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Kingston - Books 15 – IMG_7125

Author: Jeffrey R, Nelson

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Illustrated; B & W Photos

Contents

Acknowledgments…..6

Introduction…..7

1. The Resplendent Erie…..9 2. The Young Gladiators of Erie…..29 3. A Walk through Erie…..37 4. Erie’s Greatest Resource…..49 5. Erie’s Community of Faith…..61 6. Going to School in Erie…..67 7. Erie at Work…..73 8. In Service to the Community…..81 9. Erie’s Industries…..93 10. The Waterfront of Erie…..105 11. Shopping in Erie…..111 12. Our Hometown Erie…..117

**Introduction**

Erie is best described as a municipality of contrast. In sum and substance it is a large metropolitan city that possesses the semblance of a small village containing the history of a nation. Today, its hard to imagine our city as a frontier settlement in 1795, in what was then Native American territory. The name Erie, comes from the Erie Nation, a non-aligned Iroquoian-speaking people. They lived here in peace until the Great Beaver War from 1653 to 1657. During this war the Erie nation was crushed by the Seneca and Mohawk warriors of the Iroquois Confederacy. The Europeans called our area Presque Isle. French coureurs de bois used Presque Isle as a place to trap and trade furs. In 1753 Coureur Martin was sent to Presque Isle th build a fort and settlement. By 1757 it was home to 356 citizens and Allies of new France.

The military importance of Presque Isle (Erie0 cannot be overstated. Retaining the natural habitat and the relatively agreeable portage to the Ohio region made this a logistically significant district. The French lost the district in 1761 to the English, who constructed a blockhouse and garrisoned Presque Isle. It was at this point that Erie developed into a truly American outpost garrisoned by troops of the Royal American regiment containing men of the American colonies. In June of 1763 a pitched battle was fought at Presque Isle between these troops and First Nation people following Deleware Chief Pontiac. During this three-day battle the garrison was forced to surrender, though a few lucky survivors escaped to Detroit. The Presque Isl region remained part of England’s colonial holdings until after the American Revolution.

Paperback 128 pages ISBN: 0-7524-0903-4