Editing Thomas Holme (section)

== Surveyor General of Pennsylvania ==

Holme arrived in Pennsylvania in 1682, likely aboard one of the early ships carrying settlers to Penn's colony. His immediate task was to lay out the capital city according to Penn's vision of a "greene countrie towne" with wide streets, generous lots, and public squares. Working rapidly through the summer and fall of 1682, Holme and his team surveyed the terrain between the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers, establishing the lines that would become Philadelphia's streets. The work required both technical skill and practical judgment: while Penn had provided general instructions about the city's layout, Holme had to adapt those instructions to the actual topography of the site, making decisions that would shape the city for centuries to come.<ref name="weigley">{{cite book |last=Weigley |first=Russell F. |title=Philadelphia: A 300-Year History |year=1982 |publisher=W.W. Norton |location=New York}}</ref>

Beyond the city itself, Holme was responsible for surveying and distributing land throughout the colony. Penn had promised purchasers in England specific acreage in Pennsylvania, and Holme had to locate, survey, and assign these parcels to their owners. This task was enormously complex, involving the reconciliation of overlapping claims, the accommodation of topography, and the fair distribution of land of varying quality. Holme established the system of townships and counties that organized Pennsylvania's territory, creating the basic administrative geography of the colony. He also surveyed the "Liberties"—the ring of land surrounding Philadelphia proper that Penn reserved for future city expansion—dividing it into lots that were distributed to Philadelphia landowners.<ref name="bronner"/>