Harrisburg, PA news and local guide

John Harris Sr., an English trader, settled there in 1719 and 14 years later obtained grants of 800 acres. In 1785 his son, John Harris Jr., planned a town on the land and named it Harrisburg, and that spring it was surveyed by William Maclay, Harris Sr.'s son-in-law. Harrisburg was incorporated in 1791. In October 1812 Harrisburg became the capital of Pennsylvania, as it has remained, and its brick capitol was finished in 1822 at a cost of $200,000. The Harrisburg Convention of 1827, a sectional meeting that may mark the birth of national lobbying, helped bring about the high protective tariff of 1828. In 1839 the first national convention of the Whig Party, held in Harrisburg, nominated William Henry Harrison and John Tyler for president and vice president. Before industry came, Harrisburg was a compact, pastoral town surrounded by farms, but its location on the route west, first as a trading post, gave it an advantage over many other towns. Sources Wikipedia: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania