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The American Cyclopædia (1879)/Pennsylvania

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1553393The American Cyclopædia — PennsylvaniaEaton S. Drone

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 lon. 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.

Obverse. Reverse.
State Seal of Pennsylvania.

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; Allentown, 13,884; Altoona, 10,610; Carbondale, 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; Mahanoy, 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:

 YEARS.  White. Free
 colored. 
 Slave.  Total.  Rank. 






1790 424,099  6,537   3,737  434,373  2
1800 586,095  14,564  1,706  602,365  2
1810 786,804  22,492  795  810,091  3
1820 1,017,094  30,202  211  1,047,507  3
1830 1,309,900  37,930  403  1,348,233  2
1840 1,676,115  47,854  64  1,724,033  2
1850 2,258,160  53,626  .... 2,311,786  2
1860 2,849,259  56,949  .... 2,906,215  2
1870  3,456,609   65,294  ....  3,521,951  2

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 Ridge 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 cañons 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 cañon. Each of the Appalachian ridges has a separate name, such as North, Blue, Kittatinny, Second, Peter's, Berry's, Mauch Chunk, Sharp, Locust, Mahanoy, Mahontongo, Big, Little, Shamokin, Nescopec, Shickshinny, Wyoming, Buck, Hell Kitchen, Yeager's, McCauley's, Montour, Buffalo, Jack's, Seven Mountains, Shade, Standing Stone, Tussey, Nittany, Bald Eagle, Dunning, Canoe, Hole, Hook, Will's, Savage, Black Log, Tuscarora, Path Valley mountain, &c. 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 Monongahela 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. W. 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 mesozoic (new red) in a belt from 20 to 30 m. wide, extending into New Jersey and into Maryland; 3, the palæozoic 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 Harrisburg. 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 Phoenix ville 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 Kishacoquillas, Brush, Nittany, Sinking, Spruce creek, and Canoe valleys, and Morrison's and McConnellsburg coves in central Pennsylvania. (See Appalachian Mountains, and Iron.) The northern edge of the new red ranges with the Musconetcong 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 palæozoic 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 palæozoic 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 whitewood, 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 Rhône. 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 prin- cipal 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:

ARTICLES. Quantities
produced.
 Relative 
rank.



Wheat, bush. 19,672,967 
Rye, bush. 3,577,641 
Indian corn, bush. 34,702,206 
Oats, bush. 36,478,585 
Barley, bush. 529,562 
Buckwheat, bush. 2,532,173 
Peas and beans, bush. 39,574  23 
Potatoes, bush. 12,889,367 
Clover seed, bush. 200,679 
Flax seed, bush. 15,624 
Grass seed, bush. 50,642 
Tobacco, lbs. 3,467,539  12 
Wool, lbs. 6,561,722 
Butter, lbs. 60,834,644 
Cheese, farm, lbs. 1,145,209 
Cheese, factory, lbs. 1,647,467 
Hops, lbs. 90,688  12 
Flax, lbs. 815,906 
Maple sugar, lbs. 1,545,917 
Honey, lbs. 796,989 
Beeswax, lbs. 27,033 
Hay, tons 2,849,219 
Hemp, tons 571 
Wine, galls. 97,165 
Milk sold, galls. 14,411,729 
Molasses, sorghum, galls. 213,373  14 
Molasses, maple, galls. 39,385 
Horses on farms 460,339 
Horses not on farms 151,149 
Mules and asses 18,009  16 
Milch cows 706,437 
Working oxen 30,048  19 
Other cattle 608,066 
Neat cattle not on farms 16l,346 
Sheep 1,794,301 
Swine 867,548  11 
Value of live stock on farms   $115,647,075 

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

ARTICLES.  Quantities 
produced.
No. of acres
 in each crop. 
Average
 yield per 
acre.
Total value.





Indian corn, bush.   36,929,000  1,052,108  35.1    $22,157,400
Wheat, bush. 15,548,000  1,094,929  14.2    23,322,000
Rye, bush. 3,283,000  226,414  14.5    2,659,230
Oats, bush. 31,229,000  1,034,073  30.2    13,428,470
Barley, bush. 398,000  19,220  20.6    417,900
Buckwheat, bush. 2,022,000  103,692  19.5    1,698,480
Potatoes, bush. 10,602,000  110,437  96      6,891,300
Tobacco, lbs. 15,000,000  12,640   1,186      1,845,000
Hay, tons 2,446,400  2,127,304  1.15  43,545,920




Total  5,780,917   $115,965,700 

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

ANIMALS. Number. Value.



Horses 557,000   $55,382,510 
Mules 24,900  3,164,292 
Oxen and other cattle  722,600  19,141,674 
Milch cows 812,600  27,018,950 
Sheep  1,674,000  5,356,800 
Hogs 1,034,400  6,847,728 

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:

MINERALS. Number of
 establishments. 
Hands
 employed. 
Capital
invested.
Value of
products.





Coal, anthracite 229  53,021  $50,936,785  $38,436,745
Coal, bituminous  359  16,851  16,974,918  13,921,069
Copper 30,500  7,800
Iron ore 186  4,886  4,548,026  3,944,146
Marble 86  226,000  101,000
Nickel 48  60,000  24,000
Petroleum 2,148  4,070  9,249,283  18,045,967
Slate 28  732  1,502,339  618,229
Stone 126  1,114  732,425  873,879
Zinc 400  400,000  235,555




Total 3,086  81,215   $84,660,276   $76,208,390

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 an- thracite 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:

DISTRICTS. 1872. 1873. 1874.




Tons. Tons. Tons.
Schuylkill 5,010,908  5,132,043  4,844,922 
Northumberland  1,391,327  1,404,070  1,374,245 
Columbia 344,220  383,741  290,923 
Lykens Valley 480,328  479,915  478,481 
Wyoming 10,694,808  11,722,241  10,885,804 
Lehigh 4,110,674  3,706,108  3,641,873 



Total  22,032,265   22,828,178   21,516,248 

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:

PARTICULARS.  Pennsylvania.   United States. 



Number of stacks in 1872 248  612 
Number of tons (2,000 lbs.) produced in 1872   1,401,497   2,854,558 
Number of stacks in 1873 262  662 
Number of tons produced in 1873 1,389,573  2,868,278 
Number of stacks in blast Jan. 1, 1874 166  410 
Whole number of stacks, July 1, 1874 263  673 

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:

INDUSTRIES. No. of
 establishments. 
Hands
 employed. 
Capital. Wages. Value of
materials.
Value of products.

 Pennsylvania.  United
States.








Agricultural implements 286  2,286  $3,387,949  $1,025,618  $1,278,805  $3,652,295 
Blacksmithing 3,520  6,990  2,219,785  1,199,047  1,775,502  5,398,589  41,828,296
Bleaching and dyeing 79  799  1,212,800  352,887  6,087,364  7,285,114 
Bookbinding 91  1,877  1,640,807  674,254  1,919,981  3,588,623 
Boots and shoes 3,947  15,799  6,375,943  4,818,902  6,932,726  16,864,310 
Brass founding and finishing 63  826  2,118,985  395,780  1,100,167  2,030,055  6,855,756
Bread, crackers, and other bakery products 809  2,494  1,920,290  783,411  3,195,678  5,597,291 
Brick 458  7,443  4,559,783  2,337,691  1,530,527  6,071,209  29,028,359
Carpentering and building 1,846  10,538  7,671,351  5,335,181  13,772,286  27,336,490  132,901,432
Carriages and wagons 1,449  6,252  4,322,517  2,229,441  2,111,361  6,632,302 
Cars freight and passenger 49  4,076  3,763,804  2,193,857  5,832,736  9,288,041  31,070,734
Clothing, men's 1,364  17,973  9,709,059  4,758,807  12,036,899  21,850,319 
Coal oil, rectified 89  957  4,006,433  688,583  12,345,899  15,251,223  26,942,287
Confectionery 268  1,137  1,130,905  390,535  1,195,851  2,491,332 
Cooperage 474  2,256  1,084,385  945,437  1,502,537  3,209,470 
Cotton goods, not specified 121  12,281  11,940,141  3,386,248  10,021,161  16,626,101 
Cotton goods, batting and wadding 10  39  32,000  9,348  42,153  61,562 
Cotton goods, thread, twine, and yarn 12  442  603,680  114,938  686,158  877,365 
Drugs and chemicals 82  1,812  6,060,300  826,637  5,346,834  8,451,991  19,417,194
Fertilizers 33  414  1,507,500  216,626  900,975  1,635,200  5,815,118
Flouring and grist-mill products 2,985  6,427  20,398,620  1,278,146  41,763,255  49,476,245 
Furniture 948  5,684  5,005,053  2,430,868  2,826,060  8,082,530 
Glass, cut 10  1,100  3,500  5,030  13,000 
Glass, stained 53  28,500  33,128  34,100  108,280  297,480
Glass, ware 42  5,590  5,843,816  8,095,597  2,016,705  7,407,135  14,300,949
Glass, window 10  645  598,000  412,345  315,293  894,190 
Gunpowder 15  184  752,900  77,045  558,546  873,033  4,011,839
Hats and caps 81  1,650  1,035,663  703,088  1,248,231  2,813,766 
Heating apparatus 27  342  511,580  252,120  413,487  1,197,660  3,425,150
Hosiery 76  4,899  2,979,000  1,280,270  2,925,323  5,306,738 
Iron and manufactures of iron 892   47,134   78,768,802   24,680,024   80,657,261   122,605,296   322,128,698
Iron blooms 43  1,473  2,446,600  707,589  3,683,300  4,881,431  7,647,054
Iron forged and rolled 135  21,865  28,256,390  12,243,483  39,581,157  57,976,471  128,062,627
Iron anchors and cable chains 48  37,380  18,500  115,000  160,400  634,200
Iron bolts, nuts, washers, and rivets 29  1,558  1,792,200  805,323  1,700,315  3,112,307  7,191,151
Iron nails and spikes, cut and wrought 31  2,036  2,672,950  1,106,214  5,233,881  6,783,699  24,823,996
Iron pipe, wrought 1,288  4,209,000  709,710  2,934,903  4,552,394  7,369,194
Iron railing 12  55  29,100  18,176  15,652  55,588 
Iron ship building and marine engines 352  750,000  210,000  187,000  472,000 
Iron pigs 136  10,861  26,376,059  5,014,455  22,638,492  82,636,410  69,640,498
Iron castings, not specified 443  7,587  10,959,873  3,813,037  8,373,513  15,089,415 
Iron castings, stoves, heaters, and hollow ware 81  2,052  3,912,200  1,139,751  1,427,929  3,668,880 
Leather, tanned 890  4,650  11,800,046  1,683,479  13,994,036  19,828,323 
Leather, curried 558  1,080  1,830,461  298,981  4,479,454  5,429,833 
Leather, morocco, tanned and curried 25  1,002  1,342,778  539,372  2,051,813  3,225,041  9,997,460
Leather, dressed skins 22  148  344,500  65,867  267,777  416,299 
Lime 403  1,821  993,257  448,153  989,531  2,058,675  8,917,405
Liquors, distilled 108  512  2,504,857  215,837  1,950,077  4,618,228 
Liquors, malt 246  1,583  6,966,236  773,267  3,558,986  7,056,400 
Lumber, planed 183  1,859  2,998,406  958,817  4,082,125  6,323,605 
Lumber, sawed 3,738  17,424  24,792,304  5,260,076  14,935,096  28,930,985 
Machinery, not specified 276  6,774  9,405,012  3,656,044  5,086,018  11,664,421  54,429,634
Machinery, cotton and woollen 27  857  1,584,300  395,301  507,202  1,437,949 
Machinery, railroad repairing 23  5,373  9,235,695  3,295,641  3,693,691  7,233,382  27,565,650
Machinery, steam engines and boilers. 151  4,686  5,843,118  2,597,144  4,246,282  8,922,401  41,576,264
Marble and stone work, not specified 150  1,950  2,345,365  1,095,722  1,586,562  3,799,995 
Marble and stone work, monuments and tombstones  158  716  725,545  282,017  438,472  1,043,307 
Meat, cured and packed, not specified 10  127  1,320,000  81,560  2,109,400  2,956,002 
Meat, cured and packed, pork 13  195  1,543,000  112,550  2,895,190  3,854,900 
Molasses and sugar, refined 15  1,241  5,619,000  663,408  24,417,982  26,731,016 
Paints, lead and zinc 23  561  2,177,250  261,022  2,304,004  3,776,360  11,211,647
Paper, printing 29  1,178  3,165,720  451,899  2,368,082  3,825,008 
Patent medicines and compounds 61  444  1,632,984  176,879  3,085,746  6,344,796  16,257,720
Printing, cotton and woollen goods 868  1,695,000  353,380  4,958,960  6,113,584 
Printing and publishing, not specified 77  3,117  7,704,500  2,054,975  3,866,887  10,108,951 
Saddlery and harness 908  2,488  1,539,958  662,347  1,400,505  3,051,771 
Sash, doors, and blinds 204  2,732  3,514,410  1,437,546  2,971,930  5,911,671 
Saws 11  682  930,500  460,479  534,782  1,235,184  3,175,289
Ship building, repairing, and ship materials 106  2,174  1,556,492  1,065,265  1,293,401  3,083,244 
Soap and candles 96  748  1,821,200  301,844  1,762,376  3,149,481 
Steel, Bessemer 217  558,000  104,000  1,080,000  1,405,000 
Steel, cast 14  1,549  3,304,400  1,036,632  2,755,918  5,359,038  6,936,566
Steel, forged 47  203,000  60,300  121,018  201,200  201,200
Steel, springs 10  198  1,226,000  122,202  566,023  990,763  2,928,993
Stone and earthen ware 198  1,374  1,477,240  448,315  534,808  1,659,747  6,045,536
Tin, copper, and sheet-iron ware 974  3,631  3,202,477  1,206,277  2,423,749  5,311,810  40,636,811
Tobacco, cigars 975  5,775  1,966,395  1,460,359  1,982,445  5,276,628 
Umbrellas and canes 27  1,355  1,016,682  343,260  1,051,926  2,049,793  4,098,032
Wood, turned and carved 158  955  553,748  337,772  320,669  1,105,470  4,959,191
Woollen goods 403  12,578  14,066,785  4,340,066  17,325,849  27,361,897 
Worsted goods 31  3,868  3,350,078  1,363,334  4,932,940  7,883,038 

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 investments 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:

NAME. TERMINI. Miles in
operation in
 Pennsylvania. 
 Length between 
termini when
different from
preceding.
Cost of road
 and equipment. 
 Capital stock 
paid in.

From To






RAILROADS OWNED, LEASED, OR OPERATED
BY THE PHILADELPHIA AND READING RAILROAD COMPANY.
Allentown  Port Clinton  Allentown 36  $1,078,438  $568,744
Catawissa  Tamanend  Williamsport 94  ..  6,126,500  1,740,350
Chester Valley  Bridgeport  Downingtown 21  ..  1,371,000  871,900
Chestnut Hill  Germantown  Chestnut Hill ..  120,650  120,650
Colebrookdale  Pottstown  Housensack 12  18  667,126  47,165
East Mahanoy  East Mahanoy Junc.  Waste House Run ..  392,550  392,550
East Pennsylvania  Reading  Allentown 36  ..  1,484,290  1,309,200
Little Schuylkill Navigation and Coal Company   Catawissa Railroad Junction   Port Clinton 28  ..  1,416,187  2,646,100
Mine Hill and Schuylkill Haven
 Schuylkill Haven 
Locust Gap
Fremont
42  ..  3,992,050  3,992,050
Perkiomen  Perkiomen Junc'n  Emans 24  36  1,388,700  38,040
Philadelphia and Reading  Philadelphia  Pottsville 98  ..  45,319,348  34,270,575
Branches  Lebanon and Fremont
 Lebanon Valley
 Mahanoy and Shamokin
 Mount Carbon
 Schuylkill and Susquehanna
42  .. 
54  .. 
65  .. 
.. 
53  .. 
Philadelphia, Germantown, and Norristown  Philadelphia  Norristown 20  ..  1,514,800  2,231,900
Plymouth branch  Conshohocken  Oreland ..  274,495  12,500
Pickering Valley  Phœnixville  Byers 11  ..  474,551  92,875
Reading and Columbia  Columbia  Sinking Spring 40  ..  2,292,999  508,268
Lancaster branch .. 
Lebanon branch .. 
Schuylkill Valley  Port Carbon  Reevesdale 11  ..  576,840  576,050
RAILROADS LYING WHOLLY OR PARTLY WITHIN PENNSYLVANIA, OWNED, LEASED, OR OPERATED
BY THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD COMPANY.
Alleghany Valley  Pittsburgh  Oil City 132  ....  $12,332,317  $2,256,400
Bald Eagle Valley  Lock Haven  Near Tyrone 51  ....  1,050,000  550,000
Bedford and Bridgeport  Mount Dallas  State line 39  ....  1,412,182  356,952
Dunning's Creek branch  Holderbaum 10  ....  ........  ........
Bellefonte and Snow Shoe  Bald Eagle Valley railroad   Snow Shoe 21  ....  458,181  600,000
Buffalo, Corry, and Pittsburgh  Brocton, N. Y.  Corry 43  14,999  ........
Cleveland and Pittsburgh  Cleveland, O.  Rochester 15  124  15,571,299  11,230,566
Connecting  Pennsylvania railroad  Philadelphia and Trenton railroad  ....  2,278,300  1,278,300
Cumberland Valley  Harrisburg  Potomac river 68  82  1,753,613  1,774,612
Leased Southern Pennsylvania
Dillsburg and Mechanicsburg
 South Penn. Junc.  Richmond 21  ....  973,750  800,000
 Dillsburg  Mechanicsburg ....  170,056  30,803
Danville, Hazleton, and Wilkesbarre  Sunbury  Tomhicken 45  ....  1,102,600  684,235
East Brandywine and Waynesburg  Downington  New Holland 17  27  360,351  133,351
Ebensburg and Cresson  Ebensburg  Cresson 11  ....  122,000  42,000
Erie and Pittsburgh  New Castle  Girard 81  ....  4,939,844  1,099,550
Harrisburg, Portsmouth, Mt. Joy, and Lancaster  Lancaster  Harrisburg 36  ....  1,882,550  1,182,550
Lawrence  Lawrence Junction  Youngstown, O. 18  715,937  360,200
Lewisburg, Centre, and Spruce Creek  Lewisburg Junction  Tyrone 19  87  1,256,545  245,635
Mifflin and Centre County  Lewistown Junction  Milroy 12  ....  265,075  65,675
Northern Central  Baltimore  Sunbury 138  ....  15,429,883  5,842,000
Leased Elmira and Williamsport
Shamokin Valley and Pottsville
 Erie Junction, N. Y.  Williamsport 70  76  2,620,000  1,000,000
 Sunbury  Mt. Carmel 28  ....  1,208,050  869,450
Oil Creek and Alleghany River  Corry  Irvineton 95  ....  9,623,963  4,959,450
Branch  Union  Titusville 25  ....  ........  ........
Pennsylvania
 Philadelphia  Pittsburgh 355  ....  48,279,666  68,144,475
 Altoona  Hollidaysburg ....  ........  ........
 Blairsville Junction  Indiana 19  ....  ........  ........
 Columbia  York 14  ....  ........  ........
 Hollidaysburg branch  Morrison's Cove 20  ....  ........  ........
 Williamsburg  Hollidaysburg 14  ....  ........  ........
Pennsylvania and Delaware  Pomeroy  Delaware City, Del. 22  41  2,502,000  900,000
Philadelphia and Erie  Erie  Sunbury 288  ....  23,644,262  8,448,700
Philadelphia and Trenton  Kensington  Morrisville 26  ....  1,534,478  1,259,100
Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore  Philadelphia  Baltimore, Md. 18  95  11,814,765  11,507,750
Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and St. Louis  Pittsburgh  Columbus, O. 35  193  19,682,344  8,433,750
Leased: Chartiers  Mansfield  Washington 23  ....  1,128,690  644,100
Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne, and Chicago  Pittsburgh  Chicago, Ill. 49  468  28,412,353  23,814,285
Leased Lawrence
Newcastle and Beaver Valley
 Lawrence Junction  Youngstown, O. 18  715,937  360,200
 Homewood  New Castle 15  ....  810,480  605,000
Pittsburgh, Virginia, and Charleston  Pittsburgh  Monongahela City 30  ....  1,143,393  673,264
Shamokin Valley and Pottsville  Sunbury  Mt. Carmel 28  ....  1,208,050  869,450
South Mountain Iron company  Carlisle  Pine Grove furnace 18  ....  388,480  ........
Southwest Pennsylvania  Greensburg  Connellsville 24  ....  963,837  359,857
Stony Creek  Norristown  Lansdale 10  ....  455,445  140,560
Summit Branch  Millersburg  Williamstown 20  ....  988,902  2,502,250
Sunbury and Lewistown  Lewistown  Selinsgrove 43  ....  1,900,000  500,000
Tyrone and Clearfield  Tyrone  Clearfield 40  ....  823,566  510,000
Western Pennsylvania  Blairsville  Butler 57  ....  3,950,872  1,022,450
Pittsburgh branch  Freeport  Allegheny 27  ....  ........  ........
RAILROADS NOT CONTROLLED
BY THE PHILADELPHIA AND READING OR THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD COMPANY.
Atlantic and Great Western  Salamanca, N. Y.  Dayton, O. 92  387  ..........  39,458,700
Bachman Valley  Valley Junction  State line ....  108,277  66,604
Barclay  Barclay  Towanda 16  ....  ..........  1,000,000
Bell's Gap  Bell's Mills  Lloyd's ....  212,868  184,000
Berks County  Reading  Slatington 44  ..........  189,790
Buffalo, New York, and Philadelphia  Buffalo, N. Y.  Emporium 43  121  5,405,935  1,615,060
Catasauqua and Fogelsville  Catasauqua  Rittenhouse Gap 20  ....  742,156  426,900
Corning, Cowanesque, and Antrim  Corning, N. Y.  Antrim 37  53  1,600,000  1,600,000
Cornwall  Cornwall  Union canal ....  421,492  300,000
Delaware and Hudson Canal  Scranton  Honesdale 45  ....  4,576,125  ..........
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western  Great Bend  Delaware river 115  ....  21,221,354  23,500,000
Bloomsburg division  Scranton  Northumberland 80  ....  ..........  ..........
Dunkirk, Alleghany Valley, and Pittsburgh  Dunkirk, N. Y.  Oil City 48  106  4,500,000  1,300,000
East Broad Top  Mount Union  Robertsdale 12  30  $564,618  400,250
Erie  Jersey City, N. J.  Dunkirk, N. Y. 42  459  111,630,092  86,536,910
Leased Buffalo, Bradford, and Pittsburgh
Jefferson
 Carrollton N Y  Gilesville 18  26  2,869,000  2,286,000
 Susquehanna  Carbondale 38  ....  4,395,700  2,095,700
 Hawley  Honesdale ....  ..........  ..........
Hanover Branch  Hanover  Hanover Junction 12  ....  288,851  116,850
Harrisburg and Potomac  Harrisburg  Waynesboro 60  269,250  118,890
Branch  Main line  Littlestown 30  ....  ..........  ..........
Ironton  Coplay  Ironton and Orefield 11  ....  268,000  400,000
Lake Shore and Michigan Southern  Buffalo, N. Y.  Chicago, Ill. 44  539  $75,949,742  $50,000,000
Leased: Jamestown and Franklin  Jamestown  Oil City 51  ....  2,501,697  605,027
Lehigh and Susquehanna  Phillipsburg, N. J.  Union Junction 105  ....  12,754,895  ..........
Nanticoke branch 20  ....  ..........  ..........
Nescopec branch ....  ..........  ..........
Leased Lehigh and Lackawanna
Nesquehoning Valley
Tresckow
 Bethlehem  Stroudsburg 15  36  675,100  375,100
 Mauch Chunk  Tamanend 16  ....  1,265,684  1,300,000
 Silver Brook  Audenried ....  203,730  130,000
Lehigh Valley  Phillipsburg, N. J.  Wilkesbarre 101  ....  20,489,162  21,916,850
Branches
 Penn Haven Junc.  Audenried 18  ....  ..........  ..........
 Penn Haven  Tomhicken 35  ....  ..........  ..........
 Lumber Yard  Milnsville 17  ....  ..........  ..........
 Black Creek Junc.  Mount Carmel 58  ....  ..........  ..........
Littlestown  Hanover  Maryland state line ....  115,616  34,856
Montrose (narrow gauge)  Montrose  Tunkhannock 25  28  321,100  248,351
Mount Alto  Cumberland Valley railroad Junction   Mount Alto 10  ....  235,000  110,000
Muncy Creek  Hall's Station  Bernice 40  150,900  123,600
Newcastle and Franklin  New Castle  Jamestown and Franklin railroad 23  36  551,969  302,427
North Pennsylvania  Philadelphia  Bethlehem 56  ....  8,459,576  3,596,500
Branch  Lansdale  Doylestown 10  ....  ..........  ..........
Operated: Northeast Pennsylvania  Abington  Bonair ....  228,381  81,550
Peach Bottom  York  Oxford 60  223,538  138,764
Pennsylvania coal  Hawley  Port Griffith 47  ....  2,000,000  4,000,000
Branch (leased to Erie)  Hawley  Lackawaxen, N. Y. 16  ....  ..........  ..........
Pennsylvania and New York  Wilkesbarre  Waverley, N. Y. 104  ....  6,142,827  4,061,700
Operated: Sullivan and Erie  Monroeton  Bernice 24  ....  1,597,718  1,500,000
Pennsylvania Inland  Hancock  Carbondale 35  ....  ..........  ..........
Philadelphia and Baltimore Central  West Chester Junc.  Columbia and Port Deposit R.R., Md. 37  46  1,988,850  220,606
Branch, Chester Creek  Lenni  Lamoken ....  ..........  ..........
Pit-Hole Valley  Pit-Hole City  Oleopolis ....  101,764  250,000
Pittsburgh and Castle Shannon  Pittsburgh  Finleyville 16  454,426  446,920
Pittsburgh, Washington, and Baltimore  Pittsburgh  Cumberland, Md. 142  149  12,644,274  1,960,682
Fayette County  Connellsville  Uniontown 13  ....  ..........  ..........
Mount Pleasant and Broad Ford  Broad Ford  Mount Pleasant ....  ..........  ..........
Shenango and Allegheny  Shenango  Harrisville 31  ....  1,178,102  199,000
Somerset and Mineral Point  Somerset  Mineral Point ....  140,000  55,900
Susquehanna, Gettysburg, and Potomac  Gettysburg  Potomac river, Md. 17  100  181,000  1,500,000
Tioga  N.Y. state line  Morris Run 31  ....  1,354,301  580,900
West Chester and Philadelphia  West Chester  Philadelphia 26  ....  1,694,932  823,950
Leased: West Chester  West Chester  Junc. Penn. railroad ....  205,486  165,000
Wheeling, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore  Wheeling, W. Va.  Washington 18  32  ..........  500,000
Wheeling and Reading  Wilmington, Del.  Birdsboro 52  64  3,329,089  759,627
Wilmington and Western  Wilmington, Del.  Oxford 20  36  796,516  248,807

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:

NAME. TERMINI. Miles in
 Pennsylvania. 
Total length
between termini
 when different from 
the preceding.
 Cost of canal 
and fixtures.

From To






Delaware and Hudson  Honesdale  Eddyville, N. Y. 25  108  $6,339,210
Lehigh Coal and Navigation   Easton  Coal Port 48  ....  3,000,000
Leased: Delaware Division   Easton  Bristol 60  ....  2,433,350
Monongahela Navigation  Pittsburgh  New Geneva 85  ....  1,151,904
Muncy  Pennsylvania  Muncy basin ¼  ....  6,846
Pennsylvania
 Columbia  Wilkesbarre
 151 [1]358
113
71
12
....  Unknown.
 Junction  Williamsburg ....  .......
 Northumberland   Farrandsville ....  .......
 Clark's Ferry  Millersburg ....  .......
Schuylkill  Mill Creek  Philadelphia l08  ....  12,903,247
Susquehanna  Columbia  Havre de Grace, Md.  30  45  4,797,471
Union  Middletown  Reading 78  ....  5,907,850
  1. Including 11 m. of slackwater.

—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. Regular 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. Members 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 the 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 reëlection, 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, Harrisburg, 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, Williamsport, 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 4½ 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, &c.) 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:

SOURCES OF REVENUE. 1872. 1873. 1874.




Railroad, canal, express, navigation, and transportation companies   $2,412,730 75   $2,869,082 80   $1,256,459 54 
Coal, iron, improvement, mining, and manufacturing companies 438,197 88  660,538 52  573,379 64 
Passenger railroad companies 74,134 40  74,537 19  43,984 11 
Bridge turnpike and plank-road companies 31,231 61  34,368 25  27,611 24 
Banks 341,021 31  342,499 63  329,693 30 
Counties, cities, and boroughs 102,464 21  107,057 19  111,322 35 
Gas and water companies 36,750 26  50,633 92  30,977 12 
Oil companies 90,482 93  48,221 37  33,909 70 
Telegraph companies 6,564 50  7,952 01  7,207 11 
Insurance companies (domestic) 116,389 59  113,990 76  87,017 78 
Insurance companies (foreign), licenses, &c. 351,396 08  353,490 78  292,775 07 
Premiums on corporation charters 101,584 74  68,343 76  56,498 13 
Annuity for right of way (Erie railroad) 10,000 00  10,000 00  10,000 00 
All other companies and associations 24,693 01  46,636 00  82,233 87 

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:

Tax on personal property  $545,523
Tax on writs, wills, deeds, &c. 157,783
Bonus or premiums on charters 56,498
Collateral inheritance tax 350,676
Retailers', tavern, &c., licenses 871,803
Collections on outstanding indebtedness  875,160
Miscellaneous 134,513

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:

OBJECTS OF EXPENDITURE. 1872. 1873. 1874.




Senate $171,845  $107,037  $134,460 
House of representatives 236,689  260,763  269,084 
Public printing 101,047  131,916  152,252 
Executive department 30,830  40,508  14,320 
Judiciary 331,474  348,916  383,800 
Public offices 83,034  94,513  141,706 
Military expenses 22,122  72,242  63,437 
Constitutional convention ........  410,723  86,461 
Publishing new constitution  ........  ........  202,782 
Pensions and gratuities 54,831  50,334  43,889 
Charitable institutions 441,527  439,307  689,889 
Soldiers' orphan schools 471,986  469,308  419,295 
Common schools 667,191  804,097  838,082 
Loans redeemed, &c. 2,511,172  1,551,762  1,262,234 
Interest on loans  1,706,032   1,563,029   1,466,374 
Inspectors of coal mines 24,775  23,223  24,474 
Public buildings and grounds  29,636  90,591  101,738 
Houses of refuge 71,900  55,325  42,500 
Penitentiaries 58,324  73,882  68,762 
Centennial exposition ........  ........  71,815 

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:

Railroads, canals, and telegraphs $318,918,735
Banks and money dealers 241,380,408
Insurance and manufacturing 120,000,000
Wholesale and retail merchants and liquor dealers, &c.  200,000,000
True value of real and personal estate on assessors' books   3,425,325,415

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:

NAME OF INSTITUTION. Ordinary
 appropriations. 
Total
 appropriations. 



State.
Eastern state penitentiary $27,500  $28,500 
Western state penitentiary 24,850  44,350 
State lunatic hospital, Harrisburg 35,000  58,000 
Danville hospital 35,000  135,000 
Warren hospital ........  100,000 


$122,350  $365,850 


Corporate.
Hospital for insane, Dixmont $27,000  $37,000 
German hospital, Philadelphia ........  20,000 
Lackawanna hospital, Scranton 6,000  10,000 
Wilkesbarre hospital 5,000  5,000 
House of refuge, Philadelphia 35,000  35,000 
Reform school, Allegheny 19,500  119,500 
Pennsylvania training school for the feeble-minded  23,000  23,000 
Pennsylvania institution for blind 39,000  50,416 
Pennsylvania institution for deaf and dumb 56,700  56,700 
Home for deaf mutes, Pittsburgh 2,000  2,000 
Sheltering Arms, Pittsburgh 5,000  5,000 
Industrial home for blind women 2,000  2,000 
Northern home for friendless children, Philadelphia  5,000  5,000 


$225,200  $370,616 
 
Aggregate. $647,550  $736,466 

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 Prisons.) 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, &c. 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, &c. 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 18½ 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, &c. 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, &c., 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, &c., 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 two 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:

PARTICULARS. 1872-'3. 1873-'4.



Number of school districts 2,070  2,071 
Number of schools 16,305  16,641 
Number of graded schools 5,307  5,586 
Number of school directors 13,576  13,750 
Number of superintendents ......  86 
Number of teachers 19,089  19,327 
Average salaries of male teachers per month $42 69  $42 95 
Average salaries of female teachers per month $34 92  $35 87 
Average length of school term in months 6.67  6.73 
Whole number of pupils 834,020  850,774 
Average number of pupils 511,418  543,026 
Percentage of attendance upon the whole number registered  .61  .67 
Average cost of tuition per month for each pupil $0 96  $0 95 
Cost of tuition for the year $4,325,797 47  $4,527,308 03 
Cost of building, purchasing, and renting of school houses $1,753,812 36  $2,160,514 87 
Cost of fuel, contingencies, debt and interest paid ........  $2,050,106 98 
Total cost for tuition, building, fuel, and contingencies  $8,235,120 41  $8,737,929 88 
Aggregate cost $8,345,836 41  $8,847,939 88 
Value of school property  $21,750,209 00   $22,569,668 00 

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:

PARTICULARS. 1865. 1870. 1874.




Number of districts 1,837  2,001  2,071 
Number of schools 12,547  13,832  14,978 
Time schools were open  5 m. 14 d.   5 m. 21 d.   6 m. 8 d. 
Number of teachers 14,286  16,097  17,664 
Average salaries of male teachers per month $31 82  $39 63  $41 88 
Do. of female teachers $24 21  $30 55  $33 33 
Whole number of pupils 629,587  695,052  716,728 
Average number of pupils 396,701  484,912  468,309 
State appropriations paid $210,134  $321,200  $521,345 
Tax levied  $2,437,640   $4,731,049   $5,787,833 
Rate for school purposes, mills 5.89  7.76  7.55 
Rate for school buildings 3.63  5.39  5.02 
Received from collector $2,318,069  $5,684,997  $6,808,917 
Expenses for school houses $374,459  $2,560,137  $1,600,131 
Cost of instruction $1,990,777  $3,010,690  $3,596,094 
Paid for fuel and contingencies $410,246  $807,713  $1,652,652 

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:

 WHERE SITUATED.  Date of
 organization. 
 Number of 
 instructors. 
 Number of 
pupils.
State
 appropriation 
in 1874.





Bloomsburg 1869 10 272 $5000
Edinboro 1861 10 553 5,000
Kutztown 1866 10 390 10,000
Mansfield 1862 10 242 5,000
Millersville 1865 24 826 15,000
Sagamore 1865 .. ... 5,000
Shippensburg 1872 15 382 5,000
West Chester 1871 13 330 10,000




Total .... .. ... $60,000

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, &c. 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:

NAME OF INSTITUTION. When
 organized. 
Where situated. Denomination. Departments or courses. No. of
 instructors. 
Pupils in
 coll. dep't. 
Pupils in
 all dep'ts. 








Allegheny college 1815  Meadville  Methodist Episcopal  Collegiate and preparatory 70  133
Dickinson college 1783  Carlisle  Methodist Episcopal  Collegiate 90  ...
Franklin and Marshall college 1853  Lancaster  German Reformed  Collegiate academical, and theological 14  71  157
Haverford college 1833  Haverford  Friends  Collegiate 49  ...
Lafayette college 1832  Easton  Presbyterian  Classical scientific, and law 27  319  ...
Lebanon Valley college 1866  Annville  United Brethren  .. 34  124
Lehigh university 1866  South Bethlehem   Episcopal  Preparatory collegiate, and schools in science and literature 11  ..  106
Lincoln university 1853  Lower Oxford  Presbyterian  Collegiate, normal, preparatory and business, law, theology, and medicine  10  74  147
Mercersburg college 1865  Mercersburg  Reformed  Preparatory, collegiate, and theological 10  54  100
Muhlenberg college 1867  Allentown  Lutheran  Preparatory and collegiate 41  110
Palatinate college 1868  Myerstown  Reformed  Preparatory and collegiate 20  209
Pennsylvania college 1832  Gettysburg  Lutheran  Preparatory and collegiate 11  83  159
St. Thomas of Villanova college 1842  Villanova  Roman Catholic  Classical, preparatory, scientific, and commercial 16  50  85
St. Vincent's college 1846  Latrobe  Roman Catholic  Commercial, classical, ecclesiastical, and philosophical 28  264  338
Swarthmore college 1869  Swarthmore  Friends  Preparatory, classical, and scientific 21  99  261
University at Lewisburg 1847  Lewisburg  Baptist  Preparatory, academic, and collegiate 74  255
Ursinus college 1870  Freeland  Reformed  Academic, collegiate, and theological 10  36  119
Washington and Jefferson col. 1802  Washington  Presbyterian  Collegiate and preparatory 140  175
Waynesburg college 1850  Waynesburg  Cumberland Presbyterian   Collegiate, normal, and commercial 12  146  270
Western univ. of Pennsylvania 1819  Pittsburgh  Not denominational  Preparatory, academical, scientific, and engineering 17  81  291
Westminster college 1852  New Wilmington   United Presbyterian  Classical, scientific, and preparatory 71  165
SCHOOLS OF THEOLOGY.
Allegheny theological seminary of the United Presbyterian church  1825  Allegheny  United Presbyterian 44  ...
Crozer theological seminary 1858  Upland  Baptist 46  ...
Meadville theological school 1844  Meadville  Unitarian 20  ...
Missionary institute 1859  Selin's Grove  Lutheran 11  ...
Moravian college and theological seminary 1807  Bethlehem  Moravian 25  ...
St. Michael's seminary 1845  Pittsburgh  Roman Catholic 45  ...
Theological seminary of St. Charles Borromeo 1832  Lower Merion  Roman Catholic 10  85  ...
Theological seminary 1826  Gettysburg  Lutheran ..  ...
Theological seminary 1825  Lancaster  Reformed 34  ...
Theological department Lincoln university 1853  Lower Oxford  Presbyterian 16  ...
Theological department Mercersburg college ..  Mercersburg  Reformed ...
Theological department Ursinus college 1869  Freeland  Reformed ...
Western theological seminary of the Presbyterian church 1825  Allegheny  Presbyterian 74  ...

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, Blairsville, 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, &c., 28,586; 29 court and law, 24,051; 115 school, college, &c., 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:

 DENOMINATIONS.   Organizations.   Edifices.   Sittings.   Property. 





Baptist, regular 395  371  178,210   $3,157,500
Baptist, other 235  218  110,100  537,800
Christian 97  69  27,500  584,100
Congregational 40  36  14,450  318,200
Episcopal, Protestant 238  234  94,182  6,703,067
Evangelical Association 254  233  80,545  712,800
Friends 114  118  43,725  1,764,700
Jewish 15  14  7,750  681,000
Lutheran 904  841  339,128  6,474,022
Methodist 1,286   1,271  446,463  7,510,675
Miscellaneous 2,500  63,200
Moravian (Unitas Fratrum) 15  16  9,000  401,000
New Jerusalem (Swedenborgian) 11  1,950  78,000
Presbyterian, regular 739  723  304,828  9,626,950
Presbyterian, other 289  285  119,022  2,487,500
Reformed church in America (late Dutch Reformed) 10  10  5,300  298,000
Reformed church in the United States (late German Reformed)  712  657   270,835  3,746,320
Roman Catholic 362  319  197,115  6,675,050
Second Advent 725  11,500
Unitarian 2,050  68,800
United Brethren in Christ 201  183  60,860  489,300
Universalist 21  18  6,725  288,500
Unknown, local missions 1,875  28,500
Unknown, union 26  27  7,450  51,900

—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 principles 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 Harrisburg 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 Chambersburg, but soon retreated. For an account of the invasion of the state in 1863, see Gettysburg. In July, 1864, the confederates advanced upon Chambersburg, 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.