The land on which Evansburg State Park is located was originally part of a massive tract of land purchased from the Lenape (Delaware) by William Penn in 1684. The land was quickly settled according to Willam Penn's planned "Holy Experiment". The first settlers were Mennonites. They fled religious persecution in Europe for the religious freedom, promised by William Penn in his colony. The Mennonites cleared the land of its old-growth forests and built farms, stores and mills that were powered by the waters of Skippack Creek. The area developed very rapidly and the Skippack Pike was constructed in 1714 to provide access to the markets of Philadelphia.