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Home > Community Development > Community Profiles > Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) > Historical Information

Community Profile: Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)

Historical Information

Native Americans settled in the Harrisburg area along the Susquehanna River long before the white man. In the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, the first white settlers came to the area. The city of Harrisburg was founded in 1785 and became the state capital of Pennsylvania in 1812.

Harrisburg has been an important center of transportation since the first half of the nineteenth century. Harrisburg was a central location for both the Pennsylvania canal system and Pennsylvania railroad and continues as key location along the Pennsylvania turnpike. As the center of government for Pennsylvania, a large portion of local employment in this area is in the public sector.

The city of Carlisle was founded in 1751 and was chosen by George Washington as the site of the U.S. Army’s first arsenal and school.

Historical data for the Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA MSA can be found at the following websites:

• Carlisle History
• Cumberland County Historical Society
• Harrisburg History
• Harrisburg Pennsylvania – An Economic Profile (History)
• Harrisburg: Pennsylvania’s Capital City (Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission)
• Historical Society of Dauphin County
• Historical Society of Perry County
• The State Capitol of Pennsylvania

• Last updated: Friday, November 9, 2007