Pennsylvania Places P to A Trivia Quiz

Answer: Philadelphia

Philadelphia, on the Delaware River, is by far the largest city in the state, with a 2010 population of over one and a half million. It was founded in 1682 by William Penn. Rich in history, it was the largest and busiest city in the country into the 19th century, and was where both the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution were drafted and signed. "Schuylkill" means "hidden river" in Dutch, so use of "river" after the name is redundant.

The river originates in the Pocono Mountains, is 135 miles long, and is the largest tributary of the Delaware.

Answer: New Hope

New Hope is a charming and scenic hamlet less than an hour north of Philadelphia along the Delaware River; it's a true haven for the arts. The Bucks County Playhouse stages productions in an old mill dating to the 1780s. There are numerous music venues and art shows, and the restaurant scene is vibrant.

The town, originally called Coryell's Ferry, got its name when a fire razed many of the mills and the residents rebuilt them, providing "new hope". A few miles north of New Hope, Washington made his daring crossing of the Delaware on Christmas night of 1776, preceding his surprise attack on British forces in Trenton, New Jersey. Tourism is the area's bread and butter, with an unparalleled Christmas display each winter and tubing on the river in the summer adding to the festivities.

Answer: Oil Creek at Titusville, Pennsylvania

No need to over-think this one. The nascent petroleum industry did get its start in this area of Venango County in northwest Pennsylvania. The first well was actually drilled in nearby Titusville, and the ensuing larger settlement was named Oil City. Pennzoil and Quaker State both made their company headquarters in Oil City until the 1990s. Wells in the area still produce some amount of crude oil.

Answer: Jim Thorpe

Would you like to live in Mauch Chunk? I didn't think so, and neither did the residents of this community along the Lehigh River in Carbon County. In the 1950s, they sought to bolster their sagging economy with tourism. Jim Thorpe was the legendary Olympian and multi-sport athlete from Oklahoma who died in 1953.

When Oklahoma refused to honor him with a monument, his wife, for a fee and some promises, shipped his remains to Mauch Chunk and let them do the job, which they did. Thorpe was schooled at the nearby Carlisle Indian Industrial School, 100 miles away; a somewhat tenuous connection which became an issue in 2010 when one of Thorpe's surviving relatives sued the Pennsylvania town to have his remains returned to Oklahoma. For better or worse, Mauch Chunk is Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania.

Answer: Latrobe

Latrobe is forty miles southeast of Pittsburgh. It was incorporated as a borough in 1854 and officially became a city in 1999. It's also where children's TV personality Fred Rogers grew up, where the NFL Pittsburgh Steelers hold their training camp, and where the banana split was invented. Lock Haven, home to a university, is in the center of the state; Lackawaxen is a bucolic river township in the northeast corner of Pennsylvania; Lancaster is located in southeastern Pennsylvania.

Answer: Johnstown

The Johnstown Flood of 1889 was a disaster unprecedented in American history. In late May of 1889, a torrential rainstorm swept eastward, dumping six to ten inches on the area in a twenty four hour period. The privately owned and poorly maintained South Fork Dam, fourteen miles upstream from Johnstown on the Conemaugh River, collapsed under the strain.

A giant wall of water churned down the narrow river canyon, smashing into the town at forty miles per hour and destroying everything in its path. Sadly, 2,209 people died, 1,600 homes were destroyed, and an estimated $17 million in damages (equivalent to about $400 million in 2012 dollars) was reported. Bodies were found months later, one as far away as Cincinnati.

A massive pile of debris collected against the Pennsylvania Railroad bridge across the river in town, starting a fire which killed more people. Noted historian David McCullough's first book, "The Johnstown Flood" (1968), chronicles the events.

Answer: Intercourse

All the towns listed are real, but the correct answer is Intercourse, a pleasant burg in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country, and an area which does draw some tourists to the Amish and Mennonite local shops selling toys, quilts, tablecloths and other trinkets. Local lore traces the name to the joining, or "intercourse", of Wilmington Road and Old Kings Highway outside of town.

The borough management replaces the sign periodically, and townsfolk have developed a resigned humor around the issue. Honey Hole, in Luzerne County, got its name from the slang term fishermen used for a sweet spot where the fish were biting nicely.

Answer: Hazleton is the birthplace and hometown of famous actor Jimmy Stewart.

Indiana, Pennsylvania, not Hazleton, is the birthplace and hometown of actor Jimmy Stewart, as well as being home to Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Actor Jack Palance (birth name Volodhymyr Palahniuk) WAS born in Hazleton in 1919.

Answer: The Confederate army drove the Union army farther back into Pennsylvania.

This decisive battle is considered by most historians to be the turning point in the War Between the States. The Confederate army was repulsed after three days of maneuvering, skirmishing, and bloody, head-on confrontations. The culmination was Pickett's Charge, a last desperate attempt by the Confederates to break through the heart of the Union position on the aptly named Cemetery Ridge.

This colossal failure resulted in over 6,500 Confederate casualties, more than 50% of the men in the initial surge.

Afterward, General Lee withdrew his force into Virginia and the South never really got on the offensive again. Standing in the field where this slaughter occurred is a sobering experience.

Answer: largest city park in America

At over 8000 acres, Fairmount Park is the largest city park in the country. It extends along both sides of the Schyulkill from center city all the way to Chestnut Hill northwest of the city. Included in the park are the world renowned Philadelphia Art Museum and the Philadelphia Zoo, the nation's first.

The park is more than twice the size of New York's Central Park. Washington's crossing of the Delaware, depicted on the New Jersey state quarter, occurred just north of Trenton, New Jersey, some 45 miles from Philadelphia. Bruce Springsteen, from Asbury Park, New Jersey, considers Philadelphia one of his favorite venues.

However, he married his wife at a private ceremony at their home in Los Angeles.

Answer: on Lake Erie

Erie, on the south shore of Lake Erie, is the fourth largest city (population: 102,000 - 2010 census) in Pennsylvania. Formerly an important shipping and manufacturing locale, Erie suffered the same fate as many other Pennsylvania cities in the latter half of the 20th century as the viability of heavy industry declined.

Despite something of a renaissance, some residents still refer to it as "the Mistake on the Lake." (Source: eriereader.com; Oct. 1, 2013)

Answer: Delaware

Thomas West, 3rd/12th Baron De La Warr, was the English lord who traveled to Virgina in 1610 to oversee his investment in the Virginia Company of London. He was appointed governor and captain-general for life of the colony at Jamestown. His timely arrival with a force of 150 men resuscitated the colonists, who had been increasingly plagued by Indian attacks and starvation, and were ready to abandon the settlement.

He put in place a strict government system and used brutal tactics honed during military campaigns against the Irish, to turn the tide in the First Anglo-Powhatan war.

The Lenni-Lennapi, one of the oldest original tribes, lived from New York all along what is now the Delaware River watershed and into what is now Delaware. They were a skillful and peaceful tribe who were able to negotiate and coexist with the English colonists for years before eventually being forced off their land like all the rest.

They and their descendants also bear the name "Delaware."

Answer: Chester

Chester became home to the Union Soccer Club in 2008. The franchise was awarded with the understanding that their stadium would get state financing if placed in Chester. This came from the governor and local politicians eager to revitalize the depressed city forty miles south of Philadelphia.

Answer: Bethlehem

Bethlehem is in central Lehigh County, midway between Philadelphia and the New York border, and it straddles the Lehigh River. Along with its slightly larger twin Allentown and nearby Easton, the three cities comprise Pennsylvania's third largest metropolitan area.

The annual Bach Festival is held in May at the Central Moravian Church in historic downtown Bethlehem, adjacent to the Lehigh University campus.

Answer: Lancaster

As depicted in the 1985 film "Witness" starring Harrison Ford, Lancaster, Pennsylvania is the heart of Amish country. The Amish are a distinct and unusual Christian sect sharing common Swiss roots with the Anabaptist Mennonites. The term "Pennsylvania Dutch" is actually a corruption of "Deutsch" meaning "German". That version of the German language is still commonly spoken in Amish communities.

The Amish have become well-known for their insular culture and resistance to the outside world and its invasive technology, limiting or foreswearing the use of cars, phones and even electricity.

The Amish believe strongly in nonviolence and will not enter military service.