A Howling Wilderness

William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania.

Many people believe William Penn founded his “City of Brotherly Love” on flat farmland. In reality, Penn created his city in what Francis Daniel Pastorius described as “a howling wilderness” and what one of the oldest Swedes living in 1749 called “a great forest.” 

It was not an easy place to develop a city. But to Penn’s credit –  by 1776 – Philadelphia was the largest and most important city in North America. Just another reason to honor a man who is largely forgotten – even here.