8 fascinating facts about Harrisburg, Pennsylvania’s capital city
These facts about Harrisburg prove the capital city is more than state politics and budget impasses.
For a relatively small state capital (it’s the 12th smallest in the United States), Harrisburg packs a great deal of history and local lore. Did you know it could have been the U.S. capital? Or that it was a key hub along the Underground Railroad? We’ve put together a list of eight interesting facts about Harrisburg that will challenge anyone who dares to say that the capital city is boring.
1. Harrisburg was a contender to become the U.S. capital.
In the late 1780s and early 1790s, the Founding Fathers debated moving the U.S. capital, then in Philadelphia, to a more central, inland location, closer to more of the fledgling country’s growing population. Several sites along the Susquehanna River, including the area around present-day Harrisburg, were real contenders, as Pennsylvania was both politically powerful and geographically central. If you’ve seen “Hamilton,” you may have some idea of what happened next: Alexander Hamilton struck a deal with Virginians Thomas Jefferson and James Madison to move the capital to the Potomac River in exchange for federal assumption of state debts. President George Washington—another Virginian—also supported the plan to move the capital near his home. And so, history gave us Washington, D.C., and we lost out on Harrisburg, D.C.
2. Harrisburg is home to the oldest continuously operating market house in the country.
A Harrisburg gem, the city’s Broad Street Market has been a local favorite since 1863—yes, during the Civil War! The brick market house, which hosts restaurants, farmers’ stands, and other local vendors, is not only a city landmark but also the country’s oldest continuously operating market house. When the market first opened more than 160 years ago, city residents might have stocked up on seasonal vegetables, but today visitors can buy farmers’ bounties as well as a variety of homemade treats (pretzels! donuts!), fancy dog biscuits, Haitian cuisine, and more.
3. Harrisburg was a historic crossroads.
Harrisburg, which is believed to have been inhabited by Native Americans as early as 3,000 B.C., once served as a central crossroads for several Indigenous trails that stretched across the mid-Atlantic. The Lenape called the area “Peshtank,” a name that means “where the waters stand,” a nod to the relatively slow waters of the nearby Susquehanna River. English settlers adapted the name to “Paxtang,” which is still the name of a Harrisburg suburb. And the geography that made the Harrisburg area a hub for Native trails later made it an important stop along canal and railroad routes.
4. Harrisburg has a massive stone masonry arch railroad bridge known as the world’s longest.
The world’s longest stone masonry arch railroad bridge in the world spans the Susquehanna River, just north of Harrisburg. The Rockville Bridge is 3,820 feet long, made up of 48 arches that are each 70 feet in length. Originally built between 1900 and 1902 by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, the bridge is still used today by both passenger and freight trains. You’ll cross the bridge yourself if you take a ride on Amtrak’s Pennsylvanian line, which runs between Pittsburgh and New York by way of Philadelphia.
5. Harrisburg was a key hub of the Underground Railroad.
Before the Civil War and the abolition of slavery in the U.S., Harrisburg served as an important stop along the Underground Railroad, the secret network of safe houses that helped enslaved people travel from slave states to free ones. Harrisburg was not only close to the Mason-Dixon line, which separated Pennsylvania from states that practiced slavery, but it also had a relatively strong population of free Black residents who were eager to assist runaways as they traveled north.
6. The most serious nuclear accident in U.S. history occurred just down the river from Harrisburg.
In 1979, the partial meltdown of a nuclear reactor at the Three Mile Island plant on the Susquehanna River near Harrisburg released radioactive gases and iodine into the environment and spurred the evacuation of more than 140,000 area residents. Cleanup of the ruined reactor took more than 14 years. While there has been no evidence of long-term health effects on residents, the accident is one of the most infamous human disasters in U.S. history and helped curb the growth of nuclear power. The Three Mile Island plant closed in 2019, but Microsoft plans to bring the remaining reactor back online to help power its data centers.
7. Harrisburg was the first municipality to be charged with securities fraud.
In 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission accused Harrisburg of misrepresenting the city’s financial situation in its budget plans and other public reports, marking the first time the SEC had ever charged a city with securities fraud. The case centered on statements made by city officials between 2009 and 2011 that attempted to downplay Harrisburg’s deteriorating finances—which were so bad that the city filed for bankruptcy in late 2011 (a move later dismissed under state law). The SEC’s charges didn’t include fines, so the action was largely symbolic, but it sent a clear message that cities can’t fudge their numbers. This is perhaps not one of the most flattering facts about Harrisburg, but it’s definitely an interesting one!
8. When President Theodore Roosevelt visited the Pennsylvania Capitol Building in 1906, he called it “the handsomest building I ever saw.”
“The Pennsylvania State Capitol is extremely pretty and probably the most ornate capitol building in the country” may be more opinion than fact, but it is a fact that President Theodore Roosevelt said our state’s capitol building was nice. And he had good reason! Built in the grand Beaux-Arts style, the capitol is decorated with Renaissance-inspired art and nods to Pennsylvania culture and history. Its massive green dome was painted in the style of Michelangelo’s St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, and the floor features a collection of nearly 400 Moravian mosaic tiles. With murals, paintings, real gold, and stained glass windows, the building is sometimes called “a palace of art.” You can see the drama for yourself—visits are always free, and guided tours are available.
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