Pennsylvania's capital moves from Lancaster to Harrisburg
- When
- October 1812
- Where
- Harrisburg, newly named state capital
In October 1812 the Pennsylvania legislature named Harrisburg the state capital, ending Lancaster's tenure and making the move permanent.
Lancaster had served as Pennsylvania's capital from 1799 to 1812, housing the state government at its Court House. In October 1812 Harrisburg was named the state capital, and the Lancaster sources confirm the capital was moved to Harrisburg that year, where it has remained since. The legislature selected the small town partly because of its strategic location. The supplied sources state only the month, not a specific day, so the legacy row's 12 October date cannot be confirmed.
Sources
- Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-20
- Lancaster, Pennsylvania Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-25
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.