Harrisburg

Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania, is situated in the midst of beautiful scenery on the left bank of the Susquehanna River, which is here crossed by several long bridges, 106 miles W. by N. of Philadelphia. It contains the capitol, a court-house, the state arsenal, the state insane asylum, and a Roman Catholic cathedral and some forty other churches. The state library has some 60,000 volumes. The city has a number of blast-furnaces and rolling-mills, and large manufactures of steel and iron, including boilers, machinery, nails, and files; cotton goods, flour, bricks, shoes, brooms, &c. are also produced, and there is a large trade in lumber. Founded in 1785, Harrisburg became the state capital in 1812. Pop. (1870) 23,104; (1880) 30,762; (1890) 39,385.