Scranton, 102,026; Reading, 78,961; Erie, 52,733; Wilkesbarre, 51,721; Harrisburg, the capital, 50,167; Lancaster, 41,459; Altoona, 38,973; Allentown, 35,416; Johnstown, 35,936; McKeesport, 34,227; Chester, 33,988; York, 33,708; Williamsport, 28,757; Newcastle, 28,339; Easton, 25.238.
Religion. The Roman Catholics form over one-eighth of the population. The principal Protestant denominations are the Methodist, Presbyterian, and Lutheran, each with over one-sixth of the total number of church members. Then follow in order the Baptists, the Protestant Episcopalians, the Disciples of Christ, and the Congregationalists.
Education. The first settlers of Pennsylvania, the Swedes and the Dutch, usually relegated the matter of education to the ministers. William Penn, in his Frame of Government, provided that the “Governor and Provincial Council shall erect and order all public schools” and “that the children within this province of the age of 12 years shall be taught some useful trade or skill.” This provision was subsequently strengthened by the clause in the second Frame, adopted by the second Assembly in 1683, which provided for compulsory instruction in reading and writing, as well as in some manual trade. With the passing of the control of the colony from the hands of the Quakers, education received very little attention from the Legislature. It was left entirely to the Church and private initiative during the first three quarters of the eighteenth century. Private schools were meanwhile being established all over the province, and the agitation for a higher educational institution in Philadelphia, carried on by Benjamin Franklin, resulted in the foundation of the Academy and Charitable School of the Province of Pennsylvania (now University of Pennsylvania) in 1749. The first free public schools in Pennsylvania were opened by the settlers from Connecticut in 1769. The provisional Constitution of 1776 provided for the establishment of a school in each county, but it was only in 1834 that a free school system was successfully established.
The public school system is under the supervision of a State Superintendent, appointed by the Governor. The county superintendents are elected by the school directors, and the latter are elected by the people. Pennsylvania has no permanent school fund, the school revenue being obtained principally from local taxations and State appropriations. School attendance is compulsory between the ages of 8 and 16, and text books are free. In 1900 Pennsylvania had illiterates amounting to 6.1 per cent. of the total population of 10 years of age and over, being 2.1 per cent. for the native white population, 19.9 per cent. of the foreign white, and 15.3 per cent. for the colored population. Of the school population 68.22 per cent. were enrolled in the public schools in 1901. The number of public schools in the same year was 29,046, including 16,625 graded, and the average attendance was 847,445, or about 73 per cent. of the total enrollment. In the same year there were employed in the public schools 30,044 teachers, of whom the male teachers formed 30.6 per cent., as against 45.5 in 1880. The average monthly salaries were $44.14 for male and $38.23 for female teachers, being considerably below the salaries paid in most of the North Atlantic States. Also the length of the school term was 165.6 days in 1901, as compared with an average of 177.2 days for the entire North Atlantic division. An attempt to solve the rural school problem by centralization has so far been attended with little success, owing to the poor condition of the roads. Pennsylvania suffers in common with other States in the low professional standing of the teachers, especially in the rural districts. For normal education the State maintains thirteen normal schools, which had a total attendance of 7987 in 1901, including 4664 female students. In that year the school revenue amounted to $26,159,774, consisting of $5,250,000 derived from State taxes, $15,482,898 from local taxes, and $5,426,876 from other sources. The expenditure amounted in the same year to $22,813,395, or $26.92 per pupil in average attendance. The 391 public schools had a total attendance of 32,438 in 1901. In the same year there were in the State 137 private high schools and academies, with a total attendance of 11,236. Commercial and professional education is provided by numerous commercial colleges, schools of law, medicine, dentistry, etc., and theological seminaries.
The principal institutions of higher education, besides the University of Pennsylvania, are the Western University of Pennsylvania (non-sectarian), at Allegheny; Lafayette College (Presbyterian), at Easton; Lehigh University (nonsectarian), at South Bethlehem; Bucknell University (Baptist), at Lewisburg; Dickinson College (Methodist Episcopal), at Carlisle; Haverford College (Friends), at Haverford; Swarthmore College (Friends), at Swarthmore; Pennsylvania State College, at State College; and Washington and Jefferson College (Presbyterian), at Washington. The principal college for women is Bryn Mawr (q.v.).
Charitable and Penal Institutions. The state maintains hospitals for the insane at Harrisburg, Danville, Norristown, Warren, Dixmont, and Warrensville, which together with the State aided asylums contained 7411 inmates on September 30, 1900. On the same date the hospitals for the sick and wounded, and homes for children, etc., held a population of 21,665. The four institutions for the deaf contained 408 persons, the two blind asylums 271, and the two institutions for feeble-minded 1655. The almshouses for that date had a population of 12,168. The State maintains a soldiers' and sailors' home at Erie. There are State penitentiaries located at Philadelphia and at Allegheny, a House of Correction at Philadelphia, a Workhouse in Allegheny County, a House of Refuge at Philadelphia, a Reform School at Morganza, and an Industrial Reformatory at Huntingdon; the aggregate population of these institutions together with the 3493 inmates of county jails was, in 1900, 9108. The aggregate for all classes remaining in institutions September 30, 1900, was 41,908. Besides these, about 40,800 had received public outdoor relief during the year. The total public expenditure incurred for all the foregoing was $16,050,406. The foremost Indian training school in the country is maintained by the National Government at Carlisle.
History. Henry Hudson in the Half Moon anchored in Delaware Bay, August 28, 1609, and founded the Dutch claim to the bay and river, though he did not land. After 1614 exploring parties were sent out and trading posts founded on the eastern side of the river. Gustavus Adolphus, of Sweden, planned to found a colony in
