Originally called North East Publick Square, William Penn founded the square to establish a commercial center for settlers. He wanted settlers to have a space that was well-ordered to ensure they would set the proper example for future settlers. But Penn didn't actually own or control the square and it quickly came to other uses. In its early years, the square was just an open field for grazing animals. Later it was used to store gunpowder during the Revolutionary War and later still, drilling soldiers during the War of 1812.
In 1741, Thomas Penn, William's son, agreed to lease a portion of Franklin Square to the nearby First German Reformed Church for use as a burial ground. The church's cemetery at Franklin Square gradually expanded over the decades to include much of the square's eastern portion (1st drawing).
Over time, both the public and city objected to the use of the Square as a private burial grounds, noting William Penn had deemed it for public use.
In 1797, the city ruled the lease was illegal and sued the church to recover the burial grounds. Eventually, the city dropped the lawsuit in exchange for a fenced graveyard and possession of the rest of the square. But the issue flared up again in the 1820s, when the city sought to transform the entire Square into a park.
In 1821, the city ordered the church vacate the Square. The church fought the city and the case ended up at the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. In 1836, the court determined the church had no right to the land, ruling Thomas Penn's grant and subsequent leases were illegal.
The city proceeded to turn North East Publick Square into a park, ordering the church remove the cemetery fence, and transfer buried remains.
The church removed few, if any, remains according to archeological studies. Instead, the gravestones were laid flat upon the graves and covered with several feet of soil.
Human remains have been unearthed at various times throughout the 20th century. Several graves were disturbed when the city installed a new sewer line through Franklin Square in 1915 (2nd photo). Additional human remains were uncovered during excavations in the 1920's and during sewer excavations in 1976.
Map showing location of 1915 discovery of tombstones Burial Grounds plaque
burial grounds in Franklin Square.
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