Late 1600s French trader Peter Bisaillon, located at the mouth of Paxton Creek, was among the first Europeans to scout the land. Once the Native Americans began to fear the settlers, Bisaillon acted as a principal interpreter at Indian conferences, and would relocate with the remaining French traders to Ohio.[1]
1740 The Parson John Elder house is built for John Elder of Paxtang and is the oldest structure in what is now city limits in East Harrisburg.[2]
1766 John Harris, Jr.. constructs a permanent stone home, still standing at 219 South Front Street
1789 Harrisburg's first Newspaper, The Harrisburgh Journal and the Weekly Advertiser, is first published on September 9 by T. Roberts & Co. for a $2 annual subscription[3]
Trolley service expanded to Linglestown, Hummelstown, and Dauphin. This required a consolidation of shops and car barns located at various places through the service area.[6]
1904 100 passenger trains stop in the city each day.
The trolley company changed to Harrisburg Railways Company and remained in use until 1973.[6]
1938 All remaining trolley lines on west shore abandoned.[6]
1939 July 16: Buses replace trolleys in Harrisburg. The last Harrisburg Railways Trolley closed. A fleet of 135 buses remained under the Harrisburg Railways Company.[6]
1939-73 Bus service continued but riders lessened due to more auto ownership (Capitol Area Transit).
1941 Mansion of John Harris, Jr., and later Lincoln's first Secretary of War Simon Cameron becomes home of Historical Society of Dauphin County.
1943
Aircraft manufacturer Aircraft and Marine Products (AMP) moves to Harrisburg (now TE Connectivity).
1950 89,554 people live in Harrisburg: Largest Standard Metropolitan Area population in city's history. Harrisburg Standard Metropolitan Area (SMA), consisting of Cumberland and Dauphin counties, was first defined.
1952 Harvey Taylor Bridge opens to help traffic to west shore. Forster Street widened.
1956 Old Central Iron and Steel demolished for the anticipated John Harris Bridge.
1958
Dock Street and several streets are razed and 150 houses in Shipoke demolished for the anticipated John Harris Bridge.
IBM builds branch in Mechanicsburg, west of the river.
1959
Following a term change by the Bureau of the Budget (present-day Office of Management and Budget), the Harrisburg SMA became the Harrisburg Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA).
Urban renewal leads to the elimination of streets and houses around Midtown and Fox Ridge between North Sixth and Seventh streets for commercial redevelopment.
1960
Historic governor's mansion demolished for a parking lot.
Public bus service acquired by the city from the Harrisburg Railways Company.[6]
1974 Construction of the Cumberland Court apartments in Fox Ridge begins starting with the elimination of Cumberland Street east of Third Street, Hay Street, and Montgomery Streets.
1983 Harrisburg SMSA renamed the Harrisburg–Lebanon–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)[3]; Lebanon County added to the MSA.
1996 Collapse of the West Shore portion of the Walnut Street Bridge as a result of rising flood waters from the North American blizzard of 1996.
After upset in the primary elections over long-time mayor Stephen R. Reed, first female and first black mayor Linda D. Thompson took office in January.
The Harrisburg-York-Lebanon urban agglomeration area is defined for the first time, linking York County to the CSA.
2011 After filing for bankruptcy, a state-appointed receiver (William B. Lynch) took control of the City finances.
2013 Receiver Lynch released his comprehensive voluntary plan and it was enacted, where the budget became balanced again in the late 2010s.
2018 Mayor Eric R. Papenfuse began Vision Zero strategy for Harrisburg to eliminate pedestrian fatalities through more intelligent street planning.[10]
2020 Mayor Eric Papenfuse restructured the Harrisburg Bureau of Police to separately house its new Community Services Division and created new Community Service Aide positions in continued efforts to improve community policing.[11]
2022 Final payment of $125.6 million in debt (including interest) incurred by former mayor Stephen Reed in 1997 from Series D and F bonds was finally repaid after 25 years, setting the City up to be debt free the following year.[12]
2023 A severe fire caused by a Rite-Hite HVLS ceiling fan tore through the brick building of the Broad Street Market, nearest to 6th Street, in the early morning hours of July 10, 2023 causing major damage to the roof and a loss of the building contents.[13]
References
↑ Egle, William (1883). Illustrated history of the commonwealth of pennsylvania, civil, political: from its ... (3rded.). Philadelphia: E. M. Gardner. p.639. ISBN1-2861-7074-5.
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