Established in 1894, the park was named in honor of the treaty by which William Penn received title to the land from Native Americans. According to legend, Native Americans met William Penn under an elm tree at Shackamaxon, the site of present day Penn Treaty Park, just north of Penn's Landing in the Fishtown neighborhood. Traditionally, the encounter included words of friendship and maybe the purchase of land. While such a Great Treaty meeting may never have occurred, it symbolized the desire for peace on the part of both the Delaware (Leni Lenape) Indians and William Penn.