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Colonial American news spread very slowly compared to modern methods. Printers’ Row — which stretched along the 100 to 400 block of today’s Market Street in Old City — served as a vital connection between government leaders and the people living across the original 13 colonies of our nascent country.
Pamphlets and newspapers were the communication tools of the 18th century, and the printers producing these materials set up shops in the busiest part of town, near the Delaware River. At this time, print shops were decidedly partisan — Patriot or Loyalist — showing through print which political parties they favored in the new government.
Today’s visitors can find historic plaques marking the spots where these businesses once stood, including the spot where printers made copies of the Declaration of Independence to spread the word to the countryside that America had severed ties with Great Britain.
Read on for a handy guide to Printers’ Row.
Market Street holds the memories of these important businesses through historic plaques, including one for Irish immigrant John Dunlap’s shop (near 138 Market Street), where the original Declaration of Independence first hit the presses.
As Dunlap also published the country’s first successful newspaper — The Pennsylvania Packet — it’s fitting that the Society of Professional Journalists honored the printer and his role in securing American independence by installing the plaque during the city’s Bicentennial celebration in 1976.
— Photo by Visit Philadelphia
On the same block, find a blue historic marker commemorating Robert Aitken (106 Market Street), known for printing the country’s first complete copy of the Bible in English and for helping to spread Thomas Paine’s words in The Pennsylvania Magazine.
In addition to viewing the historic markers, visitors can also head to the Franklin Court Printing Office and watch park rangers set type and crank the arm of a (reproduction) 18th-century press — all while answering questions.
Franklin Court Printing Office, reproduction presses — Photo courtesy National Park Service
Business owners chose the Market Street location to set up shop because of the area’s proximity to the Delaware River, allowing access to a steady stream of papermaking supplies and a method of delivery for finished products. The prime location also made it easy for the Founding Fathers to spread the word of historic happenings.
History holds that in the evening hours of July 4, 1776, Benjamin Franklin took the handwritten, freshly inked copy of the Declaration to Dunlap’s shop. Franklin ordered hundreds of copies, and the printer and his staff worked through the night to copy the document.
Copies of the Declaration would then find their way throughout the colonies, with the first public reading of the words happening on July 8, 1776 in front of the Pennsylvania State House (today’s Independence Hall) and the last happening in Savannah, Georgia in August 1776.
Visit the John Dunlap plaque and the Robert Aitken historical marker any time of day, as both are freely accessible to the public.
No tickets are necessary to visit the Franklin Court Printing Office, but check ahead for hours and days of operation.
To learn more about Robert Aitken and his historical marker, visit the official website below.
It’s Philly’s biggest year yet!
Make the most of it by booking the Visit Philly Overnight Package, which comes with free hotel parking and complimentary tickets to some of the most popular attractions in each of Greater Philadelphia’s five counties including Universal Theme Parks: The Exhibition at The Franklin Institute, the Mercer Museum in Bucks County, Longwood Gardens in Chester County, the Brandywine Museum of Art in Delaware County and Elmwood Park Zoo in Montgomery County.
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