Pennsylvania

IT'S A STATE THAT'S WITNESSED EPIC BATTLES. HERE, TROOPS FACED OFF IN THE LAST GREAT CLASH OF THE CIVIL WAR... A YOUNG HOLLYWOOD FIGHTER FAMOUSLY CLIMBED STEPS TO GLORY... AND FANS COME TO ROAR WITH THE LEGENDARY NITTANY LIONS. NO OTHER STATE HAS SAILED ON THE WINDS OF FREEDOM LIKE PENNSYLVANIA. A LAND SETTLED BY REFUGEES AND HARD-WORKING PIONEERS, WHERE AGE-OLD TRADITIONS STILL THRIVE. IT'S IN PENNSYLVANIA THAT ONE ENTREPRENEUR TURNED COWS' MILK AND COCOA INTO A BILLION-DOLLAR BRAND, AND WHERE OTHERS ARE RACING TO UNLOCK BURIED TREASURE TRAPPED MILES UNDERGROUND. BUT IT'S ALSO HERE THAT AMERICA CAME FACE-TO-FACE WITH THE THREAT OF NUCLEAR DISASTER, AND WHERE A 9/11 TRAGEDY IS STILL BEING REMEMBERED TODAY. AERIAL PENNSYLVANIA SOARS OVER TWO OF AMERICA'S GREAT CITIES... ONE FORGED BY LOFTY IDEALS, THE OTHER BY GLASS AND STEEL. IT'S PLAYED SUCH AN ESSENTIAL ROLE IN THE BIRTH OF AMERICA, IT'S KNOWN AS THE KEYSTONE STATE. THIS IS PENNSYLVANIA. HIGH OVER 21st CENTURY PHILADELPHIA, A 17th CENTURY GIANT STANDS GUARD. CAST IN SOLID BRONZE BY SCULPTOR ALEXANDER MILNE CALDER, AND STANDING 37 FEET HIGH, IT'S THE TALLEST STATUE ATOP ANY BUILDING IN THE WORLD. BUT THIS MAN WASN'T A PRESIDENT OR A MYTHICAL FIGURE. HE WAS AN ENGLISH QUAKER, PHILOSOPHER AND ENTREPRENEUR NAMED WILLIAM PENN. PENN WON HIS PERCH ATOP CITY HALL BY FOUNDING PHILADELPHIA AND PENNSYLVANIA IN 1681, AND BY GUARANTEEING THOSE WHO CAME TO SETTLE HERE FREEDOM OF RELIGION. FOR MANY AT THE TIME, THAT WAS AN IDEA UNKNOWN IN THEIR NATIVE LANDS. PENN'S "HOLY EXPERIMENT" DREW THOUSANDS OF SETTLERS AND INSPIRED AMERICA'S FOUNDING FATHERS A CENTURY LATER AS THEY OUTLINED THEIR NEW COUNTRY'S CONSTITUTION. FOR YEARS, OUT OF RESPECT FOR PENN, DEVELOPERS IN PHILADELPHIA DIDN'T BUILD ANY STRUCTURES THAT STOOD HIGHER THAN HIS STATUE. AT LEAST UNTIL 1987, WHEN THE SPIRE OF A NEW BUILDING, CALLED ONE LIBERTY PLACE SHOT UP 397 FEET HIGHER THAN PENN'S CAP. BUT SOON PHILADELPHIA SPORTS FANS WERE SCRATCHING THEIR HEADS. AFTER ONE LIBERTY PLACE WAS COMPLETED, NONE OF THE CITY'S FOUR PROFESSIONAL SPORTS TEAMS WON A SINGLE CHAMPIONSHIP FOR YEARS. LOCALS CALLED IT "BILLY PENN'S CURSE." LUCKILY, IT WASN'T TO LAST FOREVER. IN 2007, CONSTRUCTION WORKERS FINISHING A NEW, EVEN TALLER TOWER-- NOW HOME TO THE CABLE GIANT COMCAST-- FIXED A TINY REPLICA OF PENN'S STATUE TO ONE OF ITS HIGHEST BEAMS. THEY HOPED IT WOULD PLACATE PENN'S SPIRIT AND END THE CURSE BY PUTTING HIM BACK ON TOP. TO THE SURPRISE OF MANY, THE VERY NEXT YEAR THE PHILLIES STAGED A MAJOR COMEBACK AND WON THE 2008 WORLD SERIES. TODAY, MANY VISITORS WHO COME TO THE PHILLIES' HOME GAMES HERE AT CITIZENS BANK PARK AREN'T AWARE OF THE TALE OF HOW WORKERS ON THE COMCAST TOWER MAY HAVE CHANGED THE HISTORY OF THIS TEAM. WILLIAM PENN'S LEGACY STILL TOWERS OVER PHILADELPHIA. BUT THESE DAYS, THE CITY LOOKS QUITE DIFFERENT FROM THE UTOPIAN ONE PENN FIRST MAPPED OUT. HAVING SEEN THE DAMAGE OF LONDON'S GREAT FIRE OF 1666, HE PLANNED PHILADELPHIA WITH WIDE STREETS AND LARGE HOUSE LOTS TO HELP KEEP THE CITY SAFE. BUT IN THE END, MOST RESIDENTS CROWDED IN CLOSE TO THE PORTS INSTEAD. WHAT DO REMAIN ARE THE FIVE PUBLIC SQUARES PENN SKETCHED INTO HIS PLAN. HE CALLED THIS ONE NORTHWEST SQUARE. TODAY, IT'S KNOWN AS LOGAN CIRCLE. THE FOUNTAIN AT ITS CENTER WAS DESIGNED IN 1924 BY ALEXANDER STIRLING CALDER, THE SON OF THE GREAT SCULPTOR WHO HAD DESIGNED WILLIAM PENN'S STATUE ATOP CITY HALL. HERE, THE YOUNGER CALDER DESIGNED A FOUNTAIN WITH THREE ALLEGORICAL FIGURES OF PENNSYLVANIA'S GREAT WATERWAYS-- THE DELAWARE, SCHUYLKILL AND WISSAHICKON, ALL OF WHICH HAVE RECENTLY BEEN RESTORED. IN A CITY AS OLD AS PHILADELPHIA, THERE'S ALWAYS RESTORATION TO BE DONE. THIS SCAFFOLDING HIDES ONE OF THE MOST HISTORIC BUILDINGS IN AMERICA-- INDEPENDENCE HALL. IT WAS HERE THAT THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE WAS ADOPTED ON JULY 4, 1776. AND IT WAS HERE WHERE THE FAMOUS LIBERTY BELL FIRST RANG OUT FOUR DAYS LATER TO CALL CITIZENS TO HEAR THE DECLARATION READ. TODAY, THIS STEEPLE HOLDS THE CENTENNIAL BELL. THE ORIGINAL LIBERTY BELL HAS BEEN MOVED TO A NEW VISITOR CENTER, ANGLED AT THE CORNER OF THE GREEN DOWN BELOW. NINE OF THE 56 SIGNERS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE LIVED IN PENNSYLVANIA. THE HOUSE AND PRINTSHOP OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN ONCE STOOD JUST BLOCKS FROM INDEPENDENCE HALL. THEY WERE TORN DOWN IN THE 19th CENTURY. TODAY, WHITE STEEL STRUCTURES MARK THE SITE OF THE ORIGINAL HOUSE AND WORKSHOP WHERE FRANKLIN PRINTED HIS FAMOUS POOR RICHARD'S ALMANAC. OPENED IN 1976, THIS INNOVATIVE MEMORIAL WAS DESIGNED BY ARCHITECT ROBERT VENTURI. BENEATH IT LIES AN UNDERGROUND MUSEUM THAT CHRONICLES FRANKLIN'S LIFE AND WORK. WHEN THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE WAS ACTUALLY SIGNED, IN AUGUST 1776, AMERICA'S FREEDOM WAS ANYTHING BUT ASSURED. BY THE NEXT FALL, PHILADELPHIA WAS BACK UNDER THE CONTROL OF BRITISH TROOPS. GEORGE WASHINGTON TRIED TO RETAKE THE CITY, BUT HIS ARMY OF MILITIA WERE POORLY TRAINED, AND FAILED. THEY WERE FORCED TO RETREAT. ON DECEMBER 19, 1777, WASHINGTON AND HIS MEN ARRIVED HERE IN VALLEY FORGE, JUST 20 MILES AWAY FROM THE CITY, AND SET UP CAMP FOR THE WINTER. THE MEN HAILED FROM NEARLY ALL 13 COLONIES, BUT FEW HAD FORMAL MILITARY TRAINING. "IF THE ARMY DOES NOT GET HELP SOON," HE WARNED, "IN ALL LIKELIHOOD, IT WILL DISBAND." FOLLOWING HIS WITHDRAWAL, MANY HAD DOUBTS ABOUT WHETHER WASHINGTON WAS THE RIGHT MAN TO LEAD AMERICA'S BATTLE FOR FREEDOM. EACH YEAR, THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS COME TO VALLEY FORGE TO LEARN THE DRAMATIC STORY OF HOW WASHINGTON MANAGED TO WIN THE WAR. AS SOON AS HE ARRIVED, WASHINGTON SET UP HIS LIVING QUARTERS IN THE SECOND STORY OF THIS HOME, THEN OWNED BY A LOCAL MILLER NAMED ISAAC POTTS. BUT THE RANK AND FILE WERE LEFT TO BUILD THEIR OWN PRIMITIVE LOG HUTS. THE OUTLINES OF SOME OF THOSE ORIGINAL FOUNDATIONS ARE STILL VISIBLE TODAY. OTHERS HAVE BEEN RECONSTRUCTED. THOUSANDS OF THE MEN WERE DRESSED IN NOTHING MORE THAN TATTERS. MANY DIDN'T EVEN HAVE SHOES AND LEFT BLOODY FOOTPRINTS IN THE SNOW. WASHINGTON CALLED CONDITIONS AT VALLEY FORGE "TRULY DEPLORABLE." MORE THAN A QUARTER OF THE 11,000 SOLDIERS WOULD DIE OF DISEASES. AS THEY HEADED INTO THE WINTER, WASHINGTON KNEW THAT IF THE SURVIVORS DIDN'T GET HELP QUICKLY, THE WAR COULD BE LOST. BY JANUARY 1778, THE SURVIVING FORCES OF GEORGE WASHINGTON'S ARMY WERE STILL BUNKERED DOWN AT VALLEY FORGE AND LACKED THE MILITARY TRAINING THEY NEEDED TO OVERCOME BRITISH FORCES AND RETAKE PHILADELPHIA JUST 20 MILES TO THE SOUTHEAST. BUT ON FEBRUARY 23rd, A PRUSSIAN MILITARY OFFICER NAMED FRIEDRICH WILHELM VON STEUBEN ARRIVED IN THE CAMP AND OFFERED TO TRAIN THE TROOPS. WASHINGTON IMMEDIATELY PUT HIM TO WORK. ON THESE FIELDS, VON STEUBEN DRILLED THE MEN, TAUGHT THEM HOW TO RELOAD THEIR MUSKETS IN BATTLE, TO CHARGE WITH BAYONETS, AND HOW TO MARCH TOGETHER AS A UNIFIED FORCE. BY THE TIME WASHINGTON'S ARMY MARCHED OUT OF VALLEY FORGE ON JUNE 19, 1778, THEY WERE WELL-TRAINED AND READY TO FIGHT. WHEN BATTLE RESUMED, THE BRITISH WERE SHOCKED TO DISCOVER THAT THEY AND THE AMERICANS WERE NOW EVENLY MATCHED. THE WAR OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE CONTINUED ON FOR MORE THAN THREE YEARS. BY THE TIME THE BRITISH FINALLY ADMITTED DEFEAT, ON OCTOBER 19, 1781, FAITH IN GEORGE WASHINGTON'S LEADERSHIP HAD BEEN RESTORED. IN 1789, HE WAS SWORN IN IN NEW YORK CITY AS THE FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. A YEAR LATER, PHILADELPHIA BECAME THE NEW NATION'S TEMPORARY CAPITAL. IT WAS THE MOST COSMOPOLITAN CITY IN THE COUNTRY, HOME TO THOUSANDS OF FREE SLAVES, RELIGIOUS REFUGEES, AND GREAT AMERICAN THINKERS. FROM THE NORTH, THE MAJESTIC SCHUYLKILL RIVER WINDS ITS WAY INTO THE CITY. AS PHILADELPHIA EXPANDED IN THE 19th CENTURY, THE STUNNING NEW FAIRMOUNT WATERWORKS SOON ROSE ON THE BANKS OF THE RIVER. ITS DAM TRANSFORMED THE ONCE-TURBULENT SCHUYLKILL INTO A WIDE AND PEACEFUL RIVER THAT'S MADE PHILADELPHIA FAMOUS AS ONE OF THE WORLD'S PREMIER ROWING CENTERS. JUST ABOVE THE DAM STANDS HISTORIC BOATHOUSE ROW. EACH ROWING CLUB HERE IS A MEMBER OF THE SCHUYLKILL NAVY OF PHILADELPHIA, ONE OF THE OLDEST AMATEUR ATHLETIC ASSOCIATIONS IN AMERICA. TODAY, HIGH SCHOOL, COLLEGE, AND PROFESSIONAL ROWING CLUBS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY ARE COMPETING IN THE ANNUAL NAVY DAY REGATTA. THE FAIRMOUNT WATERWORKS CLOSED IN 1909, BUT A DECADE LATER, A NEW BUILDING FOR PHILADELPHIA'S MUSEUM OF ART ROSE NEXT DOOR ON THE SITE OF THE CITY'S FORMER RESERVOIR. IT HAS ONE OF THE GREATEST COLLECTIONS OF AMERICAN ART IN THE COUNTRY. BUT MANY KNOW THIS BUILDING NOT FOR ITS ART BUT FOR THE TOUGH FIGHTER WHO FAMOUSLY CLIMBED ITS STEPS. IT WAS HERE WHERE SYLVESTER STALLONE TRAINED AS THE CHARACTER ROCKY BALBOA IN THE OSCAR-WINNING 1976 FILM THAT MADE HIM A STAR. MANY COME TO PHILADELPHIA JUST TO CLIMB THESE STEPS INSPIRED BY ROCKY'S PERSEVERANCE AND HIS RAGS-TO-RICHES STORY. ROCKY CAME FROM PHILADELPHIA'S TOUGH STREETS, BUT THEY WEREN'T JUST TOUGH IN THE 1970s. PHILADELPHIA'S CRIMINAL HISTORY IS AS COLORFUL AS THE PUBLIC MURALS ON MANY OF ITS BUILDINGS TODAY. IN THE YEARS AFTER AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE, PHILADELPHIA'S JAILS SWELLED. SO IN 1822, THE CITY COMMISSIONED A NEW PRISON DESIGNED BY BRITISH ARCHITECT JOHN HAVILAND. THIS IS EASTERN STATE PENITENTIARY, FORMER HOME OF NOTORIOUS CRIMINALS LIKE BANK ROBBER WILLY SUTTON AND MOBSTER AL CAPONE AND WHERE ACTORS BRUCE WILLIS AND BRAD PITT SHOT THE FILM "12 MONKEYS." THE UNIQUE STAR-SHAPED DESIGN OF EASTERN STATE WAS INSPIRED BY THE ENLIGHTENMENT IDEALS OF PHILADELPHIA'S FOUNDERS. THE IDEA WAS NOT JUST TO PUNISH ITS INMATES, BUT TO ENCOURAGE THEM TO REPENT. AFTER ITS OPENING IN 1829, PRISONERS WERE KEPT IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT 24 HOURS A DAY, SO THEY COULD REFLECT ON THEIR CRIMES. LOCKED UP IN INNOVATIVE CELLBLOCKS THAT RADIATED LIKE SPOKES FROM A CENTRAL SURVEILLANCE ROTUNDA IN CELLS WITH NO WINDOWS, ONLY SKYLIGHTS DESIGNED TO SERVE AS THE "EYES OF GOD," AROUND THE CLOCK SURVEILLANCE FROM HEAVEN TO ENCOURAGE TRUE REPENTANCE. THIS INNOVATIVE APPROACH MADE EASTERN STATE FAMOUS AS THE FIRST PENITENTIARY. WHEN CHARLES DICKENS TOURED THE PRISON, HE LABELED ITS STRICT SYSTEM "HOPELESS, CRUEL AND WRONG." BUT FRENCH HISTORIAN ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLE BELIEVED THERE COULD BE NO MORE POWERFUL PROGRAM FOR REFORM. HE WASN'T ALONE. EASTERN STATE BECAME THE MODEL FOR HUNDREDS OF OTHER PRISONS AROUND THE WORLD, IN RUSSIA, CHINA, AND COUNTRIES ACROSS THE BRITISH EMPIRE. TODAY THE PRISON'S LEGENDARY CELL BLOCKS OFFER VISITORS A UNIQUE GLIMPSE OF LIFE FOR SOME IN OLD PHILADELPHIA. BUT IN OTHER PARTS OF TOWN, THE 19th CENTURY CAN SEEM LIKE ANCIENT HISTORY, ESPECIALLY HERE, AT THE INTERSECTION OF 9th STREET AND PASSYUNK. TWO FAMOUS CHEESESTEAK SANDWICH SHOPS HAVE BEEN FACING OFF ON THIS CORNER FOR MORE THAN 60 YEARS, EACH VYING FOR THE TITLE OF "THE CHEESESTEAK KING." PAT'S FANS CLAIM HE INVENTED THE STEAK SANDWICH IN 1933. GENO'S INSIST THAT OWNER JOEY VENTO WAS THE ONE WHO ADDED THE CHEESE IN 1966. THE ARGUMENT HAS BEEN BUBBLING OVER INTO THIS INTERSECTION EVER SINCE. LUCKILY, PENNSYLVANIANS LOVE RIVALRY, AND NOT JUST IN PHILADELPHIA. IN PENNSYLVANIA, THERE MAY BE JUST ONE THING THAT SHOUTS "AUTUMN" LOUDER THAN THE STATE'S GORGEOUS FALL LEAVES... THE FANS AT A PENN STATE FOOTBALL GAME. PENN STATE IS AMONG THE TOP 15 PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES IN AMERICA, BUT IT MAY BE MOST FAMOUS FOR ITS FOOTBALL TEAM. THE NITTANY LIONS HAVE BEEN HITTING THE FIELD FOR PENN STATE AND REVVING UP THE FANS SINCE 1887. TODAY, THEY PLAY THEIR HOME GAMES HERE, IN BEAVER STADIUM. WHEN IT'S FULL, THERE ARE ENOUGH PEOPLE IN THE STADIUM ALONE TO MAKE IT PENNSYLVANIA'S THIRD BIGGEST CITY. BEAVER STADIUM HAS 107,000 SEATS IN ALL. ONLY ONE OTHER VENUE IN NORTH AMERICA TOPS IT-- THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN'S BIG HOUSE. BUT PENN STATE FANS INSIST THEIR STADIUM HAS SOMETHING MICHIGAN'S DOESN'T-- AN ACOUSTIC QUIRK THAT AMPLIFIES CROWD NOISE FROM THE UPPER DECKS LIKE A MEGAPHONE. WHEN 20,000 PENN STATE FANS CHEER FROM THE STUDENT SECTION AT THE SOUTHERN END OF THE STADIUM, THEIR VOICES SHOOT ACROSS THE FIELD AND CAN MAKE IT TOUGH FOR THE OPPOSING TEAM TO CALL OUT PLAYS. THE NITTANY LIONS HAVE HAD SEVEN UNDEFEATED SEASONS SINCE 1887. THEY WON 27 OF 44 BOWL GAMES AND TWO UNDISPUTED NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS. FIVE OF ITS GRADUATES HAVE EARNED PLACES IN THE PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME-- AN AMAZING LEGACY THAT'S DUE MOSTLY TO THE WORK OF ONE MAN-- JOE PATERNO. PATERNO SERVED AS HEAD COACH HERE FOR NEARLY 50 YEARS. HE MADE SURE THAT HIS PLAYERS PERFORMED WELL ON THE FIELD, AND IN THE CLASSROOM, TOO, A RARITY AMONG TOP COLLEGE FOOTBALL TEAMS. "SUCCESS WITH HONOR" WAS PATERNO'S MOTTO. BUT IN 2011, HIS LEGACY WAS TARNISHED WHEN A FORMER ASSISTANT COACH WAS ACCUSED OF SEXUALLY ABUSING CHILDREN. THE UNIVERSITY'S PRESIDENT AND COACH PATERNO WERE BLAMED FOR NOT RESPONDING FORCEFULLY ENOUGH AND BOTH WERE COMPELLED TO STEP DOWN. PATERNO DIED JUST A FEW MONTHS LATER FROM LUNG CANCER. PENN STATE STARTED AS AN AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL IN 1855. ITS HOMETOWN, CALLED STATE COLLEGE, LIES IN THE VERY CENTER OF PENNSYLVANIA, IN THE HEART OF THE ALLEGHENY MOUNTAINS, PART OF THE APPALACHIAN RANGE THAT SPLITS THE STATE IN TWO. LONG BEFORE HIGHWAYS CUT THROUGH THESE MOUNTAINS, PEOPLE HAD TO CROSS ON FOOT, HORSEBACK OR CART. GOODS THAT ARRIVED AT THE MOUNTAINS BY CANAL HAD TO BE CARRIED UP AND OVER THEM ON INCLINE RAILWAYS OR WAGONS. IN THE 1820s, PENNSYLVANIA BEGAN TO LOSE VALUABLE TRADE TO NEW YORK'S ERIE CANAL. IF THE STATE WAS GOING TO PROSPER, IT NEEDED ITS OWN HIGH-SPEED LINK TO THE WEST. THAT CHALLENGE LED TO THE CREATION OF ONE OF PENNSYLVANIA'S GREAT ENGINEERING MARVELS. SINCE NORMAL TRAIN ENGINES COULDN'T MAKE IT STRAIGHT UP THE ALLEGHENIES' STEEP FLANKS, ENGINEERS HAD TO COME UP WITH ANOTHER SOLUTION. IN 1851, 450 WORKERS FROM COUNTY CORK, IRELAND, DESCENDED ON THIS CORNER OF PENNSYLVANIA. THEY LABORED FOR THREE YEARS USING MOSTLY JUST PICKS, SHOVELS AND GUNPOWDER TO CARVE LEDGES FOR TRAIN TRACKS THAT ROSE GRADUALLY UP TWO OPPOSING ALLEGHENY MOUNTAINS. WITH THE RUBBLE, THEY THEN FILLED IN THE MIDDLE TO CREATE A GIANT CURVED EMBANKMENT WHICH FINALLY ALLOWED TRAINS TO CROSS THE MOUNTAINS. THEIR WORK HAS BEEN KNOWN EVER SINCE AS HORSESHOE CURVE. RAILWAY BUFFS STILL COME TODAY HOPING TO CATCH THREE TRAINS AT ONCE PASSING ON THE THREE SETS OF TRACKS THAT WIND THEIR WAY AROUND THE CURVE. WHEN IT FIRST OPENED FOR TRAFFIC IN 1854, IT WAS HAILED AS A WONDER OF A NEW AGE. THE MAIN LINE OF THE FAMED PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD WAS FINALLY COMPLETE. BEFORE, IT HAD TAKEN THREE AND A HALF DAYS FOR GOODS TO JOURNEY ACROSS THE STATE. NOW, IN JUST 13 HOURS, A SINGLE TRAIN COULD TRAVEL FROM PHILADELPHIA TO PENNSYLVANIA'S GROWING INDUSTRIAL POWERHOUSE IN THE WEST... THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH! ITS LOCATION, WHERE THE ALLEGHENY AND MONONGAHELA RIVERS MEET AND CREATE THE MIGHTY OHIO, EARNED PITTSBURGH THE TITLE "THE GATEWAY TO THE WEST." LOCALS REFER TO THIS CONFLUENCE AS "THE POINT." IT WAS FROM THIS SITE THAT LEWIS AND CLARK SET OFF ON THEIR JOURNEY WEST IN 1803, ESTABLISHING PITTSBURGH'S IMPORTANT ROLE IN AMERICA'S WESTWARD EXPANSION. THE CITY'S FIRST MAJOR INDUSTRY WAS GLASS PRODUCTION, THANKS TO A PLENTIFUL SUPPLY OF SAND AND LIMESTONE NEARBY. TODAY, THE MOST DISTINCTIVE TOWER ON THE PITTSBURGH SKYLINE IS THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE PITTSBURGH PLATE GLASS COMPANY, FOUNDED MORE THAN A CENTURY AGO IN 1883. DESIGNED BY LEGENDARY ARCHITECTS PHILIP JOHNSON AND JOHN BURGEE IN THE EARLY 1980s, THE BUILDING WAS QUICKLY HAILED AS A LANDMARK OF A NEW POSTMODERN STYLE. A DAZZLING MODERN CATHEDRAL TO GLASS, SHEATHED IN A MILLION SQUARE FEET OF IT. ON PITTSBURGH'S NORTH SIDE STANDS THE HEADQUARTERS OF A VERY DIFFERENT KIND OF COMPANY THAT'S HELPED PUT THIS CITY ON THE MAP. HENRY JOHN HEINZ STARTED SELLING HORSERADISH IN 1869, BUT WENT BANKRUPT SIX YEARS LATER. HE TRIED AGAIN, THIS TIME MARKETING A SLIGHTLY MORE PALATABLE PRODUCT FOR AMERICANS-- KETCHUP, WHICH IS NOW SOLD ON SIX CONTINENTS. PART OF HIS ORIGINAL FACTORY HAS BEEN TURNED INTO HIGH-END APARTMENTS. BUT ULTIMATELY, IT WASN'T GLASS OR KETCHUP THAT TRANSFORMED PITTSBURGH INTO ONE OF AMERICA'S GREAT INDUSTRIAL CITIES. IT WAS STEEL. STEEL THAT BUILT MANY OF THE CITY'S BRIDGES. PITTSBURGH IS THE BRIDGE CAPITAL OF THE WORLD. IT HAS 446 BRIDGES OF ALL KINDS AND SHAPES, MORE THAN THE CITY OF VENICE. THIS ONE WAS NAMED FOR ONE OF PITTSBURGH'S NATIVE SONS, ARTIST ANDY WARHOL. STEEL IS EVERYWHERE IN PITTSBURGH. IT'S EVEN THE NAMESAKE OF THE CITY'S FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM. THE PITTSBURGH STEELERS PLAY HERE AT HEINZ FIELD, WHICH WAS DESIGNED TO SHOWCASE PITTSBURGH STEEL. FOR FOOTBALL FANS, THIS CITY IS SACRED GROUND. IT WAS HERE IN 1892 THAT THE FIRST PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL GAME WAS EVER PLAYED BETWEEN THE ALLEGHENY ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION AND THE PITTSBURGH ATHLETIC CLUB. TO LEARN THE STORY OF HOW PITTSBURGH BECAME THE STEEL CAPITAL OF THE WORLD REQUIRES A TRIP JUST OUTSIDE OF TOWN TO BRADDOCK, HOME TO ONE AMERICA'S MOST HISTORIC WORKING STEEL PLANTS. EVERY DAY THIS FACILITY, OWNED BY U.S. STEEL, TURNS OUT THE STEEL USED TO MAKE REFRIGERATORS, WASHING MACHINES, AND CARS. IT WAS FIRST BUILT BY A SCOTTISH-BORN ENTREPRENEUR NAMED ANDREW CARNEGIE AFTER HE LEARNED OF A NEW TECHNIQUE FOR MAKING STEEL DURING A TRIP TO ENGLAND. EYEING A POTENTIAL LUCRATIVE MARKET IN THE U.S. FOR THE NEW BESSEMER STEEL, CARNEGIE BUILT THE PLANT AND NAMED IT AFTER EDGAR THOMPSON, THE HEAD OF THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD. CARNEGIE NEEDED THE RAILROAD TO DELIVER COAL TO MAKE HIS STEEL, AND THE RAILROAD NEEDED CARNEGIE'S STEEL TO MAKE THE RAILS ITS TRAINS RAN ON. WHEN THE PLANT OPENED IN 1875, THE FIRST ORDER CARNEGIE RECEIVED WAS FOR 2,000 STEEL RAILS FOR THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD. CARNEGIE'S VISIONARY INVESTMENT MADE HIM UNBELIEVABLY RICH. HE SOLD HIS COMPANY FOR $480 MILLION, WHICH WOULD BE WORTH ABOUT $12.5 BILLION TODAY. CARNEGIE USED MUCH OF THIS FORTUNE TO FUND MORE THAN 2,500 PUBLIC LIBRARIES AND BECOME ONE OF AMERICA'S LEGENDARY PHILANTHROPISTS. BUT THERE IS A DARK SIDE TO STEEL'S LEGACY IN PENNSYLVANIA-- ONE THAT RESIDENTS OF THE TOWN OF DONORA DISCOVERED ON A TERRIFYING MORNING IN 1948. BACK THEN, NO ONE SEEMED TO GIVE THE FUMES THAT WAFTED FROM THE TWO U.S. STEEL PLANTS IN TOWN MUCH THOUGHT. BUT ON THE NIGHT OF OCTOBER 26, 1948, UNUSUAL ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS TRAPPED THE DISCHARGE FROM THE MILLS' SMOKE STACKS OVER THE TOWN. THE PEOPLE OF DONORA AWOKE TO WHAT WOULD BE REMEMBERED AS "THE DEATH FOG," A CLOUD OF ACRID YELLOW SMOG THAT SAT ON THE TOWN FOR SIX DAYS. BY THE TIME IT FINALLY CLEARED, 20 OF DONORA'S RESIDENTS WERE DEAD, ANOTHER 50 WERE DYING. HUNDREDS MORE WERE LEFT WITH DAMAGED LUNGS. AFTERWARDS, SOME CALLED FOR U.S. STEEL'S BOARD OF DIRECTORS TO BE SENT TO JAIL. BUT THE COMPANY INSISTED THAT THE SMOG WAS AN ACT OF GOD AND DENIED RESPONSIBILITY. IT WAS FORCED TO PAY JUST $250,000 TO SETTLE A CLASS ACTION SUIT BROUGHT BY 80 PLAINTIFFS. AFTER THE LAST OF DONORA'S STEEL PLANTS FINALLY CLOSED IN 1966, PEOPLE BREATHED A LOT EASIER. BUT THAT FRESH AIR CAME AT A PRICE. GOOD PAYING JOBS WENT WITH THE MILLS, AND NOT JUST IN DONORA. BEGINNING IN THE 1960s, PENNSYLVANIA'S STEEL INDUSTRY BEGAN TO DOWNSIZE. LOCAL IRON ORE DEPOSITS WERE RUNNING OUT AND NEW STEEL TECHNOLOGY IN GERMANY AND JAPAN LEFT PENNSYLVANIA STEEL MILLS OUTMODED. ONE BY ONE, MANY OF THE STATE'S LEGENDARY MILLS BEGAN TO SHUT DOWN. BUT THE BONES OF THIS HISTORIC PLANT, IN THE EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA TOWN OF BETHLEHEM, ARE BEING PRESERVED. THIS PLANT PROVIDED THE STEEL FOR MANY ICONIC AMERICAN STRUCTURES, FROM NEW YORK'S CHRYSLER BUILDING TO SAN FRANCISCO'S GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE. NOW, PART OF THE COMPLEX IS BEING REDESIGNED TO HOUSE A FUTURE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF INDUSTRIAL HISTORY, AN AFFILIATE OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. FOR DECADES, IT THRIVED AS A MAINSTAY OF PENNSYLVANIA'S ECONOMY, NOW, MUCH OF THE PLANT IS GONE. THE SMOKESTACKS OF MANY OF PENNSYLVANIA'S FORMER STEEL PLANTS MAY BE QUIET TODAY, BUT NOT THOSE IN THIS GIANT FACTORY THAT'S BEEN SATISFYING AMERICA'S SWEET TOOTH FOR MORE THAN 100 YEARS. IN THE EARLY 1900s, AN AMBITIOUS YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR CHOSE PENNSYLVANIA'S RURAL DERRY TOWNSHIP FOR THE SITE OF HIS NEW FACTORY. HE KNEW DERRY HAD THE KEY INGREDIENT HE NEEDED FOR HIS BUSINESS TO THRIVE-- MILK--LOTS OF MILK-- FROM LOTS OF COWS. THE BUSINESSMAN'S NAME WAS MILTON HERSHEY. BACK THEN, MILK CHOCOLATE WAS AN EXOTIC TREAT, IMPORTED FROM SWITZERLAND, WHERE THE RECIPE WAS A CLOSELY GUARDED SECRET. BUT THAT DIDN'T STOP HERSHEY. AFTER WEEKS OF TRIAL AND ERROR, HE FINALLY CAME UP WITH HIS OWN FORMULA AND BECAME THE FIRST AMERICAN TO MANUFACTURE MILK CHOCOLATE. TODAY HIS CHOCOLATE FACTORY LOOKS MORE LIKE A STEEL MILL. THAT'S BECAUSE HIS LITTLE START-UP IS NOW A GLOBAL COLOSSUS THAT RAKES IN BILLIONS EACH YEAR FROM SALES IN 90 COUNTRIES AND HAS MADE HERSHEY, PENNSYLVANIA, A MECCA FOR CHOCOHOLICS. ESPECIALLY AFTER THE DEVELOPMENT OF HERSHEY PARK IN THE 1970s. WITH DOZENS OF RIDES AND ATTRACTIONS, IT MAY BE THE ONLY CHOCOLATE-FLAVORED THEME PARK IN THE WORLD THANKS IN LARGE PART TO THE MILK FROM PENNSYLVANIA'S COWS. BUT MILK CHOCOLATE ISN'T THE ONLY POPULAR PRODUCT TO BE MADE FROM THE BOUNTY OF PENNSYLVANIA'S RICH FARMLAND. LOCALLY PRODUCED GRAIN WAS A PRINCIPLE INGREDIENT IN YUENGLING BEER WHEN A FAMILY OF GERMAN IMMIGRANTS STARTED MAKING IT HERE IN POTTSVILLE IN 1829. TODAY, YUENGLING IS STILL FAMILY RUN IN THE COMPANY'S ORIGINAL BREWERY. IT'S BEEN REPORTED THAT YUENGLING IS PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BEER, WHICH MAY BE WHY HE SENT CANADA'S PRIME MINISTER A CASE OF IT AFTER LOSING A FRIENDLY WAGER OVER A HOCKEY GAME. GERMAN BREWMASTERS ARE JUST ONE EXAMPLE OF THE WIDE ARRAY OF EUROPEAN SETTLERS THAT LANDED IN PENNSYLVANIA, THANKS TO WILLIAM PENN'S PROMISE OF INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM. TODAY, DESCENDANTS OF SOME OF THOSE SETTLERS STILL LIVE AND WORK MUCH AS THEIR FORBEARERS DID, HERE IN LANCASTER COUNTY'S PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH COMMUNITY. THOUGH THAT NICKNAME IS A LITTLE MISLEADING. THEIR ANCESTORS WEREN'T DUTCH. THEY WERE SWISS AND GERMAN, OR "DEUTSCH." PERSECUTED FOR THEIR FAITH AT HOME, THE AMISH BEGAN COMING TO PENNSYLVANIA IN THE 1720s IN SEARCH OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM. THEY SETTLED INTO A RUSTIC WAY OF LIFE HERE GUIDED BY A STRICT SET OF TRADITIONS KNOWN AS THE ORDNUNG, OR "ORDER." IT LAID OUT THE PRINCIPLES OF THEIR RELIGION AND DICTATED EVERY ASPECT OF THEIR AUSTERE LIFESTYLE. MANY OF THEIR DESCENDANTS STILL CAREFULLY FOLLOW THE ORDNUNG. BUT DURING AN ADOLESCENT PERIOD CALLED RUMSPRINGA, YOUNG AMISH ARE ALLOWED TO BREAK WITH ITS GUIDELINES AND EXPERIENCE THE MODERN WORLD TO DECIDE FOR THEMSELVES WHETHER THEY WANT TO MAKE A FINAL COMMITMENT TO THEIR FAITH. THOSE WHO DO WILL SPEND THEIR LIVES RAISING THEIR FAMILIES IN SOLID BUT PLAIN HOUSES WITH FEW MODERN CONVENIENCES, DOING THEIR HOUSEWORK AND LAUNDRY BY HAND, AND TILLING THEIR FIELDS JUST AS THE FIRST AMISH DID, WITHOUT TRACTORS OR MOTORIZED HARVESTERS, WHILE TENDING SOME OF THE MOST PRODUCTIVE FARMLAND IN THE U.S., LAND THAT CONTINUES TO ALLOW THIS COMMUNITY TO THRIVE. TODAY THERE ARE OVER 30,000 AMISH IN LANCASTER COUNTY ALONE. BUT 200 YEARS OF INBREEDING HAVE CAUSED A WIDE RANGE OF GENETIC IRREGULARITIES IN THEIR COMMUNITY. THAT'S WHY GENE-HUNTERS FLOCK TO THIS CORNER OF PENNSYLVANIA TO STUDY AMISH DNA AND HELP FIND CURES FOR CHILDREN AND OTHERS WHO'VE BEEN AFFECTED. EVEN WITH THEIR EXPANDING NUMBERS, IT'S GETTING HARDER FOR THE AMISH TO KEEP THE MODERN WORLD AT BAY. AS MORE AND MORE PEOPLE FILL NEW SUBDIVISIONS THAT WERE ONCE FARMS, SOME WONDER IF THE AMISH WAY OF LIFE WILL BE ABLE TO SURVIVE. THE SURVIVAL OF THE UNITED STATES HAS ALSO BEEN AT STAKE IN PENNSYLVANIA. IN JULY 1863, TWO ARMIES FACED OFF ON A PIECE OF FARMLAND THAT'S COME TO BE KNOWN SIMPLY AS GETTYSBURG. THE BATTLE THAT FOLLOWED WAS THE DEADLIEST OF THE CIVIL WAR, ONE OF ONLY TWO FOUGHT ON NORTHERN TERRITORY, AND CERTAINLY ONE OF THE MOST HISTORIC. FOR CIVIL WAR RE-ENACTORS, GETTYSBURG IS ESPECIALLY SACRED GROUND. THESE MEN, WITH THEIR PERIOD-PERFECT MUSKETS AND BLUE FLANNEL COATS ARE MEMBERS OF THE 150th NEW YORK INFANTRY. BACK ON JULY 2, 1863, MEMBERS OF THIS SAME REGIMENT, MADE UP OF VOLUNTEER FARMERS AND MILL WORKERS, ARRIVED IN GETTYSBURG. IT WAS TO BE THEIR FIRST BATTLE. BY THEN, THE WAR BETWEEN THE STATES HAD ALREADY BEEN DEVASTATING THE SOUTH FOR MORE THAN TWO YEARS. CONFEDERATE GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE, STATIONED IN VIRGINIA, HAD DECIDED IT WAS TIME FOR THE NORTH TO FEEL SOME OF THAT PAIN. SO IN LATE JUNE, HE SPLIT HIS MEN INTO GROUPS AND SENT THEM ALL NORTH TO PENNSYLVANIA. TO THE EAST, UNION FORCES ACTING AS A BUFFER BETWEEN THE CONFEDERATES AND THE U.S. CAPITAL IN WASHINGTON, DC, WERE HOT ON THEIR HEELS. FINALLY ON JULY 1st, LEE'S UNITS BEGAN TO CONVERGE ON THE FEDERAL FORCES IN THE TOWN OF GETTYSBURG. THE BATTLE THAT FOLLOWED RAGED FOR THREE DAYS. ON THE AFTERNOON OF JULY 2nd, IT ARRIVED HERE, AT THE ROSE FAMILY'S FRONT DOOR. THEIR SMALL FARM SOON BECAME THE CENTER OF A NATION-DEFINING CONFLICT. AND IT WAS IN THEIR WHEAT FIELD THAT A KEY MOMENT IN THE BATTLE UNFOLDED. FOR TWO BLOODY HOURS, 20,000 MEN CHARGED BACK AND FORTH ACROSS THIS LAND AS EACH SIDE TRIED TO CLAIM IT AS ITS OWN. THEIR BRUTAL HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT LEFT 6,000 OF THEM DEAD OR WOUNDED. SURVIVORS WOULD CALL THE WHEAT FIELD A "WHIRLPOOL OF DEATH." MORE DIED HERE, AT A NEARBY HILL ALREADY KNOWN AS DEVIL'S DEN. THE COMMANDING COLONEL OF THE 150th NEW YORK INFANTRY LATER DESCRIBED HIS TROOP'S BRAVERY. "MY MEN RALLIED TO THE FRONT IN DOUBLE-QUICK TIME. NOT A MAN FALTERED OR DISPLAYED THE LEAST COWARDICE. THIS REGIMENT WAS NEVER BEFORE UNDER FIRE, AND FOR THE COOLNESS AND COURAGE DISPLAYED ON THIS OCCASION, THE MEN ARE ENTITLED TO THE HIGHEST PRAISE." THE UNION ARMY WAS TOO POWERFUL FOR THE CONFEDERATES. ON JULY 4th, INDEPENDENCE DAY, LEE AND HIS REBELS RETREATED BACK INTO VIRGINIA. THE TIDE OF THE WAR HAD BEEN TURNED IN THE UNION'S FAVOR FOR GOOD. THE SOUTH WOULD NEVER AGAIN THREATEN THE NORTH. BUT THE NORTH'S VICTORY HAD COME AT A TERRIBLE COST. MORE THAN 23,000 UNION SOLDIERS, AND ALMOST 28,000 CONFEDERATES, MISSING, WOUNDED OR DEAD. IN THE DAYS AFTER THE BATTLE, THOUSANDS OF BODIES WERE HURRIED INTO SHALLOW, TEMPORARY GRAVES. LATER, PART OF THE BATTLEFIELD WAS MADE INTO THE GETTYSBURG NATIONAL CEMETERY. IT WAS HERE ON NOVEMBER 19, 1863, THAT PRESIDENT ABRAHAM LINCOLN GAVE HIS LEGENDARY GETTYSBURG ADDRESS. "WE HERE HIGHLY RESOLVE," LINCOLN DECLARED, "THAT THESE DEAD SHALL NOT HAVE DIED IN VAIN, THAT THIS NATION, UNDER GOD, SHALL HAVE A NEW BIRTH OF FREEDOM." WORDS THAT UNDOUBTEDLY WOULD HAVE MADE WILLIAM PENN PROUD. LINCOLN ALSO STATED THAT "NOTHING COULD CONSECRATE THIS GROUND MORE THAN THE BATTLE ITSELF." BUT OVER THE NEXT FEW DECADES, GETTYSBURG GREW CROWDED WITH MEMORIALS TO EACH GENERAL, STATE OR REGIMENT THAT FOUGHT HERE-- FOR THE NORTH, THAT IS. NO CONFEDERATE MEMORIALS WERE ALLOWED UNTIL 1895. ONE OF THE LARGEST MONUMENTS AT GETTYSBURG, STANDING 110 FEET TALL, IS ONE TO PENNSYLVANIA'S FALLEN-- AN APPROPRIATE HONOR FOR THE LOCAL MEN WHO BORE THE BRUNT OF THE BATTLE, AND SUFFERED THE GREATEST LOSSES. TODAY AMERICANS STILL RECALL THE SACRIFICES THEIR ANCESTORS MADE HERE, AND HONOR THE HEROES WHO FELL AT GETTYSBURG UNDER THE RAIN OF RIFLE FIRE AND CANNONS. ON THIS SATURDAY IN PENNSYLVANIA, PEOPLE AREN'T JUST COMMEMORATING OLD BATTLES-- THEY'RE ALSO PREPARING FOR NEW ONES, HERE, AT FORT INDIAN TOWN GAP. THE FORT OPENED AS A BASE FOR THE PENNSYLVANIA NATIONAL GUARD IN 1933. OVER 100,000 TROOPS TRAIN HERE EACH YEAR FROM EVERY BRANCH OF THE MILITARY. MUCH OF THAT TRAINING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN TWO APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS IN THE GAP THAT GAVE THE FORT ITS NAME. THE COVER THESE MOUNTAINS PROVIDE MAKES THIS LOCATION PERFECT FOR LIVE FIRE TRAINING. AT RANGE 35, NEWLY MINTED SOLDIERS LEARN HOW TO HANDLE M-240 AND M-249 MACHINE GUNS USING LIVE ROUNDS. THIS LEAFY CORNER OF PENNSYLVANIA MAY SEEM FAR AWAY FROM THE BATTLES THAT HAVE DRAWN MANY U.S. TROOPS OVERSEAS, BUT PENNSYLVANIA IS NO STRANGER TO THE THREATS OF 21st CENTURY TERRORISM OR ITS TRAGEDIES. TRAGEDIES THAT ARE STILL BEING REMEMBERED BY THIS POWERFUL MEMORIAL ETCHED INTO A CORNFIELD IN WESTMORELAND COUNTY. ON SEPTEMBER 11, 2001, TWO OF THE FOUR PLANES HIJACKED BY TERRORISTS HIT MANHATTAN. THE THIRD STRUCK THE PENTAGON. THE FOURTH, UNITED FLIGHT 93, CRASHED HERE, IN THIS PENNSYLVANIA FIELD, AS ITS PASSENGERS TRIED TO RETAKE THE PLANE. EVERYONE ON BOARD WAS KILLED. TODAY A SIMPLE SIGN AND A TEMPORARY MEMORIAL RECALL THEIR SACRIFICE. WORK ON A MORE PERMANENT SITE IS UNDER WAY. CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA IS KNOWN FOR ITS ROLLING HILLS AND FIELDS OF CORN LIKE THESE. IT WAS ON THE WESTERN EDGE OF THIS FARMING BELT THAT LEGISLATORS DECIDED TO PLACE THE PENNSYLVANIA CAPITAL IN 1812. HARRISBURG HAS HELD THAT TITLE EVER SINCE. IT BEAT OUT PHILADELPHIA PRECISELY BECAUSE OF ITS CENTRAL LOCATION. WESTBOUND PIONEERS TRAVELING UP THE SUSQUEHANNA RIVER HELPED THE NEW CITY TO PROSPER. ITS POPULATION HAD CLIMBED TO OVER 50,000 BY THE TIME PENNSYLVANIA ARCHITECT JOSEPH HUSTON WAS CHOSEN TO DESIGN A NEW CAPITOL BUILDING IN 1902. HUSTON BEAT OUT EIGHT OTHER ARCHITECTS IN A CONTEST FOR THE JOB, WINNING THE JURORS OVER WITH HIS ELEGANT AMERICAN RENAISSANCE DESIGN. AS HIS CAPITOL ROSE ABOVE HARRISBURG, HE WON PRAISE FOR ITS GRAND SCALE AND THE GLISTENING, GREEN CERAMIC DOME HE'D MODELED ON ST. PETER'S IN ROME. AT ITS DEDICATION IN 1906, PRESIDENT THEODORE ROOSEVELT CALLED IT THE HANDSOMEST BUILDING HE HAD EVER SEEN. BUT AN UGLY TRUTH LURKED BEHIND ITS BEAUTIFUL FACADE. THE PROJECT HAD GONE THREE TIMES OVER BUDGET. WHEN HUSTON AND HIS ASSOCIATES WERE CHARGED WITH PADDING THE BOOKS, THEY INSISTED THAT THE GOVERNMENT'S OWN BYZANTINE PROCUREMENT POLICIES-- AND NOT THEY-- WERE TO BLAME. THE JUDGE DIDN'T BUY IT. HUSTON AND FOUR OTHERS WERE FOUND GUILTY OF FRAUD AND SENT TO EASTERN STATE PENITENTIARY. TODAY THEIR CRIMES ARE NEARLY FORGOTTEN, WHILE THE BEAUTIFUL CAPITOL THEY CREATED STILL STANDS OVER HARRISBURG, AND STILL INVOKES AWE. ON MARCH 30, 1979, PANIC RACED THROUGH THE HALLS OF THE STATE HOUSE. THE BLAST OF AN AIR-RAID SIREN RIPPED THROUGH THE CITY. ODDLY, LIFE SEEMED TO BE IMITATING ART. A NEW HOLLYWOOD THRILLER CALLED "THE CHINA SYNDROME," STARRING JACK LEMMON, JANE FONDA AND MICHAEL DOUGLAS HAD JUST BEEN RELEASED. IT TOLD A TERRIFYING STORY OF AN IMPENDING MELTDOWN AT A NUCLEAR PLANT. BUT NOW OUTSIDE HARRISBURG IT LOOKED LIKE IT WAS HAPPENING FOR REAL. JUST DOWNRIVER LIES THE THREE MILE ISLAND NUCLEAR POWER PLANT. JUST DAYS AFTER "THE CHINA SYNDROME" WAS RELEASED, A VALVE IN THE COOLING SYSTEM AT THREE MILE ISLAND MALFUNCTIONED. MANY FEARED THAT A TOTAL MELTDOWN WAS IMMINENT, JUST AS IT HAD BEEN IN THE FILM. IF THAT HAPPENED, MUCH OF CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA COULD HAVE BEEN COVERED WITH A RADIOACTIVE CLOUD. GOVERNOR *** THORNBURGH URGED PREGNANT WOMEN, AND CHILDREN, TO LEAVE THE CITY. 140,000 PEOPLE SOON FLED HARRISBURG. THE ENTIRE NATION HELD ITS BREATH AS ENGINEERS AT THE PLANT STRUGGLED TO GET THE SITUATION UNDER CONTROL. FORTUNATELY, THE WORST NEVER CAME TO PASS. A PUMP AT THREE MILE ISLAND WAS RESTORED AND THE HEAT IN THE REACTOR WAS FINALLY BROUGHT UNDER CONTROL. THE CRISIS WAS OVER, BUT AMERICA'S DEBATE OVER NUCLEAR ENERGY WAS JUST BEGINNING. WITH SO MUCH INDUSTRY IN PENNSYLVANIA, FINDING NEW AFFORDABLE ENERGY SOURCES HAS ALWAYS BEEN KEY TO THE STATE'S ECONOMY. IN THE 19th CENTURY, IT WAS COAL, IN THE 20th, NUCLEAR POWER ARRIVED, AND IN THE 21st CENTURY, IT'S ALL OF THE ABOVE, PLUS WIND. BUT THESE DAYS, A NEW ENERGY GOLD RUSH IS SWEEPING ACROSS THIS STATE, WITH THE PROMISE OF TURNING BURIED STONE INTO BILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF TREASURE. IN 2007, A SCIENTIST NAMED TERRY ENGELDER WORKING HERE AT PENN STATE MADE A DISCOVERY THAT WOULD ROCK AMERICA'S ENERGY INDUSTRY FOREVER. AT THE TIME, RESEARCHERS ALREADY KNEW THAT TRACES OF NATURAL GAS LAY DEEP UNDER PENNSYLVANIA. BUT ENGELDER'S ANALYSIS REVEALED THERE WAS MUCH MORE GAS DOWN THERE THAN ANYONE HAD EXPECTED. HIS ESTIMATE--ENOUGH TO POWER THE ENTIRE COUNTRY FOR 20 YEARS. HE WASN'T THE FIRST IN THIS STATE TO STUMBLE ACROSS BURIED TREASURE. IN 1790, A HUNTER NAMED NECHO ALLEN DISCOVERED A FORTUNE OF COAL OUTSIDE THE TOWN OF POTTSVILLE WHEN HE LIT A CAMPFIRE AND ACCIDENTALLY SET A VEIN OF THE BLACK ROCK ABLAZE. THAT COAL IS STILL BEING MINED TODAY, AND STILL PUTTING FOOD ON THE TABLE IN SMALL PATCH TOWNS LIKE THIS ONE CALLED PORT CARBON. PATCH TOWNS WERE ORIGINALLY BUILT BY MINING COMPANIES TO HOUSE MINERS CLOSE TO THE PATCHES OF COAL WHERE THEY WORKED. COAL IS STILL BIG BUSINESS HERE IN EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA. THERE ARE THOUGHT TO BE SEVEN BILLION TONS OF MINABLE ANTHRACITE COAL STILL UNDERGROUND WORTH BILLIONS OF DOLLARS. BUT THE GAS ENGELDER FOUND COULD BE WORTH MUCH MORE. IT LIES EMBEDDED IN A VAST DEPOSIT OF BLACK STONE CALLED THE MARCELLUS SHALE THAT STRETCHES UNDER PENNSYLVANIA AND SEVERAL OTHER EASTERN STATES. SINCE ENGELDER WENT PUBLIC WITH HIS FINDINGS IN 2008, ENERGY COMPANIES HAVE DRILLED MORE THAN 4,000 WELLS ACROSS THE STATE, INCLUDING NEARLY 500 HERE, IN WASHINGTON COUNTY. THE GAS IN THE MARCELLUS SHALE IS LITERALLY TRAPPED IN STONE. TO GET IT, SHAFTS MUST BE DRILLED DOWN THOUSANDS OF FEET. THEN A MIXTURE OF CHEMICALS, SAND AND WATER IS PUMPED DEEP INTO THE ROCK UNDER HIGH PRESSURE TO CRACK THE SHALE AND RELEASE THE GAS. IT'S A PROCESS CALLED HYDRAULIC FRACTURING, OR FRACKING. UNDER THESE WASHINGTON COUNTY FIELDS LIES A VAST HIDDEN MAZE OF GAS PIPELINES. FROM TIME TO TIME, THEY POP TO THE SURFACE AT COMPRESSOR STATIONS, WHICH KEEP THE GAS FLOWING THROUGH THE SYSTEM. MUCH OF THE NATURAL GAS FROM ACROSS SOUTHWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA ENDS UP HERE, A FACILITY KNOWN AS THE HOUSTON PLANT. TO SEPARATE OUT THE CLEAN NATURAL GAS, IT HAS TO BE COOLED TO MINUS 120 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT. THE REST IS THEN SENT THROUGH A SERIES OF SUPER-HEATED COLUMNS TO EXTRACT VALUABLE ETHANE, PROPANE AND BUTANE. THE LEFTOVER WASTE GAS IS BURNED AWAY. EVERY DAY ENOUGH NATURAL GAS IS BEING PROCESSED HERE TO MEET THE NEEDS OF MORE THAN 1.8 MILLION HOUSEHOLDS. SINCE FRACKING HAPPENS UNDERGROUND, NATURAL GAS EXTRACTION CAN SEEM HARMLESS AND MANY PENNSYLVANIANS HAVE BEEN HAPPY TO GET THE FEES FROM LEASING THEIR LAND. BUT ENVIRONMENTALISTS HAVE BEGUN SOUNDING ALARMS ABOUT WHAT MIGHT ACTUALLY BE HAPPENING UNDERGROUND. THEY SAY FRACKING'S HIGH-PRESSURE PUMPING COULD DESTABILIZE THE LAND AND LEAVE BEHIND CHEMICALS THAT CAN POISON DRINKING WATER OR LEACH INTO PENNSYLVANIA'S RIVERS, LIKE THE SUSQUEHANNA. OVER THE LAST TWO CENTURIES, COAL, STEEL, AND OTHER MAJOR INDUSTRIES HAVE CAUSED WIDESPREAD ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE IN THE STATE. MANY ARE FEARFUL THAT FRACKING IS JUST ADDING TO THAT LEGACY. THE GAS COMPANIES DISAGREE. IN 2011, CONGRESS ORDERED A STUDY OF THE POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF FRACKING, BUT THE INVESTIGATION WILL TAKE YEARS. IN PLACES WHERE INDUSTRY HAS LEFT PENNSYLVANIA UNTOUCHED, THIS STATE IS AS WILD AND BEAUTIFUL AS IT'S BEEN FOR MILLENNIA. 70 MILES NORTH OF PHILADELPHIA, THE DELAWARE RIVER SPARKLES AS IT FLOWS THROUGH THE FAMED DELAWARE WATER GAP. THE GAP IS THE CENTERPIECE OF A 70,000-ACRE NATIONAL RECREATION AREA. THE MOUNTAINS THAT FRAME THIS STUNNING SITE BEGAN FORMING 420 MILLION YEARS AGO, WHEN DEPOSITS OF QUARTZ AND SHALE WERE FORCED UPWARD BY THE COLLISION OF TWO TECTONIC PLATES. TIME, RAIN, GLACIERS, AND THE DELAWARE ITSELF THEN CARVED THE GAP THROUGH THE ROCK. BEYOND IT, THE RIVER FLOWS ALONG AN ANCIENT COURSE SOUTH TO PHILADELPHIA. IT WAS ON THIS RIVER THAT WILLIAM PENN FIRST SET EYES ON THE LAND THAT WOULD BECOME PENNSYLVANIA. LAND OVER WHICH HIS PROMISE OF FREEDOM STILL ECHOES TODAY... FROM PHILADELPHIA'S STREETS, TO THE POINT WHERE AMERICA'S PIONEERS HEADED WEST... AND ALL ACROSS ITS SMALL TOWNS WHERE TRADITION THRIVES AND THE NITTANY LIONS ROAR. IT IS IN THIS STATE WHERE MANY COME TO REMEMBER... ...AND OTHERS WILL NEVER FORGET. THIS IS THE LAND OF LIBERTY. THIS IS PENNSYLVANIA.