Do pencils come from Pennsylvania?
   
“Most of the ordinary slate pencils come from Pencil-vania” was printed in the Pittsfield (MA) Sun on December 27, 1876. “Pencils come from Pennsylvania” was printed in the Pittsburgh (PA) Post on September 19, 1916.
 
     
27 December 1876, Pittsfield (MA) Sun, “Everythings,” pg. 4, col. 2:
Most of the ordinary slate pencils come from Pencil-vania.
   
Newspapers.com
19 September 1916, Pittsburgh (PA) Post, “On the Pittsburgh Stage,” pg. 9, col. 4:
Albert husked through ditties, pattered vacuously about “pencils come from Pennsylvania,” then rose to a whistling climax.
   
Newspapers.com
28 November 1916, Stockton (CA) Daily Evening Record, “CHARLES BERTRAND SAYS AGE DOESN’T GO BY INCHES,” pg. 12, col. 1 comic strip:
SAY SON—HERE’S A RIDDLE—IF INK COMES FROM INCUBATORS—WHERE DO PENCILS COME FROM?
WHY FROM PENNSYLVANIA OF COURSE!
 
Newspapers.com
11 April 1927, San Pedro (CA) Daily Pilot, “Just a Few Lines” by “Speed” Evans, pg. 3, col. 3:
Auntie: Where do lead pencils come from?—Ima Sapp.
A: Pennsylvania.
 
Wikipedia: Music of Rhode Island
“Rhode Island Is Famous for You”
“Rhode Island Is Famous for You” was originally written by Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz in 1948, for Inside U.S.A., a 1940s Broadway show about the U.S. States. The number was performed by Estelle Loring, who was awarded a Theater World Award for the piece, and Jack Haley.
(“Pencils come from Pennsylvania” is in the lyrics.—ed.)
 
18 April 1948, Chicago (IL) Sun-Times, “Hot Plate” by Studs Terkel, pg. 18X, col. 5:
We point the boniest finger at “Rhode Island Is Famous for You.” Dig this, please:
 
“The wheatfields are the sweet fields of Nebraska,
Pencils come from Pennsylvania, vests from Vest Virginia,
You, you come from Rhode Island.
Little old Rhode Island is famous for you.”
         
Google Books
Biggest Riddle Book in the World
By Joseph Rosenbloom
Illustrations by Joyce Behr
New York, NY: Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.
1976
Pg. 45:
Where do pencils come from?
From Pennsylvania.
 
Twitter 
Mike Boylan
@mboylan
Via @HappyHarryClown “Where do pencils come from?”........“Pencil-vania.”  Har har har. =D
5:18 PM · Apr 14, 2009·Twitter Web Client
       
Google Books
July 2012, Boys’ Life, “Think & Grin,” pg. 51, col. 1:
Kyle: Which state are pencils from?
Jake: Which one?
Kyle: Pencil-Vania!
Jalen Kyrie Perry, Ama, La.
 
Reddit—Jokes
Posted by u/magemax August 20, 2015
Where do pencils come from ?
Pennsylvania
 
Reddit—Cheesyjokes
Posted by u/Anonymous_User777 July 2, 2017
Where do pencils come from?
Pencil-vanyia
   
Google Books
Jokes for Mom:
More than 300 Eye-Rolling Wisecracks and Snarky Jokes about Work, Kids, Wine, Men, and More
By Jo King
New York, NY: Simon and Schuster
2019
Pg. ?:
WHERE ARE THE BEST PENCILS MADE?
Pencil-vania.
 
Reddit—Dadjokes
Posted by u/jtfiction July 22, 2020
Where do pencils come from?
Pennsylvania