Days before America’s Founding Fathers declared their independence from Britain, Pennsylvania did it first.
In June 1776, before the Declaration of Independence was signed, a group of leaders from Philadelphia and its surrounding 10 counties — Bucks, Berks, Chester, Lancaster, York, Cumberland, Bedford, Northampton, Northumberland, and Westmoreland — met in Carpenters Hall for the Pennsylvania Provincial Conference. There, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was born.
Carpenters Hall, a hidden landmark just two blocks from Independence Hall in Philadelphia’s Old City, is the true birthplace of Pennsylvania, where the state declared its independence from Britain — jump-starting the framework of the state’s influential constitution that would serve as a model for the U.S. Constitution.
Now, the little-known and privately owned historic site is celebrating Pennsylvania’s 250th birthday — which coincides with America’s Semiquincentennial — by holding commemorative events across the state to reflect on Pennsylvania’s history and ask residents how the state constitution should be strengthened in 2026 and beyond.
“It’s the piece of the story we should own and celebrate and use as a platform for civic engagement,” said Michael Norris, the executive director of Carpenters Hall.
Last week, Norris and others from Carpenters Hall traveled from Philadelphia — the state’s first capital — to Harrisburg to announce their yearlong schedule of events celebrating Pennsylvania’s founding, including those about the state’s constitution and its past and future.
At a news conference last week, Rep. Mary Isaacson (D., Philadelphia) noted that she occupies the seat once held by former Pennsylvania House Speaker Benjamin Franklin. She said she sees the Carpenters Hall events as “more than learning about a key moment in Pennsylvania history.”
“It’s also about exploring the vital importance of our state constitution in our democracy today and what citizens can do to engage,” she added.
The commemorative events include an interactive town hall series hosted in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, and Erie to discuss the importance of the Pennsylvania Provincial Conference in the United States’ founding. The group will also host several events at Carpenters Hall, including the installation of a blue historical marker outside the hall on June 18, in addition to a three-part virtual lecture series on Pennsylvania’s constitution.
The events, funded by America 250 PA and the Landenberger Family Foundation, are open to the public and intended to reach Pennsylvania’s “lifelong learners” who are interested in history and civics, as well as the legal community, who will be eligible for Continuing Legal Education credits for attending the virtual lectures, Norris said.
“To me, 250 is about reflection and engagement,” Norris said. “It’s not about parties and buildings. It’s really a moment to reflect and say, ‘What are we doing here? Do we still want this democracy, and how do we protect it and keep it going?’”
The Carpenters’ Company — the nation’s oldest craft guild, which built and still owns Carpenters Hall — will also conduct polling about how Pennsylvania’s constitution, as well as the U.S. Constitution, should be changed to better represent citizens in a modern time, Norris said. The poll results will be made public at an in-person event in Philadelphia on Sept. 28, the 250th anniversary of when the state constitution was ratified.
Rhode Island was the first colony to declare independence from England in May 1776, and Delaware became the first state in December 1787. Pennsylvania followed days after, and its constitution influenced the country’s founding documents. Pennsylvania’s expansive constitution — viewed as radical at the time — focused on personal freedoms and liberties in its “Declaration of Rights,” after which the Bill of Rights was modeled.
Carpenters Hall was the nation’s first privately owned historic landmark, and remains owned by the Carpenters’ Company today, which offers free admission for 150,000 visitors each year. Because it is privately owned, it is not overseen by the National Park Service, which has in recent weeks dismantled exhibits about slavery at the nearby President’s House Site in Independence National Park that President Donald Trump’s administration contends “inappropriately disparage” the United States.
The Carpenters Hall events will occur as Philadelphia prepares to host millions of visitors this summer for America’s 250th celebrations, the MLB All-Star Game, and FIFA World Cup games.
