Pennsylvania 2025 2025-2026 Regular Session

Pennsylvania House Bill HR54 Introduced / Bill

                     
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
Designating the month of October 2025 as "William Penn Landing 
Site in Chester Month" in Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS, William Penn, son of Admiral Sir William Penn, was 
born in London on October 14, 1644; and
WHEREAS, William Penn shocked his contemporaries by 
converting to the beliefs of the Society of Friends, or Quakers, 
which was then a persecuted sect; and
WHEREAS, William Penn used his wealth and status to benefit 
and protect his fellow believers; and
WHEREAS, King Charles II owed William Penn £16,000, which was 
money his late father lent to the king; and
WHEREAS, William Penn requested that the debt be settled with 
land in the New World to provide a safe haven for his fellow 
Quakers; and
WHEREAS, William Penn requested land between Lord Baltimore's 
province of Maryland and the Duke of York's province of New 
York; and
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17 WHEREAS, With the Duke's support, Penn's petition was 
granted; and
WHEREAS, King Charles II signed the Charter of Pennsylvania 
on March 4, 1681, and it was officially proclaimed on April 2; 
and
WHEREAS, The colony was named in honor of William Penn's 
father; and
WHEREAS, The colony included lands between the 39th and 42nd 
degrees of north latitude and from the Delaware River westward 
for five degrees of longitude; and
WHEREAS, The Duke of York also deeded to Penn his claim to 
what is now the state of Delaware; and
WHEREAS, William Penn set sail for Pennsylvania on a ship 
called the Welcome; and
WHEREAS, After 57 days, the Welcome arrived in New Castle, 
Delaware; and
WHEREAS, However, William Penn did not disembark until he 
docked in Chester, Pennsylvania, on what is believed to be 
October 29, 1682; and
WHEREAS, William Penn marveled at the place and found the 
land good and the air serene; and
WHEREAS, William Penn renamed the area, which was called 
Upland by Swedish settlers, Chester after the city in Cheshire 
County, England; and
WHEREAS, Chester became Pennsylvania's first incorporated 
municipality and William Penn had grand visions for the area; 
and
WHEREAS, William Penn summoned the settlement's largest 
landowner, James Sandelands, to negotiate a deal to establish 
Chester as the capital of Pennsylvania; and
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30 WHEREAS, William Penn and James Sandelands were unable to 
reach a deal and William Penn looked elsewhere and eventually 
founded Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, Chester continues to celebrate the anniversary of 
William Penn's landing but its unique place in this 
Commonwealth's history has been neglected and overlooked; 
therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives designate the 
month of October 2025 as "William Penn Landing Site in Chester 
Month" in Pennsylvania; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives commemorate this 
significant event and recognize Chester's unique place in this 
Commonwealth's history.
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