William Penn’s Landing Site

The monument at the William Penn Landing Site marks the spot of the first landing of William Penn on the territory of Pennsylvania, on October 28 or 29, 1682. Penn, the founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, landed in the only town in the province, then known as Upland. Immediately after arriving in Upland, Penn asked a companion from Chester in England to rename the town, and he promptly renamed it Chester.  The monument at the site was designed by John Struthers, erected on November 8, and dedicated November 9, 1882. The landing site was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.