Read Online Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Plunges into Pennsylvania by Bathroom Readers’ Institute - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Bathroom Readers’ Institute
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long, though: the tiny enclave remained operational only until 1785. After the Revolutionary War, the settlersâ land became part of the newly independent United States, and the state of Pennsylvania dissolved the fair-play system.
Pennsylvania Evens
While we were researching the Keystone State, we ran across these interesting numbers. (The âoddsâ are on page 146 .)
Pennsylvania has 2 . . . of the United Statesâ most prestigious orchestras: the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
Pennsylvania has 4 . . . lighthouses on Lake Erie, but only two are officially considered âhistoric,â meaning theyâre on the National Park Serviceâs âInventory of Historic Light Stations.â The oldest of the two is the Erie Land (Old Presque Isle) Light, first lit in 1867.
Pennsylvania has 6 . . . international airports: Lehigh Valley, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Harrisburg, and Erie.
Pennsylvania has 22 . . . species of snakes.
Pennsylvania has 40 . . . miles of shoreline along Lake Erie.
Pennsylvania has 116 . . . state parks.
Pennsylvania has 130 . . . four-year colleges and universities that enroll more than 590,000 students.
Pennsylvania has more than 5,100 . . . miles of railway.
Washingtonâs War
Two decades before the American Revolution, George Washington lost a battle at a makeshift fort in the Pennsylvania woods . . . and accidentally started an international incident .
The Stakes
In the mid-1700s, the French and British were still embroiled in a dispute over which empire would control the Ohio Valley, a vast tract of land encompassing modern-day Ohio and parts of West Virginia, Indiana, and southwest Pennsylvania. Virginiaâs lieutenant governor Robert Dinwiddie saw a chance to make money from furs and real estate in the Ohio Valley.
So in 1749, the English government gave Dinwiddie and his business partners 200,000 acres of land near present-day Pittsburgh to settle in the name of Britain and on which to build a fort to protect the territory. This would give Britain control of important trade routes through the heart of the new frontier, and the Virginians would prosper from the new business opportunities. There was only one problem: the French military. The French had already laid claim to the Ohio Valleyâtheyâd established trade relations with the American Indians and built several forts.
But in the winter of 1753, Governor Dinwiddie hired a young surveyor named George Washington to act as his ensign. He sent the man to the French fort Le Boeuf (at what is now Waterford, Pennsylvania) to inform the French commander, Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre, that the English were ordering the French to leave the Ohio Valley at once. Saint-Pierre politely declined, and when Washington returned to Virginia, hegave Dinwiddie more bad news: Washington had scouted out a strong French military presence in the valley and learned of plans for reinforcements in the spring. Concerned, Dinwiddie sent Washington back to the Ohio Valley, this time with orders to defend British interests.
Shots Fired
On May 24, 1754, Washington and his men were busy building a wagon road from Alexandria, Virginia, through the forest into the Ohio Valley to make it easier for Virginia to send settlers and soldiers into the frontier. They made camp in the Great Meadows, where there was freshwater from streams and enough grass for their animals.
While awaiting reinforcements and supplies, they got a tip from a friendly Seneca chief that hostile French soldiers lurked nearby. Chief Tanaghrisson, whom the British called Half King, wanted the French out of the valley, tooâpartly because he believed that the British would do more for his people, but mainly because he held the French responsible for the death of his father.
On May 28, Tanaghrisson guided Washington and 40 of his militiamen to what is now known as Jumonville Glen. There, they
Pennsylvania Evens
While we were researching the Keystone State, we ran across these interesting numbers. (The âoddsâ are on page 146 .)
Pennsylvania has 2 . . . of the United Statesâ most prestigious orchestras: the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
Pennsylvania has 4 . . . lighthouses on Lake Erie, but only two are officially considered âhistoric,â meaning theyâre on the National Park Serviceâs âInventory of Historic Light Stations.â The oldest of the two is the Erie Land (Old Presque Isle) Light, first lit in 1867.
Pennsylvania has 6 . . . international airports: Lehigh Valley, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Harrisburg, and Erie.
Pennsylvania has 22 . . . species of snakes.
Pennsylvania has 40 . . . miles of shoreline along Lake Erie.
Pennsylvania has 116 . . . state parks.
Pennsylvania has 130 . . . four-year colleges and universities that enroll more than 590,000 students.
Pennsylvania has more than 5,100 . . . miles of railway.
Washingtonâs War
Two decades before the American Revolution, George Washington lost a battle at a makeshift fort in the Pennsylvania woods . . . and accidentally started an international incident .
The Stakes
In the mid-1700s, the French and British were still embroiled in a dispute over which empire would control the Ohio Valley, a vast tract of land encompassing modern-day Ohio and parts of West Virginia, Indiana, and southwest Pennsylvania. Virginiaâs lieutenant governor Robert Dinwiddie saw a chance to make money from furs and real estate in the Ohio Valley.
So in 1749, the English government gave Dinwiddie and his business partners 200,000 acres of land near present-day Pittsburgh to settle in the name of Britain and on which to build a fort to protect the territory. This would give Britain control of important trade routes through the heart of the new frontier, and the Virginians would prosper from the new business opportunities. There was only one problem: the French military. The French had already laid claim to the Ohio Valleyâtheyâd established trade relations with the American Indians and built several forts.
But in the winter of 1753, Governor Dinwiddie hired a young surveyor named George Washington to act as his ensign. He sent the man to the French fort Le Boeuf (at what is now Waterford, Pennsylvania) to inform the French commander, Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre, that the English were ordering the French to leave the Ohio Valley at once. Saint-Pierre politely declined, and when Washington returned to Virginia, hegave Dinwiddie more bad news: Washington had scouted out a strong French military presence in the valley and learned of plans for reinforcements in the spring. Concerned, Dinwiddie sent Washington back to the Ohio Valley, this time with orders to defend British interests.
Shots Fired
On May 24, 1754, Washington and his men were busy building a wagon road from Alexandria, Virginia, through the forest into the Ohio Valley to make it easier for Virginia to send settlers and soldiers into the frontier. They made camp in the Great Meadows, where there was freshwater from streams and enough grass for their animals.
While awaiting reinforcements and supplies, they got a tip from a friendly Seneca chief that hostile French soldiers lurked nearby. Chief Tanaghrisson, whom the British called Half King, wanted the French out of the valley, tooâpartly because he believed that the British would do more for his people, but mainly because he held the French responsible for the death of his father.
On May 28, Tanaghrisson guided Washington and 40 of his militiamen to what is now known as Jumonville Glen. There, they
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