Walking Purchase
Wrightstown Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Starting here at sunrise, Sept. 19, 1737, Marshall, Yeates, and Jennings set out on the "Indian Walk." In one and a half days, Edward Marshall reached a point beyond present Mauch Chunk, some 65 miles to the north and west.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
At sunrise on September 19, 1737, three chosen walkers—Marshall, Yeates, and Jennings—set out from this spot to measure the land Pennsylvania claimed under the Walking Purchase. Over a day and a half, Edward Marshall pressed on past present-day Jim Thorpe, covering some 65 miles far to the north and west. The punishing pace stretched the purchase well beyond what the Lenape believed they had agreed to.
Why it matters
This starting point marks one of colonial America's most infamous land grabs, a walk engineered to defraud the Lenape of their homeland.
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Related people
- · Edward Marshall
Related events
- · Walking Purchase of 1737
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
William Penn's First Walking Purchase
Upper Makefield Township, PA · est. 2001
In the summer of 1682, only months after receiving his charter, William Penn began acquiring land from the region's Lenape inhabitants under a distinctive measure: the distance a man could cover on foot in a day and a half, walked out from the mouth of Neshaminy Creek. This spot along Towissinck (Jerricho) Creek marked the northern edge of that first purchase, which took in the ground that became Bristol, Falls, Middletown, Newtown, and the Makefield townships. Tradition holds that Penn made the walk himself, at an unhurried pace that reflected his early intent to deal fairly.
Playwicky Indian Town, 1682 - PLAQUE
Lower Southampton Township, PA · est. 1925
In the earliest years of Penn's colony, an Unami Lenape community known as Playwicky stood in the vale by the run and springs south of here. Their leader was Tammany, a chief of the Turtle clan who became famous for his dealings with William Penn and, later, as a folk symbol of American liberty. In 1683 he and his people sold Penn the land between the Neshaminy and Pennypack Creeks.
Katharine Drexel (1858-1955)
Bensalem Township, PA · est. 2004
Born to a wealthy Philadelphia banking family, Katharine Drexel turned her inheritance toward the people her era most neglected. After professing her vows in 1891 she founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament and spent more than four decades building mission schools and churches for Native and African American communities, including Holy Providence School near this spot. In 2000 the Catholic Church recognized her as a saint.
Pennypack Creek Bridge
Philadelphia, PA · est. 2012
Built about 1697 where a Lenape trail forded Pennypack Creek, this modest triple-arched stone span is reckoned the oldest roadway bridge in continuous use in the United States. It carried the King's Highway, one of colonial America's great overland routes, and in 1781 bore the tramp of American and French troops marching south with Rochambeau toward the decisive siege of Yorktown. Widened only once, in 1893, its upstream face looks much as it did when William Penn's colony was young.