The coat of arms of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 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...
This is a Featured article , which represents some of the best content on English Wikipedia.. The Forksville Covered Bridge over Loyalsock Creek, as seen from the south
The Forksville Covered Bridge Burr arch truss covered bridge over Loyalsock Creek in the borough of Forksville , Sullivan County , in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania . It was built in 1850 and is 152 feet 11 inches (46.61 m) in length. The bridge was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The Forksville bridge is named for the borough it is in, which in turn is named for its location at the confluence or "forks" of the Little Loyalsock and Loyalsock Creeks.
Pennsylvania had the first covered bridge in the United States and the most such bridges in both the 19th and 21st centuries. They were a transition between stone and metal bridges, with the roof and sides protecting the wooden structure from weather. The Forksville bridge is a Burr arch truss type, with a load-bearing arch sandwiching multiple vertical king posts , for strength and rigidity. The building of the Forksville bridge was supervised by the 18-year-old Sadler Rogers , who used his hand-carved model of the structure. It served as the site of a stream gauge from 1908 to 1913 and is still an official Pennsylvania state highway bridge. The United States Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration uses it as the model of a covered bridge "classic gable roof", and it serves as the logo of a Pennsylvania insurance company. (Full article...
Johnstown Cambria County, Pennsylvania , United States. The population was 18,411 as of the 2020 census . Located 57 miles (92 km) east of Pittsburgh , it is the principal city of the Johnstown metropolitan area and had 133,472 residents in 2020. It is also part of the Johnstown–Somerset combined statistical area, which includes both Cambria and Somerset Counties. (Full article...
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) Little Fishing Creek 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
Credit: Katie Tegtmeyer JFK Plaza with the LOVE sculpture and fountain.
This is a Good article , an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards. Seal of the Pennsylvania Ministerium
The Pennsylvania Ministerium Lutheran church body in North America . With the encouragement of Henry Melchior Muhlenberg (1711–1787), the Ministerium was founded at a Church Conference of Lutheran clergy on August 26, 1748. The group was known as the "German Evangelical Lutheran Ministerium of North America" until 1792, when it adopted the name "German Evangelical Lutheran Ministerium of Pennsylvania and Adjacent States" .
The Pennsylvania Ministerium, also referred to as the Ministerium of Pennsylvania, was the source of the first Lutheran liturgy in America. Because of its unique place in the history of North American Lutheranism, the Ministerium continued to influence the church politics of Lutherans in America into the 20th century. (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): 12,281,054Date admitted to the Union: December 12, 1787 (2nd )
State symbols
Mountain laurel, Pennsylvania's state flower
The following are images from various Pennsylvania-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1 Ethnic origins of Pennsylvanians (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 2 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 5 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 6 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 7 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 9 Pittsburgh Steelers ' fans waving the
Terrible Towel , a tradition that dates back to
1975 (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 10 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 12 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 13 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 14 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 15 2024 U.S. presidential election results by county in Pennsylvania
Democratic
Republican
(from
Pennsylvania )
Image 17 Pat's King of Steaks in
South Philadelphia is widely credited with inventing the
cheesesteak in 1933. (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 19 The locomotive
Tioga in
Philadelphia in 1848; Pennsylvania was an important railroad center throughout the 19th century. (from
History of Pennsylvania )
Image 20 The
Köppen climate types of Pennsylvania based on 1991–2020
climate normals (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 21 Pennsylvania population density map (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 23 Pennsylvania's unemployment rate between 1976 and 2021
The U.S. unemployment rate during these years
(from
Pennsylvania )
Image 24 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 25 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 )
Image 27 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 28 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 29 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 31 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 34 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 38 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 39 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 40 Stephen Decatur , a 19th-century
naval commander who served in the
War of 1812 and other engagements (from
History of Pennsylvania )
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