New Modes of Transportation

Home Education National History Day 2016 Resources For The Theme New Modes of Transportation

New Modes of Transportation

Click each name below to find a list of sources available from HSP's collection. All of these sources can be found by using Discover (online catalog) and the Digital Library

Here are some helpful terms and topics you can search using these tools :

railroads, transportation, Philadelphia & Reading, Germantown & Norristown, balloons, Blanchard, 18th century, Aero Club, aeronautics, John Wise, Arthur Atherholt, 19th century, 20th century

New to using HSP's Catalog & Research Tools?  Check out our Researching the Collection Online for Students page for information on how to use Discover (online catalog) and the Digital Library.

 

Pennsylvania Railroads

-The Germantown & Norristown Railroad line was the first built in Philadelphia in 1832.

-In 1833, construction on the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad began, connecting the city to anthracite coal mines in the western part of the state.

-In 1870, the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad leased the Germantown & Norristown Railroad lines, along with several other lines, creating a large network of rail lines under their operation.

-Railroad lines have left a permanent mark on the city, with buildings and communities forming around their tracks and stations.

Blanchard's Balloon

-Jean-Pierre Blanchard, a French inventor, led some of the earliest flights by balloon in the world.

-On January 9, 1793, Blanchard took the first balloon flight in America from the Walnut Street Jail yard in Philadelphia.

-Blanchard kept a journal with details on his flight.

-Check out our other NHD topic, Other Early Aeronauts, for information on other balloonists and aeronautic explorers from Pennsylvania.

Other Early Aeronauts

-Aeronautics involves the science of flying and navigating through the air.

-Some of the earliest travel by flight in America occurred in balloons, before the invention of the air plane

-After Blanchard's initial balloon flight, John Wise attempted to fly by balloon in 1835, once in Philadelphia, and another time near Lancaster.

-Arthur Atherholt, also an avid balloonist, founded and led the Aero Club of Pennsylvania, an organization for "educating the public on matters of aeronautics."