Pennsylvania

History: Indigenous peoples inhabited what is now Pennsylvania over 19,000 years ago, based on artifacts found. Before European exploration and settlement, Native American tribes like the Lenape, Susquehanna, Trockwae, Seneca, Shawnee, and Oneida were living there. The Dutch began settling the area in 1631, while the Swedish arrived in 1638. The British took over control after 1667 but retained many of the original Dutch place-names. To settle a debt, the King granted the area to William Penn. He led the Quakers (a religious group) to found the colony of Pennsylvania, one of the original 13 colonies. Congress met in Philadelphia from 1776 to 1800; the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Pennsylvania became the 2^nd state on December 12, 1787. It is one of four U.S. states that calls itself a ‘Commonwealth’.

Economy: For many years, Pennsylvania was the largest steel and iron producer in the world. Pennsylvania is home to about fifty major companies, the largest train producing company, and the oldest water utility company in the U.S. Several of the largest banks and insurance companies originated in Pennsylvania. In agriculture, they lead the nation in mushroom production, apples (2^nd), Christmas trees (3^rd), and laying chickens. Pennsylvania also produces significant amounts of nursery sod (grass), milk, corn (animal feed), grapes, and horses.

Geography: Six different regions make up Pennsylvania; the Atlantic Coastal Plain Province, low, flat regions with narrow valleys, the Piedmont Province, with rolling hills, ridges, tower-shaped rocks, and caves, the New England Province with steeply sloped hills and ridges, and the Ridge and Valley Province, with part of the Appalachian Mountains, and about half – forests. The last two are the Appalachian Plateaus Province, sweeping across the central and western part of the state, heavily forested, including the Catskill Mountains, and the Central Lowland Province, with low ridges that were created by glaciers.

Climate: Because of such a variety of topography (land types), Pennsylvania has a variety of climates, though the entire state has cold winters and humid summers. Most of the state has a humid continental climate. Southern Pennsylvania has a humid subtropical climate. Generally, this means summers are hot and humid, with the winter climate becoming colder, a higher number of cloudy days, and greater amounts of snowfall.

Fun Facts:

Pennsylvania is famous for handmade pretzels, originally brought by the German settlers.
Betsy Ross (flag maker), Louisa May Alcott (author), and Daniel Boone (pioneer) are some famous people who were born in Pennsylvania.
Washington Crossing State Park is where George Washington led his troops across the Delaware River for a successful sneak attack during the Revolutionary War.
The first baseball stadium was built in Pittsburgh.
Hershey, known as the Chocolate Capital of the U.S., is in Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania was the first state to list their website address (URL) on their license plate.

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