Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    A Walking Tour of Williamsport, Pennsylvania
    A Walking Tour of Williamsport, Pennsylvania
    A Walking Tour of Williamsport, Pennsylvania
    Ebook32 pages23 minutes

    A Walking Tour of Williamsport, Pennsylvania

    By Doug Gelbert

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    There is no better way to see America than on foot. And there is no better way to appreciate what you are looking at than with a walking tour. Whether you are preparing for a road trip or just out to look at your own town in a new way, a downloadable walking tour is ready to explore when you are.

    Each walking tour describes historical and architectural landmarks and provides pictures to help out when those pesky street addresses are missing. Every tour also includes a quick primer on identifying architectural styles seen on American streets.

    Williamsport for decades was an unremarkable crossroads community of less than 2,000 people, a stop along the Pennsylvania Canal and a marketing destination for the numerous small farms of the area. In 1847, the potential for the logging business took a great leap forward with the establishment of the first “Log Boom” in the Susquehanna River. The west branch of the river from Linden to Halls Station was referred to as the “Long Reach,” which was an area of almost no fall in the elevation of the riverbed. This provided an ideal point to locate a log boom, which was a series of river piers with heavy chains strung between them used to catch the slow moving logs as they came down the river. This fostered the development of an entire series of related lumber processing sites in Williamsport that included log cribs and ponds, sawmills, storage and rail yards.

    The impact on the town was dynamic; between 1860 and 1870, six major railroad lines arrived and the population tripled. By 1886, there were 28,000 inhabitants of the city. Williamsport, with 29 sawmills, became known as the lumber capital of the world. Its great mills, strategically located on the Susquehanna River, were supplied by the log boom that stretched seven miles along the river front and was credited with a holding capacity of over 250 million board feet of lumber or nearly two million logs.

    It was on this wooden foundation that fortunes were made. Williamsport was said to have had more millionaires than any place in America for a time. The lumber barons built spectacular homes, first along East Third Street and then migrating to West Fourth Street, which remained a fashionable neighborhood well into the 1900s before numerous demolitions and commercial development nearly erased all vestiges of its one-time splendor.

    In 1889, the Susquehanna River swelled over its banks and caused considerable damage to the lumber facilities located in the city. This, coupled with the declining timber resources, signaled an end to the traditional economic base, although the lumber business remained until the early 1900s.

    Our walking tour will begin just east of Millionaires Row, as West Fourth Street came to be know, and explore the downtown area before reversing course and seeing what traces remain of some of Pennsylvania's greatest fortunes...

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDoug Gelbert
    Release dateFeb 12, 2011
    ISBN9781465714046
    A Walking Tour of Williamsport, Pennsylvania

    Read more from Doug Gelbert

    Related to A Walking Tour of Williamsport, Pennsylvania

    Related ebooks

    Americas (North, Central, South, West Indies) History For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Glasgow High Street

      Apr 14, 2022

      Glasgow High Street
      3 min read

    • Article

      Tracking Omaha’s Past

      Mar 24, 2020

      Tracking Omaha’s Past
      3 min read

    • Article

      A Mile Of Shopping

      Apr 1, 2020

      A Mile Of Shopping
      7 min read

    • Article

      Coal Mining and Toll Scrip

      Sep 5, 2023

      Coal Mining and Toll Scrip
      5 min read

    • Article

      A Gem In Southern Wyoming

      Oct 26, 2021

      A Gem In Southern Wyoming
      3 min read

    • Article

      Meet History In St. Louis

      Oct 29, 2019

      Meet History In St. Louis
      3 min read

    • Article

      Out On The Town

      Sep 24, 2019

      Out On The Town
      3 min read

    • Article

      Hammersmith

      Oct 29, 2021

      Hammersmith
      2 min read

    • Article

      Steeped In History

      Dec 2, 2021

      Steeped In History
      3 min read

    • Article

      Oatlands, TAS

      May 1, 2019

      Oatlands, TAS
      2 min read

    • Article

      The Midwest Main Street

      Apr 5, 2022

      The Midwest Main Street
      5 min read

    • Article

      Goin’ Direct

      Feb 13, 2019

      Kempsey is a significant rural centre named in 1836 by Enoch William Rudder after the small town of Kempsey which lies south of Worcester in the Severn Valley, England. Being nearly halfway between Sydney and the Queensland border, it is a popular st

      5 min read

    • Article

      Rich In Colorado History

      Jan 22, 2019

      Rich In Colorado History
      4 min read

    • Article

      Revival Las Vegas

      Aug 22, 2023

      Revival Las Vegas
      3 min read

    • Article

      Garden of Plenty

      Jan 8, 2021

      Garden of Plenty
      5 min read

    • Article

      Historic Towns Rye

      Jan 8, 2021

      Historic Towns Rye
      4 min read

    • Article

      PICCADILLY Secrets

      May 22, 2020

      PICCADILLY Secrets
      5 min read

    • Article

      Word On The Street

      Jan 3, 2020

      Word On The Street
      5 min read

    • Article

      Coming Up Roses

      May 1, 2024

      Coming Up Roses
      5 min read

    • Article

      Built To Last

      Jul 1, 2022

      These man-made objects have grown into important sources of national pride to Americans. They also are iconic U.S. symbols to international visitors. The futuristic Space Needle was built for the 1962 World’s Fair hosted by Seattle, Washington. That

      4 min read

    • Article

      What’s In A Name?

      Jun 9, 2023

      What’s In A Name?
      6 min read

    • Article

      A River Runs Through It

      Sep 18, 2020

      A River Runs Through It
      5 min read

    • Article

      Bridging The Gap

      Jul 6, 2018

      Bridging The Gap
      5 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for A Walking Tour of Williamsport, Pennsylvania

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      A Walking Tour of Williamsport, Pennsylvania - Doug Gelbert

      A Walking Tour of Williamsport, Pennsylvania

      a walking tour in the Look Up, America series from walkthetown.com

      by Doug Gelbert

      published by Cruden Bay Books at Smashwords

      Copyright 2010 by Cruden Bay Books

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the Publisher.

      Williamsport for decades was an unremarkable crossroads community of less than 2,000 people, a stop along the Pennsylvania Canal and a marketing destination for the numerous small farms of the area. In 1847, the potential for the logging business took a great leap forward with the establishment of the first Log Boom in the Susquehanna River. The west branch of the river from Linden to Halls Station was referred to as the Long Reach, which was an area of almost no fall in the elevation of the riverbed. This provided an ideal point to locate a log boom, which was a series of river piers with heavy chains strung between them used to catch the slow moving logs as they came down the river. This fostered the development of an entire series of related lumber processing sites in Williamsport that included log cribs and ponds, sawmills, storage and rail yards.

      The impact on the town was dynamic; between 1860 and 1870, six major railroad lines arrived and the population tripled. By 1886, there were 28,000 inhabitants of the city. Williamsport, with 29 sawmills, became known as the lumber capital of the world. Its great mills, strategically located on the Susquehanna River, were supplied by the log boom that stretched seven miles along the river front and was credited with a holding capacity of over 250

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1