50 Fun Facts About Pennsylvania

What is Pennsylvania's best-known nickname, used since 1802?

It refers to the state's central place among the original thirteen colonies.

Pennsylvania was founded in 1681 through a royal land grant to whom?

King Charles II was repaying a £16,000 debt owed to Penn's father, an admiral.

What did the colony's founder originally propose to call it?

The King settled on 'Penn's Woods' after the elder Penn, which embarrassed his son.

What is the state capital of Pennsylvania?

It sits on the Susquehanna River, and the state legislature had earlier met in Lancaster and York.

Pennsylvania was which state to ratify the US Constitution, in December 1787?

Delaware had ratified five days earlier; the Constitution was presented in German too, since a third of Pennsylvanians spoke it.

Pennsylvania's southern boundary with Maryland is famous under what name?

The Twelve-Mile Circle is the state's curious arc-shaped border with Delaware.

Of the original thirteen colonies, Pennsylvania is the only one that does not border what?

It does have 51 miles of Lake Erie coastline and shoreline on the tidal Delaware.

Philadelphia's name is Greek for what?

William Penn founded the city in 1682 as capital of his province.

Philadelphia was the largest city in the United States until which city overtook it in 1790?

It served as the national capital on five separate occasions before Washington, D.C. was ready in 1800.

Independence Hall was originally known by what name?

It hosted both the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the Constitutional Convention in 1787.

Where was the Liberty Bell hidden from the British for nine months in 1777-78?

Bells were evacuated because the British could recast them into munitions.

Which Ivy League school did Benjamin Franklin found in 1740?

It is the state's only Ivy League school.

Which Franklin County native became the first Pennsylvania-born US president in 1857?

He served a single term before Lincoln.

Over how many days was the Battle of Gettysburg fought in July 1863?

It was the bloodiest battle in American history to that point, with over 50,000 casualties.

Which Union general commanded the Army of the Potomac at Gettysburg?

Lincoln had replaced Hooker with him only three days before the battle began.

Roughly how many words long is the Gettysburg Address?

Edward Everett's main oration that day ran 13,607 words and two hours.

Pittsburgh sits where which two rivers meet to form the Ohio?

The confluence is called 'the Point', now Point State Park.

Pittsburgh is nicknamed the 'City of Bridges' for having roughly how many?

It is better known as the Steel City, though most of the mills are long gone.

Pittsburgh was named in 1758 in honour of which British statesman?

Scottish General John Forbes probably pronounced it 'Pittsborough', like Edinburgh.

Which Pittsburgh station became the world's first commercially licensed radio station in 1920?

It began broadcasting on November 2, 1920, with the presidential election results.

Andrew Carnegie began making steel in 1875 at a plant in North Braddock named after whom?

The plant grew into the Carnegie Steel Company, later folded into U.S. Steel; Thomson was a Pennsylvania Railroad president.

Milton Hershey built his chocolate factory in 1903 in his hometown, then known as what?

He had sold his Lancaster Caramel Company for $1 million to concentrate on chocolate.

In what year did Hershey begin making its Milk Chocolate bar?

The Hershey Chocolate Company itself had been founded in 1894 as a caramel-company subsidiary.

Why did Henry Heinz choose the number 57 for his famous slogan?

The company actually made more than 60 products when the slogan appeared in 1896.

Heinz began packing foodstuffs in 1869 in which Pennsylvania town, first selling horseradish?

The company merged with Kraft in 2015 to form the world's fifth-largest food company.

The Amish church began with a 1693 schism in Switzerland led by whom?

Pennsylvania's Amish population is topped only by Ohio's.

The Amish set of church rules governing electricity, cars and dress is called what?

It differs between districts and is reviewed twice a year by all members.

The language spoken by the Pennsylvania Dutch is actually a dialect of what?

'Dutch' is a mangling of Deitsch, the word for German.

Punxsutawney Phil emerges each Groundhog Day from his burrow at what location?

The event formally began in 1887 and is run by a top-hatted 'Inner Circle'.

According to tradition, what does it mean if Phil sees his shadow?

The Inner Circle's president claims to interpret Phil's 'Groundhogese' with an acacia-wood cane.

The 1979 Three Mile Island accident was a partial meltdown of a reactor near which city?

It is rated Level 5 on the seven-point International Nuclear Event Scale.

The Johnstown Flood of 1889 followed the failure of which dam?

The flood killed 2,208 people; Clara Barton's Red Cross led the relief.

The Little League World Series has been held every August since 1947 in which Pennsylvania town?

Little League Baseball itself was founded next door in Williamsport.

Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater is built partly over a waterfall on which stream?

The Kaufmanns of Kaufmann's Department Store commissioned it in 1934.

Andy Warhol was born in Pittsburgh in 1928 to immigrant parents of what background?

His Shot Sage Blue Marilyn sold in 2022 for $195 million, a record for an American artist.

Fred Rogers of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood was born in which Pennsylvania town?

He was an ordained Presbyterian minister and made the show at Pittsburgh's WQED from 1968 to 2001.

The Drake Well, the first commercial US oil well, was drilled in 1859 near which town?

It struck oil at a surprisingly shallow depth on 27 August 1859.

How deep was the Drake Well?

Edwin Drake was a former railway conductor who invested his entire $200 savings in the venture.

Which president personally rode at the head of an army into western Pennsylvania in 1794?

He led 13,000 militiamen to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion against the excise tax.

America's oldest brewery, Yuengling, has operated since 1829 in which town?

It is in the state's old anthracite-coal country.

Marshmallow Peeps are made by Just Born in which Pennsylvania city?

The same company makes Hot Tamales and Mike and Ikes.

Martin Guitars, played by Cash, Dylan and Clapton, are made in which Pennsylvania town?

The Lehigh Valley town shares its name with the biblical one, as does its neighbour.

What is the traditional Pennsylvania Dutch New Year's Day meal, eaten for luck?

Fasnachts, shoofly pie and chow-chow are other Pennsylvania Dutch staples.

How many steps make up the 'Rocky Steps' at the Philadelphia Museum of Art?

Stallone first wanted Rocky to carry his bull mastiff Butkus up them, but the dog was too heavy.

How many Super Bowls have the Pittsburgh Steelers won?

The Eagles have two, giving the state eight in total.

Which Pennsylvania town became world-famous on September 11, 2001, when United Flight 93 crashed nearby?

The plane came down in a field in Stonycreek Township.

Which Pennsylvania company began making potato chips in Hanover in 1921?

Wise started in Berwick the same year; Snyder's of Hanover makes pretzels.

Pennsylvania's only national forest, established in 1923, is named after what?

It was created under the Weeks Act for timber and watershed protection.

Which Pennsylvania city hosts Musikfest, billed as the nation's largest free music festival?

It is held every August in the Lehigh Valley.

Charles II granted William Penn his 1681 charter to repay a debt of how much owed to Penn's father?

The sum was worth roughly £2.1 million in 2008 terms.