William Penn's Holy Experiment
"Unlike his predecessors on the Delaware, William Penn’s plan was to 'develop' inland Pennsylvania. He promoted land sales throughout Europe, especially to groups, like Quakers and German dissenters who experienced religious discrimination. He acquired land from local Indians and offered that land for sale supplemented by an annual quitrent. A 1682 map shows that land in Chester County was widely purchased. Many of the buyers were passive investors, like the King’s physician, Daniel Coxe, who never came to the colony. What the local tribes, principally Lenape, understood of these land transactions is not clear. They had tolerated the Swedes, Finns and Dutch who preceded the English, but these groups confined themselves to a few villages hugging the shores of the Delaware River. As we know, Penn’s 'purchasers' were coming not to trade but to occupy and farm the land Penn sold them. And, for European purchasers occupancy meant exclusive use. Native Americans did not understand that concept because land then seemed to be an unlimited resource providing an inexhaustible supply of fish, game, and plant life."
- Mark R. Ashton, Chester County, A Modern History
Introduction
Welcome to a historical collaboration intended to celebrate roughly 350 years of Chester County history. In 2020 when the world was briefly closed to deal with an influenza pandemic, I began working on what I dubbed "A Modern History of Chester County." A county wide history had not been published in almost a century and there was much to report…both in terms of our ancient past and how the automobile transformed the county after World War II. As I worked on the project, I ran across the work of a fellow historian from Montgomery County, Yen Ho. Yen’s website for the area I came from brought visual life to the story in a way my writing couldn’t.
So, we have collaborated to bring you a modern and illustrated history of Chester County, navigable with the touch of your mouse. Please feel free to join this collaboration with suggested topics, amendments and corrections. And a happy 250th anniversary to you and to America.