When was harrisburg pennsylvania founded

The adjacent counties are Northumberland County to the north; Schuylkill County to the northeast; Lebanon County to the east; Lancaster County to the south; and York County to the southwest; Cumberland County to the west; and Perry County to the northwest.

Harrisburg's western boundary is formed by the west shore of the Susquehanna River the Susquehanna runs within the city boundaries , which also serves as the boundary between Dauphin and Cumberland counties. The city is divided into numerous neighborhoods and districts. Like many of Pennsylvania's cities and boroughs that are at "build-out" stage, there are several townships outside of Harrisburg city limits that, although autonomous, use the name Harrisburg for postal and name-place designation.

The borough of Penbrook , located just east of Reservoir Park, was previously known as East Harrisburg. Penbrook, along with the borough of Paxtang , also located just outside the city limits, maintain Harrisburg zip codes as well. The United States Postal Service designates 26 zip codes for Harrisburg, including 13 for official use by federal and state government agencies.

Harrisburg has a variable, four-season climate lying in the transition between the humid subtropical or oceanic climate zones. Summer is usually hot and humid and occasional heat waves can occur. Summer thunderstorms also occur relatively frequently. Autumn is a pleasant season when the humidity and temperatures fall to more comfortable values. Winter in Harrisburg is rather cold: January averages A major snowstorm can also occasionally occur, and some winters snowfall totals can exceed 60 inches cm while in other winters the city may receive very little snowfall.

The snowiest month on record was in February when 42 in cm of snow was recorded at Harrisburg International Airport. Overall Harrisburg receives an average of Spring is also a nice time of year for outdoor activities. Precipitation is well-distributed and generous in most months, though July is clearly the wettest. Center City Harrisburg, which includes the Pennsylvania State Capitol Complex , is the central core business and financial center for the greater Harrisburg metropolitan area and serves as the seat of government for Dauphin County and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

There are over a dozen large neighborhoods and historic districts within the city. Harrisburg is home to the Pennsylvania State Capitol. Completed in , the central dome rises to a height of feet 83 m and was modeled on that of St.

Peter's Basilica in Vatican City , Rome. The state capitol is only the third-tallest building of Harrisburg. The five tallest buildings are Market Street with a height of feet m , Pennsylvania Place with a height of feet 89 m , the Pennsylvania State Capitol with a height of feet 83 m , Presbyterian Apartments with a height of feet 79 m and the Fulton Bank Building with a height of feet 78 m. As of the census, the city was The five largest ethnic groups in the city are: German Harrisburg has one of the largest Pennsylvania Dutch communities in the nation, and also has the nation's tenth-largest Swedish-American communities in the nation.

There were 20, households, out of which The average household size was 2. In the city, the population was spread out, with The median age was 33 years.

For every females there were For every females age 13 and over, there were About The very first census taken in the United States occurred in At that time Harrisburg was a small, but substantial colonial town with a population of residents.

With the increase of the city's prominence as an industrial and transportation center, Harrisburg reached its peak population build up in , topping out at nearly 90, residents. Since the s, Harrisburg, along with other northeastern urban centers large and small, has experienced a declining population that is ultimately fueling the growth of its suburbs , although the decline — which was very rapid in the s and s — has slowed considerably since the s.

Reversing fifty years of decline, Census Bureau estimates show that Harrisburg's population has actually grown. Between and , Harrisburg gained 22 people. In , the urban population of the Harrisburg area increased to , from , in , a change of 20, people.

In the Harrisburg area was listed with Lebanon and York as an urban agglomeration, or a contiguous area of continuously developed urban land, signifying a future merger of the York- Hanover and Harrisburg metropolitan areas , which would create a metropolitan area of over 1 million.

Downtown Harrisburg has two major performance centers. The Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts, which was completed in , is the first center of its type in the United States where education, science and the performing arts take place under one roof.

The Forum, a 1,seat concert and lecture hall built in , is a state-owned and operated facility located within the State Capitol Complex. Beginning in , downtown Harrisburg saw a surge of commercial nightlife development.

This has been credited with reversing the city's financial decline, and has made downtown Harrisburg a destination for events from jazz festivals to Top nightclubs. Harrisburg is also the home of the annual Pennsylvania Farm Show , the largest agricultural exhibition of its kind in the nation.

Farmers from all over Pennsylvania come to show their animals and participate in competitions. Livestock are on display for people to interact with and view. In , Harrisburg hosted CowParade , an international public art exhibit that has been featured in major cities all over the world. Fiberglass sculptures of cows are decorated by local artists, and distributed over the city center, in public places such as train stations and parks.

They often feature artwork and designs specific to local culture, as well as city life and other relevant themes. Harrisburg area is part of the Harrisburg-Lancaster-Lebanon-York media market which consists of the lower counties in south central Pennsylvania and borders the media markets of Philadelphia and Baltimore.

It is the 43rd largest media market in the United States. The Harrisburg area has several newspapers. The Patriot-News, which is published in Cumberland County , serves the Harrisburg area and has a tri-weekly circulation of over , The Sentinel, which is published in Carlisle, roughly 20 miles west of Harrisburg, serves many of Harrisburg's western suburbs in Cumberland County.

The Press and Journal, published in Middletown, is one of many weekly, general information newspapers in the Harrisburg area.

Only one non-municipal portal website exists for the city of Harrisburg, HarrisburgPA. Several feature films and television series have been filmed or set in and around Harrisburg and the greater Susquehanna Valley.

HIA is the third-busiest commercial airport in Pennsylvania, both in terms of passengers served and cargo shipments. Capital City Airport CXY , a moderate-sized business class and general aviation airport, is located across the Susquehanna River in the nearby suburb of New Cumberland , south of Harrisburg. Harrisburg is served by Capital Area Transit CAT which provides public bus , paratransit, and commuter rail service throughout the greater metropolitan area.

Construction of a commuter rail line designated the Capital Red Rose Corridor previously named CorridorOne will eventually link the city with nearby Lancaster in Long-term plans for the region call for the commuter rail line to continue westward to Cumberland County , ending at Carlisle.

In early , the project hit a roadblock when the Cumberland County commissioners opposed the plan to extend commuter rail to the West Shore. Due to lack of support from the county commissioners, the Cumberland County portion, and the two new stations in Harrisburg have been removed from the project. In the future, with support from Cumberland County, the commuter rail project may extend to both shores of the Susquehanna River , where the majority of the commuting base for the Harrisburg metropolitan area resides.

In , a second phase of the rail project designated CorridorTwo was announced to the general public. It will link downtown Harrisburg with its eastern suburbs in Dauphin and Lebanon counties, including the areas of Hummelstown , Hershey and Lebanon , and the city of York in York County. Future passenger rail corridors also include Route 15 from the Harrisburg area towards Gettysburg , as well as the Susquehanna River communities north of Harrisburg, and the Northern Susquehanna Valley region.

The lower level of the Harrisburg Transport Center serves as the city's intercity bus terminal. Curbside intercity bus service is also provided by Megabus from the parking lot of the Harrisburg Mall in nearby Swatara Township, with direct service to Philadelphia, State College , and Pittsburgh. The commuter-oriented service is designed to serve York County residents who work in Harrisburg, though reverse commutes are possible under the current schedule.

Buses running this route make limited stops in the city of York and at two park and rides along Interstate 83 between York and Harrisburg before making various stops in Pennsylvania's capital city.

The line was electrified in the s, with the wires reaching Harrisburg in They went no further. Plans to electrify through to Pittsburgh and thence to Chicago never saw fruition; sufficient funding was never available. Thus, Harrisburg became where the PRR's crack expresses such as the Broadway Limited changed from electric traction to originally a steam locomotive , and later a diesel locomotive. Norfolk Southern acquired all of Conrail's lines in the Harrisburg area and has continued the city's function as a freight rail hub.

The Harrisburg Intermodal Yard formerly called Lucknow Yard is located in the north end of Harrisburg, approximately 3 miles north of downtown Harrisburg and the Harrisburg Transport Center, while the Rutherford Intermodal Yard is located approximately 6 miles east of downtown Harrisburg in Swatara Township, Dauphin County.

Keep in mind that traveling long distances in the 18th and 19th centuries was not as easy or simple as it is today. There were no cars or airplanes back then, so distance and transportation was an extremely important factor at the time.

Philadelphia has had the largest population in the state but it is located on the southeastern corner of a relatively large state of Pennsylvania. Another contender for the capitol was Erie, PA, which was also not in a central location. Another geographical advantage of Harrisburg was its location close to the Susquehanna River making it accessible by water. The city of Harrisburg has had a turbulent history in the 21st century including a filing for bankruptcy in Even with all the mismanagement of the city, Harrisburg remains a popular city for residents and visitors.

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