PRINTER'S NO. 1873
No. 189 Session of 1997
INTRODUCED BY HERMAN, JUNE 3, 1997
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
JUNE 3, 1997
A RESOLUTION
1 Congratulating the community of Philipsburg, Centre County, on
2 the occasion of the 200th year since its settlement and
3 noting its bicentennial celebration during the week of July
4 20 through 26, 1997.
5 WHEREAS, In 1795, on the streets of Philadelphia, Henry
6 Philips purchased land in central Pennsylvania for 2¢ an acre
7 from the bankrupt estate of imprisoned debtor Robert Morris, who
8 had been Secretary of Finance for the Continental Congress; and
9 WHEREAS, Attracted by Philips' offer of a residential lot in
10 town and four more acres outside the town, the first 12 settlers
11 arrived in March 1797, finding forest so dense that one settler
12 said he had to cut seven trees to get one to fall; and
13 WHEREAS, By winter of that year, these settlers had
14 established a tiny village of a couple of cabins, a gristmill
15 and a lumber mill which was called, in the "Day Book" of
16 Philips' store, "Philipsburg"; and
17 WHEREAS, The next year, 1798, the turnpike to Milesburg was
18 laid out and completed, providing better travel between the two
1 towns; and
2 WHEREAS, Soldiers serving in the War of 1812 camped in the
3 town at the corner of Front and Presqueisle Streets for a short
4 time on their way north to battle and, while there, unfurled the
5 nation's new flag, giving the residents their first glimpse of
6 the Stars and Stripes; and
7 WHEREAS, The community was incorporated into Centre County in
8 1820 and as a borough in 1864, when it was named the Town of
9 Philipsburg; and
10 WHEREAS, Of historical significance, one of its founding
11 fathers, Hardman Philips, opened and operated the first screw
12 factory in the United States in 1821 in Philipsburg for 12
13 years; an appendectomy was performed in 1878 in Philipsburg
14 three years before the procedure was generally accepted; and in
15 1882 eight electric streetlights were erected, 16 homes had
16 electricity installed, and St. Paul's Episcopal Church became
17 the first church in the world to receive electric lights; and
18 WHEREAS, Philipsburg has been a pillar in this Commonwealth
19 as well as in Centre County, and it is fitting that it receive
20 praise and recognition from the House of Representatives on the
21 occasion of its bicentennial; therefore be it
22 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives congratulate the
23 community of Philipsburg, Centre County, on the occasion of the
24 200th year since its settlement and note its bicentennial
25 celebration during the week of July 20 through 26, 1997.
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