Item Info

Item 1, top:  A private shipyard in the Southwark neighborhood, already commissioned to build warships for defence since 1797, became the property of the young US Navy in 1801, making it the country's first Navy Yard.  The Southwark Yard was located at the Delaware River docks, between Federal and Reed Streets.  It was in use exclusively at this location until 1868.  Then, for the next 8 years, its shipbuilding operation was shared with the new naval shipyard being developed on League Island; the Southwark location closed in 1876.  This pencil sketch was created by Philadelphia artist George Robert Bonfield in 1842.  As the caption states, it depicts the "Old Navy Yard - Philadelphia, From the Island that was."  The "island that was" refers to Windmill Island, which had been split in two in 1838, to enable easier navigation by ferries to the New Jersey coast.  The drawing shows a sailboat resting against the shore of the island, with the Navy Yard's ship-houses and warships in the distance.  Pencil drawing, 20.5 x 13.5 cm, 1842.

Item 2, center:  Image of the Navy Yard, at its first location in the Southwark Yard (see brief history of the Yard, above).  Shown are two ship-houses with ships under construction inside, and another large ship and a rowboat on the Delaware River.  Engraving reproduced for an unidentified publication (by an identified artist named Frazer), 16.5 x 9.5 cm, undated.

Item 3, bottom right:  Image of the Penn Treaty Monument, dedicated by the Penn Society in 1827, to commemorate the signing of the peace treaty between William Penn and the Lenape Turtle Clan in 1682.  The location of the obelisk is believed to mark the spot of the historic Treaty Elm, which had blown down in 1810.  Penn Treaty Park was later created and opened in 1898, to preserve the historic area from further industrial development.  The inscription on the obelisk reads, "Treaty Ground of William Penn and the Indian Nation, 1682, Unbroken Faith."