History of Pennsylvania United States of America

Our on-site database does not include an historic photo for Pennsylvania, do you have one you would like to contribute? Contact Us!

Local History Notes:

PENNSYLVANIA, one of the Middle United States, and the second in population of the confederacy, is bounded N. by Lake Erie and New York; E. by New York and New Jersey, from which it is separated by the Delaware river; S. by Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia; and W. by Virginia and Ohio. It lies between 39° 43' and 42° 15' N. lat., and between 74° 42' and 80° 36' W. lon., being about 310 miles in length, and 160 in width, (except at the angle at Lake Erie, where it is 175,) and containing an area of 46,000 square miles, or 29,440,000 acres, of which only 8,628,619 were improved in 1850.

Population: Pennsylvania was originally settled by English and Welsh Friends, or Quakers, but the population afterwards received large additions of Germans and Irish, and some other foreigners. In some of the middle and eastern counties, the Germans still keep up their own language and customs, and have papers printed and schools taught in their own tongue. By the census of 1790, there were 434,373 inhabitants; 602,365 in 1800; 810,091 in 1810; 1,049,458 in 1820; 1,348,233 in 1830; 1,724,033 in 1840; and 2,311,786 in 1850; of whom 1,142,863 were white males; 1,115,600 females; 25,037 colored males, and 28,266 females. This population was divided into 408,497 families, inhabiting 386,216 dwellings. Of the population, 1,844,672 were born in the state; 169,947 in other states of the Union; 38,048 in England; 151,728 in Ireland; 16,212 in Scotland and Wales 2500 in British America; 78,592 in Germany; 4083 in France; 7796 in other countries; and 2296 whose places of birth were unknown--giving nearly 13 per cent. of foreign birth: See Table of Nativities, APPENDIX. In the twelve months preceding June 1, 1850, there occurred 28,318 deaths, or rather more than 12 in every 1000 persons. In the same period, 11,551 paupers received aid, of whom 5653 were foreigners, at an expense of about $20 for each pauper. Of 1004 deaf and dumb, 18 were colored; of 829 blind, 31 were colored; of 1891 insane, 49 were colored; and of 1448 idiotic, 62 were colored.

Counties: This state is divided into 64 counties, viz. Adams, Alleghany, Armstrong, Beaver, Bedford, Berks, Blair, Bradford, Bucks, Butler, Cambria, Carbon, Centre, Chester, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Columbia, Crawford, Cumberland, Dauphin, Delaware, Elk, Erie, Fayette, Forest, Franklin, Fulton, Greene, Huntingdon, Indiana, Jefferson, Juniata, Lancaster. Lawrence, Lebanon, Lehigh, Luzerne, Lycoming, McKean, Mercer, Mifflin, Monroe, Montgomery, Montour, Northumberland, Northampton, Perry, Philadelphia, Potter, Pike, Schuylkill, Somerset, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Union, Venango, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Westmoreland, Wyoming, and York. Capital, Harrisburg.

Cities and Towns: The principal city, the metropolis of the state, and only second in the Union in importance, is Philadelphia, population in 1850, 408,762; besides which, there are Pittsburg, 46,601, (by a local census in 1853, Pittsburg and its environs numbered 110,000 inhabitants;) Alleghany City, 21,261; Reading, 15,743; Lancaster, 12,360; Harrisburg, 7834; Pottsville, 7515; Easton, 7250; York, 6863; Norristown, 6000; Erie, 5858; Birmingham, Carlisle, Columbia, Chambersburg, Gettysburg, Westchester, Tamaqua, Allentown, Carbondale, Beaver, and some others, between 3000 and 5000; and Hollidaysburg, Union, Bristol, Phoenixville, Wilkesbarre, Bethlehem, Minersville, Meadville, Brownsville, Marietta, Lebanon, Lewiston, Port Carbon, Washington, and Honesdale, between 2000 and 3000.

Face of the Country: No state in the Union presents a greater variety of surface than Pennsylvania. Though they do not rise to any great elevation, (seldom above 2000 feet,) its mountains spread over about one-fourth of the state in parallel ridges, in a direction generally from N.E. to S.W., and occupy the southern central and eastern counties. Though all forming parts of the great Appalachian chain, they are known by various local appellations. Commencing below Easton, on the Delaware, we have the South mountain; then in order, proceeding W. or N.W., the Blue or Kittatinny mountains, (both entering the state from New Jersey, and passing S.W. into Maryland,) and the Broad mountain, which lies south of the N. branch of the Susquehanna. We now cross the river just mentioned, but still have with us the Broad mountain, under the name of the Tuscarora; passing which, we come upon another ridge lying mostly S. of the Juniata river, known as Sideling hill; which is succeeded in turn by the Alleghany mountains proper, the dividing ridge between the Atlantic slope and the Mississippi valley. Descending the very gradual Ohio slope, we cross two inferior but well-defined Chains, known as Laurel and Chestnut ridges. As before stated, these mountains do not rise to a great height: the South mountain is within 1000, and the Blue mountain within 1500 feet. Broad mountain is said to rise higher above its immediate base than the Alleghany range, but to be inferior to them in elevation above the sea. These different ridges are Separated by valleys, now contracted within narrow limits, and now spreading out to a width of from 15 to 80 miles. The entire belt in Pennsylvania spreads over a space of 200 miles--the greatest breadth the Alleghany range attains in its whole course from Maine to Alabama. In the northern part of the state the mountains become high and rugged hills; the W. is also hilly, and the S.E. and N.W. moderately so, but occasionally level. The rivers of the western part of the state, cutting their way through the table-land, present sometimes precipitous shores of several hundred feet in height, and many valleys bear evident marks of their having been formed by running water.

Geology: We condense from Trego's work on Pennsylvania, a brief sketch of the geology of the state. The S.E. portion of Pennsylvania, including the southern parts of Bucks and Montgomery, the whole of Philadelphia and Delaware, with the southern parts of Chester, Lancaster, and York counties, is occupied by rocks belonging to the stratified primary class: irregular veins of unstratified rocks, such as granite, sienite, &c., traverse parts of the primary range. North of this triangular belt is the limestone and marble of Chester and Montgomery counties, and still more northward a considerable extent of gneiss, with talc and mica slate. Proceeding farther north, we come to the red sandstone, which stretches across the state from the Delaware river, above Trenton, to the Maryland line, passing through Bucks, Montgomery, Chester, Berks, Lancaster, Dauphin, York, and Adams counties. The red sandstone is traversed by numerous dikes of trap rock or greenstone. This rock is generally composed of feldspar and hornblende, and is an igneous production. Just below Easton commences another belt of primary rock, which (like nearly all the other formations in the E. and middle of Pennsylvania) stretches S.W. to the Maryland line, having Allentown, Reading, and Gettysburg near its north-western limit. This formation is generally here called the South mountain. Overlying the primary rocks is a belt of white sandstone, and above this is another broad belt of limestone, occasionally appearing in Northumberland, Lehigh Berks, Lebanon, Dauphin, Lancaster, York, Adams, Cumberland, and Franklin counties. The same limestone appears in the counties of Centre, Mifflin, Huntingdon, and Bedford. The rock next in order overlying the limestone is the slate: this belt crosses Northampton, Lehigh, Berks, Lebanon, Dauphin, Cumberland, and Franklin counties. Next above the slate is a formation composed of hard white and gray, or sometimes reddish or greenish, silicious sandstones, frequently containing large pebbles. This rock constitutes the Kittatinny or Blue Ridge; is seen in the rugged sandstone ridges of Juniata, Mifflin, Centre, Huntingdon, and Bedford counties, in the Tuscarora mountains, and in Montour's Ridge, from Bloomsburg to near Northumberland. Upon the sandstone just described rests, generally near the base of the mountains, a series of red and variegated shales. This formation contains the fossiliferous iron ore, extensively worked in Columbia county, near the Juniata, and in other parts where this formation exists. This group of rocks extends from Danville into Union county. Next in position we have an argillaceous blue limestone, rather slaty, and of moderate thickness; with thin bands of slaty shale. Some bands contain abundance of fossil organic remains, and occasionally iron ore. This rock is found as far N.E. as the neighborhood of Berwick, and in Perry, Juniata, Mifflin, Union, Huntingdon, and Bedford counties. It is also found along the West branch of the Susquehanna, from Muncy to Bald Eagle creek. The formation next in the ascending order is a coarse-grained yellowish-white sandstone, abounding in fossils. It will be generally found accompanying the limestone in Juniata, Mifflin, Union, Huntingdon, and Bedford counties--some iron is found in the range. We now come to a group of alternating strata of dark-gray, greenish, and olive-colored slates, interstratified with greenish argillaceous sandstones, sometimes with thin layers of limestone. Many of the strata abound in fossil shells, encrinites, and trilobites. This rock covers a large portion of Monroe, Pike, and Wayne counties, extending to the Susquehanna, between Kittatinny and Second mountain. Above the formation last described, we find a series of brown red shales and sandstones, interspersed with layers of gray and buff, and forming a good building material. This formation extends from the Susquehanna, above the Blue mountain, through Monroe county, spreading out in Pike, Wayne, Susquehanna, Luzerne, and Bradford counties; also appearing on the Juniata and in Bedford county. Over the red shales and sandstone rest massive beds of coarse, hard gray sandstones, sometimes containing pebbles, with occasional bands of dark greenish slates intermixed. We are now approaching the coal-bearing rocks, and occasionally find black carbonaceous slate, and sometimes even scales of coal itself: still we are several hundred feet below the true coal-bearing series. This formation encloses all the anthracite and bituminous coal region; but having on top and between it and the coal a series of red shales and sandstones--the strata more or less calcareous. Immediately underneath the coal is a group of massive strata, of coarse silicious conglomerates, with light-colored sandstones. All search below this last formation for coal must be fruitless. The seams of coal are separated by soft, argillaceous, bluish clay, or light-gray sandstone, or by dark-colored slates and shales.

Minerals: Pennsylvania stands first among the United States in the abundance of her coal and iron. Though not possessing a great variety of rare minerals, and none of the precious metals, she has those which have made England the wealthiest and most powerful nation on the globe, while Spain and Portugal, with their gold, silver, and diamond mines, have become poor in national wealth, and have sunk to a low degree of political influence. Owing no doubt to her homely but useful minerals, Pennsylvania has advanced, between 1840 and 1850, in a greater ratio in population than even the Empire State, (New York,) or that vigorous and youthful giant of the West, Ohio. The vast anthracite coalfields of Pennsylvania lie mostly between the Delaware and Susquehanna rivers, about the head waters of the Lehigh, Schuylkill, and Lackawana. In 1852 this region sent to market 5,018,346 tons of coal. In 1851 the Lehigh mines yielded 989,251; the Schuylkill, 2,178,584; the Lackawana, 788,485, and the Susquehanna, about 400,000 tons. At Blossburg, in Tioga county, and in Clinton county, are mines of bituminous coal, said to be equal, if not superior, to the Newcastle coal, of England; while the region around Pittsburg, the commencement of the coalfield of the Mississippi valley, abounds in coal of the same kind, but little inferior in purity. Cannel coal of fine purity is found in Beaver county. The best evidence of the quantity and excellence of the iron of Pennsylvania, is the fact, according to the census report of 1850, that nearly half of the pig, cast, and wrought iron manufactured in the Union, was from her forges and furnaces. Pennsylvania also abounds in lime, marble, slate, and stones suitable for building. Marble is particularly abundant in Chester and Montgomery counties, which supply the beautiful material that shows so conspicuously in the private and public buildings of Philadelphia. Copper exists extensively in Adams county, and is found also in Chester, Montgomery, and other counties on the Atlantic slope. Zinc is mined in the vicinity of Bethlehem, plumbago in Bucks county, and lead in Chester and Montgomery counties. A bed of this mineral of great richness is reported to have been discovered recently in Blair county. Chrome exists in Lancaster county in abundance, and to some extent in Chester and York. Scattered over the state are some of the following minerals: titanium, plumbago, magnetic iron ore, iron pyrites, magnesia, talc, asbestos, barytes, zircon, tourmalin, marl, &c. Salt springs exist on the Monongahela, Kiskiminitas, and Beaver rivers, and in other parts of the state. Large quantities of salt are manufactured here. There are several medicinal springs, generally chalybeate, the most noted of which are Bedford, in the county of the same name; York, in Adams county; Doubling Gap, in Cumberland; Yellow Springs, in Chester, and Ephrata, in Lancaster county.

Rivers, Lakes, &c: The only lake of importance in this state is Lake Erie, which forms its N.W. boundary for about 50 miles. The Delaware, which rises in the S.E. part of New York, and flows southerly, separates New York and New Jersey from Pennsylvania and Delaware, and empties into Delaware bay. It is navigable for large ships to Philadelphia, about 96 miles from the sea, and for sloops and steamboats to Trenton, 30 miles farther up. The Susquehanna, the largest river in the state, enters Pennsylvania from New York, and flowing southerly for 500 miles, crosses the entire state, dividing it into two unequal portions, having the larger part on the W. This river is not navigable, except at high water in the spring and autumn, when large quantities of timber are floated down it in rafts, and produce in rough, boats called arks. Owing to its rapid descent to within a few miles of the Chesapeake bay, into which it flows, it is but little affected by the tides. Its principal tributaries are the West Branch and Juniata from the W., and the Swatara and Conestoga from the E. Between the Susquehanna and the Delaware are the Lehigh and Schuylkill, affluents of the Delaware, and each about 100 miles in length. The Ohio, which is formed by the union of the Alleghany from the N., and the Monongahela from the S., drains the western part of the state, having about 50 miles of its course in Pennsylvania. It is navigable for large steamers to its head at Pittsburg. The Alleghany is about 300, and the Monongahela 200 miles in length, and both, at high water, are navigable, the former 200, and the latter 60 miles, for small steamers. The Youghiogheny, a branch of the Monongahela, and the Beaver, a branch of the Ohio, are small rivers. Canals coast most of these rivers, except the Monongahela and Youghiogheny, to a greater or less extent.

Objects of Interest to Tourists: Justice has never been done to the picturesque beauty and grandeur of the scenery of Pennsylvania, because it has been hitherto difficult of access to those who will not travel except in luxurious cars or steamboats; but now that railroads are beginning to traverse her interior, to make accessible the romantic shores of the Juniata, Susquehanna, Schuylkill, and Lehigh rivers, we may expect to hear others exclaim, as did an English tourist, (Hen. C. A. Murray,) "To my shame be it spoken, I never heard of the Juniata till this day!" Though there is not in Pennsylvania any grand object to overpower the senses as at Niagara, the traveller has a succession of fine views in traversing the state, which fill the mind with tranquil delight. The passages of the Delaware, Lehigh, and Schuylkill rivers through the Blue Ridge--the first two called the Delaware and Lehigh Water Gaps--are well worthy a visit from the lover of fine scenery. The Delaware Water Gap, situated to the N. of Easton, is the most renowned of these. The river here breaks through the mountains, in a gorge about 2 miles in length, walled in by precipices from 1200 to 1600 feet in height, scarcely leaving space for a road between their base and the water. The mountains on the shores of the Juniata rise to about 1500 feet. The banks of the Susquehanna are interesting in almost every part of its course, and often grand. The celebrated Wyoming valley, on the N. branch, needs only to be named. The Pennsylvania canal passes through a tunnel of 1000 feet, near Blairsville; the Union canal through one of 729 feet; the Danville and Pottsville railroad through one of 700 feet; the Reading railroad through 4, severally of 960, 172, 1934, and 1300 feet long. The Pennsylvania railroad will pass through the summit of the Alleghany mountain by a tunnel 3570 feet long, at an elevation of about 2200 feet above the sea. The Portage railroad crosses the mountain by 10 inclined planes. All the railroads named above pass through successions of wild and picturesque scenery. Bedford springs are imbedded in picturesque scenery which interests the mind, while the pure air of the mountains aid the medicinal waters in their restorative qualities. For the geologist and mineralogist the coal and iron beds of Pennsylvania abound in sources of entertainment and study. A descent into one of the coal mines at Pottsville, or in its vicinity, will well repay one who is not afraid of wet and mud. Falling spring, in Luzerne county, above Pittston, and Swatara falls, 9 miles from Pottsville, present wild and romantic scenes, and are especially interesting when the streams are full. The Sawkill falls, in Pike county, near Milford, descends 80 feet by two leaps of 20 and 60 feet, into a narrow and rocky gorge as interesting as the falls themselves. The Youghiogheny descends 60 feet in a mile in a wild pass through the mountains in Fayette county. The falls of the Wallenpaupack, in Wayne county, descend 150 feet, 70 of which are perpendicular, in a rocky channel.

Climate: The climate of Pennsylvania is variable, and liable to sudden extremes, having sometimes the heat of the Carolinas, and at others the cold of Canada, but in periods generally of only three days, intermingled in summer with sharp winds from the N.W., and mitigated in winter by the milder breezes from the S.W., Periods of warm weather sometimes occur in January and February, when the buds begin to swell. The mountainous region has a greater degree of cold, and the snows are deeper and lie longer than in other portions. In the W. the climate is milder and less variable than in the E. According to observations kept at Philadelphia in 1852, the greatest average cold was in January--mean temperature, 31° .9; the greatest average heat in July--mean temperature, 77°. The hottest day was June 16, 94°; the most intense cold was January 20, 2° below zero. The mean temperature of the winter months during 26 years was 33°; spring months, 51°.8; sumner, 73°.3, and autumn, 54°.5. The average amount of rain for 15 years, 44.6 inches. The average for 14 years gives August the greatest, (5.13 inches;) February the least, (2.92 inches.) The greatest amount in any one month was 11.80 inches, in July, 1842; and the least, 5 inches, in September, 1846.

Soil and Productions: Pennsylvania, though destitute of the luxuriant prairies of the West, is eminently an agricultural state, producing more wheat, rye, and grass-seeds than any member of the confederacy, more Indian corn than any Northern or Middle State, and more buckwheat, orchard fruits, butter, hay, oats, and slaughtered animals, than any state except New York. She is the third in the value of her live stock, and in the amount of her wool and Irish potatoes. The best soils are in the limestone and river valleys, and in the depressions among the mountains, which have a rich alluvion of 2 or 3 feet deep. There are large tracts of excellent land in the bituminous coal region of Western Pennsylvania; but the northern counties are more bleak and rugged, and not quite so productive. In many places even the mountains are valuable for pasture. Perhaps in no part of the United States is there more skilful farming than in some of the older counties of Pennsylvania. The staple articles are wheat and Indian corn, but large quantities of oats, rye, barley, buckwheat, grass-seeds, live stock, orchard fruits, butter, cheese, wool, peas, beans, Irish potatoes, market produce, tobacco, hay, flax, beeswax, honey, maple sugar, with some molasses, silk, hops, hemp, wine, and sweet potatoes, are produced. According to the census of 1850, there were in Pennsylvania 127,577 farms, containing 8,628,819 acres of cultivated land, producing 15,367,691 bushels of wheat; 4,805,161 of rye; 19,830,214 of Indian corn; 21,538,156 of oats; 55,231 of peas and beans; 5,980,732 of Irish potatoes; 165,584 of barley; 2,193,692 of buckwheat; 125,030 of clover-seed; 53,953 of other grass-seeds; 41,728 of flax-seed; 912,651 pounds of tobacco; 4,481,570 of 895 wool; 39,878,418 of batter; 2,505,034 of Cheese; 530,307 of flax; 2,326,425 of maple sugar; 839,509 of beeswax and honey; 1,842,970 tons of hay; value of live stock, $41,500,053; orchard fruits, $703,339; market products, $688,714; and slaughtered animals, $8,219,848.

Forest Trees: The forest-trees of Pennsylvania consist of several varieties of oak, walnut, hickory, maple, dogwood, magnolia, cucumber, papaw, American poplar, gum, sycamore, catalpa, crabapple, birch, locust, sassafras, wild cherry, persimmon, aspen, chestnut, chincapin, beech, hornbeam, mulberry, ash, willow, elm, linden, several species of pine, spruce, hemlock, latch, cedar, &c.

Animals: Among the mammalia are the boar, wildcat, panther, wolf, otter, red and gray fox, racoon, marten, mink, weasel, skunk, opossum, beaver, (rare,) muskrat, porcupine, ground-hog; flying, red, and gray squirrel; hare, rabbit, deer, and elk. Among birds are the baldeagle, fish-hawk and other Varieties of hawk, owl, whippoorwill, night-hawk, swallow, Indian hen, woodcock, wild turkey, partridge, pheasant, wild goose and duck, and a great variety of small birds.

Manufactures: Pennsylvania ranks among the first of the states of the Union in the extent and variety of her manufactures, for the fabrication of which she has great facilities in the cheapness and proximity of her coal and iron, as well as in the abundance of her water-power. This state manufactured nearly half the iron made in the United States in 1850. According to the census of 1850, there were in Pennsylvania 22,036 establishments, producing each $500 and upwards annually; of these, 208 were engaged. in the manufacture of cotton, employing $4,528,926 capital, and 3564 male, and 4099 female hands, consuming raw material worth $3,152,530, and producing 45,746,790 yards of stuffs, and 5,308,561 pounds of yarn: total value, $5,322,262; 380 in wool, employing $3,005,064 capital, and 3490 male, and 2236 female hands, consuming raw material worth $3,282,718, and producing 10,099,234 yards of stuffs, and 1,941,621 pounds of yarn, worth a total value of $5,321,866; and 631 forges and furnaces, employing $19,613,415 capital, 20,831 male hands, consuming raw material worth $11,593,285, and producing 285,702 tons of pig, 182,506 of wrought, and 57,810 of cast iron, worth a total value of $20,329,301. There was also at the same census, $1,719,966 invested in the manufacture of malt and spirituous liquors, employing 911 hands, consuming 2,575,540 bushels of grain, and producing 188,581 barrels of ale, &c., and 6,555,310 gallons of whiskey, wine, &c. Homemade manufactures valued at $755,104 were also fabricated.

Internal Improvements: Pennsylvania early entered with spirit upon the work of improving her internal communications. The first great road made in the United States was the turnpike connecting Philadelphia and Pittsburg, and (till the opening of the Hudson and Erie canal in 1825) the great connecting link between the East and the West, on which might be seen at any time long lines of Conestoga wagons, heavily laden with merchandise and produce, wendlag their tardy way over hill and valley, and occupying a much greater length of time in the transit than is now necessary for a voyage to Europe. But the days when the Conestoga wagons were the pride of Pennsylvania are gone for ever, and with them are passing away much of that patient pains-taking industry which led her so safe, if not so brilliant, a course. May her people, in adopting the active spirit of the age, still hold on to the homely integrity of the days of the Conestoga wagon! Pennsylvania commenced in 1825 her extensive system of canals, (but too extensive, unfortunately,) as it led to locating them in places uncalled for by the demands of the time, which clogged the state with a heavy debt, under which she still labors, while, by the unproductiveness of some of them, she in deprived of the income from whence to liquidate the debt, or even pay its interest, unaided by taxation. But part of this unproductiveness is no doubt caused by the then unforeseen, but now general introduction of railways. Pennsylvania is saddled with a debt of $40,000,000, incurred mainly for purposes of internal improvement, on which an annual interest of over $2,000,000 accrues, while the revenue of the public works in 1852 was but $1,896,811.42, part of which is required to repair damages from freshets, &c. Some of her works that have long lain unfinished, will soon be completed, when it is expected they will add to the resources of the state, instead of, as heretofore, requiring constant outlay, or at best producing no return in the way of revenue for the capital expended on them. Pennsylvania has now a line of canal connecting Pittsburg and Harrisburg; one, nearly completed, along the whole course of the Susquehanna within the state, and also on the West branch; one from Beaver to Erie, one along the Delaware from Bristol to Easton, and thence up the Lehigh to the mines; one up the Schuylkill to Pottsville; one along the Lackawana to the Delaware and Hudson canal, and one uniting the Schuylkill with the Pennsylvania canal, all Middletown--making in all about 1030 miles of canal completed, or nearly so, within the state. On the 1st of January, 1853, Pennsylvania had 1244 miles of railway in operation, and 903 in course of construction. Only 82 miles of this, however, belong to the state. It has been the fashion to decry the tardiness of Pennsylvania in constructing public works. Let the $40,000,000 expended for them, and the 2200 miles of completed railways and canals, with nearly as much more projected, vindicate her. Her commercial metropolis is connected by railway with New York, with Baltimore, with Pittsburg, with Pottsville, with Columbia, York, Chambersburg, and Hagerstown in Maryland. Her western metropolis is united to Cleveland, to Cincinnati, and to other points in Indiana and Ohio; and in a short time it may be possible for a passenger to come from St. Louis to Philadelphia without changing cars for the entire distance. The railroads now constructing, or in contemplation, will connect Wheeling with the Pennsylvania road, Philadelphia with Easton and Belvidere, Pittsburg with Cumberland, Maryland, Westchester (a second road) with Philadelphia, Pittsburg with Erie and Steubenville, and Philadelphia with Erie and intermediate places: See Table of Canals and Railways, APPENDIX. The receipts from the public works in 1852, were $1,896,811.42; the expenditures, $1,029,841.28, and net revenue, $867,470.19. Pennsylvania holds stocks in internal improvements to the amount of $82,770,061.21 of which $81,137,064.49 are in state railroads and canals, and the rest in turnpikes, navigation stocks, &c.

Commerce: Though Pennsylvania has lost her comparative importance as a commercial state, yet her increase in the last 30 years, in foreign commerce, has been steady; while in her coasting, lake, and Ohio river trade, her advances have been immense. The completion of the Pennsylvania railway, the most direct and shortest route from the Eastern and Middle States to the great Mississippi valley, has greatly increased the transit trade across her territory. In the first five months of 1853, the receipts of toll on this road amounted to $1,292,588. A reference to the article on the commerce of Philadelphia, will show the great increase of her coasting trade. In 1852, Pennsylvania owned 301,722 8/9 8/5 tons of shipping, of which 83,763 was steam tonnage. The same year 188 vessels were built, with an aggegate tonnage of 31,220 3/9 3/5. The imports were, for the fiscal year, terminating June 30, $14,785,917; the exports, consisting mostly of flour, wheat, Indian corn, provisions, tobacco, quercitron bark, lard, butter, &c., amounted to $5,828,571. Tonnage entered, 178,364; cleared, 139,932: See PHILADELPHIA. Large quantities of lumber are floated down the Susquehanna and Delaware rivers in the spring and fall. The amount on the former river alone for 1852, brought down by canal and rafts, has been estimated at 250,000,000 feet. A large amount is also sent down the Alleghany.

Education: The first general free-school system in Pennsylvania was adopted in 1834. which has since been remodelled and improved; but still much room is left for amendment before it can fully meet the requirements of the age--though comparatively the system is probably equal to any out of New England, and in Philadelphia equal, if not superior, to any in the United States. The number of school districts in 1851 was 9462, (exclusive of Philadelphia city and county,) open on an average 5 months in the year, and attended by 460,086 pupils--12,090 of whom were learning German. In the same year, $930,221.84 was raised by taxation, and $161,697.50 appropriated by the state, for educational purposes. The city and county of Philadelphia are under a separate management, and have one high-school, one normal, 53 grammar, 84 secondary, 142 primary, and 89 unclassified schools, with an aggregate of 48,056 pupils. This district received in 1851, a state appropriation of $81,807.30. The medical schools of Pennsylvania are first in reputation of any on the Western continent, and are attended yearly by about 1400 students. This state had in 1852, nine colleges, with an aggregate of 952 students, and 58,100 volumes in their libraries; 7 theological, with 213; 1 law, with 9; and 5 medical schools with 1163 students: See Table of Colleges, APPENDIX. Another college has just gone into operation at Lancaster, called the Franklin and Marshall, of which the Hen. James Buchanan is president.

Religions: Pennsylvania seems to have used to the full extent the privilege so strenuously contended for by her illustrious founder--that of each one worshipping according to his inclination; as there are no less than 47 different sects, occupying 3523 places of worship, of which the Baptists own 252; Freewill, 9; Disciples, 28; and Seventh Day Baptist, 4; Church of God, 27; Christians, 19; Covenanters, 18; Episcopalians, 135; Free Church, 22; Friends, 142; German Reformed, 206; Lutherans, 497; Mennonites, 86; Methodists, 882; Moravians, 84; Presbyterians, 751; Roman Catholics, 139; Union, 80, and Universalists, 19. The rest are occupied by Africans, Congregationalists, Dutch Reformed, Independent, Jewish, Seceders, Tunkers, Unitarians, United Brethren in Christ, and many other smaller sects, for which, see Table of Religions, APPENDIX. There is one church for every 658 inhabitants. Value of church property, $11,551,885.

Public Institutions: Pennsylvania has always been noted for her charitable institutions, and even in her penal establishments she looks rather to mercy and reformation than to punishment. There are two great penitentiaries in the state, one at Philadelphia, and another at Pittsburg, both on the solitary system; but only solitary so far as communication with their fellow-prisoners is concerned, as they are weekly visited by the members of that self-sacrificing body, the Prison Discipline Society. who endeavor to cheer, encourage, and instruct them, both in morals and religion, as well as in school learning. During the year 1852, 126 convicts were received in the Eastern Penitentiary, and 153 discharged, leaving in confinement, December 31, 1852, 283 convicts, of whom 52 were colored: total number received since the opening of the prison in 1829, 2689; received into the Western penitentiary in 1852, 187 convicts: total, in 26 years of its existence, 1648. The convicts of the Western Penitentiary more than supported themselves by the proceeds of their labor. Expenses, $36,341; of which a portion was met by a state appropriation, $16,330 by the labor of the prisoners, and the rest by the counties. Montgomery county has withdrawn its prisoners. The two houses of refuge for juvenile delinquents, (white and colored,) the deaf and dumb asylum, and blind asylum, all in Philadelphia, receive state appropriations. An appropriation of $20,000 has been made by the state for the establishment of an asylum for idiots, on condition of a like sum being subscribed by individuals. Incited by the benevolent exertions of that most noble woman, Dorothea Dix, the state has just completed, at Harrisburg, a state lunatic asylum, at a cost of $50,000, embracing in the structure of the building, and in its discipline, most of the improvements of the age in the treatment and accommodation of the unfortunate class of beings for whom it is intended. During the year 1852, 118 patients were received, and 48 discharged; of whom 13 were restored, 16 improved, 10 unimproved, 2 eloped, and 7 died; remaining in the institution, January 1853, 106. Expenditures for the year, $38,385; of which more than $10,000 was defrayed by board received from patients, and a considerable portion of the remainder was expended for liabilities of the preceding year, from furniture, building, &c., that will not be required when the hospital is fairly in operation. The appropriations for charitable purposes in 1853, amounted to nearly $77,000.

Government, Finances, &c: The governor of Pennsylvania is elected by the people for 3 years, but cannot be chosen more than 6 out of any 9 consecutive years, and receives a salary of $3000 per annum. The senate consists of 33 members, elected for three years, and a house of representatives of 100 members, elected annually. One-third of the senate must be chosen each year. The judiciary consists--1. Of a supreme court, composed of five judges, elected by the people at large for 15 years, but so that one judge shall be elected every third year, and the one having the shortest term to serve shall be chief justice. The jurisdiction of this court extends over the state, and the judges, by virtue of their offices, are judges of oyer and terminer and general jail delivery for the several counties. 2d. Of 24 courts of common pleas, each presided over by one judge, elected for 10 years, and one or more associates to each county, elected for 5 years.

The judges of the common pleas of each county are also justices of oyer and terminer and general jail delivery. 3. Of a district court for Philadelphia county, and one for Alleghany county. The judges of the supreme court and the county courts receive $1600 per annum, and those for Philadelphia and Pittsburg from $2000 to $2500 per annum. Every white freeman of the age of 21 years, having resided in the state one year, and in the election district where he offers to vote ten days immediately preceding such election, and within two years paid a state or county tax, which shall have been assessed at least ten days before the election, shall enjoy the rights of an elector. The state debt of Pennsylvania was, in 1858, $40,263,633; annual interest, over $2,000,000; productive property, $31,639,821; unproductive, $321,032; and ordinary expenses, exclusive of debt and schools, about $350,000 annually. Assessed value of property for 1851, $492,898,829. Banking institutions, 54, with an aggregate capital of $18,966,351, and circulation of $12,000,000; $6,200,000 in coin. Revenue from permanent sources in 1852, $4,428,096.20.

History: Pennsylvania is the only instance of an American colony founded without bloodshed. The benevolent Penn, when he settled the state in 1682, with his peaceful associates, the Friends, conciliated the natives by the purchase of their territory, and by the kindness and good-will manifested towards them secured their friendship during 70 years. Pennsylvania was granted to William Penn in liquidation of a debt due his father, Admiral Penn, by the Government of Great Britain. In 1699, Delaware, which had before been united to Pennsylvania, was allowed a distinct legislature, but remained subject to the same governor. Previous to the old French and Indian war in 1755, the contests waged between the English and French colonies had not reached Pennsylvania; but in that year occurred the disastrous defeat of Braddock, near Pittsburg, in which Washington, then a young man, distinguished himself. In 1763 occurred the massacre of the Conestoga Indians, in Lancaster county, by the Paxton boys. In 1767 was run the famous Mason and Dixon's line, (39° 43',) the southern boundary of Pennsylvania, and which has become proverbial as the dividing line between the North and the South. Pennsylvania took an active part in the Revolutionary contest, and on her soil occurred the battles of Brandywine and Germantown, September and October, 1777, and the massacres of Wyoming and Paoli, and the suffering winter encampment at Valley Forge in 1777 and '8. In her metropolis, too, met the first congresses of the Revolution, and here was the seat, for nearly ten years, of the newly-organized government of 1789. Within her limits, in 1794, occurred the bloodless resistance to the General Government, in Washington's administration, called the Whiskey Insurrection; but notwithstanding this defection of a small part of her citizens, no state in the confederacy has been more loyal to the constitution of the federal government in all times of trial than Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania gave Franklin, Rush, Thompson, and Robert Morris to the councils of the nation in the Revolution, and the former two, besides Rittenhouse, Fulton, Say, and Morton, to science. Pennsylvania formed a constitution in 1776 suited to her changed character of an independent republican state. A new constitution was formed in 1790, and again in 1838; several alterations have since been made, as a provision in the constitution enables amendments to be made by the enactments of two legislatures, with the sanction of the people. Benjamin Franklin was president of the executive council, i.e. governor, from 1785 to 1788.

Biographies:

Hiester Clymer, representative, was born in Caernarvon township, Berks county, Pa., Nov. 3, 1827; son of Edward Tilghman and Maria Catharine (Hiester) Clymer; grandson of Col. Daniel Cunyngham Clymer; great-grandson of William and Anna (Roberdeau) Clymer; and great-great grandson of Richard Clymer, a merchant and shipbuilder of Philadelphia, who came from Bristol, England, in 1705. Hiester prepared for college at Reading, Pa., and was graduated from the College of New Jersey in 1847. He was admitted to the bar of Berks county, April 6, 1849; in 1851 went to Pottsville, Pa., where he practised for five years, and in 1856 returned to Reading. He was a member of the board of revenue commissioners in 1860, a delegate to the Democratic national convention in the same year, and also in 1868; was elected to the state senate to fill a vacancy in 1860; was elected for the full term in 1861 and was re-elected in 1864. In March, 1866, he was nominated as candidate for governor of Pennsylvania and at once resigned his seat in the senate. He was defeated by John W. Geary after receiving a larger number of votes than had ever before been given to any Democratic candidate for the office. He was a member of the state board of public charities in 1870; and president of the Democratic state convention in 1872. He was a representative in the 43rd, 44th, 45th and 46th congresses, 1873-81. He was married in 1856, to Elizabeth Mary, daughter of Matthew Brooke. He died in Reading, Pa., June 12, 1884.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Joseph Hiester, governor of Pennsylvania, was born in Bern, Berks county, Pa., Nov. 18, 1752; son of John Heister, the eldest of three brothers who came from Elsoff, Wittgenstein, Westphalia, Germnany, to Philadelphia. Daniel and Joseph Hiester (or H?ster) arrived in September, 1787, John having come in 1732, and they all took up their residence in Goshenhoppen, Pa., where Daniel purchased a farm and located permanently, John and Joseph settling in Berks county. Joseph Hiester, son of John, was brought up as a farmer and also engaged in merchandising. He equipped a company of eighty men at his own expense, joined the Continentak army in 1776, was promoted colonel and commanded a company in Col. Henry Haller's battalion in the battle of Long Island, where he was made a prisoner and confined in the prison-ship Jersey, where he used his money liberally in alleviating the sufferings of his companions. He was exchanged, took part in the battle of Germantown, where he was wounded, and remained in the service till the close of the war. He was a member of the constitutional convention of 1776, a state representative five years, and a state senator four years, and a member of the convention of 1787 that ratified the Federal constitution and of the state constitutional convention of 1790. He represented his district in the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th congresses, 1799-1805, succeeding his cousin Daniel, a representative in the 1st-4th congresses inclusive. In 1807 he was one of the two major-generals appointed to command the Pennsylvania contingent called by President Jefferson. He then retired to his farm, but again served as a representative in the 14th, 15th and 16th congresses, 1815-20. He was an unsuccessful candidate for governor of Pennsylvania in 1817, was elected governor in 1820 and resigned his seat in congress to accept the office. In his administration he directed especial attention to the introduction of better methods of instruction in public schools. In 1823 he retired from public life. At the time of his death his estate was worth over $406,000. He died in Reading, Pa., June 10, 1832.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Abner Lacock, senator, was born in Virginia in 1770. He removed to Pennsylvania and settled in Beaver county, where he entered the political field in opposition to the Federalist party. He served in both houses of the state legislature a term of years, and was a representative in the 12th U.S. congress, 1811-13. In congress he advocated the war of 1819, but opposed General Jackson's policy in the south. In 1813 he was elected U.S. senator as successor to Andrew Gregg, serving until March 4, 1819. He was made chairman of the special committee on the conduct of Jackson in Florida, and the committee was engaged in the investigation from Dec. 12, 1818, to Feb. 24, 1819, Senator Lacock making the report condemning Jackson's conduct. He subsequently denied that Mr. Calhoun had any knowledge of the substance of the report before it was made public, as charged by Mr. Calhoun's enemies in the campaign of 1824. After the close of his senatorial term he was president of the Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal company. He died in Freedonia, Pa., Aug. 12, 1837.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

John Penn, governor of Pennsylvania, was born in London, England, July 14, 1729; son of Richard (1706-1771) and Hannah (Lardner) Penn, and grandson of William the founder, and Hannah (Callowhill) Penn. He immigrated to America early in life; was a member of the council of the colony of Pennsylvania, 1753-54, and after serving as commissioner to the congress at Albany in 1754, visited England, 1755-63, returning in 1763 as lieutenant-governor of the colony of Pennsylvania. The Mason and Dixon line was run during his administration in 1767-68, and in the latter year the treaty with the Indians at Fort Stanwix, N.Y., was accomplished. Upon his father's death in 1771, he returned to England, where he remained until 1773, when he was appointed governor of Pennsylvania. He opposed the action of the British parliament in its method of taxation of the colonists, but fearing a royal government for the province might supplant the proprietors took no active part in the contention with the crown. In July, 1775, he was superseded by the committee of safety who doubted his loyalty to the colonies, and in 1776 by the supreme executive council. He was arrested, Aug. 12, 1777, and imprisoned, but was released, May 15, 1778, his rights as proprietor being set aside by the state legislature, June 28, 1779. His branch of the Penn family received ?32,500 in compensation, and the Penn heirs later received from England ?4000. He died in Bucks county, Pa. and his remains were subsequently transferred from under Christ church, Philadelphia, to the home of the Penns in England. The date of his death is Feb. 9, 1795.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

History of Pennsylvania

Local History Notes:

Biographies:

Local History and Genealogy Links: