History of Erie, Pennsylvania, USA

Grew from the French Fort Presque Isle.

Erie, a post-borough, port of entry, capital of Erie county, Pennsylvania, on the lake of the same name, 90 miles S. W. from Buffalo, 129 miles N. from Pittsburg, and 310 miles by turnpike from Harrisburg. Lat. 42° 8' N. , Lon. 80° 10' W. It is pleasantly situated opposite the island of Presque Isle, formerly a peninsula. The harbor, which is one of the largest and best on the lake, is 31 miles long, and over 1 mile wide, and from 9 to 25 feet deep the whole length. Large sums have been expended in improving and fortifying the harbor, and in erecting a lighthouse. The island is 4 miles long and 1 mile wide. Erie is an important place of outfit for vessels of the United States, and is remarkable for its flourishing trade. The Erie Extension canal connects it with the Ohio river and Beaver; several railways extend to Cleveland, Buffalo, &c. It is the terminus of the Sunbury and Erie railroad, now in course of construction, with a branch leading to Pittsburg. Eric contains a court house, ...

From Our Own Correspondent.

ERIE, August 6, 1866. On Monday afternoon, about four o'clock, a fire broke out in Sterritt & Degmier's barrel factory, on the equal, which for a time threatened to be very destructive, but through the almost superhuman efforts of the firemen, and the people acting to preserve their own property, it was checked---not, however, until the four buildings employed for factory purposes had been entirely destroyed.

The hand-engines were first on the ground, and were worked as well as such engines could be worked, but when the "steamer" once got at work the superiority of its never-tiring energies over hand labor was too evident to admit of a comparison.

With proper constructed steam fire-engines and plenty of water, with promptness and energy in those who "run with the machine," fires under ordinary circumstances would not be so destructive as at the present time.

In this instance the gas works were in the most imminent danger, and had not that been...

ERIE, May 18 – The floods in this city caused by heavy rains are the most destructive ever known. It is impossible to estimate the damage done to property, but its probably is not less than $500,000. The damage to the Jarecki Manufacturing company’s plant is placed at $100,000. Scores of houses were washed away, but no fatality is reported since that of the boy Heberleya. Railroad bridges and culverts are washed away on all sides of Erie. All trains are canceled on the Erie and Pittsburg and Philadelphia and Erie.

Erie, a city and port of entry, the capital of Erie co, Pa., is on Lake Erie, 88 miles S.W. of Buffalo, 95 miles E.N.E. of Cleveland, 148 miles N. of Pittsburg, and 341 miles by railroad from Harrisburg. Lat. 42°8' N.; lon. 80° 8' W. It has a safe, landlocked harbor, which is 4 miles long by 1 mile wide, and is protected by the island of Presque Isle, on which 2 light-houses have been erected. Large sums are annually appropriated by Congress for the improvement of the harbor. Erie is the N. terminus of the Erie & Pittsburg Railroad, and is connected with Buffalo, Cleveland, and Chicago by rail; it is also a terminus of the Philadelphia & Erie Railroad. It is lighted by electricity, and natural gas is found in Erie and its suburbs. The water-works system cf Erie is valued at $1,500,000. It contains a court-house, an opera-house, a custom-house, a city hall, 30 churches, a # school, an academy, a con vent, a Catholic orphan-house and hospital, 4 national banks and 2 private banks,...

...Suffering Caused By The Cold.
Erie, Pa., Feb. 9. - The continued cold weather has caused much suffering and inconvenience here. Fully one half the buildings of the city are heated by natural gas, piped 80 miles from the gas regions. The low temperatures has hindered the flow of the gas as well as increased the consumption. Coal and wood could not be resorted to for, in most cases, the stoves are built for gas and nothing else. Erie bay is covered with 18 inches of ice, and water pipes in all parts of the city are frozen...

Erie, a city and port of entry, the capital of Erie co., Pa., is on Lake Erie, 148 miles N. of Pittsburg and 95 miles ENE. of Cleveland, on the Pennsylvania, the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern and other railroads. Lat. 43° 8' N. ; lon. 80° 8' W. It has a safe, landlocked harbor, which is 4 miles long by 1 mile wide, and is protected by the island of Presque Isle, on which light-houses hare been erected. The city contains many attractive buildings, but it is mainly of a commercial character, its industrial establishments comprising oil-refineries, tanneries, chemical- works, planing- and flouring-mills, breweries, and manufactories of pianos and organs, engines and boilers, agricultural implements, paper, stoves, and all kinds of iron, steel, brass, aluminium, and wood products. The city is the seat of the Erie, St. Benedict s, and Villa Maria Academies, and of the Pennsylvania Soldiers' and Sailors' Home. Large steamboats ply regularly between this place and other ports on the great ...

Erie, July 28. - William Zimmer, a track laborer of Edinboro, was killed and twelve persons were injured when a passenger and a freight car met in head-on collision on the Northwestern Pennsylvania Electric Railway two miles south of here this afternoon. Failure of the freight train to make a switch was given by officials of the road as the cause of the accident.

The seriously injured were:

Mrs. P. B. Sheridan, Chicago; Mrs. J. J. Klowier, Cambridge Springs; John Hopski, Erie; Mr. and Mrs. Jacob L. Mohn, Pittsburgh; Austin Corll, motorman of the passenger car; Lee Vaughn and Frank Leslie, freight train crew of Meadville, and Archibald Steele, section foreman, Edinboro. All are in Erie hospitals.