Penn Treaty Park is a small park on the western bank of the Delaware river

Delaware River

The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...

, in the Fishtown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

. It is located at the intersection of Delaware (Columbus) Avenue and Beach Street, just off Delaware Avenue.

Overview

The southern part of the park consists of a walkway surrounding an open green favored by dog walkers and lunchtime picnickers. A stand of mature trees shades the northern part of the park. At the river's edge, the park provides an unimpeded view of the full span of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge

Benjamin Franklin Bridge

The Benjamin Franklin Bridge , originally named the Delaware River Bridge, is a suspension bridge across the Delaware River connecting Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Camden, New Jersey...

 that connects Philadelphia to the city of Camden, New Jersey

Camden, New Jersey

The city of Camden is the county seat of Camden County, New Jersey. It is located across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 77,344...

. Directly to the north is a power-generating station owned and operated by the Philadelphia Electric Company (PECO). Bordering the southern edge of the park there was a nightclub with part of its facilities built on a reclaimed pier that stretches out into the river, however this is gone and will soon become a condominium development. An iron and concrete fishing pier used to extend out into the river, but it was seriously damaged by an out-of-control barge, fenced off for a while and then eventually done away with.

Though now located in a post-industrial area surrounded by the remnants of heavy industry, the park has been an open space with public access to the river since its dedication on October 28, 1893.

History

In the year 1683, the land that is now the park was part of the Lenape

Lenape

The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...

 village of Shackamaxon

Shackamaxon

Shackamaxon or Shakamaxon was a historic village along the Delaware River inhabited by Delaware Indians in North America. It was located within what are now the borders of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States....

. Under a picturesque elm tree immortalized in a painting by Benjamin West

Benjamin West

Benjamin West, RA was an Anglo-American painter of historical scenes around and after the time of the American War of Independence...

, William Penn

William Penn

William Penn was an English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony and the future Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was an early champion of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful...

 famously entered into a treaty of peace with a chief of the Lenape Turtle Clan named Tamanend

Tamanend

Tamanend or Tammany or Tammamend, the "affable", was a chief of one of the clans that made up the Lenni-Lenape nation in the Delaware Valley at the time Philadelphia was established...

 (later referred to by the Dutch as Tammany or Saint Tammany).

Penn, unarmed in accord with Quaker custom and speaking the Algonquian

Algonquian languages

The Algonquian languages also Algonkian) are a subfamily of Native American languages which includes most of the languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically similar Algonquin dialect of the Ojibwe language, which is a...

 language, proclaimed that, "We meet on the broad pathway of good faith and good-will; no advantage shall be taken on either side, but all shall be openness and love. We are the same as if one man’s body was to be divided into two parts; we are of one flesh and one blood." Tamanend replied, "We will live in love with William Penn and his children as long as the creeks and rivers run, and while the sun, moon, and stars endure."

This peace between the Lenape Turtle Clan and Penn's successors would endure almost a century, until 1782. It was remarked upon by Voltaire

Voltaire

François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...

, who called it "... the only treaty never sworn to and never broken."

The famous elm tree under which the treaty was conducted fell during a storm in 1810. Soon thereafter, a monument was erected on the site where the elm tree was located to commemorate the treaty. The small obelisk remained tucked away in the northwest corner of a lumber yard that sat on the site, until actions were taken in 1893 to acquire the land and build the park that we have today. The park officially opened on October 28, 1893.

On May 6, 2010 at Penn Treaty Park an Elm Tree descendant was planted again.

After the original tree fell, the Oliver and Vanduzen families took cuttings and seedlings from the tree at that time. They gave offspring of the great Elm to Pennsylvania Hospital

Pennsylvania Hospital

Pennsylvania Hospital is a hospital in Center City, Philadelphia, affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania Health System . Founded on May 11, 1751 by Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Bond, it was the first hospital in the United States...

, University of Pennsylvania

University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...

 and Haverford College

Haverford College

Haverford College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Haverford, Pennsylvania, United States, a suburb of Philadelphia...

. Those before us did not want the spirit of Friendship to die when the great elm fell. Haverford College Arboretum

Haverford College Arboretum

The Haverford College Arboretum is an arboretum located across the campus of Haverford College, in Haverford, Pennsylvania. It is open daily without charge....

 donated a descendant of the Treaty Elm, The Friends of Penn Treaty Park provided the funding to transport the tree and plant the new tree. Pastor Norwood, from the Tribal Council of the Nanticoke Lenni Lenape and Board member of the Penn Treaty Museum provided a blessing. Fairmount Park

Fairmount Park

Fairmount Park is the municipal park system of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It consists of 63 parks, with , all overseen by the Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation, successor to the Fairmount Park Commission in 2010.-Fairmount Park proper:...

assisted.

External links

• Penn Treaty Park
• Park history
• Park history by The History Press
• Historic Photographs of Penn Treaty Park, PhillyHistory.org
• Friends of Penn Treaty Park Friends of Penn Treaty Park