Erie Triangle

Coordinates: 42°04′N 80°06′W / 42.07°N 80.1°W / 42.07; -80.1
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Black line indicates southern border of Erie Triangle within Erie County

The Erie Triangle is a roughly 300-square-mile (780-square-kilometre) tract of American land that was the subject of several competing

colonial-era claims. It was eventually acquired by the U.S. federal government and sold to Pennsylvania so that the state would have access to a freshwater port on Lake Erie. The Erie Triangle land makes up a large portion of present-day Erie County, Pennsylvania
.

Background

Cornerstone of the Erie Triangle

Most of northwestern Pennsylvania came under American control following the 1784

Simeon DeWitt representing the New Yorkers, the western edge of New York was set at 20 miles (32 km) east of Pennsylvania's Presque Isle, a small peninsula off the coast of Erie, Pennsylvania. However, this left an unclaimed area, which came to be known as the Triangle Lands.[citation needed
]

The Triangle Lands problematically fell under neither New York's nor Pennsylvania's charter, while both Connecticut and Massachusetts also spoke up with claims derived from their original colonial "sea to shining sea" grants.[citation needed]

Of the three competing claimants (Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Massachusetts), only Pennsylvania was landlocked, except for a very tiny strip of coastline 3.75 miles in length. Following some pressure from the new

United States Constitution which reserved the right to make treaties to the federal government.[3] With this access to the Great Lakes, Pennsylvania was persuaded to accept the western boundary established by the Surveyor General of the Northwest Territory following passage of the Northwest Ordinance in 1787.[citation needed
]

The Erie Triangle is often described as a "tab" or "chimney" attached to the

Lake Erie Islands, at the western end of the lake, off the coast of Ohio.[citation needed
]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ equivalent to $3,574,620 in 2023 ($17.68 per acre).
  2. ^ equivalent to $51,149 in 2023
  3. ^ equivalent to $30,689 in 2023
  4. ^ equivalent to $19,192 in 2023

References

  1. ^ Whitman, Benjamin (1987) [1896, S. B. Nelson]. Nelson's Biographical Dictionary and Historical Reference Book of Erie County, Pennsylvania. Vol. I. Don Mills. pp. 103–104.
  2. ^ Works related to Article One of the United States Constitution, Article I, section 10, clause 1 at Wikisource
  3. ISBN 978-0-8027-1850-1
    .

External links

Further reading

42°04′N 80°06′W / 42.07°N 80.1°W / 42.07; -80.1

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