Created on March 12, 1800, from part of Allegheny County and named for Lake Erie, which in turn had been named for the Indians of the same name. It was attached to Crawford County until 1803. Erie, the county seat, was so named because it was a port on Lake Erie. Laid out in 1795, it was incorporated as a borough on May 29, 1805 and as a city on April 14, 1851. The county adopted a home rule charter in November 1976.

     Pennsylvania purchased this territory from the United States government in 1792. The city of Erie began to grow during the War of 1812. It was the point from which Commodore Perry’s fleet sailed to fight the Battle of Lake Erie in 1813. Abundant running water led to the development of many sawmills and gristmills. There was a brief oil boom in the 1860s, and in the middle of the century Erie was the freshwater fishing capital of America. The Erie Extension Canal was opened in 1844, and railroads were introduced in 1864. As a Great Lakes port, Erie has declined since 1900. Once important for manufacturing such items as General Electric’s locomotives and Hammermill Paper, Erie still turns out electrical products. Grapes grow well along the lakeshore; a significant wine making industry developed. Erie ranks fifth among the counties in value of crops and tenth in value of livestock product sales. Farms cover 36 percent of the landed area.