Pennsylvania
Marcus Hook, Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Founded 1681 by William Penn as a Quaker Commonwealth. Birthplace of THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE and THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
William Penn founded Pennsylvania in 1681 as a Quaker commonwealth built on religious tolerance and self-government, an experiment that drew settlers of many faiths to the Delaware Valley. Within a century that colony became the setting where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States were written. This state-line marker greets travelers with that founding heritage.
Why it matters
Pennsylvania was both a bold colonial experiment in liberty of conscience and the birthplace of the documents that founded the nation.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Attractions
- Commandant's Quarters14.7 mi away
Places data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Hours and details change — call ahead.
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Related people
- · William Penn
Related events
- · Founding of Pennsylvania
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Washington House
Chester, PA · est. 1954
Raised in 1747 as the "Pennsylvania Arms," this was a well-known stopping place on the old Post Road that carried travelers and news along the colonial seaboard. It gained its lasting name after George Washington paused here in the anxious days following the Battle of Brandywine in September 1777, when the British advance on Philadelphia threw the region into turmoil. The building survived more than two centuries before it was taken down in 1952.
Old Swedish Burial Ground
Chester, PA · est. 1954
This ground in Chester marks the site of the first St. Paul's Episcopal Church, built in 1702 in one of Pennsylvania's oldest settlements with roots in New Sweden. Just south lies the grave of John Morton, the Pennsylvania delegate whose vote helped tip the colony toward independence and who signed the Declaration of Independence.
Rochambeau Route (Narragansett Bay to Yorktown)
Chester, PA · est. 1954
In the late summer of 1781, the combined French and Continental armies were racing south for the decisive campaign that would end the Revolutionary War. After a grand review before Congress in Philadelphia, the allied columns marched down the old King's Highway toward Wilmington, pausing to camp here at Chester on September 5. Within weeks these same troops would help trap Cornwallis at Yorktown.
Ivy Mills
Concord Township, PA · est. 2001
In 1729 Thomas Willcox built a paper mill on the West Branch of Chester Creek, launching an enterprise that would help supply the young nation's presses. Ivy Mills became a major source of paper for Benjamin Franklin's print shop, and by 1776 it was producing the stock on which the currency of the colonies and the Continental Congress was printed. Willcox's descendants ran the mill until 1866, and an early Catholic mission took root on the same property.