The story of The Carpenters’ Company of Philadelphia and its members, who created the built environment of colonial Philadelphia
Patriot Builders tells the story of The Carpenters’ Company of Philadelphia, the oldest professional organization of craftsmen in North America. Founded in the 1720s, The Carpenters’ Company established a consolidated class of elite building artisans who led the construction of colonial Philadelphia. Rooted in the tradition of the medieval guild system and modeled after London’s Worshipful Company of Carpenters, the early members—master builders—formed tight family networks through marriages and professional bonds through arranged apprenticeships. Early members sought out municipal positions related to construction and development, as well as prominent civic and residential commissions, quickly establishing a reputation of reliability and authority for the Company.
The master builders were more than just carpenters. They were talented and educated designers, the proto-architects of the colonial era. Through the Company’s library, Franklin’s Library Company, and their own personal collections, they studied reprints of Vitruvius and Palladio and their English contemporaries like James Gibbs and many others. As the mood in the colonies shifted to Independence, The Carpenters’ Company was in a strong position to become actively involved in the revolutionary movement. Perhaps most famously, their revered meetinghouse, Carpenters’ Hall, served as the site of the First Continental Congress in 1774. While that chapter is widely known, the larger story of The Carpenters’ Company of Philadelphia is not.
According to Roger W. Moss, the members’ role in creating the built environment of colonial Philadelphia is unsurpassed, and the Company’s successful establishment of a guild-based professional framework is a unique connection between old world and new world practice.
