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According to
legend, Native Americans met William Penn under an elm tree at
Shackamaxon, the site of present day Penn Treaty Park, just north of
Penn’s Landing. Traditionally, the encounter included words of
friendship and maybe the purchase of land. While such a “Great
Treaty” meeting may never have occurred, it symbolized the desire
for peace on the part of both the Delaware (Leni Lenape) Indians and
William Penn.
The significance and
imagery of this legendary event were once known and honored worldwide.
“It was the only treaty made by the settlers with the Indians
that was never sworn to, and the only one that was never broken”
wrote Voltaire, contrasting Penn's treaty with the Lenape Indians with
most others that had been made in the colonization of America.
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Benjamin West's 1771 Painting of Penn's Treaty
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The "treaty elm" was
honored as a visible reminder of the Commonwealth's founding until it
was toppled by a storm in 1810. In 1827 the Penn Society erected the
obelisk which sits on the site of the celebrated tree.
The site became part
of Fairmount Park in 1894 and was gradually encompassed by industrial
Philadelphia through the middle of the 20th Century.
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Birch's 1800 Engraving of the Site
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Today, virtually
all of the surrounding industry has disappeared and Penn Treaty Park
now sits in the heart of Philadelphia's redeveloping riverfront.
Significantly enlarged during the 1980s by annexing a neighboring
former industrial site, the park is now several acres and enjoys some
of the best views in the city. Penn's Landing, the Benjamin Franklin
Bridge, and the City's high rise buildings can all be seen from one
location. Children can play on newly installed playground equipment.
And, close by the working river, you can watch ocean freighters and
local tugs wend their way along the shipping channel close to the
park's shoreline. |
A Current View from Penn Treaty
Park
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