William Penn, a benevolent English gentleman, brought out with him,
in the year 1681, a great number of Quakers, and first settled this
state, under a grant from King Charles II. After his name the State is
called, Pennsylvania. This State exhibits a great variety of soil and
climate. The soil is suited to the growth of grain, and husbandry is
said to be better understood in Pennsylvania than in any other State.
Hemp and peaches are cultivated. Wine is made in small quantities, and
commerce flourishes to a great extent.
This State abounds in coal, which forms an article of commerce with
most of the cities of the United States. It is obtained in immense
quantities in the neighborhood of Pittsburg, and from the Schuylkill
and Lehigh mines.
Pennsylvania has engaged more extensively in internal improvements than
any other State.
Harrisburg, the capital, is pleasantly situated on the Susquehanna
River, and contains an elegant State House.
Philadelphia is the most regularly laid out and well built city in the
Union. The streets generally intersect each other at right angles, and
the principal ones are 100 feet wide. The inhabitants are extensively
engaged in manufactures. The commerce of this place is large, and
according to the amount of its exports is the third commercial city in
the Republic.
In this city are many literary, scientific, and benevolent
institutions, and numerous elegant public buildings, among which are
the Bank of the United States, the Almshouse, Mint of the United
States, and many elegant churches. The population of the city is
80,458; and of the suburbs, 87,353; total, 167,811.