The community gathered earlier this month to celebrate the 400th birthday of Thomas Holme.
Holme was the first surveyor general of Pennsylvania (appointed by William Penn) and laid out the original plan for Philadelphia.
His birthday party was thrown by the Holme Circle Civic Association, the Trustees of Lower Dublin Academy, Friends of Northeast Philadelphia History and the city Department of Parks and Recreation.
The location was his burial site at Holme-Crispin Cemetery, located in Holme Crispin Park, at Convent and Holme avenues.
Holme, born in England on Nov. 3, 1624, was a businessman, soldier in the English Civil War, landowner, husband and father of 10 who arrived here in 1682. He is believed to have lived near what is today the area of Crispin and Pennypack streets in Pennypack Woods.
A Holme descendant, Sandy Lader, attended the ceremony with her son T.J. and husband Paul. They live in Gloucester County, New Jersey.
Sue Buck, a deputy commissioner for Parks and Recreation, thanked Elsie and Bob Stevens and the Holme Circle Civic Association for maintaining the cemetery area, which includes fencing and a flagpole.
State Rep. Pat Gallagher read a citation (co-signed by Rep. Ed Neilson) honoring Holme and the civic association for preserving his legacy.
City Councilman Mike Driscoll thanked Mike Fagan and Linda Colwell-Smith, of the civic association, for their efforts organizing the celebration. Driscoll also cited the work of historians Fred Moore and Jack McCarthy and the maintenance of the cemetery led by Elsie and Bob Stevens.
“This man never thought we would gather 400 years later to celebrate his life,” the councilman said.
Elsie Stevens, a former civic association president, said there are a bunch of “beautification warriors” responsible for the pristine look of the cemetery, including everyone from Parks and Rec and the former Friends of Pennypack Park to teenagers sentenced to community service hours.
Together, the warriors cleared fallen trees, mountains of leaves, weeds, trash, debris and broken glass.
Previously, the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia presented the civic association with a Community Action Award for restoring the cemetery.
Holme’s first plan for Philadelphia covered the area from Vine Street to South Street and the Delaware River to the Schuylkill River.
“It’s a brilliant design,” said Jim Shomper, of the Surveyors Historical Society.
The community hopes there is a celebration for Holme’s 500th birthday in 2124.
“Mark your calendar,” Elsie Stevens said. ••
