Place:Erie, Erie, Pennsylvania, United States


Alt namesCity Of Eriesource: USGS, GNIS Digital Gazetteer (1994) GNIS42007985
Fort-Presque-Islesource: Encyclopædia Britannica (1988) IV, 541
Presque Islesource: Family History Library Catalog
Coordinates42.114°N 80.076°W
Located inErie, Pennsylvania, United States
source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
source: Family History Library Catalog

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

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 (after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Allentown), 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 the principal city of the Erie, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area.


Erie is known as the Flagship City because of its status as the home port of Oliver Hazard Perry's flagship Niagara. The city has also been called the Gem City because of the "sparkling" lake.[1] Erie won the All-America City Award in 1972.


the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia




To wrest control of the Great Lakes from the British during the War of 1812, President James Madison ordered the construction of a naval fleet at Erie. Noted shipbuilders Daniel Dobbins of Erie and Noah Brown of New York led construction of four schooner−rigged gunboats and two brigs. Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry arrived from Rhode Island and led the squadron to success in the historic Battle of Lake Erie.


On August 3, 1915, the Mill Creek flooded downtown Erie when a culvert, blocked by debris, gave out. A four block reservoir, caused by torrential downpours, had formed behind it. The resulting deluge destroyed 225 houses and killed 36 people.[3] After the flood, Mayor Miles B. Kitts had the Mill Creek diverted to a , concrete tube that travels for over under the city, before emptying into to Presque Isle Bay on the city's lower east side.

Erie's importance gradually faded during the second half of 20th Century as the age of lake trade, commercial fishing, and American manufacturing dominance drew to a close. Downtown Erie continued to grow for most of the 20th century, before taking a major population downturn in the 1970s.[4] With the advent of the automobile age, thousands of residents left Erie for suburbs such as Millcreek Township, which now has over 50,000 people.[4] Reflecting this perceived decline, Erie is occasionally referred to by residents as "The Mistake on the Lake" or "Dreary Erie".


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