Was Penn's Landing Actually in Philadelphia?

PENNSYLVANIA - The popular waterfront area in Philadelphia known as Penn's Landing commemorates the historic arrival of William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania. While the name firmly places the landmark on the Delaware River in Center City Philadelphia, the historical record reveals that the actual, documented landing site of William Penn in the territory of Pennsylvania was a bit farther south.

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The True Landing: Chester, Pennsylvania

The founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, William Penn, first set foot on Pennsylvania soil in October 1682. However, he did not land where the modern Penn's Landing complex sits.

• The Original Site: Penn's ship, the Welcome, first landed in New Castle, Delaware (then part of Penn's proprietary holdings). His second landing, and his first on the territory that would officially become Pennsylvania, was in the settlement then known as Upland.
• Renaming Upland: Upon his arrival at Upland, Penn immediately renamed the town Chester in honor of his friend, a fellow Quaker named Robert Wade, who hailed from Chester, England.
• The Monument: The actual spot of William Penn's first landing in Pennsylvania is commemorated by the William Penn Landing Site Monument in Chester, Pennsylvania, approximately 18 miles south of modern Philadelphia.

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How Philadelphia Got "Penn's Landing"

The current use of the name in Philadelphia results from historic and urban planning efforts, not a direct tie to the 1682 event.

• A Symbolic Name: The city of Philadelphia named its Delaware River waterfront "Penn's Landing" during a significant urban renewal and redevelopment project that began in the 1960s. The name was chosen to symbolically honor the founder and highlight the historical significance of Philadelphia's central riverfront.
• The Center of Commerce: While Penn didn't first land there, the area now known as Penn's Landing quickly became the center of colonial Philadelphia's maritime commerce shortly after the city's founding. Within a year of Penn's arrival, the first wharves, such as Carpenter's Wharf, were constructed here, making it the functional and commercial "landing" for the new capital.

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 In essence, Penn's Landing is a modern, symbolic, and commercial landmark in Philadelphia. At the same time, the William Penn Landing Site in Chester is the historically verified location of his first steps in the Commonwealth.

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