Quintessential Pennsylvania

  One of the most important surveying markers in the United States, and perhaps, the world, is located in an otherwise unassuming field at Embreeville in Newlin Township in Chester County, Pennsylvania. That marker is the Star Gazers' Stone, which is the land marker that was used in 1764 by 18th century astronomers Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon to determine the true boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland. At the time, the colonies of Maryland and Pennsylvania had a disputed border thanks to competing royal charters of the time. Maryland and Pennsylvania both claimed the land between the 39th and 40th parallels according to the charters granted to each colony, and this would have included the City of Philadelphia. The issue was unresolved until the British Crown intervened in 1760, ordering Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore to accept a border agreement signed in 1732. As part of the settlement, the Penns and Calverts commissioned the team of English astronomers...

  Along an active Norfolk Southern Railroad line situated on the east edge of town is the Greenville Railroad Park and Museum, a must-see for railroad buffs and history buffs alike. Traveling along PA 358, it can’t be missed, as a steam switch engine towers beside the street, along with its tender, three cabooses, an ore car and a 1904 patio flat car. The Greenville Railroad Park & Museum was started in 1985 by a group of volunteers interested in preserving and promoting the robust railroad history in Greenville, Pennsylvania. Greenville owes much to the canals and railroads that once kept the town a busy place. Those modes of transportation allowed the borough of Greenville to grow to 10,000 people in 1940. However, with the decline of the railroads and related industries, the population has dropped by about half that amount. Greenville was home to a number of railroad shops. First, the Pittsburgh, Shenango & Lake Erie Railroad began construction of the shops in 1893, but ...

The Lehigh Valley has a long history of producing industrial products that help make Pennsylvania and the world a stronger place. For instance, Bethlehem Steel was once the second largest producer of steel in the United States, and they were based out of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The old steel plant in Bethlehem has been transformed to SteelStacks , an arts and entertainment center. In Allentown, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs minor league baseball team is named after pig iron, a byproduct of smelting iron ore. However, the Lehigh Valley is also a leading producer of Portland cement. Invented in England in the first half of the 19th Century, Portland cement has a long history of its own in the Lehigh Valley borough of Coplay. Portland cement was first successfully manufactured in the United States in 1871 by David Saylor in Coplay. Also in Coplay, the first successful use of the rotary kiln for making Portland cement took place in 1889. Even today, the rotary kiln is used in mak...

Pennsylvania is home to a number of firsts, including the site where the first weather satellite in the world was constructed. The first edition of the useful application of modern meteorology, known as TIROS I, was a joint collaboration between the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and Lavelle Aircraft Corporation. RCA was keen on the television and imaging technology of the day, but when it came to the aerospace engineering components and construction of the satellite, they turned to Lavelle, who designed and fabricated the satellite at their office in Newtown, Pennsylvania. While it was the first weather satelling, TIROS I had issues from the get go. TIROS I was launched on April 1, 1960, but due to electrical issues, it was rendered inoperable after only 77 days. Still, it provided many useful weather related images during its short time in operation. Sources and Links: ExplorePAHistory.com - The First Weather Satellite Historical Marker NOAA Satellite and Information S...