Pennsylvania: Humble Beginnings

From PENNLIVE:

History

The first English charter to colonize land in the New World that is today known as Pennsylvania was set forth by King Charles II as a way to repay William Penn, a member of upper-class nobility, whose father had lent the king money before his death. Penn was a supporter of the Society of Friends, or Quakers, a controversial religion at the time that rejected rituals and oaths and opposed war. Penn wanted to create a haven for his persecuted friends in the New World and asked the King to grant him land in the territory between the province of Maryland and the province of New York.

On March 4, 1681, King Charles signed the Charter of Pennsylvania, and it was officially proclaimed on April 2. The king named the colony after Penn’s father, Admiral Sir Penn. In October 1682, Penn sent a proprietor to Pennsylvania who visited the capital city Philadelphia, created the three original counties and summoned a General Assembly to Chester on December 4.

From those humble beginnings, Pennsylvania has made quite a name for itself.  Consider…

We have a famous groundhog…

There’s a town named after a candy bar (Hershey)…

There’s a town that’s perpetually on fire (Centralia)…

A famous painting horse lived here (Metro Meteor)…

We had a museum for famous people’s hair (at Drexel University)…

And let’s not forget those memorable Pennsylvania town names:

Asylum

Blue Ball

Burnt Cabins

California

Climax

Coon Hunter

Crackersport

Egypt

Free Love Valley

Glen Campbell

Honey Pot

Indiana

Intercourse

Jersey Shore

Jim Thorpe

Jugtown

Lover

Mars

Milwaukee

Moon

Moscow

Nazareth

Nebraska:

Newfoundland

Normalville

Norwegian

Pancake

Panic

Prosperity

Rome

Rough and Ready

St. Petersburg

Two Lick Valley

Virginville

Versailles

Yellow House