Crosswicks’ Journey into Penn’s ‘Holy Experiment’

First Day School Travel

Crosswicks First Day School Fieldtrip to Pennbury

The sun shone with a golden, autumnal kindness on the Sunday morning that Crosswicks Meeting First Day School set out for a field trip to Pennsbury Manor State Park. Though a pesky conspiracy of sports tournaments, visiting relatives, and a princess’s very important day on a float had whittled their numbers down, the four children who remained felt a spark of excitement and adventure. They weren’t just going on a field trip; they were about to travel back in time.

Modern highways and turnpikes made the 16-mile journey in a mere 25 minutes. “Imagine,” one of the six adults said, “if we had to go by boat like William Penn. This half-hour zip across the Delaware would have been a two-day adventure!” The children gazed out the window, trying to picture the same Delaware River not as a scenic backdrop, but as a slow, winding highway.

After a picnic lunch on the spotless, beautiful State Park grounds, the spell of the past began to weave around them. Their first stop was the visitor’s center, where they met William Penn not as a statue, but as a man. They saw a young Penn, born into a wealthy family, who made a surprising and difficult choice: he became a Quaker. The exhibits showed them the English Civil War and the persecution Friends faced, making them understand that Penn’s faith was a courageous one.

Their guide, who seemed to know every brick and beam of the place, led them out onto the grounds. “Now, most of what you see here was rebuilt in the 1930s,” she explained. “Penn’s original home had vanished, swallowed by time, until people decided his story was too important to forget.”

They walked past a free-standing kitchen, where the air was thick with the smell of baking bread and simmering stew. They peeked into boat sheds and animal barns, and finally, they stood before the magnificent recreated manor house. It wasn’t just a museum; it felt alive.

The afternoon was a whirlwind of colonial activity. The children gathered around a wooden table in the manor kitchen, where interpreters crushed dried and fragrant herbs with a mortar and pestle to make “medicines.” They giggled as they dipped quill pens into inkwells, their careful letters turning into delightful scribbles. They watched, wide-eyed, as a cook in period dress tended to a roaring fireplace, explaining how every meal was a day-long task.

But the real magic was in the stories the guide told. She didn’t just talk about dates and furniture; she spoke of Quaker ideals as if they were revolutionary secrets—which, they soon realized, they were!

“William Penn believed that everyone, and I mean everyone, had a piece of the Light inside them,” the guide said, her voice clear and strong. The children listened, understanding that this was the same Light they learned about in First Day School.

The guide continued, painting pictures with her words:

• Equality: She told them how Penn was motivated by a radical sense of fairness, insisting on fair dealings with the Native Americans, treating them as equals and paying them for their land. “He made a treaty of friendship,” she said, “that was famous for being unbroken for over seventy years.”
• Freedom of Conscience: “Penn invited everyone to his ‘Holy Experiment,'” she explained. “It didn’t matter if you were Baptist, Catholic, or Jewish—you were welcome in Pennsylvania to bring your community and culture and worship as you pleased.”
• Justice: “And he introduced the idea of a trial by a jury of your peers,” she said. “That means people like you would decide if someone was innocent or guilty, not just a single powerful judge.” This was a radical notion in Britain and its other colonies. However, Penn knew this danger personally, as he had been imprisoned without trial because of his convincement to Quakerism.

One of the adults chimed in, “You know, Thomas Jefferson once said that William Penn was the greatest lawmaker who ever lived. If you listen carefully, you can hear Penn’s words echoing in our Declaration of Independence and Constitution!” The children looked at each other, impressed. This wasn’t just old history; it was the foundation of their country, built by a Quaker.

They felt a deep sense of connection to the earth. They had scribbled with quills, smelled colonial cooking, and walked where Penn had walked. But more than that, they had felt the power of his Quaker testimonies—Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, and Stewardship—unexpectedly brought to life.

As they piled back into the car for the short journey home to Crosswicks, one of the children said, “It felt like we were part of his work continuing. Today was our Holy Experiment for a day.”

The adults smiled. The trip had been more than a success; it had been a living lesson, a fun and unforgettable glimpse into the life of a man whose Quaker faith helped shape a nation. They all agreed: this was a trip well worth repeating.