Pennsylvania State...
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Pennsylvania Counties
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Erie County, Pennsylvania
Erie County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education
County Seat: Erie
Year Organized: 1800
Square Miles: 802 |
Court House: 140 West Sixth Street
County Courthouse
Erie, PA 16501-1002
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Etymology - Origin of County Name
named for Lake Erie, which in turn had been named for the
Indians of the same name.
Demographics:
County QuickFacts:
Census Bureau Quick Facts
History
Created on March 12, 1800, from part
of Allegheny County and named for Lake Erie, which in turn had been named for
the Indians of the same name. It was attached to Crawford County until 1803.
Erie, the county seat, was so named because it was a port on Lake Erie. Laid out
in 1795, it was incorporated as a borough on May 29, 1805 and as a city on April
14, 1851. The county adopted a home rule charter in November 1976.
Pennsylvania purchased this territory from the United States government in 1792.
The city of Erie began to grow during the War of 1812. It was the point from
which Commodore Perry's fleet sailed to fight the Battle of Lake Erie in 1813.
Abundant running water led to the development of many sawmills and gristmills.
There was a brief oil boom in the 1860s, and in the middle of the century Erie
was the freshwater fishing capital of America. The Erie Extension Canal was
opened in 1844, and railroads were introduced in 1864. As a Great Lakes port,
Erie has declined since 1900. Once important for manufacturing such items as
General Electric's locomotives and Hammermill Paper, Erie still turns out
electrical products. Grapes grow well along the lakeshore; a significant wine
making industry developed. Erie ranks fifth among the counties in value of crops
and tenth in value of livestock product sales. Farms cover 36 percent of the
landed area.
Neighboring Counties:
Cities and Towns:
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- Albion |
borough |
Incorporated Area |
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- Conneaut |
township |
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- Corry |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Cranesville |
borough |
Incorporated Area |
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- Edinboro |
borough |
Incorporated Area |
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- Elgin |
borough |
Incorporated Area |
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- Elk Creek |
township |
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- Erie
(County Seat) |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Fairview |
borough |
Incorporated Area |
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- Girard |
borough |
Incorporated Area |
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- Greene |
township |
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- Greenfield |
township |
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- Harborcreek |
township |
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- Lake City |
borough |
Incorporated Area |
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- LeBoeuf |
township |
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- McKean |
borough |
Incorporated Area |
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- Mill Village |
borough |
Incorporated Area |
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- North East |
borough |
Incorporated Area |
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- Platea |
borough |
Incorporated Area |
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- Union |
township |
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- Union City |
borough |
Incorporated Area |
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- Waterford |
borough |
Incorporated Area |
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- Wattsburg |
borough |
Incorporated Area |
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- Wesleyville |
borough |
Incorporated Area |
County Resources:
Enter County Resources and Information Here
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County Resource Guide
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The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic
features of our country!"
But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.
Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally,
act locally." |
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Penn Foster High School
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