Park Service Withdraws Plan to Remove William Penn Statue

The National Park Service withdrew its plan to remove a statue of William Penn from a Philadelphia park after it drew fire from state GOP leaders, who criticized it as an attempt to “cancel” the founder of the colony that would become Pennsylvania.

The federal agency said last week that the statue would be removed as part of a proposal to rehabilitate Welcome Park, located on the site of Penn’s former home, to make the park more welcoming, accurate and inclusive.