Historian Frank Salvati will discuss the Walking Purchase of 1737 and trace its boundaries stretching from central Bucks County north to Pike County and encompassing more than one million acres. In the summer of 1737 John and Thomas Penn, sons of William Penn, claimed a deed dating from the 1680s was procured from the Lenape people for an area that covered as much land as a man could walk in a day. The fraudulent deed was forced upon the Lenape by the province of Pennsylvania, working hand in hand with their Iroquois allies. The resulting deception resulted in the expulsion of the Lenape people from their homeland and wreaked a terrible revenge during the French and Indian War.
Frank Salvati has a commanding knowledge of colonial Indian affairs in northeastern Pennsylvania. His career with the Forensic Psychology Center for the state of New York has prepared him for his investigative studies. With his vast library of historical details, Salvati educates and entertains, rather than offering a dry history lesson. He has been presenting numerous topics of colonial history to historical groups and schools since 1995.
This program, hosted by the Greene-Dreher Historical Society, will be held in the outdoor amphitheater at Promised Land State Park. It is free and open to the public.
