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Erie plans bicentennial celebrationPresqu'ile, “almost an island” of there to the Mississippi River sand that cradles Presque Isle Bay.ERIE, Pa (AP) — The Great Lakes port that once brought fur traders to Pennsylvania — and nught someday draw card sharks — this week marks its 200th anniversary.A paid staff of three with a budget of $600,000 Is coordinating a six- month Erie bicentennial celebration, including a birthday party concert on Tuesday and an hours-long “parade of the century*'on May 27.Lectures, tours and exhibitions are among the other eventsplanned Into September.An act of Pennsylvania's legislature on April 18,1795, created a town from the settlements claimed at various times over 40 years by Erie Indians, French and British troops and Iroquois Indians.The last to claim ownership was a survey crew charged by the fledgling commonwealth with forming a planned community on the Lake Erie shore The area offered a harbor shel tered by what the French named“The essence of Erie is the port,” said Donald Muller, execu tive director of the Erie County Historical Society “The reason that's here is Presque Isle.”Ene quickly became a trading center Fur, salt, and other ne cessities from ports along the St Lawrence River arrived in the harbor and were portaged 20 miles south to Waterford The goods continued fromThe discovery of oil m Titus ville m 1859 helped convert Erie to a manufacturing center, and residents could eventually brag that “Erie Enterprise Encircles the Earth.”With access to unlimited water, rail lines, and a largely immigrant work force, heavy industry flourished with products such as Skinner steam engines, cast-iron Griswold cookware and LouisMarx toys
Newspaper Details
Doylestown Intelligencer
Doylestown, Pennsylvania, US
Mon, Apr 17, 1995
Page 38
Full Page
Clipped by
Sara B.
NA, 01 Apr 2022
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