Joseph Plavcan’s Wild Rice

Posted by on Jun 13, 2017 in | Comments Off on Joseph Plavcan’s Wild Rice   A species of wild rice, Zizania aquatica, grows on the shores of Presque Isle, the hooked peninsula that juts off the coast of the city of Erie into the Great Lake of the same name. The plant is also the titular subject of this acrylic-on-board painting of Pennsylvania’s only surf beach by legendary Erie artist Joseph Plavcan (1908-81). Plavcan is the link in a succession of...
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A Good Day’s Catch: Commercial Fishing in Erie

Posted by on Nov 30, 2013 in | Comments Off on A Good Day’s Catch: Commercial Fishing in Erie The view from the crest of Erie’s lower State Street is a powerful one. Framed by the tall masts and spars of Oliver Hazard Per­ry’s restored War of 1812 flagship, the Niagara, are the waters of Presque Isle Bay. In the distance, the Presque Isle Peninsula is visible as it curves around and shelters the bay, and beyond that looms the ocean-like expanse of Lake Erie. The bayfront area...
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The Battle of Lake Erie: A Victory for Commodore Perry

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on The Battle of Lake Erie: A Victory for Commodore Perry During the War of 1812, the United States and Britain desperately dueled for control of the Great Lakes. Since Canada was the princi­pal land base for British forces in North America, and virtu­ally all of the north country was covered with vast tracts of virgin forest and intermittently submerged bottom lands, Lakes Ontario, Erie and Huron and the rivers that connected them – the St....
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Transportation in Pennsylvania in 1776

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on Transportation in Pennsylvania in 1776 During the Revolution, Pennsylvania was a central stage from the standpoint of geography, leadership, manpower, and supplies. Therefore, its transportation facilities were of special significance. The southeastern part of the State produced large quantities of the very materials needed by the Continental Army. A modest network of roads made possible the transporting of those materials to Valley...
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Erie County: Where Geography Has Shaped History

Posted by on Nov 28, 2013 in | Comments Off on Erie County: Where Geography Has Shaped History Erie County forms the northwest corner of the state, bounded by Lake Erie on the northwest, the states of Ohio and New York on the west and east respectively and parts of Warren and Crawford counties on the east and south. Historically the county was divided into two sections. The sou them region of 259 ,000 acres fell within the original land grant to William Penn. The northern portion of...
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Currents

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Currents Exciting Erie Before the arrival of white settlers, the southern shores of Lake Erie were inhabited by the Eriez Indians of Iroquois stock until they were virtually eliminated, by 1655, through war with the Seneca nation. A century later, the French, recognizing the military and trade advantages that Lake Erie and its waterways offered, found a harbor ideally suited for a fort, which they named...
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Carved Duck Decoy by Frank Buchner

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Carved Duck Decoy by Frank Buchner In the opening paragraph of an article entitled “Duck-Shooting on Lake Erie,” a writer for the Illustrated London News of January 5, 1889, observed, “In no part of the world is there better duck-shooting than on Lake Erie.” Duck hunters familiar with northwestern Pennsylvania had known that for some time. Migratory waterfowl have traditionally followed seasonal flight...
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Erie Maritime Museum: A New Museum Opens a Window to History

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Erie Maritime Museum: A New Museum Opens a Window to History Nearly two centuries ago, a newly built squadron of United States Navy warships set sail from the shores of Lake Erie to battle a contingent of the British Navy, the most formidable naval force in the world. The ensuing battle of the War of 1812 shocked the British admiralty and boosted the morale of the U.S. Navy and the entire nation. The legacy of this battle is graphically chronicled by the...
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Old State Line

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on Old State Line The modern-day map of Pennsylvania reveals an anomaly most puzzling – a triangular appendage of land extending to the City of Erie and providing the Commonwealth with access to Lake Erie. Early maps show that the original border of Pennsylvania ran south of its present boundary of Lake Erie. Originally, Pennsylvania was fundamentally rectangular, with an undulating eastern border defined...
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New Deal Artifacts at State Museum of Pennsylvania

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on New Deal Artifacts at State Museum of Pennsylvania President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal, created to spur economic relief in the wake of the Great Depression, did not focus solely on building and construction projects. The Frontier Forts and Trails Survey, funded by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and sponsored by the Pennsylvania Historical Commission (predecessor of the PHMC), conducted archaeological investigations in western...
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