Editing Erie Triangle (section)

==Background==
[[File:NYPAcorner.jpg|thumb|Cornerstone of the Erie Triangle]]
Most of northwestern Pennsylvania came under American control following the 1784 [[Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1784)|Treaty of Fort Stanwix]] with the [[Iroquois Confederacy]]. The following year, a boundary dispute between [[New York (state)|New York]] and Pennsylvania erupted. Following a surveying effort by [[Andrew Ellicott]] representing the Pennsylvanians and [[James Clinton]] and [[Simeon DeWitt]] representing the New Yorkers, the western edge of New York was set at {{convert|20 |miles}} east of Pennsylvania's [[Presque Isle State Park|Presque Isle]], a small peninsula off the coast of [[Erie, Pennsylvania]]. However, this left an unclaimed area, which came to be known as the '''Triangle Lands'''.<ref>https://www.goerie.com/story/lifestyle/columns/2023/03/17/erie-pa-history-presque-isle-erie-triangle-waterford-turnpike/70009079007/</ref>

The Triangle Lands problematically fell under neither New York's nor Pennsylvania's charter, while both [[Connecticut]] and [[Massachusetts]] also spoke up with claims derived from their original colonial "sea to shining sea" grants.<ref>https://www.eriereader.com/article/the-story-of-the-erie-triangle</ref>

Of the three competing claimants (Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Massachusetts), only Pennsylvania was landlocked, except for a very tiny strip of coastline {{convert|3.75|miles}} in length. Following some pressure from the new [[Federal government of the United States|federal government]], all three states surrendered their claims to that entity, which then, in 1792, sold the final rights to the {{convert|202,187 |acres }} of land to Pennsylvania for $151,640.25 (75¢/acre).{{efn|{{inflation|US|151640.25|fmt=eq|1792}} (${{inflation|US|.75|1792|r=2}} per acre){{inflation/fn|US}}}}{{sfn|Bates|1884|p=196, 200}} The [[Iroquois|Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy]] released the land to Pennsylvania in January 1789 for payments of $2,000 from Pennsylvania{{efn|{{inflation|US|2000|1789|fmt=eq}}{{inflation/fn|US}}}} and $1,200 from the federal government.{{efn|{{inflation|US|1200|1789|fmt=eq}}{{inflation/fn|US}}}}{{sfn|Bates|1884|p=199}} The [[Seneca Nation]] separately settled land claims against Pennsylvania in February 1791 for $800.<ref name="sex">{{Cite book |last=Whitman |first=Benjamin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G0FaAAAAYAAJ |title=Nelson's Biographical Dictionary and Historical Reference Book of Erie County, Pennsylvania |volume=I |pages=103–104 |year=1987 |publisher=Don Mills |orig-year=1896, S. B. Nelson}}</ref>{{sfn|Bates|1884|p=199}}{{efn|{{inflation|US|800|1791|fmt=eq}}{{inflation/fn|US}}}} This was accomplished without the approval of the federal government and in violation of the [[Contract Clause]]<ref>{{wikisource-inline|Constitution_of_the_United_States_of_America#Section_10|Article One of the United States Constitution, Article I, section 10, clause 1}}</ref> of the [[United States Constitution]] which reserved the right to make treaties to the federal government.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Linklater |first=Andro |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KRUEoHGUNvAC&q=Andro+Linklater,+%22The+Fabric+of+America%22 |title=The Fabric of America |date=May 26, 2009 |page=86 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=978-0-8027-1850-1}}</ref> With this access to the Great Lakes, Pennsylvania was persuaded to accept the western boundary [[Beginning Point of the U.S. Public Land Survey|established]] by the [[Surveyor General of the Northwest Territory]] following passage of the [[Northwest Ordinance]] in 1787.{{cn|date=April 2022}}

The Erie Triangle is often described as a "tab" or "chimney" attached to the [[List of U.S. state nicknames|Keystone State]]. The water off the coast of the Erie Triangle is known as the ''Graveyard 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 the [[Battle of Lake Erie]] during the [[War of 1812]]. The battle itself took place in the [[Lake Erie Islands]], at the western end of the lake, off the coast of [[Ohio]].{{cn|date=April 2022}}