 | This articlepossibly containsoriginal research. Pleaseimprove it byverifying the claims made and addinginline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed.(May 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Erie Triangle | |
|---|---|
| Nickname: The Triangle Lands | |
 Black line indicates southern border of Erie Triangle within Erie County | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Pennsylvania |
| County | Erie |
| Largest city | Erie, Pennsylvania |
| Purchased | 1792 |
| Area | |
• Total | 300 sq mi (780 km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
TheErie Triangle is a roughly 300-square-mile (780-square-kilometre) tract of land that was the subject of several competingcolonial-era claims. It was eventually acquired by the U.S. federal government and sold toPennsylvania so that the state would have access to a freshwater port onLake Erie. The Erie Triangle land makes up a large portion of present-dayErie County, Pennsylvania.
Most of northwestern Pennsylvania came under American control following the 1784Treaty of Fort Stanwix with theIroquois Confederacy. The following year, a boundary dispute betweenNew York and Pennsylvania erupted. Following a surveying effort byAndrew Ellicott representing the Pennsylvanians andJames Clinton andSimeon DeWitt representing the New Yorkers, the western edge of New York was set at 20 miles (32 km) east of Pennsylvania'sPresque Isle, a small peninsula off the coast ofErie, Pennsylvania. However, this left an unclaimed area, which came to be known as theTriangle Lands.[1]
The Triangle Lands problematically fell under neither New York's nor Pennsylvania's charter, while bothConnecticut andMassachusetts also spoke up with claims derived from their original colonial "sea to shining sea" grants.[2]
Of the three competing claimants (Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Massachusetts), only Pennsylvania was landlocked, except for a very tiny strip of coastline 3.75 miles (6.04 km) in length. Following some pressure from the newfederal government, all three states surrendered their claims to that entity, which then, in 1792, sold the final rights to the 202,187 acres (81,822 ha) of land to Pennsylvania for $151,640.25 (75¢/acre).[a][4] TheSix Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy released the land to Pennsylvania in January 1789 for payments of $2,000 from Pennsylvania[b] and $1,200 from the federal government.[c][5] TheSeneca Nation separately settled land claims against Pennsylvania in February 1791 for $800.[6][5][d] This was accomplished without the approval of the federal government and in violation of theContract Clause[7] of theUnited States Constitution which reserved the right to make treaties to the federal government.[8] With this access to the Great Lakes, Pennsylvania was persuaded to accept the western boundaryestablished by theSurveyor General of the Northwest Territory following passage of theNorthwest Ordinance in 1787.[citation needed]
The Erie Triangle is often described as a "tab" or "chimney" attached to theKeystone State. The water off the coast of the Erie Triangle is known as theGraveyard of Lake Erie because of the large number of shipwrecks that occurred in the area's stormy waters in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was also the site of a preliminary battle between forces that participated in theBattle of Lake Erie during theWar of 1812. The battle itself took place in theLake Erie Islands, at the western end of the lake, off the coast ofOhio.[citation needed]
Works related toArticle One of the United States Constitution, Article I, section 10, clause 1 at Wikisource