William Penn Annex East in Philadelphia in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Pennsylvania Bible Society
Photographed by Thomas Anderson, January 25, 2019
1. Pennsylvania Bible Society Marker
Erected 2014 by Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Charity & Public Work • Religion & Religious Structures. In addition, it is included in the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1808.
Location. 39° 56.879′ N, 75° 9.169′ W. Marker is in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia County. It is in William Penn Annex East. It is at the intersection of Walnut Street and 7th Street on Walnut Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 703 Walnut St, Philadelphia PA 19106, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Southeast Pennsylvania. It is also in the American Northeast and in the Mid-Atlantic. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, New Netherland, and one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: The First Bible in English (here, next to this marker); John G. Johnson, Esq. (a few steps from this marker); 7th & Walnut (within shouting distance of this marker); Freedom is a Light (about 300 feet away, measured in
this page online
Photographed by Thomas Anderson, January 25, 2019
3. Pennsylvania Bible House
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), June 2, 2024
4. Sign taped in the window
How we became who we are
In the fall of 1808, Robert Ralston (a prominent merchant and philanthropist in Philadelphia) had the idea of starting a Bible Society. So on December 21, 1808, Ralston gathered several citizens of Philadelphia, among them Dr. Benjamin Rush (a signer of the Declaration of Independence) and Bishop William White (Chaplain to the Congress of the United States) and founded a Bible Society whose primary mission was:
to provide scripture without note or comment to all who wanted to hear it, at an affordable price or free of charge if they coud not afford to buy it.
In 1854, the Bible House was erected on the corner of 7th and Walnut Streets for the purpose of furthering the mission of the Pennsylvania Bible Society, which remains the same today.
Credits. This page was last revised on June 3, 2024. It was originally submitted on March 27, 2015, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. This page has been viewed 755 times since then and 23 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on January 27, 2019, by Thomas Anderson of Haddon Township, New Jersey. 2. submitted on June 2, 2024, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. 3. submitted on January 27, 2019, by Thomas Anderson of Haddon Township, New Jersey. 4. submitted on June 3, 2024, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
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