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Portal:Pennsylvania

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The Pennsylvania Portal

The coat of arms of Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania (/ˌpɛnsɪlˈvniə/ PEN-sil-VAY-nee-ə, lit.'Penn's forest country'), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania Dutch: Pennsilfaani), is a U.S. state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Maryland to its south, West Virginia to its southwest, Ohio and the Ohio River to its west, Lake Erie and New York to its north, the Delaware River and New Jersey to its east, and the Canadian province of Ontario to its northwest via Lake Erie.

Pennsylvania was founded in 1681 through a royal land grant to William Penn, the son of the state's namesake. Prior to that, between 1638 and 1655, a southeast portion of the state was part of New Sweden, a Swedish Empire colony. Established as a haven for religious and political tolerance, the colonial-era Province of Pennsylvania was known for its relatively peaceful relations with native tribes, innovative government system, and religious pluralism. Pennsylvania played a vital and historic role in the American Revolution and the ultimately successful quest for independence from the British Empire, hosting the First and Second Continental Congress, which formed the Continental Army and appointed George Washington as its commander in 1775, and unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence the following year. On December 12, 1787, Pennsylvania became the second state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. The Battle of Gettysburg, fought in an around Gettysburg over three days in July 1863, was the bloodiest and most decisive battle of the American Civil War, claiming over 50,000 Union and Confederate fatalities and repelling Robert E. Lee's invasion of the North, leading to the Union's preservation. Throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries, the state's manufacturing-based economy contributed to the development of much of the nation's early infrastructure, including key bridges, skyscrapers, and military hardware used in U.S.-led victories in World War I, World War II, and the Cold War.

Pennsylvania's geography is highly diverse. The Appalachian Mountains run through the center of the state; the Allegheny and Pocono mountains span much of Northeastern Pennsylvania; close to 60% of the state is forested. While it has no ocean shoreline, it has 140 miles (225 km) of waterfront along Lake Erie and the tidal Delaware River. (Full article...)

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James Gillespie Blaine (January 31, 1830 – January 27, 1893) was an American statesman and Republican politician who represented Maine in the United States House of Representatives from 1863 to 1876, serving as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1869 to 1875, and then in the United States Senate from 1876 to 1881.

Blaine twice served as Secretary of State, first in 1881 under President James A. Garfield and Chester A. Arthur, and then from 1889 to 1892 under President Benjamin Harrison. He is one of only two U.S. Secretaries of State to hold the position under three separate presidents, the other being Daniel Webster. Blaine unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for President in 1876 and 1880 before being nominated in 1884. In the 1884 general election, he was narrowly defeated by Democratic nominee Grover Cleveland. Blaine was one of the late 19th century's leading Republicans and a champion of the party's moderate reformist faction, later known as the "Half-Breeds". (Full article...)

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Mahoning Creek

Mahoning Creek is a tributary of the Susquehanna River in Columbia County and Montour County, in Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately 10.6 miles (17.1 km) long and flows through Madison Township in Columbia County and West Hemlock Township, Derry Township, Valley Township, Mahoning Township, and Danville in Montour County. The watershed of the creek has an area of 39.6 square miles (103 km2). Its tributaries include Kase Run, Mauses Creek, and Sechler Run. Mahoning Creek is designated as a Trout-Stocking Fishery and a Migratory Fishery for part of its length and as a Warmwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery for the remainder.

Mahoning Creek is considered by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to be impaired by siltation. The main rock formations in the watershed include the Trimmers Rock Formation, the Clinton Group, the Catskill Formation, the Hamilton Group, the Bloomsburg and Mifflintown Formation, the Onondaga and Old Port Formation, and the Wills Creek Formation. The main soils include the Berks-Weikert-Alvira series, the Chenango-Pope-Holly series, the Clymer-Buchanan-Norwich series, and the Leck Kill-Meckesville-Calvin series. Most of the watershed is forested or agricultural land, but there is some developed land. (Full article...)

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Citizens Bank Park is a 43,647-seat baseball-only stadium and home to the Philadelphia Phillies.

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Worlds End State Park

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Kia Steave-Dickerson is an American interior designer and property master known for her work on the American reality television series, Trading Spaces. Raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she studied textile management and marketing at the Philadelphia College of Textiles & Science. Steave-Dickerson started K.I.A. Enterprises, which focuses primarily on interior and scenic design and construction. In 1993, she starting working as a set designer and property master on films, commercials, and musical theatre productions, frequently working on M. Night Shyamalan's films.

From 2002 to 2004, she appeared on Trading Spaces as part of a revolving cast of interior designers. While planning and decorating rooms for the participants, Steave-Dickerson said that she created specific themes for each participant. Her designs were criticized by Kim Reed of the Today show and others. After Trading Spaces, Steave-Dickerson hosted the short-lived American reality television series Renovate My Place. The show, which aired from 2005 to 2006, focused on renovations for African-American homeowners. After the 2007 birth of her son, she took a seven-year hiatus from work before returning as a property master for Creed (2015) and the third season of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. A recipient of the NBMBAA-Wells Fargo Entrepreneur Excellence Award, Steave-Dickerson has worked with transitional housing. (Full article...)

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Entrance to the museum

The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania is a railroad museum in Strasburg, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

The museum is located on the east side of Strasburg along Pennsylvania Route 741. It is administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission with the active support of the Friends of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania (FRM). (Full article...)

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State Facts
Pennsylvania's largest city Philadelphia
  • Nickname: The Keystone State
  • Capital: Harrisburg
  • Largest city: Philadelphia
  • Total area: 119,283 square kilometers (46,055 square miles)
  • Population (2000 census): 12,281,054
  • Date admitted to the Union: December 12, 1787 (2nd)
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Mountain laurel, Pennsylvania's state flower

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