Upon the south side of Chestnut Street, occupying the block between
Fifth and Sixth Streets, is Independence Square, an open space of
about four acres, tastefully laid out in flowers and lawns, with
spacious and well-shaded walks. Upon the northern side of the square,
and fronting Chestnut Street, is the most hallowed building of
American patriotic memories, Independence Hall, a modest brick
structure, yet the most interesting object Philadelphia contains. It
was in this Hall, known familiarly as the "State-house," that the
Continental Congress governing the thirteen revolted colonies met
during the American Revolution, excepting when driven out upon the
British capture, after the battle of the Brandywine. The Declaration
of Independence was adopted here July 4, 1776. The old brick building,
two stories high, plainly built, and lighted by large windows, was
begun in 1732, taking three years to construct, having cost what was
a large sum in those days, £5600, the population then being about ten
thousand. It was the Government House of Penn's Province of
Pennsylvania. There has recently been a complete restoration, by which
it has been put back into the actual condition at the time
Independence was declared. In the central corridor stands the
"Independence bell," the most sacred relic in the city. This Liberty
bell, originally cast in England, hung in the steeple, and rang out in
joyous peals the news of the signing of the Declaration. Running
around its top is the significant inscription: "Proclaim Liberty
throughout the Land unto all the Inhabitants Thereof." This bell was
cracked while being rung on one of the anniversaries about sixty years
ago. In the upper story of the Hall, Washington delivered his
"Farewell Address" in closing his term of office as President. The
eastern room of the lower story is where the Revolutionary Congress
met, and it is preserved as then, the old tables, chairs and other
furniture having been gathered together, and portraits of the Signers
of the Declaration hang on the walls. The old floor, being worn out,
was replaced with tiles, but otherwise the room, which is about forty
feet square, is as nearly as possible in its original condition. Here
are kept the famous "Rattlesnake flags," with the motto "Don't Tread
on Me," that were the earliest flags of America, preceding the Stars
and Stripes. Of the deliberations of the Congress which met in this
building, William Pitt wrote: "I must declare that in all my reading
and observation, for solidity of reasoning, force of sagacity, and
wisdom of conclusion, under such a complication of difficult
circumstances, no body of men could stand before the National Congress
of Philadelphia." In this building is Penn's Charter of Philadelphia,
granted in 1701, and West's noted painting of "Penn's Treaty with the
Indians." There are also portraits of all the British kings and queens
from Penn's time, including a full-length portrait of King George
III., representing him, when a young man, in his coronation robes, and
painted by Allan Ramsay.
Other historic places are nearby. To the westward is Congress Hall,
where the Congress of the United States held its sessions prior to
removal to Washington City. To the eastward is the old City Hall,
where the United States Supreme Court sat in the eighteenth century.
Adjoining is the Hall of the American Philosophical Society, founded
by Benjamin Franklin, and an outgrowth of his Junto Club of 1743. It
has a fine library and many interesting relics. Franklin, who was the
leading Philadelphian of the Revolutionary period, came to the city
from Boston when eighteen years old, and died in 1790. His grave is
not far away, in the old Quaker burying-ground on North Fifth Street.
A fine bronze statue of Franklin adorns the plaza in front of the
Post-office building on Chestnut Street. Farther down Chestnut Street
is the Hall of the Carpenters' Company, standing back from the street,
where the first Colonial Congress met in 1774, paving the way for the
Revolution. An inscription appropriately reads that "Within these
walls, Henry, Hancock and Adams inspired the delegates of the colonies
with nerve and sinew for the toils of war." On Arch Street, east from
Franklin's grave, is the house where Betsy Ross made the first
American flag, with thirteen stars and thirteen stripes, from a design
prepared by a Committee of Congress and General Washington in 1777. In
this committee were Robert Morris and Colonel George Ross, the latter
being the young woman's uncle. It appears that she was expert at
needlework and an adept in making the handsome ruffled bosoms and
cuffs worn in the shirts of those days, and had made these for General
Washington himself. She had also made flags, and there is a record of
an order on the Treasury in May, 1777, "to pay Betsy Ross fourteen
pounds, twelve shillings twopence for flags for the fleet in the
Delaware River." She made the sample-flag, her uncle providing the
means to procure the materials, and her design was adopted by the
Congress on June 14, 1777, the anniversary being annually commemorated
as "Flag Day." Originally there was a six-pointed star suggested by
the committee, but she proposed the five-pointed star as more
artistic, and they accepted it. The form of flag then adopted
continues to be the American standard. She afterwards married John
Claypole, whom she survived many years, and she died in January, 1836,
aged 84, being buried in Mount Moriah Cemetery, on the southwestern
border of the city.