Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society
History Quarterly Digital Archives

Source: January 1981 Volume 19 Number 1, Pages 3–7

Planning for Our Tricentennial

Robert E. Carlson

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On June 24, 1680, (Old Style) William Penn petitioned His Majesty Charles II of England "for a grant of a tract of land in America lying north of Maryland, on the east bounded with the Delaware River, and on the west limited as Maryland is, and northward to extend as far as plantable ..." With this action, the formal steps toward the establishment of a province in the New World were begun. The King studied the request for almost nine months, whereupon, on March 4, 1681 (O.S.) he conveyed to Penn "the land that lies on the north of Newcastle Colony and on the west of the Delaware River, beginning at the 40th degree of latitude and extending as far as the King pleaseth ..." This date is charter day and traditionally, in Pennsylvania, March 14 (New Style) has been observed as the official beginning of our province.

Penn sought to attract settlers to his New World holdings and ad­vertised widely, through pamphlets, newspapers, and hired agents. He said that he "hoped that virtuous men, laboring under divine guidance, might establish a virtuous government and society as an example to all mankind". In his Some Account of the Province of Pennsilvania, which he issued in April 1681, he wrote, "I shall say little in its praise, to excite desires in any, ... as to the soil, air and water. This shall satisfy me, that by the Blessing of God, and the honesty and industry of Men, it may be a good and fruitful land." Later, in August 1681, he called his province "an holy experiment" wherein he hoped to incorporate his ideas about politics and religion, but especially the rights of freedom of worship and of conscience.

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The year 1682 was crucial for Penn. In April he publisher his "First Frame of Government" under which the province was to be administered, and on August 30 he, with others of like mind, set sail from Deal, a small port north of Dover, on board the 300-ton ship Welcome, Late in October the vessel arrived in the Delaware Bay, anchored briefly off New Castle, and then moved on to Upland, which Penn renamed Chester. The founder of our commonwealth had accomplished what few before or since had done. Penn next moved to Philadelphia, his "green country towne", issued writs for a meeting of the Assembly to be held early in December, and published a "Second Frame of Government" in April 1683. In the pro­cess, he had founded Pennsylvania and the three original counties, Chester, Philadelphia, and Bucks.

These are the events — the 300th anniversary of the founding of our state and our county — that we are about to celebrate. Let me tell you about the various plans.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has set aside the period from March 1981 to April 1983 as our "Tercentenary". While I am not aware, at this time, of the detailed plans, I do expect the following to happen statewide:

(1) Charter Day — March 14, 1981 — will be observed in Harrisburg, I would expect that the General Assembly would issue a joint resolution and the Governor a proclamation noting the day. Other kinds of events for this day have been suggested — dinner, dinner-dance, costume ball — but I do not know how far, if at all, these have progressed.

(2) The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission has promised a volume of documents, a brief life of Penn, a special issue of its magazine Pennsylvania Heritage in which Penn and the founding will be highlighted, and a traveling museum exhibit.

(3) The Department of Commerce will sponsor certain things — perhaps a slogan, a song, and/or a logo — that will help to focus the nation's attention upon us.

(4) The Historical and Museum Commission plans to erect a marker at the court house of each of the state's 67 counties. You will hear more on this later in my talk.)

Beyond this, I have no knowledge of the Commonwealth's present plans to observe the tercentenary.

We, meaning Shirley Harvill, our administrative director, and I, are aware of certain plans currently being considered in Philadelphia and Bucks counties. Logically, Philadelphia is expected to emphasize the Delaware River, and we hear that they would like to have a "parade of the tall ships" from many countries throughout the world.

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I am quite sure that the Historical Society, located at 13th and Locust streets; the American Philosophical Society, on Independence Square; and the many other cultural and historical groups in the city will have special exhibits and programs. Our hope is that all three counties will co-operate, which they have been doing, andthat there won't be too many things happening on the same weekend!

Now for our Chester County plans. About two years ago I wrote to the County Commissioners, alerting them to the imminence of our county's 300th birthday. Then, in the summer of 1979, the Commissioners appointed me to serve as "General Chairman", and designated themselves, on behalf of the people of the county, the Chester County Historical Society, and West Chester State College, as co-sponsors of our "Tricentennial". Ms. Shirley Harvill was appointed as administrative director in November, and she continues to serve in that position.

The Executive Committee has informally established the following as the principles on which our Tricentennial will be observed:

(1) The Tricentennial will be an observance for all the people of Chester County — persons of all social and economic backgrounds, of all ethnic, racial, and religious groups. Nothing will be done that will favor one group or work to the disadvantage of another group. All events will be open to all people.

(2) The observance will be divided into two kinds of events:

(a) county-wide events that will be open to everyone, but at which admissions may have to be charged for certain portions because of the nature of the event;

(b) local events sponsored by townships, boroughs, and local organizations, organized by these groups in response to the needs of the local people, if funds are needed, it is assumed that the local municipalities and/or the local organization will provide them. And please note the emphasis on local.

Neither of these types of events, however, should prevent an organization (a club, a society, etc.) from also planning and conducting its own event for its membership, as long as the event is conducted at no cost to the "Tricentennial Committee" and is done in good taste.

Now, let us look at the four events presently planned for the entire county.

First, between January 1982 and July 1983 (which, incidentally, is the period of the Chester County Tricentennial observance) each municipality will be offered one week "to be recognized".

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Beginning with Birmingham Township (the first such to be formed in present Chester County) in January 1982 and continuing through to Caln (the last to be formed) in July 1983, each township, borough, and Coates­ville will be offered the following opportunities:

(1) to meet with the Commissioners at the Commissioners' Tuesday meeting for a proclamation, picture taking, and brief remarks;

(2) to mount an exhibit, reflecting the municipality's past and present, in the windows of the Court House Annex on Church Street in West Chester;

(3) to hold events in the municipality that are either specially planned for the occasion or already planned.

All of this is voluntary. It is the local municipality that will decide whether it wants to do any of this. We hope it will, and we will help in all ways that we can.

The second county-wide event will be a picnic at Hibernia Park, scheduled for June 12, 1982. What better way to get all the people together than at a picnic — with exhibits of farm and industrial, machinery, a marathon run, and shows by performers! Make plans to be there!

Third, we hope to have a "Festival of the Arts" at Longwood Gardens in June 1982, and possibly to repeat it in 1983. This is still very much in the planning stage, so I am not able to give you specific details at this time.

Finally, we will have a "Chester County Birthday Party" on the steps of the Court House in West Chester late in October 1982. We will dedicate the historical marker provided by the Historical and Museum Commission and we will have a great get-together, maybe even cake and ice cream, traditional at a birthday party!

But it is the local groups on which we must depend for much of what will happen during the Tricentennial. The Chester County Art Association has undertaken a "Chester County in Photographs" project that holds lots of promise, and I am sure the Chester County Day in October 1982 will be an extra-special event. Some historical societies and commissions have undertaken to preserve a historic building or to get a historic district on the Register of Historic Sites..

Business houses of all kinds, we hope, will have an "Open House" to show how Chester Countians earn our living. Wouldn't it be great if every factory, mill, bank, educational institution, etc. held an open house to help us be more aware of one another?

Or how about locally-sponsored walking tours of homes, churches, and other historic buildings in your area? These, incidentally, should be widely advertised so that we can get the maximum of county-wide participation.

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Stores and shops should be encouraged to have window displays in which the past and present of your townships might best be represented. We should not concentrate solely on the 18th and 19th centuries, but also give equal time to the 20th.

Churches and synagogues might devote one sabbath to a sermon or discussion of the history of that church or of that denomination in Chester County, and they should plan to hold an ecumenical service with an emphasis on the way Pennsylvania and Chester County have been places in which the freedoms of worship and conscience have prevailed for three centuries.

You might write a history of your municipality, or mark historic sites that are important to you.

Organizations might invite their regional and state-wide groups to meet in Chester County during 1981 through 1983. I have agreed to serve as host for the fiftieth anniversary meeting of the Pennsylvania Historical Association, to be held in West Chester in October 1981. The same could be done by any group — educational, social, fraternal, political, leisure-time.

There really is no limit to the kinds of things that can be done. It requires only local initiative and local participation.

Let me say, in conclusion, that this anniversary is one that truly merits our attention. Ben Franklin put it this way:

"Vessels large may venture more,
but little boats should keep near shore."

We intend to venture, within the limits of our time and treasure, and we look forward to your generous help. Let us know about your plans — our telephone number is an easy one to remember — 696-1982.

Good luck, and thank you.