Pennsylvania, one of the thirteen original states of the American Union, included in the middle states, and now the second in wealth and population. As it was the seventh in geographical order of the original thirteen, it came to be called the "keystone state." Pennsylvania was somewhat indefinitely bounded as originally granted by charter; but in the final adjustment of colonial limits it was made a nearly perfect parallelogram W. of the Delaware river, a small addition being made at its point of contact with Lake Erie to give it access to lake navigation and a good harbor. The state lies between lat. 39° 43' and 42°, except that the small portion bordering on Lake Erie extends N. to 42° 15', and Ion. 74° 40' and 80° 36'. It is bounded N. by Lake Erie and New York; E. by New York and New Jersey, from which it is separated by the Delaware river; S. by Delaware, Maryland, and West Virginia; and W. by West Virginia and Ohio. The extreme length E. and W. is 315 m., average 270 m.; general width, 158 m.; area, about 43,000 sq. m.

The state is divided into 66 counties, viz.: Adams, Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Bedford, Berks, Blair, Bradford, Bucks, Butler, Cambria, Cameron, Carbon, Centre, Chester, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Columbia, Crawford, Cumberland, Dauphin, Delaware, Elk, Erie, Fayette, Forest, Franklin, Fulton, Greene, Huntingdon, Indiana, Jefferson, Juniata, Lancaster, Lawrence, Lebanon, Lehigh, Luzerne, Lycoming, McKean, Mercer, Mifflin, Monroe, Montgomery, Montour, Northampton, Northumberland, Perry, Philadelphia, Pike, Potter, Schuylkill, Snyder, Somerset, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Union, Venango, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Westmoreland, Wyoming, York. Harrisburg, the capital, had 23,104 inhabitants in 1870, and Philadelphia, the largest city, 674,022. The other cities, according to the census of 1870, were Allegheny, with 53,180 inhabitants; Al-lentown, 13,884; Altoona, 10,610; Carbon-dale, 6,393; Chester, 9,485; Columbia, 6,461; Corry, 6,809; Erie, 19,646; Franklin, 3,908; Lancaster, 20,233; Lock Haven, 6,986; Meadville, 7,103; Pittsburgh, 86,076; Reading, 33.-930; Scranton, 35,092; Titusville, 8,639; Williamsport, 16,030; and York, 11,003. The most populous boroughs were Ashland, 5,714; Bethlehem, 4,512; Birmingham, 8,603; Carlisle, 6,650; Chambersburg, 6,308; Danville, 8,436; East Birmingham, 9,488; Easton, 10,-987; Johnstown, 6,028; Lebanon, 6,727; Ma-hanoy, 5,533; New Castle, 6,164; Norristown, 10,753; Pottsville, 12,384; St. Clair, 5,726; Tamaqua, 5,960; and Wilkesbarre, 10,174. The population of the state and its rank in the Union, according to the federal census, have been as follows:

Obverse. Reverse.

State Seal of Pennsylvania.

In 1875 the total population of the state was estimated at 3,941,400, including 70,000 colored. Included in the total for 1860 were 7 Indians, and in that for 1870 34 Indians and 14 Chinese. Of the total population in 1870, 1,758,499 were males and 1,763,452 females; 2,976,642 were of native and 545,309 of foreign birth. Of the natives, 2,726,712 were born in the state, 14,623 in Delaware, 28,910 in Maryland, 9,119 in Massachusetts, 36,694 in New Jersey, 87,876 in New York, 19,295 in Ohio, and 18,931 in Virginia and West Virginia. Of the foreigners, 10,022 were born in British America, 69,665 in England, 235,798 in Ireland, 16,846 in Scotland, 27,633 in Wales, 160,-146 in Germany, 819 in Holland, and 5,765 in Switzerland. The density of population was 76.56 persons to the square mile. There were 675,408 families, with an average of 5.21 persons to each, and 635,680 dwellings, with an average of 5.54 to each. The increase of population from 1860 to 1870 was 21.19 per cent. In 1870 there were 540,133 males and 535,907 females from 5 to 18 years old, 679,506 males from 18 to 45, and 776,345 male citizens 21 years old and upward.

Of the total population 10 years of age and over (2,597,809), there were engaged in all occupations 1,020,544; in agriculture, 200,051, including 68,897 laborers and 187,646 farmers and planters; in professional and personal services, 283,000, of whom 3,841 were clergymen, 84,343 domestic servants, 140,835 laborers, 3,253 lawyers, 4,843 physicians and surgeons, and 11,200 teachers; in trade and transportation, 121,253; in manufactures and mechanical and mining industries, 356,240, including 3,056 lumbermen and raftsmen, 6,963 operatives in iron and steel works, 6,956 iron and steel rolling-mill operatives, 8,249 machinists, 41,997 miners, and 7,294 woollen-mill operatives. The total number of deaths from all causes was 52,639, the ratio of mortality being 1.49 per cent.; from consumption 7,481, being one from that disease out of seven from all causes. There were 2,683 deaths from cholera infantum, 1,088 from croup, 901 from whooping cough, 2,773 from pneumonia, 5,645 from scarlet fever, 1,898 from enteric fever, and 250 from intermittent and remittent fevers. - The surface of Pennsylvania is level in the southeast, hilly and mountainous in the interior, and generally rolling or broken in the west.

The southeastern counties are but little elevated above the sea, but in proceeding westward and northward a series of parallel ridges, from 1,500 to 2,500 ft. high, make a gently curving belt across the state, from N. E. to S. W., from 50 to 80 m. wide, and 200 m. long. The first of these ridges, called the South mountain, is a prolongation of the Blue Eidge of Virginia; and the last one, the highest, is the Alleghany mountain, from which the general slope is continuous toward Ohio. The northern rim skirts Lake Erie at an elevation of 1,000 ft. above the lake, which is about 650 ft. above tide. The drainage level at Pittsburgh is 800 ft. above tide. The Susquehanna river drains parts of the highland through tortuous canons 1,000 ft. deep, and collects in a central valley, or rolling plain, which separates the group of anthracite coal mountains on the east from the wilderness of Devonian and Silurian mountains on the west, through which the Juniata river and its branches break, by numerous "narrows" or short gaps. The anthracite coal mountains form an elevated plateau, called the Pocono mountain, which is continued as the Catskill mountains to the Hudson. Through this plateau the Delaware river flows in a deep cafion.

Each of the Appalachian ridges has a separate name, such as North, Blue, Kittatinny, Second, Peter's, Berry's, Mauch Chunk, Sharp, Locust, Mahanoy, Ma-hontongo, Big, Little, Shamokin, Nescopec, Shickshinny, Wyoming, Buck, Hell Kitchen, Yeager's, McCauley's, Montour, Buffalo, Jack's, Seven Mountains, Shade, Standing Stone, Tus-sey, Nittany, Bald Eagle, Dunning, Canoe, Hole, Hook, Will's, Savage, Black Log, Tusca- ' rora, Path Valley mountain, etc. Negro, Chestnut, and Laurel ridges, 2,500 ft. high, are the only mountains west of the Alleghany Backbone. They pass out of the state at the southwest, into Maryland and Virginia. The ridges E. of the Alleghany range are too abrupt for cultivation, but its W. slope is nearly all arable, even at an elevation of 1,500 or 1,800 ft. The valleys of central Pennsylvania correspond to the mountain ridges in their general trend, and are transversely crossed by the great rivers, which pass to the sea by a series of zigzags. Chester valley in the southeast, Lebanon valley in the east, Wyoming valley in the northeast, Penn's and Juniata in the centre, Cumberland in the south, and Mononga-hela valley in the southwest, are the principal. Many other deep narrow valleys occur in the mountainous region.

The Delaware river, forming the E. boundary of the state, has tide water 132 m. from the sea to Trenton, and great depth at Philadelphia, averaging at the wharf line more than 45 ft. It is navigable for the largest ships to Philadelphia, for large steamboats to Trenton, and for small steamboats to Easton. It breaks through the Kittatinny mountains at the Delaware Water Gap. The Susquehanna river drains the central part of the state, and runs southward to Chesapeake bay; it is a rapid, broad, and shallow river, not navigable for steamboats in Pennsylvania, but it floats great quantities of timber. Canals along its banks convey coal and produce in great quantities. The Susquehanna has two great branches, the North branch rising in New York, and having an irregular course of about 250 m. to Northumberland, the point of junction, and the West branch rising W. of the Alleghanies, through which it breaks eastward, 200 m. long. Below Northumberland, 150 m. from the sea, the course of this river is more direct.

The Ohio river and its branches drain the W. part of the state; the Alleghany river branch drains the N. W. part, and has a length within the state of about 250 m., running mainly S. TV. and S. E.; the Monongahela branch, rising in Virginia, has a course northward within the state of 80 m. to Pittsburgh. Both these last are navigable for steamboats about 60 m. each, the latter being converted into slackwater pools. The Ohio, below their point of junction, is a great thoroughfare for steam navigation. The Juniata, a tributary of the Susquehanna from the west, and the Lehigh and Schuylkill, tributaries of the Delaware, are the principal remaining rivers, each having canals and lock navigation. There is no considerable lake within the state, but it borders on Lake Erie for a distance of 45 m., affording access to its navigation and a superior harbor at Erie. - The geological formations of Pennsylvania are limited to three of the principal divisions of the rocks. These are: 1, the azoic and eozoic formations in the southeast; across which lies, 2, the mezozoic (new red) in a belt from 20 to 30 m. wide, extending into New Jersey and into Maryland; 3, the palaeozoic series, from the Potsdam sandstone to the coal measures, occupying the rest of the state.

The tertiary and upper secondary, developed on the E. side of the Delaware, do not extend to the other side of the river. The northern drift formation of sand and gravel, which overspreads all the states to the north, covers the N. and N. W. tier of counties, and is represented by a thin sheet of gravel, which dwindles away within 30 or 40 m. of the New York state line, except where it is traced down the valley of the Delaware at the east and the branches of the Ohio at the west. Along the middle portion of the N. boundary of the state the height of the table land appears to have been sufficient to prevent its deposit, for its bowlders and gravel are rarely detected in this portion of the state; but the valley beds and even hill tops of the N. W. counties are heavily loaded with drift. The gneissic rocks are limited to the S. E. counties, the gneiss occupying a margin of varying width along the Delaware below Trenton, at Philadelphia reaching up the Schuylkill about 10 m., and giving place on the northwest to a narrow belt of partially metamorphosed lower Silurian limestones, which separates it from the red sandstone. This contains the quarries of white marble that have supplied Philadelphia and the towns around.

N. and N. W. of it gneiss overspreads the N. part of Chester co., and Laurentian gneiss is supposed to form the body of the Easton and Reading hills, and the South mountains west of Harris-burg. Near Phcenixville, in the new red, are the mines of lead and copper. (See Lead.) On the range of the gneiss toward the southwest are the nickel mines in Lancaster co. Along the line of the gneiss and sandstone W. of Phcenixville are the Warwick and other mines of magnetic iron ore, and further N. the great Cornwall mine near Lebanon, and others around Reading. South from Philadelphia the gneiss continues round the border of the state, the edge of this formation N. of the Maryland state line coming to a point S. of Gettysburg in Adams co. Across this gneiss country, especially near the Octorara creek, run tracts of serpentine rocks, forming what are called the " serpentine barrens." In these rocks beds of chrome iron ore have been worked to a considerable extent, and at times with great profit, affording large quantities of the ore for the manufacture of chrome paints at Baltimore and for the English market. Trap dikes are of frequent occurrence, not only in the gneiss region, but especially in the belt of new red rocks overlying the older formations.

The lower Silurian formations contain great deposits of hematite iron ore, as the Chestnut hill mines near Columbia in Lancaster co., and the numerous beds in Berks and Lehigh cos. which form the chief dependence of the blast furnaces on the Schuylkill and the Lehigh rivers; and the same lower Silurian limestones hold the same ores in Kishacoquil-las, Brush, Nittany, Sinking, Spruce creek, and Canoe valleys, and Morrison's and McConnells-burg coves in central Pennsylvania. (See Appalachian Mountains, and Ikon.) The northern edge of the new red ranges with the Mus-conetcong creek in New Jersey, crosses the Delaware river below Durham, and extends W. across the Schuylkill 2 m. below Reading, and the Susquehanna 5 m. below Harrisburg. It then inclines more to the south and crosses the S. line of the state near the S. W. corner of Adams co., keeping always at the foot of the South mountain or Blue Ridge. The S. edge of the same belt enters the state opposite Trenton and pursues a general W. course, passing the Schuylkill 2 m. below Norristown, the Susquehanna in the W. corner of Lancaster co., and the state line in Adams co. near the S. E. corner.

The tract thus included is occupied almost exclusively by the red sandstones, red shales, and conglomerates of this formation, and by the numerous dikes of trap rock, many of which are large and are traced for miles in different directions. It is remarkable that the dip of the sedimentary rocks is not disturbed by these dikes from the uniform inclination of the strata at angles varying from 5° to 20° toward the north and northwest. One of these dikes is remarkable not only for its straight course and extreme narrowness (sometimes only 4 ft.), but for the fact that it cuts transversely all the Silurian and Devonian formations for a distance of many miles, passing Carlisle and the mouth of the Juniata river. The sandstones afford some good building stones, of which there are quarries on the Swatara, Schuylkill, and Delaware. The divisions of the palaeozoic series are given in the article Geology, vol. viii., p. 695; and they amount in aggregate thickness to over 35,000 ft. The lower members lie upon the N. W. flank and foot of the South mountain, and dip N. W. beneath the " auroral" magnesian lower Silurian limestones of the Kittatinny valley, which correspond to the Chazy, Birdseye, and Black river limestones of New York, and fill the broad valley between the Kittatinny and Blue mountains on one side and the South mountain on the other.

Their range is marked by soil of great fertility, and the finest agricultural region of the state is this great limestone valley, occupying the chief portion of Northampton, Lehigh, Berks, Lebanon, Dauphin, Cumberland, and Franklin cos.; the N. half of the valley, however, is of Utica and Hudson river lower Silurian slate, containing the roofing slate quarries of the Delaware and Lehigh. Beyond this to the northwest ranges the central belt of upper Silurian and Devonian mountains and valleys above described, as far as the main Alleghany mountain, and its picturesque topography much resembles that of the Jura mountains in Switzerland. Long narrow ridges parallel to each other, often running many miles in straight lines and then curving together, and varied by the occasional termination of one of them upon the plain of the valleys that lie between them, are everywhere encountered over this region of middle Pennsylvania. The rivers and the roads follow and cross them alternately, finding a passage from one to another by the numerous gaps and around the ends of the ridges.

The great pile of the palaaozoic formations, raised and crumpled in long folds, the bearing of which is. with the mountain ranges, presents its various members in regular succession; and each one of these along the line of its outcrop impresses its peculiar form of outline upon the surface. When the limestone belts, by reason of their enormous thickness or by their changing dips, are spread over a wide area, there is a valley between the steep ridges, in which the sandstones, that have more stoutly resisted the denuding action, form bold cliffs and give a sharp outline to the ridges. The same formations are frequently repeated until the main Alleghany mountain is reached, when the whole scene changes, and the traveller descending toward the west rides over and between innumerable rounded knobs and short irregular ridges, around the sides of which are the outcrops of the nearly horizontal bituminous coal beds. E. of the Alleghanies the coal measures are limited to the few deep, long, sharp, usually disconnected, but closely parallel anthracite basins, E. of the Susquehanna river; and to one semi-bituminous coal area occupying the high Broad Top mountain, S. of the Juniata river.

Within each basin these strata present frequent changes of dip, the successive anticlinal and synclinal axes lying nearly on the general range of the basin, and the flexures being often sharp. (See Anthracite.) The summit of the Alleghany mountain has already been described as the E. margin of the great bituminous coal field. The highest points are capped by the conglomerate which underlies the coal formation, or by the lower members of this series, and the strata dipping gently toward the west, the formation gains in thickness in that direction, overspreading the whole western part of the state, except the N. W. corner. (See Coal.) The useful mineral beds found interstratified with the coal are fire clay, limestone, iron ore, and sandstone. Fire clay underlies every coal bed. Three or four limestone beds from 2 to 10 ft. thick occur in the lower or Alleghany valley coal system, and heavy formations of limestone in the upper or Monongahela river coal system. Beds of clay ironstone are mined from between the lower coals at Johnstown and Brady's Bend, and from the base of the upper coal system in Westmoreland and Fayette counties.

An important stratum of limonite furnished ore to all the charcoal furnaces of Armstrong, Butler, and Clarion cos.; it overlies the most important of the lower limestones. (See Iron.) Salt is obtained by boring through the coal formation of the western portion of the state, and this business is extensively carried on in the valley of the Kiskiminetas. The annual product of salt is estimated at about 1,000,000 bushels. Petroleum abounds in the upper Devonian rocks at a depth of about 1,000 ft. below the lowest coal bed in the Alleghany valley country, but fails in the extreme N. W. counties, and also toward the east. (See Petroleum.) Among the mineral springs those of Bedford are the most celebrated. - The soil of the state is generally rich, that of Lancaster co. on the limestone in the southeast, and of some of the counties bordering the Ohio river and also underlaid with limestone in the west, being particularly noted for productiveness. In the south and east, the abundance of lime constitutes good grain soils generally, and there are none of the thin tertiary sands, or of the weak soils lying on primary rocks, which belong to other states of the seaboard. The mountain valleys of the interior generally contain limestone, which secures good soils.

In the north grazing soils preponderate; these are rich on the upper Susquehanna in the northeast, thin and cold on the highlands of the central counties of the N. border, and again very rich and productive in the northwest. The whole W. border of the state is, like the Ohio valley generally, alike adapted to grain and grazing. - The white pine forest of the Alleghany mountains has been a source of great wealth to the middle northern counties. Williamsport is the emporium of this trade. An equally extensive forest of hemlock covers Clearfield, Cambria, and parts of Somerset, Fayette, and Indiana cos. A forest of beech woods, traversed by laurel thickets, and broken by steppes of huckleberry bushes, covers the country of the upper Lehigh, and still bears the name of the "Shades of Death." The botanist Michaux has made famous the variety of species of oaks of Pennsylvania. Very large groves of cherry and black walnut still exist. The sugar maple is abundant. Other species of maple cover all the mountains in the state. The American poplar or white-wood, the gum, elm, persimmon, and other trees abound. Maize is universally grown between the Alleghany mountains and the Delaware river. Tobacco is successfully cultivated in Lancaster co. Wheat and rye cover the surface of every valley.

Peaches, grapes, and orchard fruits are abundant. Grape culture is highly successful around Pittsburgh. - The climate of Pennsylvania is hot in summer in the south and east, and very cold on the Alleghany, central, and northern uplands, where snow 6 ft. deep has been known to lie throughout the winter. The summer heat is prolonged in S. E. Pennsylvania far into the autumn. On the highlands no month passes without frost, and the temperature sometimes sinks to 25° below zero. Along the Delaware, from the middle of June to the middle of September, the temperature often ranges between 90° and 100°. The wide deep gorges of the Susquehanna and its branches have a climate which might make them continuous lines of vineyard, rivalling those of the Rhine and the Rhone. The average fall of rain and snow varies in different parts of the state from 36 to 45 inches. The climate is highly favorable to health. The malarious fevers of the principal river valleys are much less dreaded than those of the Mississippi valley. Vegetation is about a week earlier than in New York. - Pennsylvania holds a high rank as an agricultural state.

According to the federal census of 1870, it ranked after Illinois, New York, and Ohio in the extent of improved land in farms and the total value of all farm productions, next to New York and Ohio in the cash value of farms, and next to New York in the value of farming implements and machinery. The total number of farms was 174,041, and the average size 103 acres. There were 10,028 containing from 3 to 10 acres, 15,905 from 10 to 20, 48,151 from 20 to 50, 61,268 from 50 to 100, 38,273 from 100 to 500, 76 from 500 to 1,000, and 76 having over 1,000 acres. There were 11,515,965 acres of improved land in farms, 5,740,864 woodland, and 737,371 other unimproved land. The cash value of farms was $1,043,481,582; of farming implements and machinery, $35,658,196; total amount of wages paid during the year, including value of board, $23,181,944; total estimated value of all farm productions, including betterments and additions to stock, $183,946,027; orchard products, $4,208,094; produce of market gardens, $1,810,-016; of forests, $2,670,370; value of home manufactures, $1,503,754; of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $28,412,903. The chief agricultural productions, with the number of live stock, and the relative rank of this with other states, were as follows:

The agricultural productions in 1873 have been reported by the national department of agriculture as follows:

The number and value of farm animals in January, 1874, were reported as follows by the same authority:

As a dairy state Pennsylvania ranked, according to the census of 1870, next to New York in the number of milch cows and the quantity of butter produced; but in the quantity of milk sold it came after New York, Ohio, and Michigan, and it ranked tenth in the production of farm and eighth in factory cheese. The most important dairy counties were Berks, Bradford, Bucks, Chester, Crawford, Erie, Lancaster, Montgomery, Susquehanna, and York, in all of which the number of milch cows ranged from 20,000 to 35,000, and the amount of butter produced from 1,500,000 to 3,700,000 lbs. - According to the census of 1870, the mineral products of Pennsylvania were valued at nearly half of those of the entire United States. The extent of the mining industry was as follows:

The amount of anthracite coal produced was 15,650,275 tons, and of bituminous coal 7,798,-518 tons; iron ore, 1,095,486 tons; petroleum, 171,207,622 gallons. The most extensive and valuable coal mines in America are in Pennsylvania. The coal fields cover an area of 12,774 sq. m., including the anthracite basin of 470 sq. m. in eastern Pennsylvania. Of the 66 counties of the state, 24 in the S. E. part and Erie in the N. W. contain no coal. The anthracite beds are chiefly in Dauphin, Schuylkill, Carbon, and Luzerne cos., and extend into Northumberland and Columbia cos.; semi-anthracite coal is found in Dauphin, Sullivan, and "Wyoming cos. Bradford, Lycoming, Tioga, Huntingdon, Bedford, and Fulton contain detached fields of semi-bituminous coal. Forty-one counties in the north and northwest produce bituminous coal. In Mercer co. on the W. border are deposits of the most valuable coal in the United States. It is a species of semi-cannel coal, with a slaty structure and a dull, jet-black lustre, with a thickness of from 3 to 4 ft. It is known as block coal, and is specially adapted to the smelting of iron.

The annual production is about 500,000 tons. (See Anthracite, Coal, and Colliery.) The number of anthracite collieries in 1875 was 437; shafts, 91; slopes, 293; drifts and tunnels, 290. The amount of anthracite coal annually mined in Pennsylvania down to 1871 is given under Anthracite; the production since that date has been as follows:

Of this product, 18,932,265 tons were sent to market in 1872,19,585,178 in 1873, and 18,537,-888 in 1874, the remainder in each year being the estimated home consumption. The production of bituminous coal was 4,741,367 tons in 1872 and 5,059,769 in 1873. The entire production of coal in 1874 was 32,147,040 tons, including 21,631,118 of anthracite, 7,712,461 of bituminous, 2,303,461 of semi-bituminous, and 500,000 of block. Nearly half of the pig iron made in the United States is produced in Pennsylvania. The extent of this industry in this state and the United States is as follows:

Of the product of Pennsylvania in 1873, 913,-085 tons were produced in anthracite, 430,634 in bituminous coal and coke, and 45,854 in charcoal furnaces. - The manufacturing interests of Pennsylvania are of the highest importance. According to the census of 1870, the amount of capital invested in manufactures, and the number of establishments, were larger in Pennsylvania than in any other state, while the value of products was greater than in any other except New York. The following table of the leading industries makes a comparison between the values in Pennsylvania and in the United States of those products in which the former ranks above all other states:

Among less important industries in which the products of Pennsylvania were valued at more than those of any other state were paper bags, ground bark, blacking, rag carpets, carriage trimmings, charcoal and coke, chromos and lithographs, dye woods, stuffs, and extracts, explosives and fire works, glue, perfumery, cosmetics, and fancy soaps. In the aggregate value of building materials and roofing materials produced the state also ranked first. Large quantities of lumber, chiefly pine, are cut in the northern central part of the state. The leading lumber markets of the state are Williamsport and Lock Haven on the W. branch of the Susquehanna. The shipments of lumber from these two points during the first half of 1873 amounted to 159,884,029 ft. On Jan. 1, 1874, the estimated amount of lumber at Williamsport comprised 220,961,922 ft. of pine and 19,872,444 of hemlock, besides large quantities of lath and pickets. - Pennsylvania has two United States ports of entry, Philadelphia and Erie. The extent of the commerce at these ports is indicated in the articles on those cities. Pittsburgh is a port of delivery in the district of Louisiana. - The vast mineral wealth of Pennsylvania has led to the development of a system of internal improvements not excelled by those of any other state.

In 1826 the state began the construction of a line of communication between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, consisting of about 292 m. of canal and 126 m. of railroad. This line was completed in 1831, at a cost of $18,615,663; this liability was increased, in consequence of other works undertaken and aided by the state,'to $41,294,-462. After great losses had been sustained, the state about 1857 disposed of its entire interest and control in these works, and in that year an amendment was made to the constitution prohibiting the state from constructing or being a stockholder in any canal or railroad. The constitution, as amended in 1873, prohibits railroads and canals from making unjust discriminations in charges for freight or passengers, or in facilities for transportation; railroad companies are prohibited from granting free passes, or passes at a discount, to any persons except officers or employees of the company. The secretary of internal affairs has a general supervision over railroads, canals, and other transportation companies.

The two most extensive railroad corporations of the state are the Philadelphia and Reading and the Pennsylvania. The former, chartered in 1833, was opened for through trains between Philadelphia and Pottsville in 1842. This company now operates from 15 to 20 main lines and branches, comprising more than 700 m. of railroad; also the Schuylkill and Susquehanna canals. The investment of the company in railroads, work shops, coal mines, and iron works are estimated at about $125,000,000. The chief business of the company is the transportation of coal from the southern anthracite coal fields to tide water in the Delaware river near Philadelphia. About 7,000,000 tons of coal are annually transported over the roads of this company. The Pennsylvania is perhaps the most powerful railroad corporation in America; nearly 2,500 m. of railroad in Pennsylvania are operated by it, and its investments in this state are estimated at not less than $150,000,000; besides which it owns or leases a large extent of road outside of the state. At the beginning of 1874 the mileage of railroads in Pennsylvania was reported by the auditor general at 5,854 m., including 4,257 m. of main track and 1,597 of branches. There were also 2,218 m. of sidings and 1,819 of double track.

The entire length of main line reported by Pennsylvania companies was 8,401 m. of which 6,655 m. were laid. The capital stock authorized by law was $515,368,954; subscribed, $389,374,234; paid in, $478,711,-873; funded debt, $378,590,370; floating debt, $37,601,157; cost of road and equipment, $621,312,048. The total expenses of all of these roads amounted to $95,207,139, including $48,818,074 for operating the roads; the total receipts were $147,995,214, of which $28,-350,040 was from passengers and $107,533,075 from freight. The railroad system of the state at the beginning of 1874 was as follows:

Leased, Or Operated By The Philadelphia And Reading Railroad Company Railroads Owned

Leased, Or Operated By The Pennsylvania Railroad Company Railroads Lying Wholly Or Partly Within Pennsylvania Owned

Railroads Not Controlled By The Philadelphia And Reading Or The Pennsylvania Railroad Company

The canals lying wholly or partly in Pennsylvania are 880 m. in length, of which 781 m. are within the state. The total cost of the canals and fixtures has been $36,539,879, exclusive of the Pennsylvania. The receipts in 1873 were $2,342,918, and the total expenses were $1,824,915. The canals are used chiefly for the transportation of coal. Their situation and cost are shown in the following statement:

The number of national banks in operation on Nov. 1, 1874, was 205 (of which 29 were in Philadelphia and 16 in Pittsburgh), having a paid-in capital of $53,910,240 and an outstanding circulation of $42,092,711, being $11 95 per capita, 1.1 per cent, of the wealth of the state, and 78.1 per cent, of the bank capital. There were 115 state and savings banks which reported resources aggregating $35,732,021; capital stock actually paid in, $8,370,169; deposits, $20,961,262; aggregate liabilities, $35,-732,021. In 1873 Pennsylvania paid $15,601,-717 for fire and marine insurance, and $8,016,-236 for life insurance. A bureau of insurance was established by the legislature in 1872; an annual report concerning the insurance companies doing business in the state is made to the legislature by the commissioner of insurance. - Under the amended constitution of 1873, which went into force on Jan. 1, 1874, the general assembly consists of 50 senators elected for four years, and 200 representatives chosen for two years. Eegular sessions are held biennially, beginning on the first Tuesday of January in odd years.

Extra sessions may be convened by the governor, but annual adjourned sessions are prohibited after 1878. In case of a vacancy in the office of United States senator from this state when the legislature is not in session, the governor is required to convene that body on notice not exceeding 60 days. Member of the legislature receive $1,000 for each regular session not exceeding 100 days, and $10 a day for time, not exceeding 50 days at any session, necessarily spent after the hundred days; also 20 cents a mile for going to and from the capital. There are strict constitutional limitations on special legislation. The executive department consists of a governor, who receives a salary of $10,000; lieutenant governor, who acts as president of the senate, $3,000; secretary of the commonwealth, $4,000; attorney general, $3,500; auditor general, $3,000; state treasurer, $5,000; secretary of internal affairs, $3,000; and superintendent of public instruction, $2,500. The governor, lieutenant governor, and secretary of internal affairs are elected by the people for four years, the auditor general for three, and the treasurer for two years. The attorney general, secretary of the commonwealth, and superintendent are appointed for four years by the governor, with the consent of two thirds of the senators.

The governor is ineligible to the office for t]jte next succeeding term; he may grant commutations of sentence and pardons only upon the written recommendation of the lieutenant governor, secretary of the commonwealth, attorney general, and secretary of internal affairs, or any three of them, after full hearing upon due public notice and in open session. In addition to the ordinary veto powers, he may exercise a partial veto on appropriation bills. The secretary of the commonwealth keeps a record of all official acts and proceedings of the governor. The secretary of internal affairs succeeds to the duties of the surveyor general, which title is now abolished. His department embraces a bureau of industrial statistics, and he is in addition required to discharge such duties relating to corporations, and to the charitable institutions, the agricultural, manufacturing, mining, mineral, timber, and other material or business interests of the state, as may be prescribed by law. He must report annually to the general assembly. The judicial power is vested in a supreme court, courts of common pleas, of oyer and terminer and general jail delivery, of quarter sessions of the peace, orphans' courts, and magistrates' courts.

The supreme court consists of seven judges, who are elected by the people for 21 years, but are not eligible for reelection, and receive an annual salary of $7,000 each. The judge having the shortest term to serve becomes chief justice. This court has original jurisdiction only in cases of injunction where a corporation is a party defendant, of habeas corpus, of mandamus to courts of inferior jurisdiction, and of quo warranto as to all officers of the commonwealth whose jurisdiction extends over the state. Annual sessions of the supreme court are held in Philadelphia, Harris-burg, Sunbury, and Pittsburgh. The judges of the supreme court, as well as those of the common pleas, are justices of oyer and terminer and general jail delivery in the several counties. The state is divided into 43 judicial districts, in each of which one or more common pleas judges are elected for ten years. Judges of the courts of common pleas are also judges of the courts of oyer and terminer, of quarter sessions of the peace, of general jail delivery, and of orphans' courts where separate tribunals of this kind have not been established. They also act as justices of the peace in criminal matters in their respective districts.

There are special courts in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, which are described in the articles on those cities. The state is divided into two districts for holding United States courts. In the eastern district, courts are held in Philadelphia; in the western, in Pittsburgh, Wil-liamsport, and Erie. The right of voting is given to every male citizen, not under 21 years of age, who has been a citizen of the United States at least one month, and a resident of the state one year and of the election district two months next preceding the election; if 22 years of age or upward, he must have paid within two years a state or county tax assessed at least two months and paid at least one month before the election. The general election is held annually on the Tuesday next following the first Monday of November. Property owned at the time of marriage, or thereafter acquired, may be held by a married woman as her separate estate, and is not liable for the husband's debts. Her property is liable for debts contracted by her, and for necessaries for the support of the family of her husband and herself. She may dispose of her property by will, without the signature of her husband. By petitioning the court of common pleas, she may hold her separate earnings and income for her sole benefit.

The grounds of divorce are impotence, adultery, desertion for two years, cruel treatment or indignities that render the condition intolerable and life burdensome, fraud, force, or coercion in procuring the marriage, sentence to two years' imprisonment for felony, and becoming a lunatic or non compos mentis. The legal rate of interest is 6 per cent. Pennsylvania is represented in congress by two senators and 27 representatives, and has therefore 29 votes in the electoral college. The national guard of the state is divided into ten divisions. In 1874 there were 19 regiments, 169 companies, 738 officers, and 8,261 enlisted men. - The public debt of the commonwealth on Dec. 1, 1874, amounted to $24,568,635, of which $24,371,-884 was funded and $196,751 unfunded. The former embraced $19,321,530 in 6 per cent., $4,963,354 in 5 per cent., and $87,000 in 4 1/2 per cent, loans. The total receipts into the state treasury during the year ending Dec. 1, 1874, were $5,871,968, and the expenditures $6,642,-567; balance in the treasury, $1,054,551. In Pennsylvania there is no state tax upon real estate, and but a very light one on personal property, the revenues being derived principally from the taxation of corporations.

Of the total revenue ($5,871,968) in 1874, $3,811,-669 was received from corporations (including $2,936,509 from direct taxes and $875,160 from interest on bonds, commutation, etc.) and $2,060,299 from taxes on the people generally. Of the latter amount, nearly one half was derived from licenses, and was therefore an indirect tax on the people. The taxes derived from corporations during three years were as follows:

* Including 11 m. of slackwater.

The entire revenue in 1872 was $6,738,347, and in 1873 $7,077,073. The most important sources of revenue in 1874, other than taxes on corporations, were as follows:

Of the total revenue of 1874, $3,054,939 was appropriated to the sinking fund, and $2,817,-029 to the general expenses of the state government. The most important items of state expenditure for three years were as follows:

According to the federal census, the true value of real and personal estate was $722,486,-120 in 1850, $1,416,501,818 in 1860, and $3,-808,340,112 in 1870. The total assessed value in 1860 was $719,253,335, including $561,-192,980 real and $158,060,355 personal estate; and in 1870 $1,313,236,042, including $1,071,-680,934 real and $241,555,108 personal estate. The total assessed value of real and personal estate was returned by the state authorities at $1,087,793,844 in 1873, and $1,770,765,415 in 1874, including real estate valued at $1,620,-214,930, and personal estate at $150,550,485. The true value of real and personal estate in 1874 was reported at $3,425,325,415. The commissioners of statistics in 1874 estimated the value of taxable property in the commonwealth at $4,300,619,558, as follows:

A levy of 1 per cent, on this valuation would yield a sum equal to the taxation now imposed for all purposes. - Since 1869 the charitable and correctional institutions of the state have been subject to the general supervision of the board of commissioners of public charities, consisting of seven members, who are appointed by the governor and report annually to the legislature. A general agent and secretary visits the institutions and reports upon their condition, receiving a salary of $3,000. In 1874 the following appropriations were made by the legislature in aid of public institutions:

Of the numerous institutions for the defective and dependent classes, the state owns the two penitentiaries and the hospitals for the insane in Harrisburg, Danville, and Warren, and annually contributes to the support of several private charitable corporations. The western penitentiary in Allegheny, opened in 1827, had during 1874 a total of 606 inmates, and 417 at the close of the year, Sept. 30. It was formerly conducted on the " separate " or cellular system. Weaving and cigar making are carried on in behalf of the state, and shoe making by contract. Convicts may acquire extra earnings. The cost of the institution in 1873 was $88,038, of which $24,350 was for salaries and $51,625 for other current expenses. The total income, besides state appropriations, was $69,-054, that from weaving, cigar making, and shoe making amounting to $11,802. Secular instruction is given to the illiterate; the library contains 3,000 volumes. The eastern penitentiary in Philadelphia was opened in 1829. It is noted as being the only penal institution in the United States in which the separate system now exists. (See Peisons.) The convicts are confined in separate cells (560 in number), where, except when from lack of room two are put into one cell, and the time devoted to exercise in separate yards, they work and pass their entire time alone.

The number of convicts on Sept. 30, 1874, was 646, of whom 7 were females; 235 were reported idle. Manufacturing is done on account of the state, and consists of cordwaining, weaving, chair making, blacksmithing, cigar making, etc. The earnings of the convicts in 1873 amounted to $26,795, of which $3,175 was allowed to them for extra work. The entire income of the prison, exclusive of state appropriations, was $80,083; the amount expended for maintenance was $111,305, including $27,000 paid for salaries. Pennsylvania has 15 prisons combining features of the county jail and the penitentiary, intended for criminals sentenced for short terms of labor. The Allegheny county workhouse, erected in 1868, has 400 cells. It is maintained for reformatory as well as industrial purposes, and is a source of profit. The total number of convicts in the state on Sept. 30, 1874, was 2,083, or 1 to 1,835 of the estimated population (3,821,757), including 1,063 in the two penitentiaries, 143 in the Allegheny workhouse, and 877 in the county jails. This does not include 1,190 in county jails, the workhouse, and house of correction, summarily sentenced by magistrates or justices of the peace, or 449 in jail awaiting trial, and 67 for non-payment of fines, costs, etc.

Including these, the whole number of adults in prison Sept. 30, 1874, was 3,789. According to the federal census, the number of persons convicted of crime during the year ending June 1, 1870, was 3,327. Of the total number (3,231) in prison at that date, 2,532 were native and 699 foreign born. Pennsylvania has two reformatories for juveniles: the house of refuge in Philadelphia, opened in 1826, and the reform school in Alleghany co., opened in 1854. The former has accommodations for 900, viz.: 500 white boys and 200 girls, and 120 colored boys and 80 girls. There is a separate department for colored children. The average number of inmates during the year ending Sept. 30, 1874, was 569.7, whose ages ranged from 5 to 18 1/2 years. The average yearly cost, including all current expenses, was $149 90 each, and the net cost, after deducting earnings, was $90 79 each. Boys and girls are committed by courts or magistrates for crimes, incorrigibility, vagrancy, etc. The reform school in 1874 had an average of 284 inmates, among whom were white and colored children of both sexes; the number at the close of the year, Sept. 30, was 301. New buildings are in process of construction for this institution, on a farm of 500 acres at Morganza, Washington co., and are intended for the "family system." They will have accommodations for six families of boys and two of girls, with 50 children in each family.

The number of insane in the state, as reported by the census of 1870, was 3,895; the number receiving treatment on Sept. 30, 1874, was reported at 3,080, viz.: 1,128 in the state hospitals, 1,075 in the Philadelphia almshouse, 425 in the insane department of the Pennsylvania hospital, 90 in the Friends' asylum, 1,095 in almshouses, and 157 supported by townships and overseers. Besides these, there were about 40 insane criminals in jails and penitentiaries. Of the entire number 20 per cent, were estimated to be curable. For the care of this class the state will have, with the completion of the institutions at Danville and Warren, hospital accommodations for 3,280, viz.: lunatic hospital, Harrisburg, 400; Danville, 600; Warren, 600; western Pennsylvania hospital, Dixmont, 450; insane department of Pennsylvania hospital, Philadelphia, 470; Friends' hospital, Philadelphia, 100; insane department of Philadelphia city almshouse, 660. The first four of these are state institutions, though that at Dixmont is not owned or managed by the commonwealth. The hospital in Harrisburg was opened in 1851, and in 1874 had an average of 395 patients, who were maintained at an average cost of $286 03 each. Of the 380 inmates on Sept. 30, 1874, 176 were supported by the public.

The western Pennsylvania hospital at Dixmont, 7 m. below Pittsburgh, is a corporate institution opened in 1857, where an average of 469.8 patients were maintained in 1874, at a cost of $244 50 each. Of the 510 remaining at the close of the year, 402 were supported by the public. The Danville hospital, opened in 1872, has present accommodations for 240; the buildings are not yet completed. The average number of patients in 1874 was 198.7; remaining at the end of the year, 238, of whom 186 were maintained by the public; average cost of support, $262 60. The construction of the northwestern hospital for the insane was begun at Warren in 1874 on a farm of 334 acres. The estimated cost is $1,000,000. According to the census of 1870, there were 2,250 idiots in Pennsylvania. Provision is made for the education of this class in the training school for feeble-minded children near Media, Delaware co. (See Idiocy, vol. ix., p. 174.) The average number treated here in 1874 was 223, of whom 98 were females; the cost of support was $253 43 each. Of the 231 inmates on Sept. 30, 89 were wholly and' 19 partially supported by the state; 30 were maintained by New Jersey, 2 by Delaware, 12 by Philadelphia, and 61 by parents and guardians.

By the census of 1870, 1,767 blind and 1,433 deaf and dumb were reported in the state. The Pennsylvania institution for the blind, in Philadelphia, founded in 1833, has accommodations for 124 males and 84 females. An average of 197 pupils were instructed in 1874, at a cost of $317 92 each. Of the 200 pupils on Sept. 30, 1874, 130 were supported by the state. The students are taught various trades and occupations. The "home" connected with this institution, the industrial home for blind women, and the Pennsylvania working home for blind men in Philadelphia, are designed to furnish employment to blind adults. The state institution for the deaf and dumb, opened in 1820, is in Philadelphia. It has accommodations for 115 boys and 110 girls, and in 1874 had an average of 229 pupils, who were supported at a cost of $140 40 each. Of the 219 inmates on Sept. 30,1874,193 were state beneficiaries. Besides the ordinary instruction, shoemaking, tailoring, dressmaking, sewing, etc, are taught. Instruction is also afforded to this class by the home for deaf mutes in Pittsburgh, to which the state appropriated $2,000 in 1874. The township system for the support of the poor, which prevailed in provincial times, still continues in 32 counties of the state.

In the larger and wealthier counties, however, which contain about four fifths of the wealth and population of the commonwealth, the improved system has been adopted of supporting the poor in one or more large almshouses, of which there are 57. The total number of persons relieved during the year ending Sept. 30, 1874, was 99,048. The number of paupers of all classes maintained in almshouses, Sept. 30, 1874, not including the insane in the Philadelphia almshouse, was 7,782, of whom 4,669 were males and 3,113 females; 6,884 were adults and 898 children; 1,226 were insane, 43 idiotic, 131 blind, and 50 deaf and dumb. The number receiving outdoor relief at the same time was 11,100, besides 847 township poor in districts or counties having no almshouses. Forty orphan asylums, homes for the friendless, etc, are chiefly supported by private contributions or churches; and there are ten hospitals maintained by endowments or private contributions. The number of persons supported by public charity during the year ending June 1, 1870, according to the census, was 15,872, at a cost of $1,256,024. Of the total number (8,796) receiving support at that date, 4,822 were native born, including 4,354 white and 468 colored, and 3,974 were of foreign birth.

Since 1865 the state has appropriated $4,385,556 to the support and education of 7,391 soldiers' orphans in various schools throughout the state. The amount expended in 1874 was $450,879, and the number of orphans on Sept. 1 was 2,988. This charitable work of the state will cease in 1879; it is estimated that $1,200,000 more will be needed for the purpose. - The origin of public schools in Pennsylvania may be traced to the frame of government prepared by William Penn in 1682, which provided that the governor and council should " erect and order all public schools." In 1752 trustees and managers for such schools were appointed; the provisional constitution of 1776 provided for the establishment of a school in each county; in 1786 60,000 acres of land were set apart for public schools; and the constitution of 1790 required the legislature to " provide by law for the establishment of schools throughout the state in such a manner that the poor may be taught gratis." In 1819 an act was passed for opening free schools to indigent children between 5 and 12 years old, and in 1834 the foundation of the present school system was laid by the law providing free education for all persons between the ages of 6 and 21 years.

Under this law, as amended by the constitution of 1873 and previous acts, the supervision of the public schools is vested in a state superintendent of public instruction with twtf deputy superintendents appointed by himself, 65 county and 21 city and borough superintendents elected by the school directors, and 6 directors for each district, who are elected by the people, and have power to levy and collect taxes, build and furnish school houses, employ and pay teachers, select text books, and manage the schools generally. County superintendents visit schools, examine teachers, and report yearly to the state superintendent, who makes an annual report to the legislature. The schools are chiefly supported by taxation. The school fund proper consists of local taxes and fines and an annual state appropriation, which the constitution of 1873 requires to be not less than $1,000,000. The appropriation of public money for sectarian schools is prohibited. Women are eligible to any school office. The school age is between 6 and 21 years.

The following are the most important facts concerning the common schools of the state for two years ending June 1:

Besides the above, $450,879 49 was expended by the state for orphan and $110,000 for normal schools, making the aggregate expenditures for public education $9,408,819 37. The marked educational progress of the state outside of Philadelphia during the past decade is shown in the following:

Annual censuses of the school population are not taken, but it is estimated that there are not fewer than 300,000 persons of school age who do not in any one year attend school. The federal census of 1870 reported 1,076,040 persons in Pennsylvania from 5 to 18 years of age, and 1,295,864 from 5 to 21, while the total number attending school was returned at 725,-004. There were -131,728 persons 10 years of age and over unable to read, and 222,356 unable to write; of the latter, 126,803 were of native and 95,553 of foreign birth. Of the total population 21 years old and upward (1,733,-773, of whom 1,268,101 were native and 465,-672 foreign, 1,698,109 white and 35,634 colored), the number of illiterates was 190,838, including 61,350 white males and 116,261 white females, and 5,758 colored males and 7,469 colored females.. Earnest efforts are made to secure properly qualified teachers for the public schools. Four kinds of teachers' certificates are issued: the state certificate, given by the board of examiners of the state normal schools, which entitles the holder to teach at any time and place in the state; permanent, granted by the state superintendent to holders of professional certificates, and good for one year throughout the state; professional, which is granted by the county superintendent, and confers the privilege of teaching in the county during his term of office and one year after; and provisional, also given by the county superintendent, and good for one year in the county.

In 1857 a law was passed providing for the division of the state into 12. normal school districts and the establishment of a normal school in each, and prescribing general regulations for their management. Eight normal schools had been opened in 1874, and two more were in process of organization. These are not owned or directly controlled by the state, nor is tuition in them free. The state superintendent has the appointment of two state trustees for each school, and appropriations are annually made by the state in behalf of each. Up to 1874 these appropriations amounted to $280,000, including $60,000 appropriated in that year. The distribution is made by the governor, state superintendent of public instruction, and attorney general. Students intending to become teachers in the public schools of the commonwealth may receive from the state 50 cents a week and $50 on graduation; soldiers' orphans are entitled to $1 a week. The general statistics of the normal schools for 1873-4 are as follows:

Teachers' institutes are held in every county, and were attended in 1873-4 by 13,970 teachers, besides 1,772 directors, and about 100,000 citizens. - Instruction in agriculture and the mechanic arts is afforded by the Pennsylvania state college in Centre co., the name of the post office being that of the college. This institution was organized in 1854, but it was not until 1867 that the income arising from the lands granted by congress was appropriated to it. Besides a preparatory course, it has three courses of four years each: agricultural, scientific, and classical. No charge is made for tuition; pupils of both sexes are admitted. All students, except those in the junior and senior classes, are required to devote ten hours a week to agricultural or mechanical work; those excepted devote the same amount of time to practice in the laboratory, surveying, etc. The institution has an endowment fund of $500,000, and a farm of 400 acres. In 1873-'4 there were 10 instructors and 150 pupils, of whom 24 were females.

The statistics of the universities, colleges, and schools of theology in 1874-'5, excepting those of Philadelphia, were as follows:

Instruction in law and medicine is provided by Lincoln university; and in science, besides the state college, by Lafayette college, Lehigh university, Swarthmore college, Villanova college, Western university, and Westminster college. There are excellent institutions for the superior instruction of females in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Beaver, Bethlehem, Blairs-ville, Chambersburg, Collegeville, Germantown, Lewisburg, Mechanicsburg, Media, Norristown, Washington, and York. The numerous educational institutions in Philadelphia are described in the article on that city. - According to the census of 1870, the whole number of libraries was 14,849, with an aggregate of 6,377,845 volumes. Of these, 9,883, with 3,328,598 volumes, were private, and 4,966, with 3,049,247 volumes, other than private, including the state library in Harrisburg, 30,000; 39 town, city, etc, 28,586; 29 court and law, 24,051; 115 school, college, etc, 267,223; 3,916 Sabbath school, 1,696,640; 732 church, 420,559; 18 of historical, literary, and scientific societies, 202,-600; 30 of benevolent and secret associations, 49,435; and 86 circulating, 330,153. The whole number of newspapers and periodicals in 1870 was 540, having an aggregate circulation of 3,419,765, and issuing annually 241,170,540 copies.

There were 55 daily, with a circulation of 466,070; 3 tri-weekly, 10,000; 2 semi-weekly, 17,700; 385 weekly, 1,214,395; 11 semi-monthly, 825,100; 73 monthly, 846,750; 8 quarterly, 31,200; 3 annual, 13,000. In 1874 the total number was reported at 735, including 74 daily, 2 tri-weekly, 485 weekly, 13 semi-monthly, 87 monthly, 2 bi-monthly, and 6 quarterly. The total number of religious organizations in 1870 was 5,984, having 5,668 edifices with 2,332,-288 sittings and property valued at $52,758,-384. The denominations were represented as follows:

Delaware bay and river were first explored under the auspices of the Dutch East India company from 1609 to 1624, when forts were erected and military jurisdiction was exercised. From 1624 to 1664 they continued in actual possession of both sides of the bay without much colonization. A colony of Swedes settled on the west bank of the Delaware in 1638, and until their surrender to the Dutch in September, 1655, prosecuted colonization, cultivating the soil, and in all their intercourse with the Indians acting essentially upon the same pacific principle's which became world-renowned under the founder of Pennsylvania. The peaceful Swedes surrendered to the more powerful Dutch, aided by a naval force from New Amsterdam, in 1655, but still retained their language and national peculiarities until their final absorption by the colonists of William Penn, who treated them with marked kindness and consideration. In 1681 the territory west of the Delaware was granted to William Penn, who colonized it, and founded Philadelphia in 1682. Under the charter granted to Penn by Charles II. the present area of the state of Delaware was included, and called the lower counties; and they continued under the same proprietary until 1699, when a separate legislature was granted them, but not a distinct governor.

The two .colonies were so connected until the revolution of 1776. The grant to Penn was for territory really covered by the vague grants made to the New England colonies, Virginia, and Maryland; and though the lines on the east, north, and west were adjusted without difficulty, the boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland was long a subject of contest by the heirs of the original proprietors, and it was finally settled by the survey of Mason and Dixon, begun in 1763 and completed in 1767. (See Mason and Dixon's Line.) The original Swedish colony was unusually free from trouble with the Indians, and after Penn's colony was founded a remarkable and most successful peaceful policy was inaugurated with the savage tribes in contact with the colony. The settlers of the lower counties were, after the Swedes, originally mainly Friends. Their high character and steady energy made this one of the most flourishing colonial establishments, if not the most successful. It became the seat of learning, wealth, and refinement long before the revolution. Independence was proclaimed here, and the whole colony took a decided part in the revolutionary war.

The first large accession to the population, next to the Friends, was a German immigration begun about 1730, which peopled several counties adjacent to Philadelphia, and has given prominence to that nationality in all the subsequent history of the state. Next was a considerable immigration of Scotch origin, but coming immediately from the north of Ireland, which was diffused largely over all the state from 1715 to 1725. The public affairs of Pennsylvania were administered under the government framed by William Penn in 1682 and subsequently amended until 1776, when a provisional constitution was prepared by a convention of which Benjamin Franklin was president. A new constitution was adopted in 1790, which has since been several times amended. In 1838 provision was made for electing, instead of appointing, county officers, the right of voting was limited to white persons, and the term of judicial offices was reduced from life to 10 and 15 years. In 1850 the judiciary was made elective by the people; in 1857 the state, county, and municipal authorities were prohibited from subscribing to the construction of internal improvements; and in 1864 soldiers in the field in time of war were guaranteed the right of suffrage.

In 1873 an amended constitution was approved by the people by a vote of 253,744 against 108,594, and went into force on Jan. 1, 1874. In 1794 resistance, known as the "whiskey rebellion," was made by the people in the western part of the state to the enforcement of the United States excise law. Troops were sent to the disturbed district, but no blood was shed, and the movement soon ceased. Except a brief period when the seat of government was at Old Chester, Philadelphia was the capital during the entire period of the proprietary government. In 1799 Lancaster was chosen as the seat of government, and in 1812 Harris-burg became the capital. In September, 1862, Gov. Curtin called for 50,000 volunteer militia to repel a threatened invasion of the state by the confederates under Gen. Lee. The latter, however, after invading Maryland, retired without entering Pennsylvania. In October a body of confederate cavalry made a raid as far as Ohambersburg, but soon retreated. For an account of the invasion of the state in 1863, see Gettysburg. In July, 1864, the confederates advanced upon Ohambersburg, and nearly destroyed the town by fire.

During the war Pennsylvania furnished 387,284 troops to the federal army, being 269,645 reduced to a three years' standard.