HR 54 — A Resolution designating the month of October 2025 as "William Penn Landing Site in Chester Month" in Pennsylvania.

PRINTER'S NO.   499

                    THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



           HOUSE RESOLUTION
              No. 54
                                               Session of
                                                 2025

     INTRODUCED BY KAZEEM, VITALI, SANCHEZ, GIRAL, HILL-EVANS,
        HADDOCK, HOHENSTEIN, KHAN, CIRESI, FREEMAN, DELLOSO,
        KENYATTA, O'MARA, ZIMMERMAN AND GREEN, FEBRUARY 5, 2025

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON TOURISM, RECREATION AND ECONOMIC
        DEVELOPMENT, FEBRUARY 5, 2025


                                A RESOLUTION
 1   Designating the month of October 2025 as "William Penn Landing
 2      Site in Chester Month" in Pennsylvania.
 3      WHEREAS, William Penn, son of Admiral Sir William Penn, was
 4   born in London on October 14, 1644; and
 5      WHEREAS, William Penn shocked his contemporaries by
 6   converting to the beliefs of the Society of Friends, or Quakers,
 7   which was then a persecuted sect; and
 8      WHEREAS, William Penn used his wealth and status to benefit
 9   and protect his fellow believers; and
10      WHEREAS, King Charles II owed William Penn £16,000, which was
11   money his late father lent to the king; and
12      WHEREAS, William Penn requested that the debt be settled with
13   land in the New World to provide a safe haven for his fellow
14   Quakers; and
15      WHEREAS, William Penn requested land between Lord Baltimore's
16   province of Maryland and the Duke of York's province of New
17   York; and
 1         WHEREAS, With the Duke's support, Penn's petition was
 2   granted; and
 3         WHEREAS, King Charles II signed the Charter of Pennsylvania
 4   on March 4, 1681, and it was officially proclaimed on April 2;
 5   and
 6         WHEREAS, The colony was named in honor of William Penn's
 7   father; and
 8         WHEREAS, The colony included lands between the 39th and 42nd
 9   degrees of north latitude and from the Delaware River westward
10   for five degrees of longitude; and
11         WHEREAS, The Duke of York also deeded to Penn his claim to
12   what is now the state of Delaware; and
13         WHEREAS, William Penn set sail for Pennsylvania on a ship
14   called the Welcome; and
15         WHEREAS, After 57 days, the Welcome arrived in New Castle,
16   Delaware; and
17         WHEREAS, However, William Penn did not disembark until he
18   docked in Chester, Pennsylvania, on what is believed to be
19   October 29, 1682; and
20         WHEREAS, William Penn marveled at the place and found the
21   land good and the air serene; and
22         WHEREAS, William Penn renamed the area, which was called
23   Upland by Swedish settlers, Chester after the city in Cheshire
24   County, England; and
25         WHEREAS, Chester became Pennsylvania's first incorporated
26   municipality and William Penn had grand visions for the area;
27   and
28         WHEREAS, William Penn summoned the settlement's largest
29   landowner, James Sandelands, to negotiate a deal to establish
30   Chester as the capital of Pennsylvania; and

20250HR0054PN0499                    - 2 -
 1      WHEREAS, William Penn and James Sandelands were unable to
 2   reach a deal and William Penn looked elsewhere and eventually
 3   founded Philadelphia; and
 4      WHEREAS, Chester continues to celebrate the anniversary of
 5   William Penn's landing but its unique place in this
 6   Commonwealth's history has been neglected and overlooked;
 7   therefore be it
 8      RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives designate the
 9   month of October 2025 as "William Penn Landing Site in Chester
10   Month" in Pennsylvania; and be it further
11      RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives commemorate this
12   significant event and recognize Chester's unique place in this
13   Commonwealth's history.




20250HR0054PN0499                 - 3 -