Statehood The 2nd state Dec. 12, 1787 Captial Harrisburg State Motto Virtue, liberty, independence Origin of State Name The name means "Penn's woodland" and honors Admiral William Penn, whose son, William Penn, founded the colony. State Nickname The Keystone State The term was probably first used in reference to the state's political importance. Interesting Facts The nation's first circulating library, the Library Company of Philadelphia, was founded in 1731 by Benjamin Franklin and others. In 1869 a Philadelphia garment worker, Uriah S. Stephens, helped found one of the first major national labor unions, the Knights of Labor. Each February national attention is focused on Punxsutawney, where according to lore the emergence of a groundhog from its burrow predicts the number of weeks remaining of winter.