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Pennsylvania Travel News:

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Pennsylvania has played a key role in U.S. development since colonial times—and it continues to this day. In fact, history is a major tourism draw in Pennsylvania.

Visitors can head to Valley Forge to see where the Continental Army gained toughness and survival, ultimately helping it win the war for independence. The grounds of Gettysburg were once the scene of a major battle.

Scranton gives visitors to Pennsylvania a view of the industrial capabilities that aided in turning the U.S. into a world power. Culture and entertainment are found in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

But Pennsylvania offers more than historical sites and big cities. The beautiful mountains of the state include the Laurel Highlands' outdoor activities and the resorts of the Poconos. Rural Brandywine Valley and Bucks country combine an affluent lifestyle with beautiful countryside.

Geography

Pennsylvania is known for the ridges, valleys and mountains that run from southwest to northeast. To the west of the mountains are the hills of western Pennsylvania. On the other side of the mountains, in the southeastern corner of the state, is a small area of lowlands that borders Delaware and New Jersey.

History

Native American tribes entered the area several thousand years ago. At the time of European contact, the principal tribes were the Delaware, Susquehannock and Erie. Most of them relied on raising corn and hunting.

The first Europeans arrived in the 1600s. Both the English and Dutch traded along the Delaware River (Pennsylvania's eastern boundary), establishing temporary posts, but the Swedes were the first Europeans to settle permanently on the river, south of what is now Philadelphia.

King Charles II of England granted William Penn a colonial charter in 1681. His "Holy Experiment" in the New World called for free government by free men and treated the Native Americans as brothers. Soon people of other oppressed religions came to Pennsylvania, including large colonies of Mennonites and Amish (of Swiss and German stock, now known as the Pennsylvania Dutch) and many of Welsh and Scotch-Irish heritage.

The founding fathers chose Philadelphia as the site for the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the U.S. Constitution in 1787. Many of the battles of the Revolutionary War were fought in Pennsylvania, most notably at Brandywine, Fort Mifflin and Germantown, and Valley Forge became immortalized as the place where Washington's army proved its resilience. During the Civil War, the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1863), where Gen. Robert E. Lee's second invasion of the North was turned back, turned out to be one of the war's pivotal engagements. (It also inspired one of the great political speeches in U.S. history, Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.)

In the 1800s and 1900s, Pennsylvania became an important center of U.S. industry, with the processing of iron and steel in such cities as Pittsburgh, Bethlehem and Johnstown. Even with the decline of that industry, the state maintains an integral role in business and manufacturing.

Snapshot

Pennsylvania's main attractions include U.S. history, Pennsylvania Dutch country, Valley Forge, Gettysburg, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, camping, hunting, fishing, museums and cultural events, the Brandywine Valley and the Laurel Highlands.

Almost everyone will find something of interest in Pennsylvania, especially those who enjoy peaceful, relaxing scenery, historical sites and outdoor activities.

Potpourri

The Gettysburg Address is the ultimate testament to the old speechwriter's maxim: "Be brief, then be seated." Despite the fact that he was president, Abraham Lincoln was not the featured speaker at the Gettysburg Cemetery dedication in 1863. His two-minute address followed a two-hour speech by Edward Everett. Does anybody remember what Everett said?

When the Constitution was being drafted inside Philadelphia's Independence Hall during the summer of 1787, the windows were shut tight—despite the sweltering heat—to keep eavesdroppers from overhearing the discussions and debates.

The world's largest glacial pothole, caused by receding glacial waters from the past ice age 15,000 years ago, is outside the small town of Archbald near Scranton.

Technically, the U.S. has only 46 states. Pennsylvania and three others (Kentucky, Massachusetts and Virginia) are commonwealths.

There is still a law on the books in Pennsylvania that prohibits singing in the bathtub.

Pennsylvania was the first state to put its Web site on license plates.

Pennsylvania is home to the nation's first hospital, library, zoo, newspaper, magazine, nation's capitol, TV and radio broadcasts, educational public TV station, cable TV, paper mill, pharmacist and high-speed multilane highway.

The oldest roller coaster in the U.S. is in Altoona. It was constructed in 1902 and completely restored in 1999.

The state beverage is milk, a salute to the state's dairy cows, which can produce up to 10 gallons/40 liters of the stuff every day.

The 1777-78 winter endured by Washington's soldiers at Valley Forge was not especially cold. (The average temperature was above freezing.) Even a mild winter can become brutal, however, when you don't have shoes and blankets, which was the case for many of the soldiers.

William Penn wasn't given the right to settle Pennsylvania as a gift: The British crown owed him money—the result of a loan his father had made—and Penn took the charter in place of the cash.

Though it is often identified with the U.S. independence movement, Pennsylvania, perhaps more than other colonies, was deeply divided over the Revolutionary War. There were strong pro-British elements in Philadelphia. Many pacifist Quakers refused to take up arms.