Harrisburg tourist information

The site along the Susquehanna River where Harrisburg is located is thought to have been inhabited by Native Americans as early as 3000 BC. Known to the Native Americans as "Peixtin," or "Paxtang," the area was an important resting place and crossroads for Native American traders, as the trails leading from the Delaware> to the Ohio rivers, and from the Potomac to the Upper Susquehanna intersected there. In 1719, John Harris, Sr., an English trader, settled here and 14 years later secured grants of 800 acres (3.2 km²) in this vicinity.

Ferries and John Harris
That same year, 1733, Harris was granted a license to operate a ferry, and the place was long afterwards known as Harris's Ferry. In 1784, John Harris, Jr. made plans to lay out a town on his father's land, which he named Harrisburg. In the spring of 1785, the town was formally surveyed by William Maclay, who was a son-in-law of John Harris, Sr. In the following year, the city was renamed Louisburg in honor of Louis XVI. In 1791, it was incorporated as Harrisburg, and was named the Pennsylvania state capital in October 1812. The cornerstone for the new capitol building was laid in 1819 by Governor William Findlay.

Presidential Nominee
The assembling here of the Harrisburg Convention in 1827 led to the passage of the high protective-tariff bill of 1828. In 1839, Harrison and Tyler were nominated for President of the United States at Harrisburg.

In 1860, it was chartered as a city.

Union Army Trains Here
During the American Civil War, Harrisburg was a significant training center for the Union Army, with tens of thousands of troops passing through Camp Curtin. The city was a key target of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia during the Gettysburg Campaign. Two full divisions of Richard S. Ewell's Second Army Corps approached Harrisburg in June 1863 from the southwest through Cumberland County, while a third division under Jubal Early planned to cross the Susquehanna River at Wrightsville, Pennsylvania, and attack Harrisburg from the rear. A network of forts and earthworks were hastily constructed to defend the city, but the feared major Confederate attack never came, although a series of small skirmishes provided Ewell with information on Harrisburg's defenses. Desiring to concentrate his forces near the South Mountain range to parry oncoming Union forces, Lee ordered Ewell to withdraw from Harrisburg, a move that culminated in the Battle of Gettysburg.

Fire and Theft
On February 12, 1897, the Capitol was gutted by a fire. Construction of a new capitol was commenced, with an expected budget of $5 to $10 million. However, by the time it was completed in 1906, the cost rose to $12.5 million, $4 million of which was for graft. (For example, $850 was spent for a $150 flagpole.) Five people, including the architect and chief contractor, received prison terms. The dedication of the Capitol was held on October 4 and attended by President Theodore Roosevelt.

In 1902, Vance McCormick was elected mayor of Harrisburg as part of the growing city beautiful movement and immediately set about to improve the city. He expanded the city park system (which eventually included 1,100 acres), built steps along the Susquehanna River (which still exist today), paved seventy miles of roads, and improved the city water system. During this time, the population of the city increased from 51,000 to 73,000.

A bit More About the Farm Show
The Pennsylvania Farm Show, a major annual agriculture exposition, was first held in 1931 and has been held every January since then. The present location of the Show is the Pennsylvania State Farm Show Arena, located at the corner of Maclay and Cameron streets.

Community College
On February 14, 1964, the Harrisburg Area Community College (or HACC) was founded as the first community college in Pennsylvania in the former Harrisburg Academy. In March 1965, the City of Harrisburg sold the college 157 acres in Wildwood Park for a permanent campus. Construction of the academic buildings was completed in 1967. HACC now has additional campuses in Lebanon, Lancaster, and Gettysburg, besides the main campus in Harrisburg (now called the Wildwood Campus).

In June 1972, Harrisburg was hit by another flood from the remnants of hurricane Agnes.

3 Mile Island ... run!
On March 28, 1979, the Three Mile Island nuclear plant, down the Susquehanna River from Harrisburg, suffered a partial meltdown. Although the meltdown was contained and no radiation was released, there were still worries that an evacuation would be necessary. Governor Richard Thornburgh did recommend an evacuation of pregnant woman and preschool children who lived within a five mile radius of TMI. Out of the 5,000 people covered by this recommendation, 140,000 people fled the area.