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Erie, Pennsylvania: A Short History of the City

Erie, Pennsylvania, sits on the south shore of Lake Erie around a sheltered natural harbor, Presque Isle Bay. Its history runs from the Indigenous peoples who lived along the lake, through French and British forts and the naval buildup of the War of 1812, to a long period as a manufacturing and shipping city.

This overview is a general outline for readers interested in the city’s past. For precise dates and local detail, county historical societies and archives are the best sources.

Before the town: the Erie people

The lake and the city take their name from the Erie, an Iroquoian-speaking people who lived along the southern shore of the lake before the mid-seventeenth century. The meaning of the name is uncertain; it is often given as “cat” or “long tail”, and sources differ. The Erie were defeated and dispersed in conflicts with the Iroquois Confederacy in the 1650s.

The word survives mainly in the name of the lake, the county and the city.

French and British forts

The French claimed the region and built a string of forts to link Canada with the Ohio country. Fort Presque Isle was built in 1753 on the site of today’s Erie, at the edge of the bay. The name comes from the French for “almost an island”, a reference to the long sandy peninsula that shelters the harbor.

During the French and Indian War, British forces took the area. After the American Revolution, the land that is now Erie County became part of Pennsylvania following a purchase from the federal government in 1792 (the area is known as the Erie Triangle), which gave the state its only access to the Great Lakes. A town was laid out in the 1790s, incorporated as a borough in 1805, and became a city in 1851.

A quick timeline

The War of 1812 and Perry’s fleet

Erie played a central role in the War of 1812. Because it had a protected harbor, American shipbuilders constructed warships there in 1812 and 1813 under the direction of Master Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry. In September 1813 Perry’s squadron won the Battle of Lake Erie, a naval victory that gave the United States control of the lake.

A reconstruction of one of Perry’s vessels, the brig Niagara, is now based in Erie and is used for sail training and public programs. Check operating details with the museum before visiting.

Canals, railroads and the port

In the nineteenth century, Erie grew as a transshipment point. Canals and railroads connected the lake to the interior of Pennsylvania and to the Ohio Valley, and goods moved between lake vessels and rail cars. The city’s location, between Cleveland and Buffalo, made it a natural stop along the lakeshore.

An episode known as the Erie Gauge War in the 1850s reflected the importance of the transfer point. Different rail lines used different track widths, so goods had to be transferred at Erie, and local interests resisted proposals that would have allowed trains to run straight through. The conflict faded as the lines were standardized.

Industry in the twentieth century

Manufacturing dominated the city’s economy in the twentieth century. Heavy industries made locomotives, electrical equipment, paper and plastics, and the city’s population grew substantially to a peak around the middle of the century. Neighborhoods developed around the factories, with ethnic communities such as Polish, German, Italian and others shaping local churches, clubs and food.

After the middle of the century, the loss of manufacturing jobs, a pattern shared by many Great Lakes cities, reduced the population. The most recent census counts put the city at roughly 95,000 people.

People and neighborhoods

Immigration shaped the city. Workers from Germany, Poland, Italy, Ireland and other countries arrived to fill jobs in the factories, ports and rail yards, and they founded parish churches, social clubs and neighborhood shops that gave districts their identity. Many of those church buildings remain landmarks, and community festivals still draw on those traditions.

Education and health care have become major parts of the local economy. Institutions of higher learning, including Gannon University and Penn State Behrend, are based in or near the city. Business history includes Erie Insurance, which began in the 1920s and remains one of the area’s best-known employers.

The lake and the waterfront today

Presque Isle, the peninsula that curves into the lake, became a Pennsylvania state park and remains the city’s best-known natural landmark. The bayfront has museums, parks and a working harbor, and the city continues to reinvent its economy around health care, education, manufacturing and tourism.

More material is available from the site’s home page.

Why the history matters

Three themes recur in Erie’s story. The first is geography: a protected harbor made the site valuable in every era. The second is its role as a junction between water, rail and road. The third is the cycle of industrial growth and adjustment that many Midwestern and Great Lakes cities have faced.

Frequently asked questions

Why is it called Erie?

It was named after the Erie people, who lived along the southern shore of the lake. The lake took their name, and the city and county followed.

What was Fort Presque Isle?

It was a French fort built in 1753 on the site of the modern city. It was part of a chain of forts linking Lake Erie to the Ohio River region.

What happened in Erie during the War of 1812?

Warships were built in the harbor, and Perry’s fleet sailed from there to win the Battle of Lake Erie in September 1813.

Is Erie on a Great Lake?

Yes. It is the only Pennsylvania city on Lake Erie and lies roughly midway between Cleveland, Ohio and Buffalo, New York.

In short

Erie’s past is a story of a harbor, a lake and the industries that grew around them. A sound grasp of those threads makes it easier to read the city’s present, whether you are looking at the bayfront, a former factory district or an old neighborhood church.