Did you know that…

  1. The model for the flying ace, Flip Corkin, in the comic strip “Terry and the Pirates” was Erie’s Colonel Philip Cochran.
  2. Erie is named after the Eriez Indian Tribe, which disappeared before the arrival of the white man. During their last year they were ruled by a peace-loving and wise queen, named Yagowanea. Before the bloody and decisive battle with the Senecas, against overwhelming odds that annihilated them around 1634, the Eriez were known as the “neutral tribe.” Fighting was forbidden in the Eriez territory. Warriors of all tribes visited them freely and peacefully. But, neutrality, then as now, was difficult, and a misunderstanding led to their destruction.
  3. The United States Brig Niagara, restored and moored on Erie’s bayfront, is the only ship of her type which is still in existence from the War of 1812. Now the official Flagship of Pennsylvania, the Niagara, with homeport in Erie, she was re-commissioned August 1990. The Niagara is the tallest “tall ship” on the Great Lakes. She was the relief flagship of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry from which he won the Battle of Lake Erie.
  4. The Brig Niagara was one of six original warships constructed in Erie with native Pennsylvania materials in 1813. She was part of the fleet built to regain control of the upper Great Lakes from the British. It was during the Battle of Lake Erie that the United States defeated the British and provided the U.S. with a permanent northern border.
  5. Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, with his fleet of Erie-built warships, not only the first Unites States Navy fleet action, but the victory at Lake Erie, he defeated and captured an entire British squadron for the first time in British history. The Brig Niagara, with which the battle was won, is now restored and moored on the Erie waterfront at the foot of Holland Street, and $6 million has been allocated for construction of a new maritime museum and berth for the famous ship.
  6. When Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry’s fleet, including the Brig Niagara, won the battle of Lake Erie in September 1813 during the War of 1812 against the British, approximately one fourth of his sailors were African-American. One naval officer recorded, “…I have yet to learn that the color of the skin or the cut and trimmings of the coat can affect a man’s qualifications or usefulness. I have nearly fifty blacks on this boat, many of them are among the best of my men…”
  7. Erie is known for its plastics industry with four of the top fifty plastics companies in the nation located here. Area plastics companies manufacture over 10,000,000 plastics parts a day. One-third of the area’s manufacturing jobs is plastics related.
  8. Over ten percent of the plastics injection molding done in the United States is done in Erie, where the first commercial injection molding operation was established in 1928.
  9. Erie has the highest concentration of toolmakers of any place in the United States.
  10. Employment figures for Erie County show 32 percent of the county’s workers are in manufacturing compared to 18 percent for the nation as a whole. Area manufacturing employment accounts for 45 percent of total personal income.
  11. Carter’s Little Liver Pills, a concoction of the early Erie pharmacist, became well known around the world.
  12. Erie is called the Walleye capital of the world, and has the best walleye, small mouth bass, steelhead trout and salmon fishing in the state. There are over 65 licensed charter captains operating out of the Erie port. Back in the 19th century, the Erie fishing industry averaged an annual catch of 15 million pounds.
  13. Erie County leads Pennsylvania in export dollars per capita.
  14. Erie’s Presque Isle State Park, located on peninsula jutting into the now clean and clear water of Lake Erie, is Pennsylvania’s top tourist attraction, drawing around four million visitors a year with seven miles of sandy, fresh-water beaches. Some year’s attendance averages have seen more visitors than Yellowstone National Park, yet Presque Isle never seems crowded because of the number of beaches and activities available. Visitors enjoy the peninsula for swimming, sunbathing, picnicking, hiking, biking, boating, fishing, nature walking, cross-country skiing, wind surfing, bird watching (over 300 species), or just relaxing while watching the beautiful sunset over Lake Erie.
  15. Presque Isle and the bay were discovered in the spring of 1753 by a French Army from Montreal with 1,500 men headed by a Captain Marlin. A patrol that went out ahead returned, reporting a beautiful bay and harbor, much low land for a settlement, several small creeks to supply water, and low hills to the southward. “The most beautiful by in nature,” exclaimed the patrol leader.
  16. The Dickson Tavern, a historical site at 2nd and French Streets in Erie, had honeycombed walls and secret passages to hide runaway slaves. Erie’s “Underground Railroad” in the 1800’s was an escape route for slaves.
  17. Futurist Joel Barker, in his keynote speech to 1,300 delegates at the 1990 Labor-Management Conference in Washington D.C. said that Erie “Is the city to watch in the 1990’s.” He said, “Erie is the city that has dedicated itself to excellence…This single vision should make Erie’s economy and quality of life grow.” He told members of the Chamber’s Erie Excellence Council (EEC), “If Erie can galvanize around the EEC vision for continuos improvement, it can be one of the world’s most excellence communities, drawing thousands of people to visit and see what you are about.”
  18. The ornamental domes on developer Donald Trump’s Taj Mahal Casino Resort in Atlantic City, NJ, were manufactured by a Molded Fiberglass Company in nearby Union City.
  19. General Electric’s Transportation Systems Division, Erie’s largest employer, won about 61 percent of all new locomotive orders in 1989. In 1990, Erie’s GE operation produced its 1,000th Dash 8, a high tech locomotive, linking sensors to measure speeds, temperatures, voltages and pressures throughout the unit.
  20. Bob Hope and his wife Delores were married in Erie.
  21. The Erie area is known nation-wide in quality management circles as the first local region to develop quality councils based on committees related to community activities. The Excellence Council division of the local Chamber of Commerce has 28 committees actively pursuing quality improvement in such widely diverse areas as the arts and industry, sports and retail business “Erie, PA is setting a precedent for cities in the United States and around the world,” the American Society for Quality Control’s Quality Progress magazine reported in Jan. 1990.
  22. General LaFayette said “Erie - a name which has a great share in American glory…may this town ever enjoy a proportionate share in American prosperity and happiness.”

OTHER INTERESTING FACTS

  • According to the 2000 Census, the county’s population is 280,843. There are two cities in Erie County – the City of Erie and the City of Corry; their respective populations are 103,717 and 6,834. The second largest municipality in Erie County is Millcreek Township, which has a population of 52,129. The County of Erie is 803 square miles, and the county borders the state of New York and the state of Ohio, along with Lake Erie.
  • Erie County is the third largest grape growing area in the U.S.
  • Erie is home to the Erie Otters (OHL Hockey) and the Erie Sea Wolves (AA Baseball).
  • Both the Seaway Trail and historic Route 6 travel through the county, both providing scenic views during your travels. Interstate 90 and Interstate 79 meet in Erie County, providing easy access to Canada, New York, Ohio, and the Eastern Seaboard.
  • Erie is centrally located and is only a two hour drive to Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Buffalo, Niagara Falls, and Canada.
  • The restored U.S. Brig Niagara, which was a relief flagship of Commander Oliver Hazard Perry during the War of 1812, makes the waters of Presque Isle Bay her home.
  • A registered national natural landmark, recognized internationally as an ecological gem, Presque Isle State Park offers a unique mix of nature and recreation and is located within Erie County. It is a 3,200-acre sandy peninsula that arches lakeward into Lake Erie and contains over 7 miles of beaches. Over 4 million visitors come to enjoy the beauty of Presque Isle each year. Presque Isle creates Presque Isle Bay, a wide and deep harbor for the city of Erie. Presque Isle Bay attracts many pleasure boats and worldwide freighters, making Erie an important Great Lakes shipping port. Diverse and rare plants and animals attract naturalists: Presque Isle contains a greater number of the state's endangered, threatened and rare species than any other area of comparable size in Pennsylvania. As Pennsylvania's only "seashore," Presque Isle offers its visitors a beautiful coastline and many recreational activities, including swimming, boating and hiking.
  • Erie has been home to many famous people including: Pat Monahan of the band “Train”; Homeland Security Director and former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge; Ann B. Davis who played Alice in “The Brady Bunch”; Harry T. Burleigh, composer, arranger and musician who wrote Swing Low, Sweet Chariot; Caryn Kadavy, Olympic figure skater; Paul Weitz, astronaut; and Bruce Baumgartner, Olympic wrestler
  • Erie has a number of colleges and universities, including: Penn State Erie – The Behrend College, Mercyhurst College, Gannon University, Edinboro University, LECOM – Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, and Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CAMtech).
  • Some of the best fishing in the Region takes place in Lake Erie and it’s tributaries. Field and Stream Magazine ranks Presque Isle “one of the top 20 family fishing spots in the nation.” An average of 1.5 million fish are caught each year in the area.
  • Erie is also experiencing substantial growth as a regional shopping center, with visitors from nearby states and Canada taking advantage of the lack of state sales tax on food and clothing.
  • Waldameer Park and Water World is a family-fun complex that combines a beautiful amusement park with one of the greatest water parks in the entire country offering over 75 rides, slides and attractions ranging from roller coasters, to waterslides. Waldameer is located near the entrance to Presque Isle State Park.
  • When you are in Erie, you must stop at Discovery Square, with its children's and art museums, restored Perry Memorial House and Dickson Tavern, which was a stop on the Underground Railroad before the Civil War. Some other places of interest are the historical museum and planetarium, and the General "Mad" Anthony Wayne Memorial Blockhouse.
  • The Erie Zoo has more than 300 animals in natural habitats, with a focus on the African jungle and is situated on more than 15 acres. The Wild Asia exhibit opened in the Spring of 2002, featuring orangutans, Asian deer, simangs and Asian insects and snakes.
  • The Blasco Library is the main library in the Erie County Library system, and is also the third-largest library in Pennsylvania. The Blasco Memorial Library is the largest public library built in Pennsylvania in the 20th century. The library is located on the bay front facing Presque Isle State Park and shares it’s home with the Center for Maritime Studies.
  • Erie was founded in 1795 after purchase of the Erie Triangle
  • Flagship city- used to be called Gem City, some say for the sparkling bay
  • Home port of the Brig Niagara (reconstructed flagship of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry)
  • Helped win the Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812
  • Reconstructed Niagara launched in 1989, floating museum and ambassador of Pennsylvania
  • Fourth largest city in Pennsylvania
  • 127th safest American City
  • Pennsylvania's only lake port city
  • More than 25% of jobs are in manufacturing
  • Over 10% of the nation's plastic injection molding is done in Erie and 4 of the nation's Top 50 plastic companies are located in Erie
  • An average of 1.5 million fish are caught each year in Lake Erie, its bays and tributaries
  • Erie is home to the oldest land lighthouse on the Great Lakes
  • The Land Lighthouse at the foot of Lighthouse Street in the City of Erie, built in 1818, replace in 1867
    Presque Isle Lighthouse, built in 1872, is also a park employee residence
  • "Millionaire's Row," along W. 6th St. are a collection of 19th century Victorian homes/mansions
  • Erie means "raccoon", the Erie tribe is sometimes referred to as the Cat nation, the raccoon being a wild cat that appears as the main figure on the Erie totem pole.

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