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Home  > History > Mercer County History Timeline 1800-1850
1800-1850      1851-1900     1901-1950      1951-2000     References
Mercer County History Timeline
Courtesy of the Mercer County Historical Society and Autumn Buxton
A few facts to set the mood. The year is 1800. The Constitution has been in effect for 12 years and John Adams is the 2nd President. It takes 20 days for a letter to reach Savannah, Georgia, from Portland, Maine.
The World  1800-1850 Mercer County  1800-1850
1800
There are 16 states: Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Kentucky and Tennessee;   (June 4) the construction of the White House is finished; the electric battery is invented by Alessandro Volta
1801
Thomas Jefferson becomes the 3rd president (first president inaugurated in Washington, DC); (Nov. 10) Kentucky outlaws dueling
1802
(Mar. 16) The establishment of the US Military Academy at West Point is authorized
1803
(Mar. 1) Ohio becomes the 17th state; (Apr. 30) the size of the United States more than doubles by buying all French territory west of the Mississippi from Napoleon Bonaparte
1804
Lithography is invented in Germany
1805
(Oct. 21) The British defeat the Spanish and French naval fleets at the Battle of Trafalgar
1806
(Nov. 15) Zebulon Pike sights a mountain that is later named Pikes Peak
1807
(Mar. 2) Congress bans slave trade
1809
James Madison becomes the 4th president  (first president inaugurated in American-made clothes); (Jan. 20) the first US geology book is published
1812
(Apr. 30) Louisiana becomes the 18th state; (Jun. 18) the "War of 1812" begins
1813
(Jun. 1) The phrase "Don't give up the ship" becomes the slogan of the US Navy; (Sep. 7) the nickname "Uncle Sam" is born today in the Troy Post when a writer uses it as a symbolic reference to the United States
1814
(Oct. 19) The "Star-Spangled Banner" is sung for the first time
1816
(Dec. 11) Indiana becomes the 19th state
1817
(Feb. 17) For the first time, a street in an American city (Baltimore) is illuminated by gas lights; James Monroe becomes the 5th president; (Dec. 10) Mississippi becomes the 20th state
1818
(Dec. 3) Illinois becomes the 21st state; (Dec. 25) the carol "Silent Night" is sung for the first time
1819
(Feb. 22) In a treaty with Spain, Florida is ceded to the United States; (Dec. 14) Alabama becomes the 22nd state
1820
(Mar. 15) Maine becomes the 23rd state; Congress passes the Public Land Act, lowering the price of western lands to $1.25 an acre to promote settlement of the west; the first potatoes are planted in Hawaii
1821
(Feb. 24) Mexico gains independence from Spain; William Becknell leads a wagon train to  New Mexico initiating the Santa Fe Trail; (Aug. 10) Missouri becomes the 24th state; sailors in New Orleans invent the game of poker; the first tuition-free public high school in the United States opens in Boston, Massachusetts
1822
(Mar. 9) The first patent for false teeth is issued to Charles Graham of New York; (Mar. 30) Congress combines East and West Florida into Florida Territory
1824
A Harrisburg, Pennsylvania newspaper publishes results of the first public opinion poll
1825
(Mar. 26) The Republic of Mexico is proclaimed; John Quincy Adams becomes the 6th president
1827
(Feb. 7) The first ballet group in the United States performs at the Bowery Theater in New York City; matches are invented by John Walker
1828
(Apr. 14) The first edition of Webster's Dictionary is published
1829
Andrew Jackson becomes the 7th president and an unruly crowd mobs the White House during the inaugural ball
1831
(Aug. 9) The first steam locomotive makes its run between Albany and Schenectady, New York; the lawn mower is invented by Edwin Budding and John Ferrabee
1832
President Jackson vetoes a bill renewing the charter of the Bank of the United States
1833
(Apr. 9) The first US public library to be supported by municipal taxes is founded in Petersburgh, New Hampshire; ( Jan. 8) the Boston Academy of Music is the first US music school established
1834
Refrigeration is invented by Jacob Perkins
1835
(Jul. 8) A crack appears in the Liberty Bell, the symbol of US freedom
1836
(Mar. 6) The Alamo falls after a 13-day siege; (Jun. 15) Arkansas becomes the 25th state;
(Oct. 22) General Sam Houston is sworn in as the first president of the Republic of Texas
1837
(Jan. 26) Michigan becomes the 26th state; Martin Van Buren becomes the 8th president
1838
(Jan. 6) Samuel Morse gives the first public demonstration of his electric telegraph; 15,000 Mormons are driven out of Missouri
1839
France recognizes the Republic of Texas
1840
(Jan. 19) Antarctica is discovered by American Charles Wilkes
1841
William Henry Harrison, the 9th president, dies while in office and John Tyler becomes the 10th president; Oberlin College awards the first woman with a degree
1842
Ether is used as an anesthetic for the first time
1845
(Jan. 29) Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" is published in New York; (Mar. 3) Florida becomes the 27th state and   (Dec. 29) Texas the 28th state; James Polk becomes the 11th president
1846
(Jun. 19) The first formal baseball game is played; (Aug. 10) the Smithsonian Institute in Washington is created;    (Sep. 10) the sewing machine is patented; (Sep. 23) the planet Neptune is discovered; (Dec. 28) Iowa becomes the 29th state
1847
(Jul. 24) Brigham Young and his Mormon followers arrive at Great Salt Lake Valley in Utah
1848
(Feb. 2) Mexico signs a treaty agreeing to cede Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California to the United States for $15 million; (May 29) Wisconsin becomes the 30th state; (Jul. 19) "bloomers" become a radical change to women's clothing; (Dec. 29) President James Polk turns on the first gas light at the White House
1849
(Apr. 10) Walter Hunt of New York City patents the safety pin; Zachary Taylor becomes the 12th president; Mrs. Elizabeth Blackwell becomes the first female physician in the United States 
1850
The US population reaches 23,191,876; (Sep. 9) California becomes the 31st state; Millard Fillmore becomes the 13th president; the paper bag begins to appear in stores
1800
Mercer County is created by an act of the General Assembly1 (with at least three churches already established: Old Salem United Methodist Church (Sugar Grove Township), established in 1798, and Fairfield (New Vernon Township) and Center (Pine Township) Presbyterian churches established in 1799)
1801
The four original townships are Neshannock, Salem, Sandy Lake and Cool Spring1
1802
Wolf Creek and Pymatuning townships are created; Sandy Lake is dropped and Sandy Creek Township introduced; a grist and saw-mill is built on the Shenango River within the limits of Hickory Township1
1803
(Aug.) Samuel Pew holds the first stake for survey of the county2
1804
The jail building is ready for occupancy;  (Jan. 25) the first budget for the county is estimated at $1,4751
1805
West Salem, French Creek, Delaware, Sandy Lake, Shenango, Lackawannock, Mahoning, Springfield and Slippery Rock townships are added;1 the county establishes its own courts and board of commissioners 29
1806
A weekly mail route is established from Pittsburgh to Erie via Mercer1
1807
(May 18) A contract is signed to build the county's first courthouse for $7,1161
1808
A strip of land on the county's north border is given to Crawford County29
1809
Jonathan Cochran receives contract to move court bench and chairs from log structures to new building for $15029
1811
The first school in the county is established by the State Legislature;2    (Feb. 21) the first newspaper in the county, the Western Press, begins publishing4
1812
(Jan. 29) The Western Press reports an earthquake in Meadville, Pennsylvania4
1813
(Feb. 25) Capt. James McCoy and all his men are ordered to Erie to defend the Shipworks4
1814
(Mar. 28) Mercer incorporates as a Borough;4 Elias Jones builds a distillery in the Sharon area15
1817
(Feb. 4) Heavy snowfall, 3 1/2 feet, keeps small pupils home for weeks4
1818
Semiweekly postal routes begin;4 the Pittsburgh & Erie Turnpike opens for travel26
1819
The second jail is erected1
1821
(May 4) Dr. James Magoffin and family sail from Ireland for Mercer4
1822
(Jul. 4) Georgetown (now Sheakleyville) is christened with considerable flare3
1824
Tri-weekly postal routes begin;4 Gen. Lafayette visits the county and spends the night at the Hackney House:1 Mercer begins to organize a fire department after the burning of Union Church;1 during this winter almost no snow falls4
1825
The first piano is brought to the county from Dublin, Ireland;1 John Bigler becomes an apprentice at the Western Press;4 a number of escaped slaves use the "underground railroad" to reach Sandy Lake and started a settlement known as Liberia (now Stoneboro)27
1827
The first public movement in the direction of active temperance begins;1 ground breaking for the Beaver and Erie Canal occurs4
1829
(Sep. 13) Clarksville is laid out1
1830
The Mercer Luminary is published from the site of the Anderson Grocery Store in Fredonia1
1831
(Aug. 9) A meeting is held at the courthouse over the hydrophobia issue; four rabid dogs are killed in Mercer4
1832
Hickory Township is founded;1 the village of Jamestown is laid out;1 (May 21) delegates from surrounding counties meet at the courthouse to petition for a canal from Erie to Pittsburgh4
1834
(Mar. 14) A meeting is held in Georgetown (now Sheakleyville) to form a counter temperance society in the county; (Jun. 20) the disappearance or abduction of five-year-old Mary Ann Gamble occurs in Cool Spring Township4
1835
Early in the year, coal is discovered in a hillside west of Sharon on land owned by Gen. Joel B. Curtis;15 townships are divided into school districts;20 (Sep. 8) hard frost kills the corn and seeds sell for $2 per bushel1
1836
The Public School System is established in Pennsylvania;20 the town of West Middlesex is laid out1
1838
(May 29) Greenville is incorporated into a borough; the sale of lots begin in New Lebanon borough1
1839
Deer Creek post office is established (later known as Milledgeville)4
1840
Centertown's post office is established;4 the first effort towards organizing a fire department in Greenville begins1
1841
(Oct. 6) Sharon is incorporated as a borough4
1844
Greene Township is created; (Jan. 23) Mercer County Medical Society elects first officers;4 the construction of the Erie Canal is completed15
1845
(Jul. 19) Clay Furnace is put into blast, named after Kentuckian Henry Clay4
1846
Known as the "Locust Year"; six more blast furnaces are started to make pig iron;25 Wilmington Township is created; the first rolling mill in the Shenango Valley opens and establishes the valley as an iron and steel center;11 unofficial reports of the schools in the county showed 214 schools averaging five months and five days a year teaching (170 men and 145 women teachers); the New Hamburg log school burns3
1847
Dysentery, or the bloody flux, kills 200+ people in the county;4 (Jul. 15) a meeting at the courthouse is held to study the idea of building a railroad from Big Bend, at the canal, to Mercer;4 the second Caldwell school is built on the site of Delaware Military Honor Roll3
1848
Andrew Carnegie and his parents pass through Sharon on a canal boat;25 (May 5) Clarksville is incorporated4
1849
President Zachary Taylor and future president James Buchanan visit the county;1 (Dec. 1) the first canal boat from Greenville loaded with coal arrives in Erie;4 Findley, Worth, and Mill Creek townships are created; Mahoning, Slippery Rock, and Neshannock townships are given to Lawrence County29
1850
The first nail mill opens in Sharon;25
(Jul. 3) the last issue of the Mercer Luminary
is published;4 Fairview, Lake, and Jackson
townships are created29

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Last Updated  05/18/2015 04:50 PM