Arresting Pennsylvania Counties Quiz

Answer: Scranton

Located in the downtown section of the city of Scranton in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Heritage Anthracite Museum not only contains artifacts from the early discovery of coal in this region but displays a 13,000-pound chunk of black diamond anthracite coal. In geology this northeastern area of the state is called the Pennsylvanian Period due to the abundance of coal in this area. The term Pennsylvanian Period is used interchangeably with the Upper Carboniferous Period. For an experiential knowledge of how coal is mined, the Lackawanna Coal Mine Company offers a tour of one of its mines where guests can descend three hundred feet down into the earth. A visit to the Pennsylvania Heritage Anthracite Museum is included as part of the mine tour.

Pennsylvania counties adjacent to Lackawanna County are Luzerne (SW),
Monroe (SE), Susquehanna (N), Wayne (E) and Wyoming (W).

Answer: Zane Grey

Born in Zanesville, Ohio, and educated at the University of Pennsylvania where he obtained a degree in dentistry, Zane Grey settled in Lackawaxen, Pike County, Pennsylvania. Zane Grey's love of fishing and the outdoors drew him to this town by the Delaware and Lackawaxen Rivers. Zane Grey considered Lackawaxen his adopted hometown, and as an outdoorsman this area had the attraction of eight waterfalls which are common to Lackawanna County. The largest of the waterfalls in this heavily wooded section of the Pocono Mountains is Bushkill Falls, commonly referred to as The Niagara of Pennsylvania. Lackawaxen, which is said be mean "swift water", is located in the northeastern section of Pennsylvania. Although Zane Grey did not write of his life in Pennsylvania, he did author a trilogy of his family's history describing life in the Ohio River Valley in the 18th century. Zane Grey's home, which sits facing the Delaware River, is now a museum open to visitors. He and his wife are buried in the town's Union Cemetery.

Counties adjacent to Pike County are: Monroe (SW) and Wayne (NW) counties. Pike county is also bordered by the states of New Jersey and New York.

Answer: A big iron shovel

"The Slide", built in 1904, was a wooden, grooved, and planed slide in the town of Eagles Mere. The first rider used a big wooden shovel to test the course, and legend has it that he burned off the seat of his pants from going so fast. Eagles Mere in the late 1800s once called itself "the town that time forgot". Wealthy Philadelphians would visit this mountainous area of Sullivan County in north central Pennsylvania and build "cottages" which could be equated to elaborate country manor homes. The modern slide has been changed, so if you would like to try out "The Slide" you will go down a 1200 foot channel covered with ice at a speed close to forty-five miles an hour. Pines Creek Grove, known familiarly as "The Pennsylvania Grand Canyon", is a main tourist attraction in this section of Pennsylvania.

Counties adjacent to Sullivan County are Bradford (N), Columbia (S),
Luzerne (SE), Lycoming (W), and Wyoming (E).

Answer: All the original furnishings and art work are preserved

Unique to Falling Water, this Frank Lloyd Wright built home still contains all of the original art work and furniture displayed from its inception. Examples of this are the bedroom desks which are simple in design and built with wood native to the area. The house seems to grow out of the natural waterfall over which Falling Water is built. As a tourist attraction, the house, with the insight of Frank Lloyd Wright, mirrors the natural attractions of Fayette County. A visitor to Falling Water can choose to just walk the winding woodland paths or to pay admission and tour the house itself. The other attractions in Fayette County which lure tourists are white-water rafting and wilderness treks. Falling Water is approximately a two hour drive from the city of Pittsburgh.

Counties adjacent to Lafayette county are: Greene (W), Somerset (E), Washington (NW), and Westmoreland (N). Lafayette County borders the states of Maryland and West Virginia.

Answer: The Christmas Tree Capital of the World

In the southwestern part of the state of Pennsylvania lies Indiana County.
Because of the amount of evergreen trees grown in Indiana County, it calls itself "The Christmas Tree Capital of the World". The soil of Indiana County, which is a mixture of silt, clay, sand, and limestone, contributes to the growth of the evergreen population. Northern Indiana County has more sandy soil, while in the southern part of Indiana county limestone is prevalent. Sometime in the late 1950s over 700,000 Christmas trees were sold, giving rise to the disputed nickname. It is said that a newspaper reporter investigating this Christmas Tree Capital claim singled out Indiana County as the only site he visited that had highway signs stating that Indiana County was the Christmas Tree Capital of the World.

Counties adjacent to Indiana County are: Armstrong (W), Cambria (SE), Clearfield (E), Jefferson (N), and Westmoreland (S) counties.

Answer: Birdsboro

In the beautiful Oley Valley of Berks County, Pennsylvania stands the original log cabin where the frontier pioneer Daniel Boone was born. The Boone family established itself in the town of Birdsboro, Pennsylvania in 1730, and Daniel Boone was born and lived there until until 1750. This preserved log cabin is a historical site and a visit to it depicts the life of young Daniel Boone before he moved on to explore territory which would later become the states of West Virginia and Kentucky. Berks County is also home to the Kutztown Folk Festival which is held annually in late June to early July and bills itself as the largest quilt show in America, having approximately two thousand or more home sewn quilts displayed and hung along the walls of a huge red barn.

Adjacent Counties to Berks County are: Chester (S), Lancaster (SW), Lebanon (W), Lehigh (NE), Montgomery (SE) and Schuylkill (N).

Answer: Erie

Presque Isle, in the county of Erie, is a sandy peninsula that stretches into the waters of Lake Erie. This sandy trajectory of land is a tourist destination for those who desire the many recreational activities it offers. Those seashore activities include swimming, boating, and fishing. Many species of birds inhabit Presque Isle, which also is a resting stop for those migratory birds making their passage along the North Atlantic Flyway. The Iroquois Confederacy were the first settlers in this area of the county of Erie. In 1753, the French built a fort at Presque Isle but abandoned it in 1763. During the War of 1812, Oliver Hazard Perry, after winning the Battle of Lake Erie, was hailed as "The Hero of Lake Erie".

Counties adjacent to Erie County are: Crawford (S), and Warren (E) county. Erie also borders the states of Ohio and New York as well as Lake Erie itself.

Answer: The Horseshoe Curve

The Pennsylvania Railroad's endeavor to connect Pennsylvania to its two major cities from east to west (Philadelphia to Pittsburgh) hit a major obstacle when they reached Altoona, Pennsylvania. From Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to Altoona the railroad climbed eight hundred feet or more. To continue over the mountains at the Altoona juncture, the rails would have had to be raised nearly a thousand feet higher. Rather than choose a steep grade up the Allegheny Front, Edgar Thomson, an engineer employed by the Pennsylvania Railroad, resolved this problem by designing a semi-circle of track from which the train would ascend. This engineering feat became known as The Horseshoe Loop. Still in operation and a major railroad buff attraction, The Horseshoe Curve celebrated its 150th Anniversary in 2004. Hollisdayburg, Pennsylvania, one of Blair County's earliest settled cities, is the original home to James Industries, which was the first to design and manufacture Slinkies.

Counties adjacent to Blair County are: Bedford (S), Cambria (W),
Centre (N), Clearfield (NW), and Huntingdon (E) counties.

Answer: Terroir

"Terroir" (a French word meaning land) is a term that describes a geographic area that combines certain geographic and geologic characteristics which interact well with the genetic characteristics of plants and enables those certain plants to flourish grown with this combination. The Chautauqua-Lake Erie Wine Trail is about fifty miles long and runs from Silver Creek, New York, to Harborcreek, Pennsylvania. In the southern portion of the Lake Erie area the combination needed (terroir) was formed when glaciers from the Ice Age melted and formed the Great Lakes. As the area warmed, the glaciers melted and left ridges of rich earth and gravel. With the warming winds off Lake Erie and the delay of frost and its rich soil, the southern shores of Lake Erie have been a wine growing area since the early to mid 1900s. Because this area meets the definition of terroir so well it could also be called "gout de terroir", which means it contributes to the uniqueness of the wine environment to grow wine in a region.

Counties adjacent to Erie County are: Crawford (S), and Warren (E) county. Erie also borders the states of Ohio and New York as well as Lake Erie itself.

Answer: The Kings Highway Bridge

In the city of Philadelphia, as a child I did not realize I walked to elementary school on a historic highway traveled by William Penn and many of the early settlers. The Kings Highway Bridge crossed over the Pennypack Creek just north of the juncture of historic Frankford Avenue (Route 13) and Solly Avenue. Made of stone with two arches, this oldest roadway bridge in the United States is seventy-three feet long. The Kings Highway bridge is the oldest surviving roadway bridge in the United States. The construction of the bridge by order of William Penn began in 1673 to connect Philadelphia with Trenton, New York, and Boston. This bridge is also known as The Holmesburg Bridge, the Frankford Avenue Bridge, and the Pennypack Creek Bridge.

Counties adjacent to Philadelphia County are: Bucks (NE), Delaware (W), Montgomery (N). Philadelphia County is also borders the State of New Jersey and the Delaware River.