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The coat of arms of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania , officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic , Northeastern , Appalachian , and Great Lakes regions of the United States . It borders Delaware to its southeast, Maryland to its south, West Virginia to its southwest, Ohio and the Ohio River to its west, Lake Erie and New York to its north, the Delaware River and New Jersey to its east, and the Canadian province of Ontario to its northwest via Lake Erie . Pennsylvania's most populous city is Philadelphia .
Pennsylvania was founded in 1681 through a royal land grant to William Penn , the son of the state's namesake . Before that, between 1638 and 1655, a southeast portion of the state was part of New Sweden , a Swedish colony. Established as a haven for religious and political tolerance, the colonial-era Province of Pennsylvania was known for its relatively peaceful relations with native tribes, innovative government system , and religious pluralism .
Pennsylvania played a vital and historic role in the American Revolution and the ultimately successful quest for independence from the British Empire , hosting the First and Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia that formed the Continental Army and appointed George Washington as its commander in 1775, and unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence the following year. On December 12, 1787, Pennsylvania was the second state to ratify the U.S. Constitution . (Full article... )
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The Johnstown Inclined Plane is a 896.5-foot (273.3 m) funicular in Johnstown , Cambria County, Pennsylvania , U.S. The incline and its two stations connect the city of Johnstown, situated in a valley at the confluence of the Stonycreek and the Little Conemaugh rivers, to the borough of Westmont on Yoder Hill. The Johnstown Inclined Plane is billed as the "world's steepest vehicular inclined plane". It can carry automobiles and passengers, up or down a slope with a grade of 71.9%. The travel time between stations is 90 seconds.
After a catastrophic flood in 1889 , the Johnstown Inclined Plane was completed in 1891 to serve as an escape route from floods in the valley, as well as a convenient mode of transportation for residents of the new communities above the valley. It was operated by Cambria Iron Company and its successor Bethlehem Steel until 1935, when it was sold to the borough of Westmont. The incline was briefly shut down in 1962 when its supply of power from Bethlehem Steel was terminated. (Full article... )
Little Fishing Creek looking downstream in Millville
Little Fishing Creek is a tributary of Fishing Creek in Sullivan County , Lycoming County , and Columbia County , in Pennsylvania , in the United States. It is approximately 23.5 miles (37.8 km) long and flows through eight townships. The watershed of the creek has an area of 68.1 square miles (176 km2 ). The creek has six named tributaries , of which the largest are Spruce Run and West Branch Run.
There are at least two major rock formations in the watershed of Little Fishing Creek: the Chemung Formation and the Hamilton Group . The creek's watershed includes part of the Greenwood Valley. Much of the watershed is forested and major roads in it include Pennsylvania Route 42 . The first European settler first arrived in the vicinity of the creek during the 1760s or 1770s, with other settlers arriving in the 1790s. A number of sawmills, woolen mills, and tanneries historically operated on the creek. A number of covered bridges have also been built over it and there were historically some railroads in the watershed. (Full article... )
Johnstown, Pennsylvania Scranton, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Philadelphia Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Allentown, Pennsylvania Lancaster, Pennsylvania State College, Pennsylvania Warren, Pennsylvania DuBois, Pennsylvania Erie, Pennsylvania Chambersburg, Pennsylvania Juniata County, Pennsylvania Pithole, Pennsylvania Lock Haven, Pennsylvania Larrys Creek State Route 1002 (Lehigh County, Pennsylvania) Pennsylvania Route 563 Hull Creek (Lackawanna River tributary) Ganoga Lake Mahoning Creek (Susquehanna River tributary) Shawnee on Delaware, Pennsylvania Roaring Brook (Lackawanna River tributary) Pennsylvania Route 463 Kettle Creek (Pennsylvania) Spanish Hill West Branch Fishing Creek West Creek (Pennsylvania) Plunketts Creek Bridge No. 3 White Deer Hole Creek Plunketts Creek (Loyalsock Creek tributary) Horseshoe Curve (Pennsylvania) Kinzua Bridge Quehanna Wild Area Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Levittown, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Turnpike Pocono Mountains Altoona, Pennsylvania
... that Mid-State Regional Airport (pictured) is a Keystone Opportunity Zone to promote economic growth, but, to protect the Pennsylvania state park and forest it was formed from, cannot legally expand?
... that the 1852 Lombard Street Riot capped thirteen years of recurring racial violence in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania ?
... that both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama refused to hand out street money , a political tactic common in Philadelphia , during the 2008 Pennsylvania primary ?
... that when the YMCA of Berwick was incorporated in Pennsylvania in 1883, the majority of the organization's trustees were current executives of Jackson and Woodin Manufacturing Company ?
... that of the 30 covered bridges that once stood in Sullivan County, Pennsylvania , only Forksville , Hillsgrove , and Sonestown remain, all of which were built in 1850?
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Emily Sartain (March 17, 1841 – June 17, 1927) was an American painter and engraver. She was the first woman in Europe and the United States to practice the art of mezzotint engraving, and the only woman to win a gold medal at the 1876 World Fair in Philadelphia . Sartain became a nationally recognized art educator and was the director of the Philadelphia School of Design for Women from 1866 to 1920. Her father, John Sartain , and three of her brothers, William , Henry and Samuel were artists. Before she entered the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and studied abroad, her father took her on a Grand Tour of Europe. She helped found the New Century Club for working and professional women, and the professional women's art clubs, The Plastic Club and The Three Arts Club. (Full article... )
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State Facts
Pennsylvania's largest city Philadelphia
Nickname: The Keystone State
Capital: Harrisburg
Largest city: Philadelphia
Total area: 119,283 square kilometers (46,055 square miles)
Population (2000 census): 12,281,054
Date admitted to the Union: December 12, 1787 (2nd )
State symbols
Mountain laurel, Pennsylvania's state flower
Pennsylvania topics
General images
The following are images from various Pennsylvania-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1 On November 19, 1863,
President Abraham Lincoln (center, facing camera) arrived in
Gettysburg and delivered the
Gettysburg Address , considered one of the best-known speeches in American history. (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 2 The
Statue of Benjamin Franklin on the campus of the
University of Pennsylvania in
West Philadelphia , which pays tribute to
Benjamin Franklin , a
Founding Father who founded the university, now an
Ivy League institution and one of the world's top universities, in 1740 (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 3 An
Amish family riding in a traditional
Amish buggy in
Lancaster County . As of 2024, Pennsylvania has an Amish population of 92,660, the
largest of any state in the nation. (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 4 Philadelphia International Airport , the busiest airport in the state and the
21st-busiest airport in the nation with over 13 million passengers in 2023 (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 5 One of only two confirmed photos of
Abraham Lincoln (sitting in center, facing camera, without his traditional top hat) at
Gettysburg a few hours prior to giving the
Gettysburg Address at
Gettysburg National Cemetery on November 19, 1863. The address, which was only 271 words in length, ranks among the most famed speeches in American history. (from
History of Pennsylvania )
Image 6 The Birth of Pennsylvania , a portrait of
William Penn (standing with document in hand), who founded the
Province of Pennsylvania in 1681 as a refuge for
Quakers after receiving a royal deed to it from
King Charles II (from
History of Pennsylvania )
Image 7 Shelter House in
Emmaus , constructed in 1734 by
Pennsylvania German settlers, is the oldest continuously occupied building structure in the
Lehigh Valley and one of the oldest in Pennsylvania (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 8 Bethlehem Steel in
Bethlehem was one of the world's leading steel manufacturers for most of the 19th and 20th century. In 1982, however, it discontinued most of its operations, declared bankruptcy in 2001, and was dissolved in 2003. (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 9 The
Stonycreek Township crash site of
Flight 93 , one of four planes hijacked in the
September 11 attacks ; the site is now a
national memorial . Flight 93 passengers wrestled with
al-Qaeda terrorist hijackers for control of the plane, preventing it from being flown into the
White House or
U.S. Capitol . (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 11 Stephen Decatur , a 19th-century
naval commander who served in the
War of 1812 and other engagements (from
History of Pennsylvania )
Image 13 Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom 's
Steel Force and
Thunderhawk roller coasters in
Allentown ; Steel Force is the eighth-longest
steel roller coaster in the world with a first drop of 205 feet (62 m) and a top speed of 75 miles per hour (121 km/h). Founded in 1884, Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom is the fifth-oldest amusement park in the nation. (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 16 Pennsylvania population density map (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 18 The locomotive
Tioga in
Philadelphia in 1848; Pennsylvania was an important railroad center throughout the 19th century. (from
History of Pennsylvania )
Image 19 The
Köppen climate types of Pennsylvania based on 1991–2020
climate normals (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 20 Ethnic origins of Pennsylvanians (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 26 Citizens Bank Park in
South Philadelphia , home of the
Philadelphia Phillies , the oldest continuous same-name, same-city franchise in American professional sports (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 27 Pat's King of Steaks in
South Philadelphia is widely credited with inventing the
cheesesteak in 1933. (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 28 Pennsylvania's unemployment rate between 1976 and 2021
The U.S. unemployment rate during these years
(from
Pennsylvania )
Image 30 Pittsburgh Steelers ' fans waving the
Terrible Towel , a tradition that dates back to
1975 (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 31 Simon Cameron of
Maytown was
Secretary of War and head of Pennsylvania's
Republican Party , whose party machine controlled Pennsylvania into the 20th century. (from
History of Pennsylvania )
Image 32 A map of
New Netherland (in magenta) and
New Sweden (in blue) in the 17th century; New Sweden was later absorbed by New Netherland and then the
British in the
Second Anglo-Dutch War . (from
History of Pennsylvania )
Image 33 2024 U.S. presidential election results by county in Pennsylvania
Democratic
Republican
(from
Pennsylvania )
Image 34 The
Philadelphia Eagles are presented with the
Vince Lombardi Trophy on February 4, 2018, after winning
Super Bowl LII , in which they defeated the
New England Patriots 41-33. (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 38 The
Gettysburg campaign , which culminated in the
Battle of Gettysburg , was a major turning point in the
American Civil War and the war's bloodiest battle with an estimated 46,000 to 51,000 casualties (from
History of Pennsylvania )
Image 39 The
colonial possessions of
Britain (in pink),
France (in blue), and
Spain (in orange) as of 1750. The French later lost their possessions in
North America to Britain following its defeat in the
French and Indian War , fought from 1754 to 1763 (from
History of Pennsylvania )
Image 40 The
Battle of Gettysburg , fought July 1–3, 1863 in
Gettysburg , was the Civil War's
deadliest battle but also is widely considered the
war's turning point in the
Union's ultimate victory. The battle is depicted in this 1887
Thure de Thulstrup painting,
Battle of Gettysburg . (from
Pennsylvania )
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