Caleb Pusey
Upland, Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
An English-born Quaker and lastmaker, Pusey (1651-1727) purchased 250 acres from William Penn in 1681. As agent and grist mill manager for him, and colonial office holder, he was visited by Penn here.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Caleb Pusey (1651–1727), an English-born Quaker lastmaker, purchased 250 acres from William Penn in 1681, the very year Penn received his charter for Pennsylvania. Serving as Penn's business agent, grist mill manager, and a colonial officeholder, Pusey was a trusted figure in the young colony—and his home is remembered as a place Penn himself visited. His house survives as a rare tangible link to Pennsylvania's founding generation.
Why it matters
Pusey's story ties a working Quaker settler directly to William Penn and the earliest days of Pennsylvania's "holy experiment" in tolerance and self-government.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Museums & culture
- Bridgette Mayer14.0 mi away · 709 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Hill-Physick House14.1 mi away · 321 South 4th Street
- Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial14.1 mi away
- Congress Hall14.1 mi away · Philadelphia, PA
- Independence Hall14.1 mi away · 520 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Philosophical Hall14.2 mi away · PA
Attractions
- Commandant's Quarters11.4 mi away
- American Bandstand11.7 mi away
- Philadelphia Zoo13.0 mi away
- Pennsylvania Railroad, Connecting Railway Bridge13.2 mi away
- Rocky Steps13.4 mi away
- One Liberty Observation Deck13.4 mi away
Food & drink
- Talula's Garden13.9 mi away · 210 West Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA
- Talula's Daily13.9 mi away · 208 West Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA
- Fat Salmon14.0 mi away · 719 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Maya's Pizza & Grill14.0 mi away · 716 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Cafe Walnut14.0 mi away · 703 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Munchie’s Cafe14.0 mi away · 728 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
Places to stay
- DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Philadelphia Center City13.5 mi away · 237 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Cambria Hotel Philadelphia Downtown - Center City13.5 mi away · 219 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Fairfield Inn & Suites13.5 mi away · 261 South 13th Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Alexander Inn13.5 mi away · 301 301 South 12th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, Philadelphia, PA
- Holiday Inn Express13.6 mi away · 1305-11 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Residence Inn Philadelphia Center City13.7 mi away · 1 East Penn Square, Philadelphia, PA
Places data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Hours and details change — call ahead.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Caleb Pusey
- · William Penn
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Stephen Girard (1750-1831)
Philadelphia, PA · est. 1993
Stephen Girard arrived in Philadelphia in 1776, just as the young republic was being born, and rose to become one of America's wealthiest merchants and financiers. His backing steadied the First and Second Banks of the United States during the nation's precarious early decades, and his fortune later funded Girard College, which opened in 1848 to educate orphaned boys. This site held Gentilhommiere, his country house and a working farm of nearly 600 acres.
Paul Philippe Cret (1876-1945)
Philadelphia, PA · est. 1992
French-born and French-trained, Paul Philippe Cret settled in Philadelphia and became one of America's most influential architects and civic planners in the early 20th century. From his home in this block of 1861 Italianate villas on Woodland Terrace, he shaped landmark works including the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, the Rodin Museum, and Washington's Folger Shakespeare Library. His refined, classically grounded designs left a lasting mark on the American cityscape.
Hilary Koprowski, M.D. (1916 - 2013)
Philadelphia, PA · est. 2024
Polish-born Hilary Koprowski fled the turmoil of mid-century Europe and became one of America's most consequential medical scientists. Before arriving in Philadelphia he had developed the first successful live oral polio vaccine, and as director of the Wistar Institute from 1957 to 1991 he built it into a world-leading biomedical research center. Under his leadership the institute produced vaccines for rubella, rabies, and rotavirus and pioneered the use of monoclonal antibodies in fighting cancer.
Stratton Mansion & Sunderland Apartments
Philadelphia, PA
This marker recalls two grand Philadelphia buildings that once stood on this ground before fire swept them away. The Harrison Stratton Mansion belonged to the era when the city's prosperous families raised stately residences reflecting the wealth of a booming industrial metropolis, while the Sunderland was one of the early apartment buildings that reshaped how urban Americans lived as cities densified around the turn of the twentieth century. Their loss to fire was a common fate in an age when timber framing, coal heat, and open flame made conflagration a constant threat to city blocks.