Erie, PA Summer Camps

About Erie, PA

Erie is a city located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the United States . Named for the lake and the Native American tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth-largest city , with a population of 102,000. Erie's Metropolitan Area consists of approximately 280,000 residents and an Urbanized Area population of approximately 195,000. The city is the seat of government for Erie County . Erie is near Cleveland , Ohio ; Buffalo , New York ; and Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania . Once teeming with heavy industry, Erie's manufacturing sector remains prominent in the local economy, though healthcare, higher education, and tourism are emerging as greater economic drivers. Millions visit Erie for water recreation at Presque Isle State Park , as well as attractions like a casino and horse racetrack named for the state park. Erie is known as the Flagship City because of the presence of Oliver Hazard Perry 's flagship Niagara . The city has also been called the Gem City because of the "sparkling" lake. Erie won the All-America City Award in 1972. Erie, Pennsylvania is also occasionally nicknamed colloquilly as The Lake City because of its location on the southern, American shores of Lake Erie, from which the city is named.

History of Erie, PA

History History of Erie, Pennsylvania The six nations of the Iroquois Confederacy , which included the Senecas , originally occupied the lands in what is now Erie. Europeans first arrived in the region when the French constructed Fort Presque Isle near present-day Erie in 1753, as part of their effort to defend New France against the encroaching British. The name of the fort refers to that piece of land that juts into Lake Erie, now called Presque Isle State Park , with the French word " presque-isle " meaning peninsula . When the fort was abandoned by the French in 1760, it was their last post west of Niagara . The British occupied the fort at Presque Isle that same year, three years before the end of the French and Indian War in 1763. Present-day Erie is situated in what was the disputed Erie Triangle , a triangle of land that was claimed by the states of New York , Pennsylvania , Connecticut , and Massachusetts . It officially became part of Pennsylvania on March 3, 1792, after Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York relinquished their claims to the federal government, which in turn sold the land to Pennsylvania for 75 cents per acre or a total of $ 151,640.25 in Continental currency . The Iroquois released the land to Pennsylvania in January 1789 for payments of $2,000 from Pennsylvania and $1,200 from the federal government. The Seneca Nation separately settled land claims against Pennsylvania in February 1791 for the sum of $800.

Erie, PA City Statistics: