FACTS & TRIVIA
| Origin of Name: | In honor of Admiral Sir William Penn, father of William Penn. It means “Penn’s Woodland.” |
| State Motto: | Virtue, liberty, and independence |
| Date of Statehood: | December 12, 1787 |
| Capital: | Harrisburg |
| State Nickname: | Keystone State |
| Population: | 12,702,379 (2010) |
| Size: | 46,055 square miles |
| State Song: | “Pennsylvania” |
| State Flower: | Mountain Laurel |
| State Animal: | White-tailed Deer |
| State Bird: | Ruffed Grouse |
| State Tree: | Hemlock |
| State Dog: | Great Dane |
- Named by Governor William Penn after his arrival in the New World in 1682, Philadelphia combined the Greek words for love (phileo) and brother (adelphos), engendering its nickname of “the city of brotherly love.”
- Pennsylvania is full of rolling hills, lush forests and millions of acres of farmland.
- Philadelphia is home to the Liberty Bell.
- Indiana County is the Christmas Tree capital of the world.
- Pittsburgh is famous for manufacturing steel. Its professional football team is named the Pittsburgh Steelers.
- Philadelphia was once the United States capital city.
- The first daily newspaper was published in Philadelphia on Sept. 21, 1784.
- Philadelphia saw the first Zoological garden in July 1874.
- In 1909 the first baseball stadium was built in Pittsburgh.
- In 1946 Philadelphia became home to the first computer.
- In 1913 the first automobile service station opened in Pittsburgh.
- Hershey is considered the Chocolate Capital of the United States.
- Philadelphia is home to the cheesesteak sandwich, water ice, soft pretzels, and TastyKakes.
- Fairmount Park in Philadelphia is the largest city park with over 8,000 acres.
- Pennsylvania has the highest concentration of Amish in the U.S.
- The first all-motion-picture theater in the world was opened on Smithfield Street in Pittsburgh on June 19, 1905. The Warner brothers began their careers in western Pennsylvania.