Timeline

1719 - John Harris arrives and builds trading post.
1720 – Indians attempt to burn Harris at the stake.
1733 – Land surveyed for John Harris, official patent given.
1753 – Charter granted for ferry operation
1766 – John Harris Mansion (later the Harris/Cameron Mansion) erected
1785 – Harrisburg laid out by John Harris, Jr. and William Maclay.
1786 – Harris’ Ferry becomes Louisburg.
1787 – First church erected at Chestnut & 3rd Streets.
1791 – Louisburg renamed Harrisburg.
1791 – Harrisburg made a borough by act of legislation.
1792 – William Maclay Mansion erected
1794 – George Washington visits Harrisburg on his way to the Whiskey Rebellion.
1807 – First Market Houses built in Market Square
1810 – Harrisburg voted new state capital by legislature.
1812 – Camelback Bridge built.
1822 – Old Capitol Building Completed
1825 – Race riots occur over capture and trail of a runaway slave.
1826 – Canal reaches Harrisburg.
1837 - Harrisburg’s first railroad station built
1838 – Great fire: – twin conflagrations at Market & 4th and 4th & Blackberry.
1839 – National Whig Convention held at Zion Lutheran Church; resulted in nomination of William Henry Harrison and John Tyler
1841 – Original stone portion of the Old Waterworks, on Front Street, built
1843 – Author Charles Dickens stays at the Eagle Hotel in Harrisburg.
1845 – Harrisburg Cemetery chartered
1851 – State Lunatic Asylum opened after Dorothea Dix visits Harrisburg.
1854 - YMCA founded.
1854 – Patriot newspaper founded.
1860 - Abraham Lincoln visits Harrisburg; Old Dauphin County Courthouse, on Market Street, completed
1861 – Camp Curtin opens as training camp for Pennsylvania soldiers.
1863 – Civil War threatens to reach Harrisburg. – Defenses put up on Fort Washington.
1864 – Stone building of Broad Street Market completed after war interruptions – -
1865 – Thousands of Harrisburg residents pay respects to Lincoln’s funeral train.
1868 – City fire department created.
1872 – Reservoir put on Prospect Hill (now Reservoir Park.)
1873 – Harrisburg Hospital chartered.
1874 – Present State Arsenal on Herr Street built
1882 – Wednesday Club organized, the first local cultural group.
1887 – Original portion of present train station built
1889 – Harrisburg Public Library chartered.; Market Square markets demolished
1890 – Walnut Street Bridge (The People’s Bridge) completed
1893 – State Library and Museum Building erected.
1897 – Fire destroys State Capitol building. – Legislature moved to temporary quarters at Grace Methodist Church on State Street.
1899 – Reily Fire Station (PA National Fire Museum) Built
1900 – Myra Lloyd Dock addresses Board of Trade about condition of city.
1901 – Harrisburg League for Municipal Improvements organized.
1902 – City Island Park opened.
1903 – Original Two-Lane Market Street Bridge Opens
1903 – Harrisburg Athletics and Harrisburg Giants (Negro League) organized.
1905 – Bijou Theatre opens, first motion picture theater in Harrisburg.
1906 – New capitol building dedicated by President Theodore Roosevelt.
1907 – Old Opera House at Third and Walnut Streets destroyed by fire; Saint Patrick’s Cathedral completed
1909 – Present Mulberry Street bridge completed
1910 – Bellevue Park commences development
1912 – Destruction of 8th Ward begun.
1916 – Riverfront wall and steps finished; Civic Club of Harrisburg takes over the Fleming House at Front and North Streets
1918 – Penn Harris Hotel opened next to Capitol Complex.
1922 – First radio station goes on air, WPRC (now WKBO.)
1924 – Sunken Gardens created on the site of a portion of olf Hardscrabble
1925 – Italian Park and Lake created.
1926 – John Harris and William Penn High Schools Completed; original portion of Polyclinic Hospital built
1929 – Zemobo Mosque and the Payne-Shoemaker Building constructed
1930 – Harrisburg-York Airport dedicated (now Capital City Airport.); State Street Bridge dedicated; Harrisburger Hotel, now the Fulton Bank Building, opens
1931 – State Farm Show Complex opens
1943 – Dauphin County Courthouse Completed
1948 – Old Dauphin County Courthouse on Market Street demolished
1951 – First urban renewal project begun.
1959 - The Obeslisk at Second and State Streets dismantled and relocated
1960 – Time capsule buried at foot of Locust Street in River Park by Harrisburg Centennial Committee (to be dug up in 2060.)
1964 – Old Federal Square Post Office demolished for new Federal Building
1965 – Holiday Inn Town, now the Crowne Plaza, built
1968 – Present Governor’s Residence completed
1969 – New City Charter Adopted establishing separate Legislative and Administrative Branches; Walnut Street Garage constructed
1971 – Hope Fire Station (now The Firehouse Restaurant) built
1972 – Agnes Flood. – Shipoke redeveloped afterward.
1973 – Penn Harris Hotel imploded inadvertently destroying neighboring buildings
1975 – First historic districts created.
1976 – Phase I of Strawberry Square erected
1977 – 333 Market Street built
1981 – City Government Center Commences Construction
1982 – Mayor Stephen R. Reed innaugurated;Old City Hall apartments developed
1985 – Train station restored as Harrisburg Transportation Center.
1987 - Riverside Stadium Completed. – City Island transformed.
1987 – Pride of the Susquehanna Riverboat launched.
1988 – Phase II of Strawberry Square completed
1990 – Hilton Harrisburg opens.
1991 – Improvements to Reservoir Park launched.
1994 – Over $1.2 billion in new investment in Harrisburg between 1982 and 1994.
1996 – Penn National Insurance Tower constructed
1999 – Mayor Reed takes over Harrisburg School District, appoints Board of Control.
1999 – Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts opens.
2001 – The National Civil War Museum completed.
2002 – Restaurant Row initiative launched.
2004 – SciTech High Building completed.
2006 – Harrisburg Area Community College Midtown campus launched.
2007 – South Street Parking Garage completed, Olde Uptown Townhouses built
2008 – Harrisburg University of Science and Technology constructed