose of the Society is to discover and collect any material which may help to establish or illustrate the history of the area; its exploration, settlement, development, and activities in peace and war; and its progress in population, wealth, education, arts, science, agriculture manufactures, trade, and transportation.

The Society's archival holdings, located at the Roxborough branch of the Philadelphia Free Library, date primarily from the mid-19th century to the present and total about 15 linear feet of materials. The collection consists primarily of newspaper clippings, articles, unpublished genealogies, copies of primary-source documents, and other secondary-source materials relating to local history. The collection also includes a small amount of original primary-source materials, such as receipts and invoices, correspondence, photographs, meeting minutes, deeds, and ephemera.