Where did the First Continental Congress meet, an event remembered during America250?

The First Continental Congress met at Carpenters’ Hall in Philadelphia, an event remembered as part of the history leading to America250. Delegates gathered there from September 5 to October 26, 1774.

The meeting responded to rising tensions between Great Britain and the colonies, especially after Parliament passed the Intolerable Acts following the Boston Tea Party. Representatives from twelve of the thirteen colonies attended; Georgia did not participate because Loyalist influence remained strong there and the colony depended on British military support.

Carpenters’ Hall was associated with the Carpenters’ Company of the City and County of Philadelphia. The building provided a neutral meeting place away from Pennsylvania’s colonial legislature. The Congress later moved to other locations for subsequent meetings, including the Pennsylvania State House, now known as Independence Hall.

A common mix-up is to identify Independence Hall as the venue of the First Continental Congress. Independence Hall hosted the Second Continental Congress beginning in 1775 and later became closely associated with the Declaration of Independence. The first Congress, however, met at Carpenters’ Hall.