Pennsylvania,
One of the original Middle States, being the seventh in geographical order of the thirteen, is known as the
Keystone State.
It lies between lat. 39° 43′ and 42° N.—except a small portion in the northwest corner, which extends north to 42° 15′, and thus borders on
Lake Erie—and between long.
74° 40′ and 80° 36′ W. New York and a small portion of
Lake Erie lie on the
[
497]
north,
Delaware River separates it from
New Jersey on the east, the States of
Delaware,
Maryland, and
West Virginia bound it on the south, while
West Virginia and
Ohio are on the west.
Area, 45,215 square miles, in sixty-seven counties.
Population in 1890, 5,258,014; 1900, 6,302,115.
Capital,
Harrisburg.
Henry Hudson enters
Delaware Bay, examines its currents and soundings, but leaves without landing......August, 1609
Delaware Bay visited by
Lord de la Warr......1610
Cornelius Hendricksen, in the interest of the
Dutch, explores
Delaware Bay and river as far as mouth of the
Schuylkill......1616
Cornelius Mey ascends the
Delaware River, and builds Fort Nassau, on the east side, nearly opposite the present
Philadelphia......1623
[This first occupation by the
Dutch is soon abandoned.]
Swedish government sends out two vessels, the
Key of Calmar and the
Griffin, with a few Swedes; entering the
Delaware, they erect a fort near the mouth of
Christiana Creek, called Fort Christiana in honor of the then
Queen of
Sweden......1638
Swedish Governor Printz fixes his residence on Tinicum Island, a few miles below
Philadelphia, and builds a fort for defence......1643
[First
European settlement in
Pennsylvania.]
Swedes settle Upland (now
Chester), first town settled in
Pennsylvania......1643
Dutch from New York capture the Swedish forts on the
Delaware, and take possession of the country......Sept. 25, 1655
This territory surrendered to the
English......September, 1664
Dutch recover possession for a few months, 1673, but the “peace of
Westminster” restores it to the
English......Feb. 19, 1674
William Penn receives from Charles II., in payment of £ 16,000 due his father from the
English government, a charter for lands north of
Maryland and west of the
Delaware......March 4, 1681
Penn issues an address to his subjects in
Pennsylvania concerning the grant......April 8, 1681
Penn appoints
William Markham deputy governor, who sails in May, and arrives in
Pennsylvania......June, 1681
Penn contracts to sell an association, “Company of free traders,” 20,000 acres for £ 400, subject to a quit-rent of 2 1/2 mills per acre......July 11, 1681
Court held at
Upham by the deputygovernor......Sept. 13, 1681
Three vessels sail with emigrants, and three commissioners with plans for the proposed city of
Philadelphia......October, 1681
Penn publishes “frame of government” : Council of seventy-two persons elected for three years, one-third to go out annually; governor or deputy to preside with triple vote; laws proposed to be submitted to the people, afterwards to delegates.
Forty “fundamental laws” agreed upon by
Penn and the intended emigrants, were added......April 25, 1682
Pennsylvania, though not included in
Duke of
York's charter, had been claimed by governors of New York; to perfect his title,
Penn obtains from the duke a quit claim to
Pennsylvania, also two deeds of feoffment, of town of
New Castle with a circle of 12 miles round, and of district thence to
Cape Henlopen......Aug. 21, 1682
Penn, accompanied by 100 colonists, sails in the
Welcome, Sept. 1, and lands at
New Castle......Oct. 27, 1682
[Twenty-three ships arrive in the
Delaware this year with colonists for
Pennsylvania.]
Penn reaches Upland and calls it
Chester......Oct. 29, 1682
Spacious
brick residence built at a cost of £ 7,000 for
Penn on “Pennsbury Manor,” opposite
Burlington, about 20 miles above
Philadelphia......1682
Penn visits
New Jersey, New York, and
Long Island, and returns to
Chester......Dec. 4, 1682
[Penn's famous treaty with the Indians under the elms at Shackamaxon, at the northern limits of
Philadelphia, occurs about this time, according to
Hildreth,
Bancroft, and
Lossing; the
Narrative and critical history of America gives the date, June 23, 1683.
It is the subject of a picture by
Benjamin West.
The whole story of this treaty has been doubted.
Hildreth calls it “the famous traditionary treaty.”
Bancroft says: “It is to be regretted that no original record of the meeting has been preserved.” ]
[
498]
First Assembly of the province meets at
Chester in three days session......Dec. 4, 1682
[This meeting made changes in the “frame of government,” tending to strengthen the power of the proprietary.
The territories (
Delaware) were enfranchised by a joint act, and united with
Pennsylvania on the basis of equal rights, and a code called the “great law” was enacted.]
Counties of Bucks,
Chester, and
Philadelphia organized......December, 1682
Penn attends to laying out
Philadelphia......December, 1682
Penn meets Lord Baltimore at
New Castle to adjust boundary claims between
Pennsylvania and
Maryland......December, 1682
[Dispute not settled until 1760, when it was referred to two English mathematicians,
Charles Mason and
Jeremiah Dixon, who ran the boundary-line due west 244 miles (1763-67) in lat. 39° 43′ 26″; stones erected every mile up to 132, every fifth stone bearing the arms of the
Baltimore and
Penn families.
Resurveyed, 1849.
While debating in Congress the
Missouri Compromise, in 1820,
John Randolph introduced the phrase “
Mason and
Dixon's line,” as separating freedom from slavery, or the
North from the
South; the phrase became at once exceedingly popular.]
Penn summons the Assembly to
Philadelphia, where changes are made in the “frame of government” ; and to settle disputes and prevent lawsuits, three “peacemakers” are appointed for each county......March 10, 1683
Weekly post established (letters carried from
Philadelphia to
Chester, 2d.; to
New Castle, 4d.; to
Maryland, 6d.)......July, 1683
First mill built at
Chester......1683
Franfort Land Company, of
Germany, purchase 25,000 acres of land around
Germantown, and begin a settlement, consisting of twenty families under
Francis D. Pastorius......Oct. 24, 1683
A woman tried as a witch; acquitted, but bound to keep the peace;
Penn presides; first and only case of such trial in
Pennsylvania......Feb. 27, 1684
Penn, establishing a provincial court of five
judges, Nicholas Moore,
chief-justice, and leaving the executive to the council,
Thomas Lloyd, president, sails for
England......Aug. 12, 1684
[Province has twenty settled townships and 7,000 inhabitants.]
William Bradford establishes the first
printing-press in
Philadelphia (the third in the colonies) ; first publication, an almanac, the
Kalendarium Pennsilvaniense ......1685
Several members of the settlement at
Germantown send a written protest against slavery to a Friends' meeting......1688
[First anti-slavery effort in
America.]
“
William Penn charter” school established in
Philadelphia......1689
First paper mill in
America built by
William Rittenhouse and
William Bradford on a branch of the
Wissahickon......1690
Penn sanctions the separation of the lower counties (
Delaware) as a separate government under
William Markham......April 11, 1691
Government of
Pennsylvania taken from
Penn......Oct. 31, 1692
Pennsylvania placed under
Governor Fletcher of New York......1693
Penn's chartered rights restored......Aug. 30, 1694
First Episcopal place of worship built in
Philadelphia......1695
Penn returns to
Pennsylvania after absence of fifteen years......Dec. 1, 1699
Yellow fever in
Philadelphia......1699
Discontent of the inhabitants leads
Penn to summon an Assembly to prepare a new frame of government......Sept. 16, 1701
New charter, or “charter of privileges,” adopted......Oct. 28, 1701
[It gave the
Delaware counties option of a separate administration, of which they availed themselves soon after, though under the same governor and council as
Pennsylvania until 1776.]
Philadelphia incorporated as a city......Oct. 28, 1701
Anticipating that the
British ministry were about to abolish the proprietary governments in
America,
Penn, to oppose this, sails for
England and never visits
America again......Nov. 1, 1701
Thomas Rutter establishes the first iron works in
Pennsylvania, near
Pottstown, 30 miles from
Philadelphia......1716
Penn dies at Rushcombe,
Buckinghamshire, England, aged seventy-four years......July 30, 1718
[
499]
Andrew S. Bradford establishes the
American weekly mercury at
Philadelphia......Dec. 22, 1719
Pennsylvania puts in practice the “paper-money loan system” by the issue of £ 15,000 in 1722, followed by an additional issue of £ 30,000......March, 1723
Franklin, seventeen years old, arrives in
Philadelphia......October, 1723
Pennsylvania Gazette started by
Franklin......Sept. 28, 1729
Franklin founds the Library of
Philadelphia, forty persons subscribing “forty shillings” each and agreeing to pay “ten shillings” annually......Nov. 8, 1731
Franklin commences the publication of
Poor Richard's Almanack......1732
To secure their friendship against the overtures of the
French, a treaty is made with the Six Nations......1733
Masonic lodge formed in
Philadelphia, the second in
America......1734
A Catholic church built and mass celebrated in
Philadelphia......1734
County of Lancaster organized......1737
George Whitefield arrives at
Philadelphia......November, 1739
American philosophical society established in
Philadelphia by
Benjamin Franklin......1743
Hostilities with the Six Nations, after a bloody collision between them and the backwoodsmen of
Virginia, are averted by a treaty at
Lancaster between
Virginia,
Pennsylvania, and
Maryland and the Six Nations, the Indians ceding the whole
valley of the Ohio for £ 400......July, 1744
War of
England with
France, termed “King George's War” ......1744
For the reduction of
Louisburg,
Pennsylvania furnishes £ 4,000 in provisions......1745
Thomas and
Richard Penn the sole proprietors of
Pennsylvania,
Thomas holding three-quarters of the whole by bequest from his brother John, who dies this year ......1746
Over 5,000 immigrants, mostly Germans, arrive in
Pennsylvania......1750
Franklin identifies lightning and electricity......June 5, 1752
French build a fort at
Presque Isle, now
Erie......1753
One at Le Boeuf, on
French Creek......1753
Another at
Venango......1753
George Washington sent by the governor of
Virginia to meet the
French commander at
Fort Le Boeuf and learn his reasons for invading British dominions......November, 1753
Thirty-three men of the
Ohio company begin a fortification at the junction of the
Alleghany and
Monongahela, now
Pittsburg, but on the approach of the
French capitulate......April 17, 1754
French occupy and finish the fort, calling it
Duquesne, in honor of the governor of
Canada......1754
Washington sent with about 150 men by
Governor Dinwiddie, of
Virginia, to the Great Meadows......April, 1754
Congress of commissioners of the colonies at
Albany, N. Y.......June 19, 1754
Gen. Edward Braddock, commander-inchief of the
British in
America, arrives in the
Chesapeake with two British regiments......February, 1755
General Braddock meets
Shirley, governor of
Massachusetts,
De Lancey, of New York,
Morris, of
Pennsylvania,
Sharpe, of
Maryland, and
Dinwiddie, of
Virginia, in a congress at
Alexandria, Va.......April 14, 1755
[Object of the meeting was the establishing of a colonial revenue, and the advice to the
British government, in which all concurred, was taxation by act of Parliament.]
Assembly appropriates £ 30,000 for carrying on the war......April, 1755
General Braddock is twenty-seven days on the march from
Alexandria to
Fort Cumberland, and arrives with 2,150 men......May 10, 1755
Braddock advances from
Fort Cumberland for
Fort Duquesne, distance, 130 miles......June 10, 1755
Braddock leaves
Colonel Dunbar to bring up the heavy baggage, and pushes on with 1,200 chosen men......June 19, 1755
Battle of Monongahela;
Braddock defeated......July 9, 1755
Colonel Dunbar burns public stores and heavy baggage worth £ 100,000, destroys the remaining artillery, and retreats......July 13, 1755
[
Fort Cumberland is evacuated, leaving the frontier of
Pennsylvania without a post of defence.]
Assembly levy a tax of £ 55,000, from which the proprietary estates are exempted......November, 1755
[
500]
Quakers cease to act with the government on its declaring war against the Delawares and Shawnees......November, 1755
Estimated annual value of rents, etc., to the proprietary estates, £ 30,000; not subjected to taxation......1755
Franklin undertakes the military command and defence of the frontier with the rank of colonel......January, 1756
Active hostilities between the
English and the
French along the entire frontier of the colonies from the spring of 1753, but war was not declared until......May 18, 1756
Indian village at
Kittanning, on the
Alleghany, 45 miles to the north of
Pittsburg, headquarters of the
Delaware Indians, is surprised and destroyed by Col
John Armstrong with 300 Pennsylvanians......Sept. 7, 1756
Franklin sent to
England in support of the
Assembly's petition against the proprietaries
Thomas and
Richard Penn, who oppose taxing their vast estate, and controlled the deputy governor.
He arrives in
London......July 27, 1757 [Succeeds in securing the assessment of taxes on the surveyed lands at the usual rate to others.]
Gen. John Forbes begins the advance against
Fort Duquesne with some 7,000 troops......July, 1758
[
Pennsylvania furnished 2,700 under
Col. John Armstrong, among them
Benjamin West, afterwards the painter, and
Anthony Wayne, a lad of thirteen years;
Virginia 1,900, with
Washington as leader The Virginia troops rendezvous at
Fort Cumberland, Md., and the
Pennsylvania and other troops at
Raystown, now
Bedford, Pa. Washington advised the
Braddock route for the advance, while Cols
Bouquet and
Armstrong recommended a more central one, which was adopted.]
Extensive emigration to the western part of
Pennsylvania......1759-62
Beginning of the
Pontiac War......1763
Treaty of peace between
England and
France, termed the treaty of
Paris......Feb. 10, 1763
Attack made by the Indians along the frontier of
Pennsylvania and
Virginia......May, 1763
Fort Le Boeuf burned by
Indians; garrison escapes......June 18, 1763
Fort Venango destroyed, garrison and all......June 18, 1763
Presque Isle, now
Erie, garrison of twenty-four men, surrenders......June 22, 1763
Fort Pitt, with a garrison of 330 men, and 200 women and children, besieged by the Indians......June–July, 1763
Colonel Bouquet, at the head of 500 British troops, advances from
Carlisle to the relief of
Fort Pitt......July, 1763
When within a half-mile of “
Bushy Run,” and about 25 miles from
Fort Pitt, he is attacked by the Indians......Aug. 5, 1763
Battle continues during the day, and begins again at early dawn.
Bouquet feigns a retreat, bringing the Indians within the circle of his troops and defeating them.
His loss was eight officers and 115 privates.
He reaches and relieves
Fort Pitt......Aug. 10, 1763
Connecticut colony in the
Wyoming Valley driven out by the Indians......Oct. 15, 1763
Surveyors Mason and
Dixon begin running the southern boundary-line (see this record, 1682)......Dec. 9, 1763
Barbarities of Indians at this time disposed the frontiersmen to destroy every Indian—enemy or not. A remnant of a friendly tribe at
Conestoga is massacred by frontiersmen termed “
Paxton boys” ; a few escape and flee to
Lancaster for refuge, but are followed and killed.
The pursuers hearing of friendly Indians in
Philadelphia, march towards them, but are met by
Franklin, who, after a long negotiation, persuades them to disperse......Dec. 27, 1763–January, 1764
Colonel Bouquet's expedition against the
Ohio Indians from
Fort Pitt......Oct. 30, 1764
Dr. Shippen begins in
Philadelphia the first course of lectures upon anatomy ever delivered in
America......1764
Franklin, having returned from
England in 1762, is sent again by the Assembly to petition for a change of government from proprietary to royal authority; sails......Nov. 7, 1764
[The petition, however, was dropped, owing to other matters of more weight.
See this record, 1779.]
Pittsburg was first occupied by peaceful settlers in 1760, but the settlement was
[
501]
destroyed by Indians during the
Pontiac War, 1763.
A permanent settlement was begun......1765
Franklin examined before the
English House of Commons on the effect of the passage of the Stamp Act......Feb. 13, 1766
First appearance of the
Pennsylvania Chronicle and universal Advertiser......1767
Treaty with the Six Nations at
Fort Stanwix, N. Y......Nov. 5, 1768
[This treaty extinguished the
Indian claim to the whole region of
the Alleghanies from New York to
Virginia, so that
Thomas and
Richard Penn were proprietaries of more than 25,000,000 acres, 250,000 inhabitants, and one of the largest cities in
America.]
First course of instruction in chemistry attempted in
America by
Dr. Benjamin Rush at the College of Philadelphia......1769
American Philosophical Society instituted at
Philadelphia......1769
Philadelphia calls a public meeting, condemns the duty on tea and taxation by Parliament, and requests the tea agents to resign, which they readily do......Oct. 2, 1773
Tea ship sent back to
England before it reaches
Philadelphia......Dec. 25, 1773
First Continental Congress assembles at
Philadelphia......Sept. 5, 1774
Assembly of Pennsylvania approves the doings of Congress, and appoints delegates to the new one......Dec. 15, 1774
Franklin returns to
Philadelphia from
England, giving up hope of reconciliation, after an absence of ten years......April, 1775
Second Continental Congress meets at
Philadelphia......May 10, 1775
Committee of safety appointed,
Franklin president......June 30, 1775
Pennsylvania instructs her delegates to the Continental Congress to dissent from and reject any proposition looking to a separation from
England......November, 1775
Common sense, a pamphlet by
Thomas Paine, published in
Philadelphia......January, 1776
Assembly of Pennsylvania, under pressure of public opinion, rescinds the instructions to delegates in Congress......June 24, 1776
Declaration of Independence adopted by Congress, and announced in
Philadelphia......July 4, 1776
[At a grand demonstration in
Philadelphia, on July 8,
John Nixon, one of the signers, read the Declaration to a vast concourse.]
State convention assembles at
Philadelphia and assumes the government of
Pennsylvania......July 15, 1776
Franklin, one of the three commissioners sent to
France, sails for that country......October, 1776
Cornwallis pursues
Washington through
New Jersey into
Pennsylvania......December, 1776
Endangered by the approach of the
British, Congress, at
Philadelphia, adjourns to meet again at
Baltimore......Dec. 12, 1776
The crisis, a patriotic pamphlet by
Thomas Paine, appears in
Philadelphia......Dec. 19, 1776
State government organized, with
Thomas Wharton, Jr., as president......March 4, 1777
British fleet enters
Delaware Bay......July, 1777
Washington and
Lafayette first meet in
Philadelphia......August, 1777
Battle of Brandywine......Sept. 11, 1777
Congress adjourns to
Lancaster......Sept. 18, 1777
Massacre of
Wayne's troops at
Paoli......Sept. 21, 1777
State government removes to
Lancaster......Sept. 24, 1777
Howe with the
British army occupies
Philadelphia......Sept. 27, 1777
Battle of Germantown......Oct. 4, 1777
Successful defence of Forts Mifflin and Mercer......Oct. 22-23, 1777
British in possession of the defences of the
Delaware......Nov. 20, 1777
American army go into winter quarters at
Valley Forge, on the
Schuylkill......Dec. 19, 1777
“Battle of the kegs” ......Jan. 5, 1778 Affair at
Barren Hill......May 20, 1778
British evacuate
Philadelphia and retire across the
Delaware through
New Jersey towards New York......June 18, 1778
Washington crosses the
Delaware pursuing the
British, leaving
Gen. Benedict Arnold in command at
Philadelphia......June, 1778
Massacre in the
Wyoming Valley......July 2-4, 1778
John Roberts and
Abram Carlisle,
[
502]
wealthy citizens of
Philadelphia, executed as Tories......Nov. 22, 1778
[Twenty-three others tried, but acquitted.]
By act of Assembly the proprietary claims of the Penn family to ungranted lands or quit-rents were vested in the
State, leaving the late proprietaries all private property, including manors, etc. The Assembly also granted to the Penns, in remembrance of the founder of
Pennsylvania, the sum of £ 130,000=$524,000, payable in instalments, to commence one year after the peace......1779
[Besides this, which was faithfully paid, the
British government settled £ 4,000 on the head of the Penn family.]
Act for the gradual emancipation of slaves passed......March 1, 1780
Bank of North America established at
Philadelphia; capital, $400,000......Dec. 31, 1781
First manufacture of “fustians and jeans” in the
United States begins at
Philadelphia......1782
Dickinson College at
Carlisle incorporated......1783
American daily Advertiser, afterwards the
Aurora, the first daily newspaper in
America, issued in
Philadelphia......1784
[Published by
Benjamin Franklin Bache.]
First city directory of
Philadelphia, and first in the
United States, published......1785
General convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church, the first in
America, meets at
Philadelphia......Sept. 27, 1785
Pittsburg Gazette, first paper published west of
the Alleghanies, issued......July 29, 1786
Boundary-line between
Pennsylvania and
Virginia, continuation of
Mason and
Dixon's line, extended to a point five degrees west from the
Delaware......1786
Convention of the States to frame a federal Constitution meets at
Philadelphia......May 14, 1787
State convention ratifies the federal Constitution......Dec. 12, 1787
Thomas Mifflin, first governor under the federal Constitution......1788
Franklin dies at
Philadelphia, aged eighty-four years......April 17, 1790
New State constitution goes into effect......Sept. 2, 1790
A stock company formed in
Philadelphia to run a steamboat, invented by
John Fitch, between
Philadelphia and
Trenton, making regular trips; company soon fails......1790
United States government removed from New York to
Philadelphia......Dec. 6, 1790
First bank of the
United States established at
Philadelphia......February, 1791
Anthracite coal discovered in
Carbon county.
The Lehigh Coal Company organized in
Philadelphia, but fail to find a market......1791
Purchase of the triangle bordering on
Lake Erie, and containing
Erie Harbor, completed......March, 1792
United States mint established in
Philadelphia (the only one in the
United States until 1835)......1792
Yellow fever rages in
Philadelphia......July, 1793
Whiskey insurrection......1794
First turnpike-road in the
United States completed from
Philadelphia to
Lancaster, 62 miles......1794
Four daily stages run between
Philadelphia and New York, and one between
Philadelphia and
Baltimore......1796
Resistance to the federal “house tax,” known as the “hot-water war,” suppressed......1798
Capital of the
State removed to
Lancaster (
Philadelphia had been the capital 117 years)......April 3, 1799
United States government removed from
Philadelphia to
Washington......July, 1800
Philadelphia first supplied with water from the
Schuylkill through pipes laid in the streets......Jan. 1, 1801
Coach route established from
Philadelphia to
Pittsburg......August, 1804
Commission-house opened in
Philadelphia for the sale of
cotton-yarns and thread made at
Providence, R. I., the first in the
United States......1805
Steamboat
Phoenix arrives at
Philadelphia from New York, the first steamboat navigating the ocean......1808
Bible Society founded at
Philadelphia, the first in the
United States......1808
State resists with an armed force attempt of the
United States to serve a writ in the Olmstead case at
Philadelphia for twenty-six days......1809
Sunday-school organized in
Philadelphia, the first in the
United States,
[
503]
marking the transfer from secular instruction to religious, from the control of individuals to the churches......1809
Famous “traditionary” elm-tree of the “
Penn-Indian treaty” blown down......March 3, 1810
First steamboat, the
New Orleans, on the
Ohio, leaves
Pittsburg for New Orleans......Oct. 29, 1811
Capital removed from
Lancaster to
Harrisburg......1812
In anticipation of the war with
England,
Governor Snyder calls for 14,000 troops......May 12, 1812
Another unsuccessful attempt to use anthracite coal as fuel......1812
British blockade the
Delaware, which seriously interferes with the commerce of
Philadelphia......March, 1813
Commodore Perry builds his fleet at
Erie during the spring and early summer of......1813
First rolling-mill erected at
Pittsburg......1813
Banks in
Philadelphia suspend specie payment......1814
Fairmount water-works,
Philadelphia, completed......Sept. 7, 1815
Schuylkill Navigation Company build a canal from
Philadelphia to
Mauch Chunk, 108 miles; cost $3,000,000; completed......1815
Second United States Bank established in
Philadelphia, chartered by Congress; capital stock, $3,500,000, of which the
United States takes one-fifth......April 10, 1816
Anthracite coal begins to come into use; 365 tons shipped to
Philadelphia are disposed of with difficulty......1820
Number of tons of anthracite coal received in
Philadelphia, 1,073 in 1821; 2,440 tons in......1822
Lafayette visits the
United States; received at
Philadelphia with distinguished honors......September, 1824
American Sunday-school Union founded at
Philadelphia......1824
Monument erected on the site of the “treaty elm,” to commemorate
Penn's treaty with the Indians......1827
Store for the sale of American hardware opened in
Philadelphia by
Amos Goodyear & Sons, the first in the
United States......1827
Paper from straw first manufactured in the
United States at
Meadville......1828
First locomotive used in the
United States run on the
Carbondale and
Honesdale road......August, 1829
Delaware and
Hudson Canal from
Honesdale to
Rondout on the
Hudson, 108 miles, completed.......1829
The
Cent,
Christopher C. Cornwell publisher, the first one-cent daily paper issued in the
United States, starts in
Philadelphia......1830
Internal improvements connecting
Philadelphia with
Pittsburg completed at a cost to the
State of over $18,000,000......1831
[They consisted of 292 miles canal and 125 miles railroad.]
First cases of cholera in
Philadelphia......July 5, 1832
State provides for educating all persons between six and twenty-one......1834
Philadelphia and Trenton Railroad completed......Nov. 1, 1834
Philadelphia first lighted by gas......Feb. 8, 1836
New charter obtained from the
State under the name of the
United States Bank of
Pennsylvania......Feb. 18, 1837
Public Ledger of
Philadelphia founded, price one cent......March 25, 1837
Charter of Second United States Bank expires (see
United States record, 1832-34)......1837
United States Bank of
Pennsylvania and all other banks of the State suspend specie payment during the commercial panic of......1837
State constitution amended......Feb. 20, 1838
Pennsylvania Hall in
Philadelphia, dedicated as an abolition hall on the 14th, is burned by a mob......May 17, 1838
Buckshot war......November-December, 1838
[In a close election between Whigs and Democrats for control of the legislature, which was to choose a
United States Senator, both parties charged fraud.
The Whigs ultimately receded from their position, leaving the Democrats in power.
A remark made that the mob would feel the effect of “ball and buckshot before night” gave this episode the name of “buckshot war.” ]
Iron successfully made with anthracite coal at
Mauch Chunk......Jan. 12, 1839
United States Bank of
Pennsylvania again suspends specie payment......1839
[
504]
It finally closes its doors, its capital being lost......Sept. 4, 1841
Use of wire rope as cables introduced on the inclined planes of the
Alleghany and Portage Railroad by
John A. Roebling......1842
Philadelphia and Reading Railroad completed......1842
Riots between the native
Americans and
Irish in
Philadelphia suppressed by the military......April-May, 1844
Petroleum is obtained while boring for salt on the
Alleghany, a few miles above
Pittsburg......1845
Pittsburg nearly destroyed by fire; loss, $10,000,000......April 10, 1845
Telegraphic communication between
Philadelphia and
Fort Lee, opposite New York, completed......Jan. 20, 1846
Philadelphia and
Pittsburg connected by telegraph......Dec. 26, 1846
State forbids the use of jails to hold fugitive slaves......May 3, 1848
Resurvey of
Mason and
Dixon's line completed......Nov. 19, 1849
Judiciary made elective......1850
Manufacture of galvanized iron begun
In Philadelphia......1852
Railroad track torn up at
Harbor Creek, near
Erie, by the opposition to the railroad......Dec. 9, 1853
Pennsylvania State Agricultural College organized in
Centre county. April 13, 1854
Zinc works at
Bethlehem go into operation......Oct. 12, 1854
Entire traffic-line of State improvements from
Philadelphia to
Pittsburg, completed by the
State in 1831, sold to the Pennsylvania Railroad Company for $7,500,000......July 31, 1857
State divided into twelve (afterwards thirteen) normal school districts......1857
Banks suspend specie payment......1857
First normal school in the
State opened at Millersville......1859
First oil-well drilled in the
United States by
E. L. Drake, near
Titusville; depth, 71 feet; yield, 1,000 gallons per day......
Governor Curtin's inaugural pledges the
State to the national cause against secession......Jan. 15, 1861
Five companies of State troops (530 men) reach
Washington, D. C., the first troops to arrive there for its defence, on the evening of......April 18, 1861
Camp Curtin established near
Harrisburg......April 18, 1861
Governor Curtin calls an extra session of the legislature for......April 30, 1861
In anticipation of invasion,
General Lee having crossed the
Potomac into
Maryland,
Governor Curtin calls 50,000 volunteer militia to
Harrisburg......Sept. 11, 1862
Confederate
General Stuart raids
Chambersburg with about 2,000 cavalry......Oct. 12-14, 1862
Confederate advance enters
Pennsylvania......June 22, 1863
Carlisle occupied by the advance of the Confederate forces under
Ewell;
Kingston, 13 miles from
Harrisburg, entered on the 27th; and a skirmish takes place within 4 miles of the capital on......June 28, 1863
Confederate advance called back by
General Lee to concentrate at
Gettysburg......June 28, 1863
Battle of Gettysburg......July 1-3, 1863
National cemetery at
Gettysburg consecrated......Nov. 19, 1863
[During the
Civil War the
State furnished 269,645 troops (three-years' standard) ; among them 8,612 were colored.
Answering the first call of the
President for troops, the
State furnished 20,979 threemonths' troops.]
Chambersburg again raided and mostly burned by
McCausland's Confederate cavalry......July 30, 1864
Citizens of the counties bordering on
Maryland reimbursed by the
State for damages sustained during the
Civil War......April 9, 1868
All the miners in the Avondale coal mine (108) suffocated by the burning of the main and only shaft......Sept. 6, 1869
[Investigation results in effecting needed reform in working the coal mines of the
State.]
Bureau of labor statistics established by the
State......July 26, 1873
New State constitution goes into effect......Jan. 1, 1874
Centennial Exposition, at
Fairmount Park,
Philadelphia, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of American Independence, opens......May 10, 1876
Great strike of railroad employes, rapidly extending over most of the lines of the
northern United States, inaugurated......July 19, 1877
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505]
[The strike was not entirely quieted until November.]
Natural gas used as fuel in western counties......1884
Johnstown flood......June 1, 1889
William D. Kelley, born in 1814, the oldest member of the House of Representatives, dies in
Washington, D. C.......Jan. 9, 1890
Proposal of
Mr. Carnegie to expend $1,000,000 for a public library in
Pittsburg accepted......Feb. 10, 1890
Cyclone at
Wilkesbarre and other towns, killing fourteen, injuring 180, and damaging property to $1,000,000......Aug. 19, 1890
Boundary between
Pennsylvania and New York agreed upon by commissioners, March 26, 1886, and confirmed by both legislatures, is approved by Congress......Aug. 19, 1890
International Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers is organized at
Pittsburg......Oct. 15, 1890
Over 100 miners killed by an explosion of fire-damp in the shaft of
Frick & Co.'s coke works, near
Mount Pleasant......Jan. 27, 1891
Strike in Connellsville coke regions begins; 10,000 miners involved......Feb. 9, 1891
Eleven strikers killed and forty wounded......April 2, 1891
Governor Pattison vetoes the compulsory education bill......June 18, 1891
Governor signs the Baker ballot reform bill......June 19, 1891
Governor Pattison calls an extra session of the Senate, to meet Oct. 13, to investigate charges against the
State's financial officers......Sept. 26, 1891
Human Freedom League organized at Independence Hall,
Philadelphia......Oct. 12, 1891
David Hayes Agnew, surgeon, born 1818, dies at
Philadelphia......March 22, 1892
“High-water mark” monument, indicating the point reached by the
Confederate advance in the assault of July 3, at
Gettysburg, dedicated......June 2, 1892
Dam at
Spartansburg bursts, and gasoline, from tanks broken by the rushing waters, ignites on the surface of
Oil Creek, between
Titusville and
Oil City; over 100 lives lost......June 5, 1892
Rev. Father Mollinger, famous for reputed cures on
St. Anthony's day, dies at
Pittsburg, aged seventy years......June 15, 1892
Lockout of strikers at mills of the Carnegie Steel Company begins......July 1, 1892
Governor Pattison orders the entire division of National Guard to Homestead......July 10, 1892
Chairman Crawford,
Hugh O'Donnell,
John McLuckie, and thirty others, members of the advisory committee of the
Amalgamated Association, are arrested on charge of treason against the commonwealth of
Pennsylvania......Sept. 30, 1892
Strike at Carnegie Steel Mills, Homestead, declared off......Nov. 20, 1892
Ex-Gov. Henry M. Hoyt dies at
Wilkesbarre......Dec. 1, 1892
Agitation regarding the desecration of the battle-field of
Gettysburg by electric cars for carrying sight-seers......1893
Twenty-five thousand dollars appropriated to buy the land at
Valley Forge, used by the
Continental army......1893
Free text-books authorized and $500,000 appropriated......1893
First summer meeting for university extension students opens at
Philadelphia under the auspices of the American Society......July 5, 1893
One million dollars for the erection of an art gallery bequeathed by
Mr. Drexel......July 20, 1893
Hon. Charles O'Neill, of
Philadelphia, born in 1821, who had been a member of the
United States House of Representatives for thirty years, styled “
Father of the
House,” dies......Nov. 25, 1893
George W. Childs dies at
Philadelphia......Feb. 3, 1894
Coxey army, moving on
Washington, reach
Pittsburg, April 2, and leave on the 5th and enter
Maryland from
Pennsylvania near
Cumberland......April 13, 1894
American liner
St. Paul launched at
Philadelphia......April 10, 1895
State capitol at
Harrisburg burned......Feb. 2, 1897
Great fire at
Pittsburg, loss $3,000,000......May 3, 1897
Washington statuary of the Pennsylvania Society of the
Cincinnati unveiled by the
President of the
United States......May 15, 1897
International commercial conference opened at
Philadelphia......June 2, 1897
[
506]
Coal-miners went on strike July 2, 1897.
Ended by compromise......Sept. 11, 1897
John E. Keely (
Keely motor) dies at
Philadelphia......Nov. 18, 1898
Ex-Senator Quay acquitted of a charge of conspiracy......April 18, 1899
National export exposition opened at
Philadelphia......Sept. 14, 1899
United States Senate refuses to seat
Matthew Quay......April 24, 1900
Republican National Convention at
Philadelphia nominated
McKinley and
Roosevelt......June 21, 1900
Strike in the anthracite coal regions......Sept. 13–Oct. 13, 1900
[Ended by mutual concessions.]
Andrew Carnegie offers $1,000,000 to
St. Louis for a public library......March 14, 1901
Mayor Ashbridge signs the
Philadelphia street-railway ordinances......June 13, 1901
[
John Wanamaker offered to give $2,500,000 for the franchises which were signed away without consideration.]
Iron, steel, and tin workers connected with the
Amalgamated Association go on strike......July 15, 1901
Rhode Island