Editing Lancaster, Pennsylvania (section)

===19th century===
{{See also|Pennsylvania in the American Civil War}}
Lancaster was the capital of Pennsylvania from 1799 to 1812, with the state capital located at the Court House (built 1784 and demolished 1852 and now site of Soldiers & Sailors Monument at Penn Square).<ref name="unchartedlancaster.com"/> In 1812, the capital was moved to [[Harrisburg, Pennsylvania|Harrisburg]], where it has remained since.<ref name="capital" />

U.S. census reports show that, from 1800 to 1900, Lancaster ranked among the nation's top 100 most populous urban areas.

In 1851, the current [[Lancaster County Prison]], known locally as Lancaster Castle, was built in the city but shares no visual similarities with the [[Lancaster Castle]] in England. The prison remains in use, and was used for public hangings until 1912.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/lcprison/cwp/view.asp?a=705&q=521776|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090118203232/http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/lcprison/cwp/view.asp?a=705&q=521776|url-status=dead|title=Lancaster County Prison overview|archivedate=January 18, 2009}}</ref>  It replaced a 1737 structure on a [[Fulton Opera House|different site]].

The first long-distance paved road in the United States was the former [[Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike]], which connected the cities of Lancaster and Philadelphia. Opened in 1795, the turnpike was paved with stone the whole way, and overlaid with gravel. The sixty-two-mile turnpike cost more than $450,000, a staggering sum for the time. The route followed what is now [[Pennsylvania Route 340]] (also called the "Old Philadelphia Pike") from Lancaster to Thorndale and [[U.S. Route 30 Business (Downingtown, Pennsylvania)|U.S. Route 30 Business]] and [[U.S. Route 30 in Pennsylvania|U.S. Route 30]] from Thorndale to Philadelphia.

The city of Lancaster was home to several important figures in American history. [[Wheatland (Lancaster)|Wheatland]], the estate of [[James Buchanan]], the fifteenth President of the United States, is one of Lancaster's most popular attractions. [[Thaddeus Stevens]], considered among the most powerful members of the [[United States House of Representatives]], lived in Lancaster as an attorney. Stevens gained notoriety as a [[Radical Republicans|Radical Republican]] and for his [[Abolitionism in the United States|abolitionism]]. The [[Fulton Opera House]] in the city was named for Lancaster native [[Robert Fulton]], a renaissance man who created the first fully functional steamboat. All of these individuals have had local schools named after them.

After the [[American Revolutionary War]], Lancaster became an iron-foundry center. Two of the most common products needed by pioneers to settle the Frontier were manufactured in Lancaster: the [[Conestoga wagon]] and the [[Long rifle|Pennsylvania long rifle]]. The Conestoga wagon was named after the [[Conestoga River]], which runs through the city.<ref name="britannica.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/328979/Lancaster|title=Lancaster - Pennsylvania, United States|access-date=1 July 2016}}</ref>  The innovative gunsmith [[William Henry (gunsmith)|William Henry]] lived in Lancaster and was a U.S. Congressman and leader during and after the American Revolution.

In 1803, [[Meriwether Lewis]] visited Lancaster to be educated in survey methods by the well-known surveyor [[Andrew Ellicott]]. During his visit, Lewis learned to plot latitude and longitude as part of his overall training needed to lead the [[Lewis and Clark Expedition]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nps.gov/archive/jeff/LewisClark2/Timelines/1803/1803Timeline.htm|title=Lewis and Clark Expo timeline}}</ref>

In 1879, [[Franklin Winfield Woolworth]] opened his first successful [[Variety store|five and dime]] store in the city of Lancaster, the [[F. W. Woolworth Company]].<ref name="britannica.com"/>