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Erie plans six-monthcelebration to markits bicentennialBy CHRISTINE McCAMMONAssociated Press WriterERIE, Pa. (AP) — The Great Lakes port that once brought fUr traders to Pennsylvania — and might 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 abirthday party concert on Tuesday and an hours-long “parade of the century” on May 27.Lectures, tours and exhibitions are among the other events planned 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 bythe fledgling commonwealthwith forming a planned community on the Lake Erieshore.The area offered a harbor sheltered by what the French named Presqu’ile, “almost an island” of sand that cradlesPresque Isle Bay.“The essence of Erie is theport,” said Donald Muller, executive director of the Erie County Historical Society. “The reason that’s here is Presque Isle.”Erie quickly became a trading center. Fur, salt, and other necessities from ports along the St. Lawrence River arrived in the harbor and were portaged 20 miles south to Waterford.The goods continued from there to the Mississippi River along French Creek and the Ohio and Allegheny rivers.The discovery of oil in Titusville in 1859 helped convert Erie to a manufacturing center, andresidents could eventually brag that “Erie Enterprise Encirclesthe 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 Louis Marx toys.Plastics manufacturers — successors to Erie’s foundries — these days produce much of the country’s plastic deodorant containers, beverage bottles and canvas.Presque Isle, now a state-operated park, takes the sting out of the “dreary Erie” jokes. The calm waters of the bay now attracts sailors and windsurfers.The park’s 3,200 acres of beaches, hiking trails, and picnic areas drew 3.7 million visitors in 1994, more than Yellowstone National Park and Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell.And the sheltered harbor could soon harbor legalized gambling. A bill introduced in the state Legislature last month would legalize riverboat gambling in Pennsylvania’s port cities.A similar bill introduced in the last legislative session did not pass.Gov. Tom Ridge, an Erie favorite son, has promised a statewide referendum on the issue. But two out-of-state gaming companies have optimistically leased property,hoping for the gambling measure’s approval.“Many people think the bayfront is the future of Erie, just as it was 200 years ago,” Muller said.
Newspaper Details
Kittanning Leader Times
Kittanning, Pennsylvania, US
Mon, Apr 17, 1995
Page 5
Full Page
Clipped by
Sara B.
NA, 01 Apr 2022
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