← All Pennsylvania markers

William Penn's First Walking Purchase

William Penn's First Walking Purchase is a Pennsylvania historical marker in Washington Crossing, Bucks County, dedicated 2001.

River Rd. (Rt. 32) at Taylorsville Rd. by Jericho Creek, Washington Crossing

Get directions ↗Start a road trip Historical trails

This site, Towissinck or Jerricho Creek, was the northern boundary of Penn's 1st purchase of Native American land on July 15, 1682. The land purchase was measured by the distance a man could walk in a day and a half, starting from the mouth of the Neshaminy Creek. It is believed Penn walked the distance himself, covering what is now Bristol, Falls, Middletown, Newtown, Lower and part of Upper Makefield Twps.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library

Historical maps covering this location

1674 · Totius Neobelgii nova et accuratissima tabula / [Hugo Allardt] (University Library, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)
1675 · Pascaerte van Nieu Nederland : streckende vande Zuÿdt Revier tot de Noordt Revier en't… (Princeton University Library)
1689 · A mapp of ye improved part of Pensilvania in America, divided into countyes, townships… (Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library)
1708 · Carte Particuliere de Virginie, Maryland, Pennsilvanie. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1872 · Delaware, Montgomery, Bucks counties. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

A mapp of ye improved part of Pensilvania in America, divided into countyes, townships…, 1689, covering the location of William Penn's First Walking Purchase, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — A mapp of ye improved part of Pensilvania in America, divided into countyes, townships…, 1689, covering this location. Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

Example

For example, one family's tree showed the Articles of Confederation marker in Pennsylvania standing under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s.

What that marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years there.

From one family's 77-marker roster

Upload your family tree and TreeAlive finds the markers near where your own ancestors lived.

See your family's markers

Start with a tree file, a FamilySearch sign in, or a WikiTree ID.

Report a problem with this page

The marker isn't at this spotOur pin may be off. If you know where it stands, tell us.I couldn't find the markerWe record what the source recorded. We have not been to look.The sign reads differentlyThat would be an error, and we can pass it to the program.The historical map looks wrongThe period map behind the pin, not the marker itself.Something else

We may pass what you report to the state's marker program. Please don't include personal details.

Marker data: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission via data.pa.gov

William Penn's First Walking Purchase

Historical maps covering this location

More markers nearby