Philadelphia

Timeline

1. 1681–1682Philadelphia (between the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers) · PhiladelphiaIn 1681 Charles II granted Quaker leader William Penn the proprietorship of Pennsylvania, ostensibly to settle debts owed to Penn's father, Admiral William Penn. Penn instructed from England that a navigable, high, healthy riverbank be surveyed first to build a "great town," and named it Philadelphia (brotherly love). His cousin William Markham took charge of affairs in advance; commissioners purchased land around the former Swedish Wicaco area. Penn himself arrived in autumn 1682, extending the town westward to the Schuylkill River and establishing a founding area of about 1,200 acres.
2. 1682–1683Philadelphia · PhiladelphiaSurveyor-general Thomas Holme implemented Penn's principles of wide streets and streets before houses into a regular grid: the widest High Street (today's Market Street) crossed Broad Street, a central square was set, and public green space was reserved in each of the four quadrants. In 1683 the "A Portraiture of the City of Philadelphia" was published in London to attract immigrants. Penn hoped houses would sit at the center of lots with gardens left around them, reducing fire and epidemic risk. This plan became an early model of North American city planning.
3. 1683–1701Philadelphia · PhiladelphiaFrom 1683 Philadelphia became the seat of Pennsylvania's colonial government, with Quaker meetings, printing shops, and Delaware River wharves expanding in step. Immigrants from England, Wales, Germany, and Scotland-Ireland poured in, and grain, furs, and imported manufactured goods circulated through the city. Penn's treaty tradition with the Lenape was publicized as a symbol of peaceful colonization. The Charter of Privileges of 1701 confirmed parliamentary power and freedom of conscience here, and the city's role as the material center of the "Holy Experiment" solidified.
4. 1701Philadelphia · PhiladelphiaIn the 18th century Philadelphia's population and port trade continued to grow, making it a political stage for opposing British imperial policy: two Continental Congresses, the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitutional Convention all took place here, and it served as the federal temporary capital from 1790 to 1800. The state capital later moved away, and industry and immigration reshaped the city, but the 1680s grid and square system still forms the backbone of downtown; the city continues to evolve as a port, cultural, and medical center.