Society Hill - Philadelphia PA - Signs of History on Waymarking.com

Society Hill-Where the past meets the present. You are now walking down streets laid out over three centuries ago. In the 18th century you might have crossed paths with Benjamin Franklin, George Washington or Thomas Jefferson. President James Madison’s house still stands on Spruce Street.

The Founding of the Colony. The founding of Pennsylvania in 1682 by Quaker visionary William Penn was a “Holy Experiment.” Its capital city of Philadelphia was a place where political, ideological and religious differences would be overcome by “brotherly love,” where all people would prosper from its excellent location between the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers, providing easy access to forests, farmland and the Atlantic Ocean.

Free Society of Traders. In the same year the colony was founded, over 200 of Penn’s financial backers in London, anxious to promote trade and commerce between the new colony and England, formed the Free Society of Traders. The Society proceeded to establish a glass works, a tannery, saw and grist mills, a brick kiln and a fishery that actually caught whales in the Delaware Bay. Half a block away, “uphill” from the Delaware, stood the Society’s trading house. Thus the area became known as “the Society’s hill.”

The London-based Society, however, faced strong economic competition from Philadelphia’s local merchants and traders. By 1723 the Society of Traders had failed—leaving only its name, “Society Hill,” which continued to identify the community throughout the 18th century.

18th-Century Philadelphia. At the time of the Revolutionary War Philadelphia was America’s largest and most cosmopolitan city. Settlement stretched along the Delaware River from north of Vine Street to below South Street in the Southwark District. [See “Queen Village” sign at the other end of this structure at Lombard Street.]

In the 19th Century. Until the mid-19th century Philadelphia’s maritime economy contributed to its stability. Then the new world of rail transportation shifted its commercial and business interests westward, away from the river. Residents, too, moved west to newer city neighborhoods or to new suburban communities accessible by commuter railways. In an era when the historic or architectural significance of the City’s colonial build- ings was yet to be recognized, many of the area’s old buildings were converted to warehouses, wholesale establishments and small businesses. Others remained residences or were adapted for boarding houses, often providing shelter for periodic waves of immigrants to the Quaker City.

Society Hill Today. The creation of Independence National Historical Park in the 1950s sparked a growing interest in Philadelphia’s past and brought residents back to the area. Hundreds of historic structures were restored to their original 18th- or 19th-century appearances by private citizens, and many award-winning contemporary houses were built. The newly revitalized neighborhood needed a name. “Society Hill” was chosen to recall its colonial roots.

Society Hill extends west from Front Street to 8th Street, and at the north extends from Walnut Street south to Lombard Street.

(sidebar) Cover page of the 1682 Articles of incorporation for the Free Society of Traders from which Society Hill derives its name. It reads “The Articles of Settlement and Offices of the Free Society of Traders in Pennsylvania: Agreed upon by divers Merchants and Others for the better Improvement and Government of Trade in that Province.” “London, Printed for Benjamin Clark in George-Tard in Lombard-street, Printer to the Society of Pennsylvania, MDCLXXXII.”

Group that erected the marker: Philadelphia Historical Society Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary: intersection of Pine Street and South 2nd Street, at the north entrance to the New Market building. Philadelphia, PA USA 19106 URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Take a picture of the marker, preferably including yourself or your GPSr in the photo. A very detailed description of your visit may be substituted for a photo. In any case please provide a description of your visit. A description of only "Visited" or "Saw it while on vacation" by anyone other than the person creating the waymark may be deleted by the waymark owner or the category officers.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log   09/26/2021 Don.Morfe visited it