Tales of water and mountains
Geography is deterministic. For some, geography is destiny. For others, geography is fate. For Williamsport–a moderately large city situated on the West Branch of the Susquehanna River, as well as the principal cultural, economical, and commercial node of Central Pennsylvania–geography tells the story of of how and why a modest village became the wealthiest place in the world. It illustrates why it was better situated for success than its peers. And finally, it offers an explanation for its decline in the second-half of the 20th century.
The first white settlers struggled up the Susquehanna River in the 18th century in search of new farmland. They saw the West Branch Valley as an area of great promise. Their needs were relatively simple, and their ability to utilize the land was limited to what a few individuals and animals could accomplish. Few, if any, thought about the broader geographic character of the region and how it might affect the future of the communities which they were establishing. As more people came into the valley and the nation began to industrialize, that character became increasingly important. In hindsight, it is clear that geography, specifically the mountains and waterways, played a complex and extremely important role in Williamsport’s history. It explains the extent and pattern of the city’s development, the reasons for its great period of prosperity during the lumber era of the late 19th century, and many of the problems it has had, and opportunities it has enjoyed since that time.
So goes the introductory paragraph in Williamsport: Frontier Village to Regional Center, authored by Robert H. Larson, Richard J. Morris, and John F. Piper Jr.
Frontier town
The early history of the settlement that is now Williamsport was shaped by forces such as Westward expansion in the early American colonial territories. When we think of Westward expansion, we are apt imagine the great flats of the American West, turbulent river crossings, and disease, famine, and death. While the first two were not the case in the settlement of Pennsylvania by European colonizers, the third was certainly true. Between 1810 and 1850 the city’s population grew to only around 1,600, an indication of its minor impact on the affairs of the burgeoning Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. At this time, the town was home to a post office, a saloon, and a handful of hotels and other small business, operated by a number of immigrants from primarily Germany and the British Isles. Importantly, Williamsport was the seat of the county government, much to the dismay of other communities in the local area.
Michael Ross and William Hepburn are two formational figures in the early history of Williamsport, whose work converged around the turn of the century to establish Williamsport as the seat of Lycoming County. A few options considered for the seat of government were Muncy, which was excluded due to its location in the far-eastern portion of the county, and Jaysburg, which was the largest settlement (in what is now the Newberry neighborhood on the west side of the city). Ross and Hepburn, both wealthy at the time, purchased large tracts of land in what is now Downtown Williamsport. This land was near the river, and offered a valuable geographic vantage point, but was also prone to flooding. Most of all, it was completely undeveloped. Citizens of Jaysburg were outraged, but their appeals failed and the Commonwealth recognized Williamsport as the new county seat. Finally, in 1804, Williamsport finished construction of the county courthouse, nearly ten years after its recognition as the county seat. While it’s true that Williamsport’s early history was relatively unremarkable in many respects, its equally as important to recognize that it laid the groundwork for the formation of a city with a regional presence anchored by the lumber industry.
Economic prosperity
Williamsport’s success in the second-half of the 19th-century follows the lives of a select few lumber barons. Like the railroad tycoons and oil barons of New York, Williamsport’s upper-class held a large amount of wealth in the city, and little of that wealth was proliferated to laborers performing backbreaking work in mills. One of these men, Peter Herdic, would become the wealthiest man in Pennsylvania. He understood the sawmill business because he had worked at one in Upstate New York. Moreover, Pennsylvania has a high amount of forest cover, especially for being on the East Coast. Herdic saw an opportunity, and moved to Williamsport in 1854, seizing the opportunity to acquire forested land and sawmills near the river. At this time, a boom was installed on the Susquehanna River, which is essentially a large fence or barrier that catches logs so they can be collected and distributed to be shipped to markets. Williamsport’s 60+ lumber mills would go on to export lumber across the country and across the world.
The success was not equal. Laborers held strikes, forcing shareholders to improve working conditions, but only marginally enough to prevent subsequent striking. Money flowed freely, but many basic services were lacking; the roads were largely unpaved, devastating fires were common, and quality of life was dependent on income. At the same time, citizens like Peter Herdic and his peers would donate money to construct churches, and vast swaths of the urban fabric of modern Williamsport can be traced to property expansion and development from this era. Herdic even funded the invention of the Herdic cab, which was sort of like a taxi with a horse, and was the direct predecessor to the taxi.
The world is what you make it
Between the late 1800’s and the mid-20th century, Williamsport’s population would double to over 45,000 residents. The lumber industry would fade, due to outsourcing and destruction of natural resources in the county and surrounding region. Despite this, Williamsport developed a robust services and manufacturing based economy. It took in immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe during this era, and served as a point of passage on the Underground Railroad (more on that here). And, throughout both war efforts, it contributed soldiers and equipment at a higher rate than other communities in the state and nation. Principally, Lycoming Engines, which is still headquartered in the city today, would make 60,000 aircraft engines a year and employ over 2,000 workers in 1920. Institutions of higher education such as Lycoming College and Penn College would expand their footprint and educate students in specialized subjects. Perhaps most significantly in the national media, Little League Baseball was founded in Williamsport by Carl E. Stotz in 1939.
Little League, like no other institution or professional or academic venture, has come to define Williamsport in the 20th- and 21st-centuries. Beloved by the national media, hundreds of children between the ages of 11-14 from around the world, as well as hordes of thousands of fans descend upon Williamsport each August for the annual Little League Baseball World Series. The games are a boon to the local economy and help to highlight what continues to make Williamsport special: it’s natural environment, small city charm, and gritty, working-class determination.
Transport
The Williamsport Passenger Railway Company was founded in 1863 when Governor Andrew G. Curtin penned a charter that “gave the company the right to build branches through any of the streets of Williamsport with either single or double track.” These early streetcars were horse-drawn, noisy, and somewhat crowded. The service became better regulated with the help of Peter Herdic, and in 1875 carried 220,643 passengers. By 1891, with the help of various municipal and private organizations, the city had an electrified network–one of the first in the state, even before Philadelphia received electric streetcars. Six other streetcar companies would be granted rights to lay track and operate streetcars; as a result, the city would be come more connected than ever, with lines stretching from Newberry, the West End, and Vallamont to the East End and South Side. Eventually the companies were consolidated, and in 1894 a single-fare was introduced system-wide, enabling passengers to pay once and traverse wherever they were going in the city.
Williamsport was once an important node of passenger rail service, and continues to have commercial rail service supporting its manufacturing sector. At its peak, Williamsport saw over 20 trains per day, connecting cities such as Philadelphia, Harrisburg, New York, Elmira, and Buffalo in only a few hours. Aside from being a useful transportation node, the city’s train stations served as informal gathering points, where locals could socialize, buy a newspaper, and meet a friend coming to town. Some interesting people who stopped through Williamsport via train include King George V and President Harry S. Truman. There were a few different passenger rail stops in the city because a number of different rail lines bisected the city, including the Pennsylvania Railroad, Elmira and Williamsport Railroad, and the Reading Railroad. All of these connected people and goods in a way that boosted the local economy and enable growth throughout the early 20th-century.
By the 1950s, an aging railroad stock, dilapidated track, and federal support for the interstate highway system spelled the beginning of the end for passenger rail service in the community. Daily service ended in August of 1967, and the last passenger train to Harrisburg left from Williamsport on April 30, 1971 (Sun-Gazette/Valley Girl Views). This coincided with the construction of Interstate-180/US Route 220, otherwise known as the West Branch Highway or the Susquehanna Beltway. This major artery services modern Williamsport, but was constructed at a cost. Large amounts of urban land, which primarily housed immigrant communities, including Williamsport’s Italian diaspora, were destroyed in the spirit of ‘urban renewal’ and replayed with the present freeway, which cuts Downtown Williamsport off from the river that once powered its ascent. Today, Williamsport, like many other once-boomtowns along America’s rust belt, lacks many public transportation options that once fueled its prosperity.
Decline
There are many reasons why Williamsport is no longer growing. I’ve just offered one explanation, which is the hollowing out of its urban fabric. This is partly due to transportation; in fact, the predominance of the car has spurred the growth of nearby communities such as Loyalsock Township, which is now almost half the size of the city itself. Another reason is that it is geographically isolated. The closest major urban area is likely State College, which is not much larger than Williamsport and is itself quite isolated. Perhaps above all, many of the advanced manufacturing jobs which once dominated the economy of the city and the county have left the community. There are not a plurality of high-skill jobs in the community which attract a sufficient knowledge base to come to the area. The latest industry which benefitted the community was the fracking industry, which has little to zero staying power.
This is not to say that Williamsport is still not a good place. Like many other Northeastern American small cities, it is host to various cultural amenities which are unrivaled in even larger metro-areas in other areas of the country. Take for instance Williamsport’s arts scene. It is host to numerous visual arts and performing arts programs and strong support for music in public schools. It has two universities which add cultural richness and diversity to the area. And, it has a symphony orchestra with a world-class music director. This is the land of rivers and mountains, a place that has enabled opportunity for many and met challenges head on. It is the place that I come from, and the people and places who have shaped me to be who I am today.