On the occasion of taking formal possession of the Hall, on the 5th of September, 1857, the Managing Committee, in reporting their proceedings to the Company, took occasion to accompany their report with various extracts from the minutes of the Company, and with the names of the officers of the Company from its date to the present time, as far as practicable. The Company having directed that such portions of this report should be printed for the use of the members as might be deemed proper by the Managing Committee, the present brief summary of the History of the Association and its Hall, has been prepared in obedience thereto. It was as early as 1724, about 40 years after Wm. Penn first landed on these shores, that the Master Carpenters of the City and and County of Philadelphia organized an Association called the Carpenters' Company. The object of this Association, as expressed in the subsequent act of incorporation, was to obtain instruction in the Science of Architecture, and to assist such of their members as should by accident be in need of support, and of the widows and minor children of such members. Among the first results of this association, was the fixing of a uniform scale of prices upon their work, so that the workman should receive a fair compensation for his labor, and the employer obtain a fair value for his money.