Burlington was among the oldest and at one time the most influential towns in New Jersey. At Holland's behest, Walloon settlers from southern Belgium arrived at present-day Burlington Island in 1624, making the first attempt at a permanent settlement on the Delaware River. The Dutch intended Burlington Island to be the seat of New Netherlands' government, but the proposed capital was moved to New Amsterdam in 1626, and the Walloons withdrew by 1628. Afterward, the Delaware River area saw extensive multicultural activity as Dutch, Swedish, Finnish, and English groups briefly occupied regional plantations and competed for control. In 1677, English Quakers, after first stopping in New Amsterdam aboard the ship Kent, obtained permission to establish a permanent settlement on the east shore of the Delaware River. They carried the first charter for West New Jersey, regarded as a hallmark of religious and political freedom and as one of the most significant writings before the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. Soon after, surveyor Richard Noble laid out Burlington's streets, and the town became the seat of proprietary government for West New Jersey, serving as both the provisional capital and the Burlington County seat. Burlington quickly grew into one of the state's largest cities and a major center for transportation and commerce. In the 1680s, the government ordered construction of a combined county courthouse and provincial state house at the intersection of High and Broad Streets, and in 1702 Burlington and Perth Amboy became the co-capitals of the new royal colony of New Jersey. By the close of the 18th century, Mount Holly had become the county seat and Trenton the state capital, leaving Burlington's old courthouse obsolete and leading to its demolition and sale for salvage materials. Excavation under Broad Street just south of the light-rail station uncovered human skeletal remains, prompting archaeological study. Historical research found a reference to the possible burial of an Englishman near that spot in 1677, but a reconstructed skull was identified as an elderly male of Northern European descent, possibly Scandinavian or Dutch, and carbon dating placed the bones in the mid- or late-1600s. Further investigation showed that at least one juvenile male was also buried there, and after at least 320 years the remains were returned to the lost burial ground from which they came.