A Tree in Penn’s Woods
Trees Have Complimented Philadelphia Recreation Since the Beginning.
Almost immediately after the finalization of Philadelphia’s original design in 1682—commissioned by William Penn and brought to life by Pennsylvania Surveyor General Thomas Holme with the inclusion of five iconic squares that still exist today—recreation and leisure were a part of the City.
The sport was with us from the beginning. So were trees. A lot of trees.
The Philadelphia Tree Program — which started in 2023 and is being implemented thanks to a $12 Million Grant from the USDA Forest Service — will see approximately 15,000 trees planted around Philadelphia in Mayor Parker’s first term.
The program has planned 600 around historic Fairmount Park.
Philadelphia’s parks and outdoor basketball courts — some of the most legendary in the country and once in the dreams of millions of young American basketball players who dominated pickup games on that hallowed blacktop, players like Rasheed Wallace, Joe Bryant, and Malik Rose — are getting a makeover will newly-planted trees to now surrounding the area where sports of all kinds are played.
Each year, from the first April temperate weather until the autumn chill of Thanksgiving — some of the finest basketball players in the world gather on Philadelphia’s outdoor basketball courts from dawn until dusk.
According to Courts of the World, Philly ranks 6th in outdoor basketball courts. If you want a little history to accompany your pickup game, Lemon Hill in the Fairmount Park area offers some of the best basketball in the City against the backdrop of the historic Lemon Hill Mansion, which is also beautifully lit against the river at night.
Trees are one of the last remaining echoes of William Penn’s Philadelphia that exist even today. Colonial settlers in the 17th and 18th centuries planted their own trees around the Philadelphia region — a gentle reminder in the midst of Penn’s Woods of a European Home across the seas.
Although the Europeans took notice of Pennsylvania’s vast wooded areas in the late 17th century, William Penn and the settlers made arrangements for trees from England to be provided for Pennsylvania.
Last fall, a White Oak on the property of the London Grove Friends Meeting Place, dating from William Penn’s time in his new territory, fell in Chester County. The Meeting Place is located in the vicinity of Kennett Square.
This month in Chester County — a Black Oak, also known as Quercus velutina, which lived in Chester County’s Layton Park dating back to the 1700s — toppled over in the midst of terrible winds during a thunderstorm. The 74-foot tall tree is the 9th tallest ever recorded in Pennsylvania.
In the shadow of Philly’s South Philadelphia Sports Complex is FDR Park, which is in the process of getting a $250 million makeover and will gain 7,000 new trees and 1,700 shrubs. This past Saturday was the annual Family Field Day, featuring girls’ rugby, soccer, baseball, soccer, and girl’s football, and an appearance by Swoop at FDR Park.
Fifteen miles north of Philadelphia, in the community of Plymouth Meeting, established as far back as 1708, sits the now largely vacant Plymouth Meeting Mall. The once thriving shopping metropolis is now primarily home to entertainment on the outside of the complex, including The Edge Fitness, whose much empty first level showcases semi-annual sports cards and memorabilia shows.
One of the first shopping malls in Pennsylvania opened in 1966. Although it is now largely empty in its interior, one of its quiet walls still holds the rings of a tree stump hanging on one of its walls. The tree dates from the time of Benjamin Franklin and was located on the grounds of Meehan’s Nursery, which was previously on the property.
In case you were wondering?
Yes, it did make a sound.
PHOTO: Unsplash
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Categorized:More PHL