William Penn High School - Philadelphia, PA - People-Named Places on Waymarking.com

This forty-year old school is located near Temple University in the North section of Philadelphia. The school can trace its history back to the 19th century. The school is quite modern in comparison to the other schools, some going 100 years! The school features an underground parking lot for district employees. Also, there is a fantastic mosaic mural inside the entrance and foyer area as well as a terrific bust of William Penn. Outside, an expansive and colorful mural graces the left side of the building. The high school is located on busy Broad Street.

About the Man

Penn was the man who secured the land for Philadelphia. He was a renown Quaker known for his ideals of peace and was vehemently opposed to religious intolerance.

"Penn became convinced that religious toleration couldn't be achieved in England. He went to the King and asked for a charter enabling him to establish an American colony. Perhaps the idea seemed like an easy way to get rid of troublesome Quakers. On March 4, 1681, Charles II signed a charter for territory west of the Delaware River and north of Maryland, approximately the present size of Pennsylvania, where about a thousand Germans, Dutch and Indians lived without any particular government. The King proposed the name "Pennsylvania" which meant "Forests of Penn"--honoring Penn's late father, the Admiral. Penn would be proprietor, owning all the land, accountable directly to the King. According to traditional accounts, Penn agreed to cancel the debt of £16,000 which the government owed the Admiral for back pay, but there aren't any documents about such a deal. At the beginning of each year, Penn had to give the King two beaver skins and a fifth of any gold and silver mined within the territory.

Penn sailed to America on the ship Welcome and arrived November 8, 1682. With assembled Friends, he founded Philadelphia--he chose the name, which means "city of brotherly love" in Greek. He approved the site between the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. He envisioned a 10,000 acre city, but his more sober-minded Friends thought that was overly optimistic. They accepted a 1,200-acre plan. Penn named major streets including Broad, Chestnut, Pine, and Spruce. SOURCE

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