PRINTER'S NO. 3396
No. 596 Session of 2004
INTRODUCED BY CAUSER, LYNCH, ALLEN, ARGALL, BAKER, BALDWIN,
BARRAR, BASTIAN, BEBKO-JONES, BELFANTI, BENNINGHOFF, BOYD,
BROWNE, BUNT, CAPPELLI, CORRIGAN, COSTA, CRAHALLA, CRUZ,
DALEY, DENLINGER, DeWEESE, DiGIROLAMO, DONATUCCI, D. EVANS,
FABRIZIO, FAIRCHILD, FICHTER, FLEAGLE, FORCIER, GABIG, GEIST,
GEORGE, GILLESPIE, GINGRICH, GODSHALL, GOODMAN, GRUCELA,
HARHAI, HARHART, HERMAN, HERSHEY, HESS, HORSEY, HUTCHINSON,
KELLER, KOTIK, LAUGHLIN, LEDERER, LEH, LESCOVITZ, MAITLAND,
MAJOR, MANDERINO, MANN, MARKOSEK, MARSICO, McGILL,
McILHATTAN, METCALFE, MUSTIO, NAILOR, PALLONE, PAYNE,
PICKETT, PISTELLA, REED, REICHLEY, ROHRER, ROSS, RUBLEY,
SAINATO, SATHER, SAYLOR, SCAVELLO, SCHRODER, SHANER,
B. SMITH, SOLOBAY, R. STEVENSON, T. STEVENSON, SURRA,
E. Z. TAYLOR, THOMAS, TIGUE, TRUE, TURZAI, WALKO, WEBER,
WOJNAROSKI AND ZUG, MARCH 15, 2004
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
MARCH 15, 2004
A RESOLUTION
1 Honoring McKean County on its 200th anniversary.
2 WHEREAS, The boundaries of McKean County were established and
3 the county was created from territory in Lycoming County by act
4 of the State Legislature in 1804 and named for Thomas McKean,
5 Governor of Pennsylvania from 1799 to 1808; and
6 WHEREAS, Much of the county was surveyed by General Thomas L.
7 Kane, who, in 1860, founded the borough which bears his name;
8 and
9 WHEREAS, Many of the early settlers came to the county along
10 the waterways of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River, its
1 tributary the Sinnemahoning, and the Allegheny River, and
2 transportation and communication were two hardships the pioneers
3 faced; and
4 WHEREAS, The lumber era of the 1800s began as an attempt to
5 clear land for farming and grew into a major economic force of
6 the county, and in the year 1888 records show that McKean County
7 yielded 225 million board feet of hemlock lumber; and
8 WHEREAS, After Colonel Edwin Drake drilled the first oil well
9 in Titusville, Venango County, in 1859, several successful
10 attempts were made in McKean County to find oil, and Bradford
11 became the center of the oil world, growing from 500 inhabitants
12 in 1875 to 4,000 in 1878 and producing 23 million barrels of oil
13 in 1881 when maximum production was reached; and
14 WHEREAS, Current output of oil today in McKean County is
15 about 3 million barrels a year; and
16 WHEREAS, Included in McKean County's distinguished history
17 are its relationship with the six nations of the Iraquois
18 Confederacy - the Senecas, Tuscaroras, Oneidas, Onondagos,
19 Cayugas and the Mohawks; its development as the railroad cut
20 through from Sunbury to Erie; its emphasis on public education;
21 and its role in the Civil War and other military contributions;
22 therefore be it
23 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives honor McKean
24 County on the occasion of its 200th anniversary.
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