History of Williamsport, Pennsylvania facts for kids

Williamsport became a borough on March 1, 1806, and a city on January 15, 1866. This city is famous as the original home of Little League Baseball. It started in 1939 with just three teams.

In the late 1800s, Williamsport was known as "The Lumber Capital of the World." This was because of its huge lumber industry. The national newspaper Grit also started here in 1882. At one time, Williamsport had more millionaires per person than almost anywhere else in the world! The local high school, Williamsport Area High School, even uses "The Millionaires" as its mascot.

Who Founded Williamsport?

The main founders of Williamsport were Michael Ross and William Hepburn. Both men were very important in creating Lycoming County and making Williamsport its main town, called the county seat.

Michael Ross: A Smart Surveyor

Michael Ross was born on July 12, 1759, and had Scottish roots. In 1772, he and his mother lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Michael became an indentured servant to Samuel Wallis, who was known as the "Land King" of the West Branch Susquehanna River Valley. Wallis owned a lot of land in Muncy Township.

Wallis brought Michael Ross and his mother to Muncy Township. There, Ross learned to be a surveyor's helper. Michael Ross must have impressed Wallis. Wallis gave Ross 109 acres (0.4 km²) of land and a good letter of recommendation. Ross quickly became a successful surveyor and farmer. He used his earnings to buy 285 acres (1.2 km²) of land along the West Branch Susquehanna River. This land was between Loyalsock and Lycoming Creeks. It was first called "Virginia" but later became Williamsport, the county seat of Lycoming County.

William Hepburn: A Brave Colonel

William Hepburn was born in County Donegal, Ireland, in 1753. He moved to the Thirteen Colonies around 1773 or 1774. Hepburn lived near Sunbury for a short time. Then he moved up the West Branch Susquehanna River to what is now Duboistown. He worked there helping to dig a water channel for a mill. Hepburn also joined the local militia.

During the American Revolution, the West Branch Valley was attacked by Loyalist and Native American forces. These attacks were known as the Big Runaway in 1778 and the Little Runaway in 1779. Hepburn became a colonel and was the leader at Fort Muncy. This was Samuel Wallis's strong home in Muncy Township. Hepburn reportedly ordered Robert Covenhoven and Rachel Silverthorn to warn people about the coming attacks. After the Big Runaway, Hepburn married Crecy Covenhoven, Robert's sister. Hepburn also bought 300 acres (1.2 km²) of land west of Ross's property. His land, called "Deer Park," combined with Ross's "Virginia," would eventually become Williamsport.

Choosing Williamsport as the County Seat

Choosing Williamsport as the county seat was a big argument in early Lycoming County history. It was a tough competition between an older frontier town and a new town built on a swamp.

The Rivalry: Jaysburg vs. Williamsport

The first county leaders and court officials of Lycoming County had their offices and held their first court in Jaysburg. Jaysburg is now part of the Newberry area of Williamsport. It was on the west side of Lycoming Creek, on higher ground. The land east of Lycoming Creek was called "Deer Park" and was quite swampy.

At that time, Jaysburg was the only large village west of Muncy. Muncy was not considered for the county seat, perhaps because it was too close to the county's southern and eastern borders. Jaysburg had enough buildings to be the first courthouse and jail. It seemed like the most logical place for the county seat. Many Jaysburg residents were sure their town would be chosen. But this did not happen. The county seat was given to a new community across the creek. Jaysburg soon disappeared from maps, and its land became part of Williamsport.

Old Lycoming County Courthouse in Williamsport, built 1860

One of the first county judges, William Hepburn, owned the land across from Jaysburg, known as Deer Park. Another land owner, Michael Ross, owned 285 acres (1.2 km²) of land in what is now central Williamsport. Ross had planned a town on his land, and a few homes were being built. Ross and Hepburn worked together to create Williamsport from land that was swampy. The Susquehannock people, who first lived in the West Branch Susquehanna River Valley, thought this land was too wet to live on.

Ross wanted to sell his properties. He believed they would sell quickly if his town became the county seat. Hepburn wanted political power. He didn't have much money to gain power, but he had a lot of land. This land could also be sold if Williamsport became the county seat.

The people of Jaysburg saw Hepburn and Ross's efforts as a threat. They fought back. They believed Jaysburg was much better suited to be the government center. It was already set up and had higher, drier land. They strongly believed that Williamsport would flood often and that the swamps would cause sickness. The Jaysburgers tried to prove their point. They sent a sworn statement to the state capital saying the land flooded easily and was not good for a county seat. A person from Northumberland wrote a statement saying he had once "tied up" his boat on land that is now East Third and State Streets in downtown Williamsport. He reached it through a "gut," or a small arm of the river that flowed back into the land. This statement was the proof Jaysburg needed to show Williamsport was not a good choice. Hepburn and Ross heard about this document. They knew it could stop their plans. It is said they cut open the messenger's saddle bags and took the documents.

The Final Decision

The state commissioners were getting tired of the rivalry between Jaysburg and Williamsport. They started to think about a third option for the county seat. This was a new village further up the West Branch Susquehanna River, west of Pine Creek, in what is now Clinton County. The town of Dunnsburg even offered free land to build county government buildings. It looked like the state commissioners would choose Dunnsburg. This is when Judge Hepburn and Michael Ross put their plan into action.

Hepburn convinced Ross to offer parts of his property to the state commissioners. These lots would be for building a county courthouse and jail. Hepburn believed this would make the state commissioners choose Williamsport. Ross was not very interested in politics, but he was a good businessman. He was interested in selling his land. Ross agreed to Hepburn's idea, and the lots were offered to the state commission. The state commission accepted the lots, and Williamsport was finally named the county seat of Lycoming County.

When Williamsport was chosen as the county seat, it was just a few cabins in the swampy areas. Jaysburg served as the actual county seat for several years after Williamsport was "officially" named the government center. This delay worried the county residents and the state government in Philadelphia. The county leaders delayed building a courthouse and jail in Williamsport until 1799. The jail finally opened in 1801. Then, the leaders approved building the county courthouse in Williamsport. Construction also began in 1800 and finished in late 1804. This was nearly ten years after Williamsport was named the county seat.

Williamsport's Early "Firsts"

Here are some important "firsts" in Williamsport's history:

• 1778 - The first special cemetery opened. It is now the site of Calvary United Methodist Church on Washington Blvd.
• 1786 - The first house in Williamsport was built. James Russell built his inn at what is now East Third and Mulberry Streets downtown. It served as the first courthouse in Williamsport.
• 1796 - The first recorded birth in Williamsport was James Russell. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. William Russell and grandson of James Russell of the Russell Inn.
• 1796 - The first school was built. It was a one-room log addition to the building that became the first Lycoming County Courthouse. Caleb Bailey was the first teacher.
• 1799 - The first post office was built at Third and State Streets downtown. This building later became a saloon.
• 1875 - The first tower clock to play the Cambridge Quarters chimes was put in at Trinity Episcopal Church (Williamsport, Pennsylvania).

Peter Herdic: Lumber Baron and Inventor

Peter Herdic (1824–1888) was a very important person in Victorian era Williamsport. He was a lumber baron, a business leader, an inventor, a politician, and someone who gave a lot to charity. He was born on December 14, 1824, in Fort Plain, New York.

Herdic attended school for only a few years while working on his mother's 50-acre (200,000 m²) farm. He left the farm in 1846 and came to Lycoming County that same year. Herdic became one of the richest men in Pennsylvania. He played a huge role in developing the lumber industry across North Central Pennsylvania. Herdic gave large amounts of land and money to various churches, like Trinity Episcopal Church (Williamsport, Pennsylvania).

Peter Herdic also invented the Herdic cab. This was an early version of the taxi. It was a two-wheeled, horse-drawn carriage with side seats and a back entrance. Peter Herdic died on February 2, 1888. He fell on ice while checking his waterworks in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, and got a concussion.

The Susquehanna Boom

The Susquehanna Boom was a special system in the West Branch Susquehanna River. It was made of floating barriers designed to hold timber in the river. This allowed the timber to be processed at one of the nearly 60 sawmills. These mills were along the West Branch Susquehanna River between Lycoming and Loyalsock Creeks in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. The boom was built in 1846 by James H. Perkins.

A boom is like a fence made of floating logs. It holds other free-floating logs or stops things from passing. The Susquehanna Boom stretched seven miles (11 km) upstream. It went from Duboistown to Linden in Woodward Township.

The boom was built using 352 man-made islands called "cribs." These cribs were made of local stone and sunken timber. They stretched diagonally across the river. They started on the south side near Duboistown and ended on the north side near Linden. Each crib was 22 feet (7 m) high.

The boom had a "sheer boom" at its upper end that could open and close. It was 1,000 feet (300 m) long and was controlled by a hand-powered windlass. The sheer boom gathered logs into the main boom. This main boom could hold up to 300,000,000 board feet (700,000 m³) of logs.

Logs were sorted at the lower end of the boom. Mills in Williamsport, South Williamsport, and Duboistown each had their own special mark burned into the logs. Workers at the boom's end sorted the logs by their mark. They floated them into the correct holding pond along the riverbank.

During the busiest time of the lumber industry in Lycoming County (1861–1891), the mills produced 5,500,000,000 board feet (13,000,000 m³) of lumber. Williamsport became one of the richest cities in Pennsylvania and the United States. Men like James H. Perkins, Peter Herdic, and Mahlon Fisher became millionaires. However, many of the men who worked in the river struggled to live on the wages they were paid by the lumber owners.

Daniel Hughes: Underground Railroad Conductor

Daniel Hughes was a "conductor" on the Underground Railroad. This was a secret network that helped enslaved people find freedom. Hughes lived in Loyalsock Township and Williamsport. He owned a barge on the Pennsylvania Canal. He used it to transport lumber from Williamsport on the West Branch Susquehanna River to Havre de Grace, Maryland.

Hughes would hide runaway slaves in the bottom of his barge on his return trip up the Susquehanna River. He brought them to Lycoming County. He gave them shelter on his property near the Loyalsock Township border with Williamsport. From there, they would move further north to eventual freedom in Canada. Hughes's home was in a small valley in the mountains just north of Williamsport.

In 1953, the Williamsport City Council formally changed a disrespectful name for a local area. This happened after many meetings with the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Dr. Philip Gillette, Dr. Bruce Carricher, Mr. Bruce Anderson, Mr. Oscar Fisher, and Mr. & Mrs. Allen W. Bright were some of the people involved in this important effort.

Grit Newspaper: A National Story

The Grit office as it looked in the 1890s: Publisher Dietrick Lamade is fifth from right, with the mustache.

Grit was a newspaper started in 1882. It began as the Saturday edition of the Williamsport Daily Sun and Banner. In 1885, a 25-year-old German immigrant named Dietrick Lamade bought the name for $1000. He quickly built its circulation to 4,000 copies in the first year. He worked from a small third-floor room. In 1886, he moved to a storefront. By 1887, the weekly circulation reached 20,000.

Grit grew very fast. In 1892, a horse-drawn wagon delivered many Remington typewriters to the Grit offices. Grit focused on news and features for rural America. By 1900, its weekly circulation reached 100,000. This followed a plan Lamade shared at a banquet for his employees.

Grit became a well-known newspaper in small towns across the United States for over a century. It became a national tradition. By its 50th anniversary in 1932, 400,000 people bought the newspaper each week. This number grew to 500,000 by 1934. Lamade retired in 1936 and died in 1938. His son, George Lamade, became the editor. His grandson, Howard Lamade, Jr., was Grit's production manager. Another son, Howard J. Lamade, was vice president. He also became a top leader with Little League Baseball, helping it become a national organization. The main stadium for the Little League World Series, built on land donated by the Lamade family, is named Howard J. Lamade Stadium in his honor. Grit changed to a smaller, tabloid size in 1944.

Grit was a leader in using offset printing. It was one of the first newspapers in the United States to print color photographs. The first full-color picture, of the American flag, appeared on the front page in June 1963. At its highest point in 1969, Grit printed 1.5 million copies every week.

For many years, Grit published both a national edition and a local edition. The local edition was the Sunday newspaper for Williamsport and Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. It was also sold in 13 other counties in north-central Pennsylvania. This local edition stopped printing in the early 1990s. Only then did the Williamsport Sun Gazette start printing a Sunday paper.

The Great Fire of 1871

Williamsport was badly damaged by a fire on August 20, 1871. Local newspapers called it a "Terrible Conflagration" and a "Great Fire." The fire started in a stable owned by C.M. Baker. This was on what was then called Black Horse Alley, now East Church Street, just east of downtown Williamsport. Strong winds from the south made the fire spread very quickly. The fire began at 8:00 p.m. and spread north and west. It burned through "Center Square" at East Third and Mulberry Streets.

The Great Fire of 1871 caused over $300,000 worth of damage. It was the worst fire to hit the downtown area in terms of how much land it burned. Important local places damaged or destroyed included an old log building at Third and Mulberry Streets, the Russell Inn (which was the first courthouse in Williamsport), and the Wayne Train Station. An entire train of ten to fifteen cars and its engine were burned there. Businesses destroyed included a candy shop, a hat store, and the Wavery House Inn. Many private homes of important citizens were also destroyed. One church, the Mulberry Street Methodist Episcopal church, was destroyed. It had just been rebuilt after another fire only three years earlier.

The different fire departments in Williamsport made the situation worse. They competed with each other to be the ones to fight the fire. They also competed for the money given for putting out fires. They fought over access to water hydrants and even fought each other for the water needed to fight the fire. All this happened while the fire raged and spread over many city blocks.

The exact cause of the fire was never found. All that is known for sure is that it started in that stable on Black Horse Alley. After the fire, many "theories" about its cause appeared. Some thought it was started by people who were still upset about the American Civil War, which had ended just six years before. Others blamed new European immigrants. These immigrants had stayed home while many "leading citizens" of Williamsport were out of town at a religious revival gathering.

The Great Fire of 1871 was not the last fire to destroy parts of downtown Williamsport. But it was the most damaging and talked about. The fire destroyed many historic places. It also showed how some people felt negatively towards new European immigrants. This was common across the United States during the Industrial Revolution.

Little League Baseball: A Global Game

Carl Stotz, who lived in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, started Little League Baseball in 1939. He began trying out his idea in the summer of 1938. He gathered his nephews, Jimmy and Major Gehron, and their friends from the neighborhood. They tried different field sizes that summer and played several unofficial games. The next summer, Stotz felt ready to create what became Little League Baseball.

The first league in Williamsport had only three teams. Each team was sponsored by a different business. The first teams were Jumbo Pretzel, Lycoming Dairy, and Lundy Lumber. Carl Stotz and two of his friends, George and Bert Bebble, managed them. These men, along with their wives and another couple, formed the first Little League Board of Directors. Stotz's dream of creating a baseball league for boys to teach fair play and teamwork had come true.

The first Little League game happened on June 6, 1939. Lundy Lumber beat Lycoming Dairy 23–8. Lycoming Dairy later came back to win the league championship. They were the first-half champions and defeated Lundy Lumber, the second-half champions, in a best-of-three series at the end of the season. The next year, a second league started in Williamsport. From there, Little League Baseball grew from three teams in a small Pennsylvania town to a worldwide organization. It now has nearly 200,000 teams in every U.S. State and over 80 countries around the world.

Historic Buildings in Williamsport

Several important buildings in Williamsport are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. These include the Peter Herdic House, Hart Building, Millionaire's Row Historic District, City Hall, Williamsport Armory, and Old City Hall.