In The Cradle of Industry and Liberty

age had joined the Religious Society of
Friends, commonly called Quakers. Having
been persecuted for his religious beliefs,
he envisioned his new colony as a “holy
experiment,” a place where people of all
faiths could enjoy freedom of conscience
and live in peace. It was a noble endeavor to
be sure, but as much as William Penn was
a visionary city planner and champion of
religious freedom, he was also a businessman
who viewed Pennsylvania as an investment,
a way to wealth through real estate development,
trading, and manufacturing.
EARLY
MANUFACTURERS
Shortly after receiving his charter from
King Charles, Penn and a group of English
businessmen, mostly London Quakers, formed
a joint stock company called the Free Society
of Traders. The company had grand plans
for making money in Pennsylvania. Among
other ventures, they intended to establish
manufacturing operations of various types.
The Free Society did build saw and grist
mills, as well as a glass factory, brick kiln,
and tannery, but these did not last long and
the company itself was a failure, surviving
only a few years. Its lasting legacy to
Philadelphia is the name of its original tract
of land just south of the Old City area,
the neighborhood known as “Society Hill.”
If the Free Society of Traders’ early attempts
at manufacturing in Philadelphia were not
successful, those of others certainly were.
The new city grew rapidly in the 1680s
and 1690s, giving rise to all sorts of businesses
that transformed raw materials into
finished products to serve a population
that grew from a few hundred to over
2,000 by 1700. Tanneries, breweries, and
brick kilns were among the active enterprises
in the city’s early manufacturing sector.
Tanners supplied the leather goods that
were always in demand and breweries were
essential to the early colonists, who were
prodigious drinkers of beer. Beer in those
days was generally less potent than today
and its consumption was largely a matter
of the need for brewed beverages due to
@
Above: Philadelphia in 1702. This c. 1875
print depicts Philadelphia as it might have
looked in 1702. The cove at mid left is
the mouth of Dock Creek, along which
tanneries, slaughter houses, and other early
industries were located. The building at mid
right on the riverfront with the two partially
constructed boats in front is the Pennypot
Tavern, where James West had the city’s
first shipyard. Smoke from a brick kiln can
be seen rising directly behind the tavern.
LIBRARY COMPANY OF PHILADELPHIA.
Left: A Letter From William Penn,
Proprietary and Governour of
Pennsylvania In America, To The
Committee Of The Free Society of
Traders of that Province, residing in
London. This 1683 report to the Free
Society of Traders is one of a number of
letters and pamphlets William Penn sent
to England and other parts of Europe,
describing life in Pennsylvania and
encouraging investment and emigration to
the colony.
QUAKER & SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, HAVERFORD COLLEGE,
HAVERFORD, PENNSYLVANIA.
CHAPTER TWO
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