A Town at Presque Isle: A Short History of Erie, Pennsylvania to 1980

Published by the Erie County Historical Society in cooperation with the Erie Historical Museum and Planetarium. The project was supported by grants from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. "In 1795, the Pennsylvania legislature passed an "Act to Establish a Town at Presque Isle," and the community was to be named Erie. The history of Erie, Pennsylvania is as complex and varied as the lives of the countless men and women who built the city and made it what it is today. The purpose of this booklet is not to provide an exhaustive study of Erie's past, but rather to increase our understanding of the community we live in by providing a general chronology and outline of the city's history. By looking at those events which have made Erie a unique and distinct community, we can perhaps gain a new understanding of our city and our own lives." ---from the Introduction